DALLAS, Aug. 21, 2014 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- Amid the proliferation of real time data from sources such as mobile devices, web, social media, sensors, log files and transactional applications, Big Data has found a host of vertical market applications, ranging from fraud detection to R&D.; Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20140821/138541 "Big Data Market: 2014 – 2020 – Opportunities, Challenges, Strategies, Industry Verticals & Forecasts" Key Findings: In 2014 Big Data vendors will pocket nearly $30 Billion from hardware, software and professional services revenues Big Data investments are further expected to grow at a CAGR of nearly 17% over the next 6 years, eventually accounting for $76 Billion by the end of 2020 The market is ripe for acquisitions of pure-play Big Data startups, as competition heats up between IT incumbents Nearly every large scale IT ven... (more)

B2B Companies Play Catch-up in Social Media Arena

This Q/A with Grant Johnson, conducted recently by Drew Neisser, CEO of Renegade, a NYC-based social media and marketing consultancy, also ran here on The Drew Blog. B2B companies for the most part have been playing catch up to their B2C counterparts in the social media arena. One company that is coming on strong in this area is Pega, a company that helps other companies be more focused on their customers via BPM and CRM software solutions. I was delighted to able to catch up with Grant Johnson, Pega’s CMO as part of the soon to be released Social Media Fitness Study. (BTW, CMO’s can catch up with Grant at The CMO Club Thought Leadership Summit starting April 26th in NYC.) DN: Large B2C companies significantly outscored large B2B companies in this study. Why do you think this is the case? Grant Johnson: While social has proven to have vast benefits for all companies... (more)

Personal Branding Checklist

This is a checklist of items you need for an all-encompassing personal branding strategy. Personal branding is the process of marketing and selling yourself as a brand in order to gain success in business. Personal branding is a continual process just as knowing yourself is a continual process. As you grow, so does your brand. The need for personal branding arises from the fact that globalization has increased competition in the workplace. As the wheat is separated from the chaff, if you are left standing, you are left standing with others of good caliber. The playing field is now that much more challenging since your competition is as good as, or better, than you. To paraphrase David Samuel, the bloke who got me into personal branding after I saw him speak a few years ago; he spoke about of why you need personal branding. His audience was a group from a large teleco... (more)

Former MSN Exec Named RNC New Media Director

Todd Herman, former Microsoft and MSNBC.com employee and streaming media expert, has been named the Director of New Media for the Republican National Committee. Herman founded and ran SpinSpotter, a startup that provides tools to detect spin in news stories. Here’s a snippet of Herman’s bio from SpinSpotter’s website: Todd wrote the initial strategy and business plan for MSN Video and brought over 100 traditional TV brands into Internet video. AdAge Magazine named him “the media guy” at Microsoft/MSN. Before that, he served as co-founder/CEO of theDial, an angel and VC-backed Internet radio pioneer acquired by Loudeye. theDial was the first to welcome Microsoft, Sears, and H&R; Block to Internet radio. Unsurprisingly, Herman said his political affiliation leaned conservative and he’s also made political contributions to the Electronic Freedom Foundation, Swift Boat... (more)

To Blog or to Tweet?

Twitter on Ulitzer Lately it seems like writing blogs is getting out of fashion, what with the rise of microblogging star Twitter. Something about Twitter is intriguing. I guess the simplicity of writing your thoughts within 140 characters is a force larger that anyone expected. Reminds me of the early days of Google, a sparse screen of white space with ten words. The sheer excitement of entering any word and hitting the enter key and seeing pages of results was a trip, whether the result set was of any use or not. My first reaction to Twitter was like that of many - who wants to know if you are about to take a shower? But I underestimated the power of human connections. Now I read that Oprah has 30,000 followers even if she has yet to write one tweet. Demi Moore has a ton of followers and recently she helped someone claiming to commit suicide, dissuading him via Tw... (more)

Boston: The New Marketing Hub!

