Austin Entrepreneur Mike Little, MyMenu: bringing mobile, big data, and SOCIAL to restaurants!

Here in Austin Texas at SXSW!  I felt compelled to make sure we celebrate MyMenu, winner of IBM's AppThrowdown at Pulse!

I recently caught up with Mike Little, CEO, MyMenu who explained how he is developing mobile solutions for restaurants that leverage the cloud and big data to help build client engagement.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rm6tkJ7yvQ?rel=0]

MyMenu are one of the early adopters of IBM BlueMix.


Who will win the title of the IBM SxSW Mobile Marketing Master?

It could be you!!  During SxSW,  IBM is holding the IBM Mobile Web Push Marketing Challenge. We are looking for creative mobile campaigns created with IBM Mobile Web Push.

IBM Mobile Web Push delivers personalized push notifications to mobile and tablet website viewers. Subscribers will get fast access to this service through the IBM Cloud for business online marketplace to start creating highly targeted and personalized web push notifications in minutes.  No databases, no programming, no headaches.

Submission consists of a 3 minute (or less) video showing:

  • Mobile Web Push marketing campaign
  • A short (500 word or less) testimonial of your experience.
  • Videos posted on YouTube
  • Videos must be received by March 14th

The Mobile Marketing Master will be announced in this blog on March 17th and showcased on IBM’s website.

Submissions will be evaluated based on:
Ingenuity (creative integration, elegance, novel use, etc.)
User Experience (memorable, visually striking, emotive, etc.)
Build your brand! Socialize your expertise! Submit your application today!

Take a look at a sample marketing campaign here . It was created in 90 seconds!

Get a jump start on the competition and sign up right now for a 30 day free trial and submit your video selection as the SxSW Mobile Marketing Master, or, if you want to talk to someone about this awesome product, come on by the Expo Booth 328/330 at SXSW and check out how IBM Mobile Web Push delivers personalized push notifications to mobile and tablet website viewers.


Mar 8th - 'Get Bold' book signing at SXSW: learn the fundamentals of engagement in the age of digital!

SXSW is the place to be, come March 7th, and IBM will not be missing out! Each year we have a bigger and bigger presence, and the list goes on… but I’m saving that for another post.

In the meantime, block off 4PM on Saturday, March 8 to purchase a signed copy of my book "Get Bold: Using Social Media to Create a New Type of Social Business" in the SW Bookstore.

client speak on your behalf is more powerful SandyMeme2

Key topics I cover in the book include aligning organizational goals and culture, building trust and designing for reputation and risk management. With over 60 references from major brands!

Jeffrey Gitomer says "Sandy Carter has not just written a book, she has set a standard. Get Bold is NOT an option, it's an imperative."

Guy Kawasaki says "For crying out loud, IBM 'gets' social media. Don't you think it's about time that you do? This is the book to get you started."
I'm proud to say that this book has been the #1 best seller at the IBM Pulse and IBM Connect conferences already this year!
Now a big theme at SXSW this year is how we build better engagement: as brands, individuals and citizens. Let me share with you a model for engagement in this excerpt from Get Bold:

GETBOLD

How Do You Engage?
There are three essential techniques that we have found have the greatest success rate. I call these the Three I's:
- Interact (mobile, gaming, gifting, location-based services, crowdsourcing)
- Integrate (online, offline)
- Identify (content, emotion, personalize)
Note that each of these is a two-way engagement:
- To interact means that your clients or employees become active participants. For example, in gaming, they are playing the game, as you are teaching and instructing them in a fun way.
- To integrate means that your company will have online and offline engagements that fit together to form a full picture of your company. So you will not see one view in an event online and a different personality of the company in a store. If you are not integrated in your approach, engagement is weakened.
- In identification, the key is to identify with our clients or employees and to personalize your approach in engaging with them. Your goal is to provide them an experience that is just for them. They comment on your blog because it speaks in their voice, or about their passion, and gets them involved.
___
Want to learn more? Come to the book signing on Saturday, March 8 and pick up your copy of Get Bold!


It's a BlueMix Party at SXSW and YOU'RE INVITED! MONDAY

OK, here's the lowdown.

We're having a party at SXSW with food and drink and you're invited! If you're a developer who's always looking for the latest and greatest technology to build on, or have an idea for the next big mobile app, this party is for you!

Register at http://bit.ly/1i3eWok and use the promotional code, SMAC_at_SXSW.

You'll have the opportunity to learn about BlueMix, IBM's open platform for developing and deploying omni-channel applications. Think about it, this could be the perfect environment for your next big project!

And, do you remember the supercomputer that won Jeopardy? We want YOU to put Watson to work with IBM's Watson Mobile Developer Challenge! Learn how you can submit your ideas for a mobile application powered with Watson's powerful cognitive computing technology.

Take advantage of this awesome networking event and the opportunity to learn more about the latest and greatest IBM technology.

So let's get the food, drink, and ideas flowing! I look forward to seeing you there!


What are the key themes at SXSW 2014? Design, Social, and guess what else?

Join me as I discuss with IBM Smartcamp finalists Shopa, Geekie and OnFarm the latest trends in the startup space right now that in particular are Keys at SXSW!

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phfyE2v2Ugc]

Come see us at SXSW 2014!


And the winner of the IBM Pulse App Throwdown is... MyMenu!

We had five fantastic finalists demonstrating some superb applications developed on the IBM cloud and security portfolio.

Standing out above some stiff competition, I am ecstatic to announce that the winner is… MyMenu. This early adopter of the IBM Bluemix beta is bringing a menu of cloud, big data and mobile to restaurants, at the same time helping to reduce ‘appathy’ induced by downloading a separate app for every restaurant we frequent.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYuGhgATvok]

I want to extend a huge congratulations to MyMenu for developing a solution that appeals to anyone who needs to eat.

I applaud all of the ecosystem partners who submitted an entry in the IBM Pulse App Throwdown and helped make this event such a spectacular success!


The IBM Pulse App Throwdown: who is your favorite cloud app?

Today is the last day to vote in the IBM Pulse App Throwdown!

So, who are these finalists? I've listed them all below, together with their video submissions. We will announce the winner during the IBM Pulse keynote tomorrow, Wednesday February 26. Click on the link to vote for your favorite now!

STEALTHbits

Track Active Directory, Exchange and more in real-time and send activity alerts to IBM QRadar in real-time.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6GBdZv2yIc]

Vote for STEALTHbits now!

Redis Labs

The Redis next-generation of ultra-fast in-memory databases pairs up with IBM SoftLayer to offer incomparable performance.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2o5tTlgcpE]

Vote for Redis Labs now!

Silversky

Offering secure cloud-based email on IBM SoftLayer to some of the most regulated industries.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EWerxMZ7Fg]

Vote for Silversky now!

MyMenu

Advanced search technology and the IBM cloud will help unite you with your favorite meal.

[vimeo 87232049 w=500 h=281]

Vote for MyMenu now!

CloudOne

The new CloudOne Cloud Locker enables the management of licenses in the cloud.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONb5CVt18tc]

Vote for CloudOne now!


Innovate like a startup: What Goliath can learn from David! Pulse it UP!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsFbWzuqUOU&feature=youtu.be]