Spring Break in Hawaii?? Yep! Honolulu @startupweekend

If you need a weekend get-a-way and an excuse to go to Hawaii for Spring Break, this is it. Startup Weekend, hosted by Dave Pascua, Seah Ishii and I is March 18-20, and it is not too late to sign up, become a mentor/speaker, a sponsor or an attendee. Spread the word!

Amplify’d from honolulu.startupweekend.org

Startup Weekend is an intense 54 hour event which focuses on building a web or mobile application which could form the basis of a credible business over the course of a weekend. The weekend brings together people with different skillsets - primarily software developers, graphics designers and business people - to build applications and develop a commercial case around them.

Latest Article Read more at honolulu.startupweekend.org

Startup Weekend Honolulu recognizes Hawaii Angels Startup Weekend Honolulu recognizes Hawaii Angels for their volunteer and event evangelism for the first Hawaiian Startup Weekend, located at Fresh Cafe, March 18-20, 2011.   Hawaii Angels was originally formed in February 2002, by a network of professionals who shared an enthusiasm for entrepreneurship. The group was formed as a non profit in March 2008 and adopted the current name, Hawaii Angels.  Individual members have invested over $30 million dollars into start-up ventures, across Hawaii.  Hawaii Angles partners with Kolohala Ventures, and a number of other successful businessmen and women throughout the state.  To find out more information about Hawaii Angels, please visit their website: http://hawaiiangels.org A special thank you to The Kauffman Foundation, often referred to as the worlds largest foundation devoted to entrepreneurship.  Startup Weekend is powered by The Kauffman Foundation. They are responsible for making the connection with Hawaii Angels. Please visit The Kauffman Foundation website for additional information:  http://kauffman.org Read more at honolulu.startupweekend.org

March 18-20, 2011

Fresh Cafe

Honolulu Read more at honolulu.startupweekend.org

 

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Content creators grasp the market

People from 16-24 confess that entertainment is how they associate good brands with bad. This article is an indicator that companies engaging in creating content (TV/Film, Music, Games, etc) are on the right track.

Amplify’d from www.contagiousmagazine.com

GlobalWebIndex shares the results of its annual report looking at how consumers are using the internet

The report suggests that: 'The open browser-based internet has failed to create the economics to deliver professional media business online, as advertising could not demand the premiums needed and consumers are unwilling to pay for content delivered through a browser.'

The report identifies that a shift is currently taking place from blogs and forums to real-time sharing such as status updates and tweets, with 10% of internet users around the world updating their status daily. 'This radically changes the impact of social media, primarily creating an ongoing shared agenda and conversation towards reacting or interacting with live events and discourse.'

The fastest growing motivations for using the internet identified by the survey were 'finding TV / films', 'finding music' and 'entertainment'. The survey also found that the prime motivation for 16-24 year olds to engage with brands is to entertain them (66%). GlobalWebIndex interprets this as a 'clear indication of the need for brands to adopt the position of content creator'. Read more at www.contagiousmagazine.com

 

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@cspenn with Search Tips for Jobs

Chris Penn shares some interesting Linkedin via Google tips for connection hunters. After all, Google is still the ultimate mega search tool. Thanks @cspenn.

Amplify’d from cl.publicaster.com

Here's a hunting tip for prospecting who might be in a position to hire you. Use LinkedIn... via Google. First figure out who would likely be hiring you. Let's say, for example, it's the Marketing Director. LinkedIn has special phrases like the geographic areas ("Greater Boston Area") and industry categories ("Marketing and Advertising").Plug this query into Google:

The "contact settings" phrase, by the way, is a phrase that only appears on profiles, not other pages. Voila! Instant list of marketing directors in the Greater Boston area that you can reach out to. Once you find a likely prospect or candidate to reach out to, do your homework. Here's an example, someone named Toni at a company called Wedu. Their domain name is wedu.com. Go back to the Google and ask it:

What do we see? They use first name and domain name in their corporate email system. It's not too much of a stretch, then, to figure out that we should contact toni@wedu.com to ask if they've got any positions open or coming open soon.

Now, it's very easy to abuse this technique for lesser purposes, like selling your crap. Don't do it. I don't condone mindless spamming, but as I say in my presentations about job hunting, if the choice is putting food on the table for my family or inconveniencing someone momentarily with an honest job inquiry, your inbox is getting mail. I'd imagine a good number of you feel the same way. Use this technique responsibly.

Those of you who have been connected with me for more than 5 minutes know that I work for Blue Sky Factory, an amazing email marketing company in Baltimore. What you probably don't know is what the company can do for you. Take a few minutes to explore this self-paced video tour (it's worth watching just to see how the navigation of a tour can work) and see if I can lend you my expertise as well as the expertise of dozens of my very smart colleagues for your email marketing efforts.

There's been a rash of neat and useful tools lately, and I mean that in a good way, not in a "requires anti-fungal cream" way. Here's a couple I think are worth your time.

My favorite tool for managing SEO at professional scale (meaning not for your personal blog) is SEOMoz. I've been a customer for years, and it's only gotten better with comprehensive SEO campaign management. Check out their pro package to see all the different ways to assess and manage your SEO efforts. Affiliate link!

Got a business that wants to make printable coupons? Check out the Wordpress Printable Coupon addon. It requires a business PayPal account but is otherwise seamless. Read more at cl.publicaster.com

 

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Seth's Unreasonable Blog Post

As usual, Godin states my case. My words to describe this post only muddy the message... read on.

Amplify’d from sethgodin.typepad.com

Unreasonable

The paradox of an instant, worldwide, connected marketplace for all goods and services: All that succeeds is the unreasonable. You can get my attention if your product is unreasonably well designed, if your preparation is unreasonably over the top, if your customer service is unreasonably attentive and generous and honest. You can earn my business or my recommendation if the build quality is unreasonable for the intended use, if the pricing is unreasonably low or if the experience is unreasonably over-the-top irresistible given the competition. Want to get into a famous college? You'll need to have unreasonably high grades, impossibly positive recommendations and yes, a life that's balanced. That's totally unreasonable. The market now expects and demands an unreasonable effort and investment on your part. You don't have to like it for it to be true. In fact, unreasonable is the new reasonable. Read more at sethgodin.typepad.com

 

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