Tech & The District

As the summer is coming to an end, take advantage of the last relatively slow-paced days to attend one of these upcoming technology events. These events cover various branches of your online presence and will surely teach you something new!

• August 25- Managing Your Online Brand – Hosted by DC Media Makers, this event is already sold out, but you can still sign up on the waiting list.
• August 26- Advancing Your Career…with LinkedIn- This session will teach you how to optimize LinkedIn for building professional relationships and moving forward in your career.
• August 30- Users, Roles and Capabilities in WordPress- Do you use WordPress at work or for your personal blog? This session will provide recommendations on how to best utilize WordPress for you.

By Sara Hiller (Tech Intern)

A recent Nielson study, What Americans Do Online: Social Media And Games Dominate Activity, found some interesting statistics on Americans’ Internet usage. The percentage of time the average person in the U.S. spends on social networking Web sites has increased by 43 percent, while the time spent checking email decreased by 28 percent. Playing games online and watching videos or movies are the only other areas of Internet usage with significant increases.

When looking at mobile Internet usage, the scene is a little different. Email accounts for 41.6 percent of time mobile phones are online. My guess is that some of this difference has to do with screen size. I find it a lot easier to read an email on my mobile phone than to surf a social networking site.

How does your Internet use compare, both on your personal computer and on your mobile device? Do you find these statistics a little bit of a surprise as I did? This study has been popular on a variety of blogs this week, so check out what Mashable and GigaOM have to say as well.

By Sara Hiller (Tech Intern)

If you’ve been enjoying Tech & The District, we recommend you check out Hill & Knowlton San Francisco’s blog, Modified Mercalli. Recently Jennifer Temple, H&K’s San Francisco General Manager, posted her insights and experiences from the Fortune Brainstorm TECH conference. Check out her experiences below.

I went to Aspen this past weekend to represent Hill & Knowlton and our clients at Fortune’s Brainstorm TECH. I went hoping to meet new people, learn more about our industry, and do right by the people who’d sent me (I also hoped to have a little time to relax with my husband, who tagged along.)

What I gained, far beyond expectation, was perspective. I emerged with a renewed sense of appreciation for how small the world is, how fulfilling personal connections are, and how much the success of any venture depends on deep collaboration……

For more, please read Jennifer’s full post here:  Modified Mercalli.

By Sara Hiller (Tech Intern)

August may be slow in the District, but summer tech events are not slowing down. If you need a way to escape the heat and learn something new, these events will provide just what you are looking for.

• August 2- Tech@State: Mobile Money – This event will look at the “mobile frontier” and technology in relation to money and U.S. Foreign Policy. The event takes place at the George C. Marshall Center at the U.S. Department of State and will run from 8 am to 12:30 pm.
• August 5- Mashable U.S. Summer Tour in Washington D.C. – SummerMash will offer excellent networking opportunities and social media learning opportunities.  The event will take place at the USA Today Headquarters from 7 to 10 pm.
• August 14- Power Twitter: How to Make Twitter Do More in Less Time – Not up to par on your Tweeting? This session will get you up to speed with the basics of Twitter including who to follow, what to Tweet, and how to organize your Twitter account.  The event will be at the GWUL Community Conference Room from 10 am to 12 pm.

By Sara Hiller (Tech Intern)

Facebook reached a milestone 500 million users this week. Both YouTube and Mashable turned 5 this year and FourSquare announced they’ve had 100 million checkins. It’s clear that social media is growing rapidly, and it is even more impressive how this new phenomenon has changed the way we communicate with our friends, family, and colleagues. To honor their five-year anniversary, Mashable posted a very interesting reflection on the past five years in social media. Check out “A Look Back at the Last 5 Years in Social Media” as well as my insights into social media trends below.

Facebook is still relatively young, and it’s hard to determine whether or not it will have this level of success and popularity years from now. I believe there are a variety of reasons why Facebook has a emerged as a leader in the social media world.  Mashable attributes much of the success of Facebook with the introduction of the Newsfeed. While the introduction of the Newsfeed may have increased Facebook’s popularity, I think establishing themselves first with a college audience helped to start a word-of-mouth campaign about Facebook’s capabilities. It would not have been able to do this successfully without the exclusivity Facebook had in the beginning, as a network only college students could join. Another factor that helped was simply good timing. MySpace was the only similar forum at the time, which introduced the public to the idea of social media. Facebook was positioned as a different medium exposed to a controlled audience and had easier tools to navigate others’ pages. Additionally, the timing of the emergence of other social media outlets was perfect for establishing Facebook as a leader.

In July 2006, YouTube was at 100 million video views a day. Today, 100 million YouTube videos are viewed on smartphones. Mashable’s article notes the social media trend that YouTube really exemplifies, how anyone with an internet connection can claim their “15 minutes” of fame.  With the growth of reality TV and the rise of the celebrity, this was just the next way to make sure everyone has an opportunity in the spotlight.  Facebook and Twitter serve some of the same function, and it is undeniable that this is part of what makes social media work.

Who would have predicted that social media tools that were used for recreational use would now be key tools for business professionals?  What do you think are the most likely next steps in the social media world? Why do you think Facebook, YouTube and the rest of the social media universe have become such a large part of our everyday lives?

