Something Different

As a newbie to the SXSW scene, I learned a few things along the way that every future SXSW attendee should keep in mind – veterans and newcomers alike. Here are a few tips to help anyone attending SXSW sort through the chaos and arrive prepared.

1. Bring Cough Drops

Don’t forget to bring cough drops. There were 24,569 people at SXSW Interactive and my throat was dry and jawbone hurt from all the talking (and when does that happen, I mean I do work in PR). You always want to be prepared for good conversation so have a lozenge and you’ll need a business card for follow up. Finding yourself without a business card is a frustrating way to end a good conversation with no control over follow up. Note: you should still wear sunscreen, always.

2. Book Nearby, Book Now & Show Up Early

I spent four hours each day waiting for transportation or on some form of transportation. Why? As a newbie, I waited until February to book a hotel and ended up a 20-minute drive (with no traffic) from the convention center. Save yourself the time and book a hotel in downtown Austin now.

I heard horror stories that people stood in line for more than three hours to pick up their SXSW badges (in the rain). Show up a day early to pick up your badge and stay as close as you can to the convention center to avoid the lines.

3. How to Choose What to Do

Choose one to two panels that are “must-see” and just go. Then, leave the rest up to serendipity.  Whether you’re grabbing swag from a vendor-sponsored event, catching a Chevy for a free ride or chowing down at the food trucks, you’re bound to find interesting people sharing stories on how they’re out to change the world with innovative technology and big ideas.

I asked a few friends I met on my SXSW adventure to share their “lessons learned” and took note on my phone. Check out this awesome video from my colleague Liviu.

- By Dana Bedessem

Last Thursday I met one of my heroes.  A best-selling author and humanitarian of “staggering” proportions, I’m talking about Dave Eggers, who The New York Times calls “the boy wonder of good intentions.”  Eggers was being honored by Commonwealth Club’s INFORUM with the 21^st Century Visionary Award for his literary and philanthropic contributions to disadvantaged youth through his non-profit 826 Valencia, ScholarMatch and website: onceuponaschool.org.

I attended the event with my colleague, Jordan Pennington, who has been working with INFORUM since last year, when Borders + Gratehouse started doing pro-bono work for the non-profit.  B+G helps build awareness for INFORUM’s amazing speakers by securing coverage of the events and encouraging local press to attend. After taking our seats, we struck up a conversation with three teenage girls sitting behind us.  They informed us that “Dave” was their teacher at 826 Valencia.  Let us not forget we’re talking about the same “Dave,” who in addition to being their teacher, is a three-time best-selling author, memoirist for Valentino Achak Deng in What Is The What, documenting the horrors of the Lost Boys of Sudan.  And, more recently, the lauded Zeitoun, an account of U.S. institutionalized racism and terrorist hysteria in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.  The same Dave that in 2002 opened 826 Valencia, a not for profit educational center dedicated to supporting students ages 6-18 with their writing skills and helping teachers get their students excited about the literary arts.  Who in 2010 co-launched ScholarMatch, a non-profit which connects donors with college-aspiring students and awards four scholarships annually as well as hosts a website called oneupsonaschool.org, a site devoted to help make a difference in troubled public schools.  Oh yeah, that “Dave” O.M.G.

I felt a great sense of pride knowing B+G helped raise awareness for this event, garnering coverage in TheBoldtalic.com, SFExaminer and UrbanDaddy.com. INFORUM’s PR Committee worked tirelessly to build awareness for this recognition of Dave Eggers and we saw the results immediately upon walking into the theater. It was packed with a rapt audience that included students and teachers, men and women, professionals and fans – spanning all ages and socio-economic strata.   As PR professionals we are armed with a gift – the gift of communication.  We know how to tell a story and spread the word effectively.   While it is very important for us to be effective advocates for our amazing clients, there are other amazing organizations that could benefit from our expertise.  I’m talking about non-profit organizations dedicated to the simple task of making our world a better place.