As everyone knows, Boston is the Hub of the Universe. The fact has been well-documented in Boston tourist literature, and in the way Bostonians superciliously ignore outsiders. Super-superciliously! We couldn’t do it if we weren’t the hub! Now Scott Kirsner has proved that Boston is also the hub of the new wave of marketing literature, and he’s built the Amazon list to prove it. [Tags: marketing web_marketing twitter boston the_hub ] ... (more)

Brand "Environment?" What's That?

Have you heard of the term “brand environment?”  Wondering what it means? It’s all the seemingly “little things” that comprise the environment around you.  Your brand environment includes everything from the carpeting in your office to your clothing, your techno-gadgets, and even where you might choose to host a dinner for your clients.  Each and every decision you make that might give others a “clue” about who you are and what you’re like equals your brand environment. As many of you may have already figured out I live in Pittsburgh, PA – the upcoming host to this year’s G-20 summit, attracting political leaders that comprise 85% of the world’s economy.  The White House announced its venue locations for various aspects of the Summit.  The venues chosen by the White House are “on brand” for Barack and Michelle Obama since they tie into their values, initiatives and... (more)

Authentic Personal Branding Concept

New Media on Ulitzer "The Secret" was launched by Rhonda Byrne in 2006 and says that thoughts have an energy that attracts like energy and you attract into your life whatever you think about. This tool refers to what Buddha said: "What you have become is the result of what you have thought". It suggests the following: "your dominant thoughts will find a way to manifest. ... Whatever you focus on the most is what will be most attracted to your life. ..Once you are aware of this law and how it works, you can start to use it to deliberately attract what you want into your life... Like attracts like...You get what you think about, whether wanted or unwanted...You are a living magnet...You get what you put your energy and focus on...Energy attracts like energy...it has it roots in Quantum Physics. " But just focusing on your dominant thoughts, wishful thinking about what ... (more)

Aligning Personal Brand with Corporate Brand

Successful companies recognise that good brand relationships with their employees are more important than good brand relationships with their customers. They understand that corporate brand loyalty starts with employee happiness. In the 21st Century great companies will figure out how to tap into people’s hearts—their passion and their desires to make a difference through their work. Those companies that link these passions to the generation of innovative ideas will have the capacity to sustain their growth for decades.” - Bill George The link between employee engagement and company performance This article proposes a holistic personal and corporate branding model that is in harmony with the vision, values, competencies and uniqueness of both the employee and the company, for the purposes of employee engagement and creating a challenged and happy workforce (Rampersa... (more)

Giant, interactive vodka bottles that do everything but tell you to go home and sleep it off

The party crowd that drinks up a storm this weekend may have some surreal moments on the streets of Montreal, Vancouver and Toronto as they stumble by a giant, interactive vodka bottle. According to Media in Canada: The large, street-level installations, launched this week, feature motion-sensor pads for people to step on, which then activate live video streaming to Absolut.ca. Visitors to the website can see the videos in real time, manipulate them with different templates or send the street-level user a scripted message. The person on the street can then retrieve their video from the site or text Absolut to request it using a short code. The installations are part of a larger national campaign, rolling out in phases through November until the first week of December, developed in tandem by Toronto-based agencies Carat Canada (media, strategy), Isobar (digital) and ... (more)

LeapFish - The Web’s New Search Engine

The Web has evolved.  It used to be a place where people came to just search for simple information.  Now it’s a place where people come to also share information.  Information today that is multi-media and more complex.  Information today that is real-time and social – recommended by people who know, and people you know.  I refer to this new place as “The Living Web” and recently our team at LeapFish debuted the web’s new search engine made to navigate this new living web.  You can find the press release here :  LeapFish Unveils Real-Time Social Search Engine that Captures the Living Web VIDEO: LeapFish - Living the Web Although there are many ways to search and share information, the current experience is fragmented, ineffective, and ultimately inefficient.  On the search side, there are a growing number of disconnected sites for traditional search, niche intere... (more)