By Sara Hiller (Tech Intern)

                                                                                                          Washington Women in PR hosted a brown bag luncheon last week at the National Education Association  where Bill Novelli served as guest speaker on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).  Does the communication firm Porter Novelli ring a bell? Bill Novelli founded the agency that bears his name and left the company in the 90s to pursue a slew of non-profit and CSR roles including: Executive Vice President of CARE, President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, and CEO of AARP. Currently, Bill is a professor in social responsibility at Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business.

Corporate Social Responsibility, the idea of incorporating responsible practices in daily business operations, has emerged as a strong focus over the last few years with companies restructuring their operations and making this practice a top priority.  Through Bill’s role at Georgetown, he discovered that there is a high student demand to learn about CSR and to pursue this work after the completion of their graduate studies.  In fact, many of his students and their peers are willing take pay cuts to work in a CSR role. Bill’s goal is to help students and communications practitioners understand the value of this responsibility so that they can serve in roles that produce social change, which will ultimately lead to the betterment of our society.

One member of the audience asked: How do you move organizations to adopt CSR practices in a down economy?  “It is important to convince your organizations to act socially responsible because that is often the expectation from its constituents and stakeholders. Organizations that have strong CSR campaigns often exude more confidence and uplift employee morale,” Bill responded.

Bill also noted that in this down economy, volunteerism has risen.  According to the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), volunteerism jumped by 1.6 million last year, the largest increase in six years. Over 8.1 billion hours of volunteer service was donated by Americans last year. Corporate Social Responsibility has emerged as a sustainable practice and organizations often have success when they participate in this practice over time.  This audience was very receptive in learning about  Bill’s current role as a CSR enthusiast and many expressed how they felt empowered to challenge their organizations to adopt CSR initiatives. If each organization did their part to implement a CSR program, then the idea of “doing good” would eventually be seen as normal corporate practice.

[Disclosure: Hill and Knowlton represents CNCS]

Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend my first Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) event with the National Capital Chapter, “Media Relations in the Digital Age.” The event featured a panel of reporters which included The Economist’s Greg Ip, Marketplace’s Nancy Marshall-Genzer, The Washington Post’s Ceci Connolly, and Kaiser Health News’ Jordan Rau.

What does media relations look like in an increasingly digital age? While there are definitely changes in the options we have available for communication, the overall message was that good reporter-source relationships are still the key to getting your message across.  As a recent graduate I was surprised by the lack of emphasis reporters on the panel placed on social media. When asked how public relations professionals can use social media to generate coverage, the general consensus was that some of their colleagues in the newsroom used Facebook and Twitter to find sources, but that it had little to do with their search in finding news stories. Other tips? The panel emphasized that the same good practices that existed prior to the digital age are as important as ever – suggest stories to reporters based on what they are writing on, and following the current news trends are key.  

I also came across an article on media relations by ReadWriteWeb’s Audrey Watters, which seemed to go along with yesterday’s event perfectly. “Why Press Releases Aren’t Always the Best Way to Get Press,” also addressed positive ways public relations professionals can engage reporters and journalists. The article mentions following reporters on social media as a good way to listen to what they are saying, but also reflected the opinion that genuine relationships are as important as ever. 

By Sara Hiller (Tech Intern)

I read Engadget’s post on Pew’s Mobile Access study and decided to investigate the whole study for myself. Anyone who uses a mobile device should take a look at this study which examines the ways Americans are using their phones, as well as wireless internet and computer usage in general.  It is interesting to see which mobile device functions are increasing in popularity, and what the majority of people are doing on their phones. 

I found the chart “Young adults lead the way in use of mobile data applications” most interesting. As someone who would fit in the young adult category, I was surprised to see such a drop in almost every one of the mobile phone use categories from ages 18-29 to 30-49, and then again at 50-64. The categories measured  include, “Send/receive text messages,” “Use a social networking site” and “Make a purchase,” among others. I would have expected some of these categories, particularly “Send/receive email” and “Access the internet,” to have similar statistics across these three groups due to the functionality of these mobile phone uses in the workplace.

Take a look at Mobile Access 2010 and let us know what statistics you found the most interesting or surprising.

By Sara Hiller (Tech Intern)

July is vacation time for many, but if you are not able to get away this month, take a break from the everyday with these upcoming technology and social media events.  We hope you get a chance to attend a few, see you there!

• July 12- Online Marketing Summit – This event will offer networking opportunities and help anyone interested in promoting their company successfully online.
• July 12-15- Social Media for Government: How To Engage Your Employees And Citizens By Using The Latest Web 2.0 Technologies To Drive Communication Results- This event has speakers from every area of government work and will help you learn to use social media to your advantage.
• July 14- GenJuice: Unconference & Tweetup for Gen-Y Leaders and Innovators – Targeted towards youth, this tour will be stopping in DC so that young innovators in technology can get a chance to learn and network.

By Sara Hiller (Tech Intern)

@Mashable

Happy Friday!

In honor of this past Wednesday’s Social Media Day, we recommend you follow the organizers, @Mashable. Why is Mashable Follow Friday worthy?  If you want to up your social media savvy, there is no better source. They discuss all things social media and often real time news is broken on their Twitter page. They are great for presenting the latest technology news and social media trends. Second,  Mashable is updated frequently with  special deals on new products, information on social media events and highlights on technology related conferences. 

Occasionally they will even offer you a deal on a new trendy product. Recently, Mashable turned me on to a network called Chocomize, where you can customize a chocolate bar with your favorite candies, nuts or spices. This was awesome! I received a discount by using the code “Mashable.” 

Written by Sara Hiller (Technology Intern)