We as PR professionals, know as employed professionals, should help.  Yes, it means more work, one more to-do to cross off the endless list of tasks and probably little to no money, but I’m asking you to look at the bigger picture.  An hour or two every other week is not a lot to commit.  I guess what I’m saying is that, Dave Eggers in addition to informing and entertaining me with his literary genius, has also inspired me.   The way I see it is, if he can simultaneously research and write great non-fiction novels, launch an independent publishing house (McSweeney’s), co-found a non-profit (826 Valencia) and grow it into a national enterprise, teach and continuously advocate for students and teachers, well, I can devote and hour or two to a worthy cause.   Dave, I want to thank you for the inspiration.   Hope to see you at my 826 tutor orientation.

Wait until next month when INFORM honors SF-native, Rachel Maddow… perhaps I’ll jump on my political soapbox.

- By Kristin Farrell

When Emily and Kathleen founded Borders+Gratehouse, they had some strong opinions about the kind of company that they would create. After much debate and reflection, they committed to the core values of Impact, Imagination, Intelligence, Drive and Experience. At a glance, clients, prospects, partners and employees should be able to form a reasonable impression of the agency.

But corporate culture is more organic. How do you define success and how do you celebrate it? What is the social contract between team members day to day and how does that foster a team of enthusiastic ambassadors? What is the alignment or difference between what you say and what you do? A deliberate and consistent focus on culture can pay huge rewards and ensure everyone has fun along the way.

RightScale, the leading cloud infrastructure management company, has one of the strongest and most exciting corporate cultures we have ever experienced. Located in sunny Santa Barbara, the executives realized that not everyone would want to live in a lovely, laid back beach community (though, why they wouldn’t is a mystery!) From the start, they embraced a distributed work environment, powered by the cloud, of course. Today, they employ hundreds of people on five continents. Three times a year, they bring the whole company to Santa Barbara for a RightScale Employee Meeting (REM).  Even former employees send videos, warm wishes and sometimes warm cookies. We asked RightScale, CEO Michael Crandell about the secrets to creating such a zealous culture. Here is his advice:

How would you describe the RightScale culture?

Our website says that we take what we do seriously, but we don’t take ourselves too seriously. We believe that we can achieve a fun, friendly & supportive atmosphere, while simultaneously driving hard to be an innovator and leader in a new market.  In fact, the market we’re in is one we’ve pioneered — cloud computing management.  We believe that we’ll succeed fastest & best if we’re willing to be experimental, to push limits, and to iterate quickly on our products & services.  Being experimental means making mistakes, so we try not to get hung up on them when they happen — just acknowledge, learn, and push ahead.

Has it changed over the years and if so, in what ways?

One of the cool things about having an open, accepting culture is this:  when you hire talented, smart people, they will constantly amaze you with what they create.  As a result, while the basic themes of our company culture have remained the same since the beginning, the forms in which they are expressed are continually blossoming.  We have entirely new cross-departmental teams that didn’t exist a year ago, new ways of communicating, new traditions for celebrating success together, and new restaurants supplying our free Monday lunches!

As a leader in the company, what do you personally do to maintain/reflect/celebrate the RightScale culture?

I try to set the highest standards for myself in the work I do, but I also try to help everyone recognize the humorous side of work and life.  When you work as hard as our people do, it’s important to have some relief valves when the pressure builds, and laughter is one of the best.  I also invite others to poke fun at me, which lucky for them is not too hard to do.

Have you had any setbacks or missteps?

Of course — many!  It’s such a myth that progress comes as one unbroken march forward.  What’s interesting is that, now that you ask the question, I don’t actually remember the setbacks as much as whatever we did to overcome them.  I like that about our approach.

What advice would you give this new generation of startups about creating a strong culture?

I think it all starts with how you look at what you’re trying to do with your company.  Remember that being part of a group of people who work together to make a new business is fundamentally one of the most exciting privileges you can have.  It’s inherently creative, full of possibility, hope and promise.  Remember that you’re working with other humans — we all are born, someday die, and are trying to do something interesting and meaningful in-between. Ask yourself some big questions: 

“Would your children (if you have any) like being part of your company?  Have you created a place where people look forward to coming to work, and where they feel they can shine?  When you look back after it’s over, will you feel content not only with what you accomplished, but how you accomplished it?”

As we celebrate another strong year at B+G with 66 percent revenue growth and 50 percent growth in our team, we dedicated a large part of our 2012 kick off to examining our culture and recommitting to each other to make B+G an exhilarating, supportive agency that delivers creative campaigns designed to affect business results. We asked each other to define the B+G Culture and here’s what we said:

What would you say about your culture and what are the steps that you, personally take to maintain it? Please share your thoughts or, better yet, just do something special for your colleagues and your culture today!

- By Carol Carrubba

From flash mobs to Application Security, Inc.’s sumo wrestler and Webroot’s “Hit Me” guy, the week of RSA 2012 was jam-packed with industry conversation, dynamic keynotes and demos of new products.

While attendees met with both established and new companies, the show floor buzzed with topics like cybercrime, social media security, MDM (mobile device management) solutions, cloud computing and IT virtualization (check out our take on hot topics* at RSA this year below). Keynote speakers included high-ranking individuals like FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, and Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair.

While there were many takeaways from the weeklong event on issues from hacktivism to mobile security, New York Times Cybersecurity Reporter Nicole Perloth spoke to several security experts who called Anonymous, a hacker collective, a “welcome wake-up call.” It’s hard to guess what Anonymous will be up to next, but security experts are keeping their ear to the ground. Interestingly, a week after RSA, “hacker demigod” Sabu aka Hector Xavier Monsegur betrayed Anonymous and led the FBI to five leaders of the collective. Will more individuals break their agreement and help out authorities? Or will Anonymous get more aggressive?

PCWorld’s Nick Mediati probed security experts about the rise of mobile malware, specifically malicious apps for Android, asking if consumers need to panic. According to CheckPoint, there has yet to be a massive malware outbreak on Android. However, consumers should keep their guard up, especially since almost 50 percent of mobile device users were likely to use their smartphone or tablet to shop in 2011, up from 22 percent in 2010, according to a recent survey. This number will only increase over time as the latest versions of smartphones and tablets like the new iPad are released.

New products seen at the show ranged from remote access devices like Becrypt Trusted Client for Mac, to military grade encryption for external storage like DataLocker Personal and security engines like the Stonesoft Security Engine.  One of our clients, Webroot, introduced Webroot^® SecureAnywhere™ Business – Endpoint Protection, the week before RSA and Ellen Messmer at Network World deemed it to be one of the hottest products at RSA this year.

Thousands experienced RSA 2012 and joined together to learn how to combat the latest security threats. What will the rest of this year hold? Like the rest of the industry, we’ll be watching the mobile security space, new evolving pieces of malware and whatever else Anonymous has up their sleeve. It’s sure to be a complicated and shifting threat landscape and one that will be widely discussed at RSA 2013.

*Topics in ascending order are hot issues rising in popularity, whereas topics on the decline are still important but just not as top of mind as those on the ascent.

- By Eileen Garrity

Deep dish pizza, the blues, harsh winters – and technology. Believe it or not, Chicago is at the epicenter of the next tech boom. From Groupon to GrubHub, Chicago is home to many of the hottest new tech companies.

According to a recent study, the number of digital startups created in the Chicago area in 2011 increased 56 percent year over year, to 128 new companies. And, Chicago-area technology startups have raised nearly $1.5 billion – up more than 431 percent since 2010.

Experts attribute the surge to the fact that serial entrepreneurs are forgoing the trek west to Silicon Valley and choosing instead to set up shop in their hometown. In addition, the talent war is less brutal in a place like Chicago where the passion and expertise is alive and well in many capable candidates – but the competition to hire them is less intense.

But the industry has known for years about the value Chicago brings for tech companies. Every summer, digital innovators ascend on the Windy City – and it’s not just for the pizza. For eight years, Internet Retailer, the world’s largest ecommerce event, has hosted top brands and this year its impressive lineup of speakers includes Alexis Maybank, CMO & Co-Founder of Gilt Groupe.

And the up and coming Techweek Conference has quickly gained ground, and industry clout, as a top show to connect startups with industry leaders.  Last year, Techweek brought out influencers like Dave McClure, founder of Craigslist and Aneesh Chopra, CTO of the United States. This June, it is hosting over 2,000 technology companies and offering five new summits to go more in-depth on a few key areas, including Green & Clean Tech and Financial Tech.

Reporters are also following suit – using Chicago as their hub for reporting on these innovative companies. From former Bay Area-based TechCrunch Reporter Leena Rao to GigaOm’s Kevin Fitchard and Macworld’s Andy Ihnatko, many influential writers are calling Chicago home.

Borders + Gratehouse is (and has been) well-poised to deliver “something different” to the startups looking to expand awareness, and we have the local Chicago talent to bring these PR programs to life in their own backyard. Since 2008, B+G has had a presence in the Chicago area and now, with a team of PR professionals (see below), the company is ready to “dig deep” into communications strategies for the burgeoning tech market in Chicago.

By Aimée Eichelberger

Whether you’re a business just starting out in social media or a business that wants to expand its social media presence, it’s critical to develop a consistent voice across channels to build a relationship with your audience. Determining the purpose of your company’s social media efforts is essential to reaching your audience and providing relevant information. Some companies use Twitter, for example, simply to draw traffic to the company’s blog, while others use the platform to comment on industry-wide trends. Whatever your purpose, having a consistent voice and tone helps to build trust with your business or personal brand. If you want your followers to view your social media channels as an extension of your brand and your company’s message, consistency is key.

One extreme example of an inconsistent voice on Twitter can be found in my home state of Iowa. When Senator Chuck Grassley’s Twitter feed suddenly changed its style and voice of posts, his followers suspected immediately that his account has been compromised.

Senator Chuck Grassley’s Twitter feed has become a sensation across the country due to his honest – and often grammatically incorrect updates. Unlike many of his fellow Congressmen, Senator Grassley does not rely on aides to post to his Twitter account. The resulting posts are often filled with typos and misspellings, and are highly amusing.

While there are better things to be known for than having poor grammar, Grassley’s style is so familiar to his followers that when a sudden influx of grammatically correct and properly spelled tweets were posted, his followers assumed (correctly) that  his Twitter account had been hacked.

When Grassley’s Twitter feed went from this:

To this:

It was obvious that Grassley was not the one tweeting. Grassley’s followers reported the hack to Grassley’s office less than thirty minutes after the first suspicious tweet.

While this is an extreme example, it shows that followers on social media channels can get to know a company or an individual through the style and voice of their posts. In today’s hyperconnected environment where people check Twitter and Facebook constantly, companies with a consistent voice will create a thriving brand with loyal followers.

At Borders + Gratehouse, we advise our clients to pay close attention to their style and voice across social media channels. Our clients see the greatest success when they align social media efforts to overall corporate messaging, helping to create a consistent brand that customers and followers will recognize in any channel.

- By Jordan Pennington

In PR, we measure our work and successes against goals set. Whether it’s five quality articles in top tier business media for a campaign, three positive product reviews for a new product launch or a 15 percent increase in Facebook likes in a month, success is defined based on the results. While we’re PR professionals by day, we are fortunate to collaborate with a team and clients whose interests and goals extend beyond their everyday work. As we kick off the New Year, it’s important to set fresh goals that will lead to successes on a personal, local and global level. Here are a few goals and projects B+G is working on:

• 100 Push-ups: When the clock strikes 4pm, you will find the B+G team hittin’ the floor for our daily push-ups. No really – I’m serious! Not only are we getting svelte arms just in time for spring, but we’re also supporting each other through each grueling rep. It’s a personal and team accomplishment with great results to show for it already! Our goal is to do 100 push-ups in a row – think you can handle it?

  

• Make an Impact: SlideRocket, the leading online presentation platform and a long time B+G client, has just kicked off a fantastic contest that challenges nonprofits across the country to ‘Make an Impact.’ By simply creating a SlideRocket presentation showcasing how an organization is making an impact at the local, national or global level, the nonprofit will be in the running to win a piece of the $30,000 grand prize! Do you volunteer at an organization that fits the bill? If so, create a SlideRocket presentation and enter!
   
• Protect Freedom of Speech: As part of our daily life in PR, we track and monitor many blogs and websites throughout the course of our days, however many websites around the world are shut down everyday due to content that is deemed “illegal” by oppressive governments and organizations. CloudFlare, a service aimed at enhancing website’s performance, speed and security, partnered with Committee to Protect Journalists to protect journalists’ freedom of speech around the world by protecting them from hackers and service attacks. B+G is proud to work with a partner like CloudFlare that extends their technology to help others around the world.

What are your goals and resolutions for 2012? Step outside the 9-5 box and check new successes off your list!

- By Perrin Dent