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.
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:
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.
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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]
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]
Silversky
Offering secure cloud-based email on IBM SoftLayer to some of the most regulated industries.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EWerxMZ7Fg]
MyMenu
Advanced search technology and the IBM cloud will help unite you with your favorite meal.
[vimeo 87232049 w=500 h=281]
CloudOne
The new CloudOne Cloud Locker enables the management of licenses in the cloud.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONb5CVt18tc]
Building an employment recognition system at Honda with IBM Partner Kango Gift!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzQ-CqpQ2J8&feature=youtu.be]
Not Seven of Nine - Eight of Nine! IBM Clear Leader in Social Business according to Experton
Back in 2011, I told you about my trip to Germany and what I learned about German companies adopting social business principles at great rate, companies like Bayer and Sennheiser. Even GAD as on stage to tell their Social Business Success at IBM Connect!
And just today, other amazing news has arrived from Germany! It’s about IBM and about our service and product offering being assessed by an external research, advisory and consulting company alongside over 90 other vendors.
Experton, the European Analyst firm, did this extensive vendor benchmark on Social Business for the German market. They are – at least to my knowledge – the first ones collecting data from Social Business Services up to different software components playing into the Social Business space. Just published early 2014 their study shows 9 different quadrants.
And the results remind me of Star Trek Voyager -- 7 of 9. Why? IBM is in the leader quadrant in 8 of 9 quadrants. The only quadrant not listing IBM as leader is the one for Social CRM. And that’s just because IBM doesn't have an offer in this space...
This is an outstanding and impressive achievement and shows the companies commitment in the Social Business space. You can find more information on the results here including some impressive numbers for the social business market in general.
According to Experton, the market for social business for communication & collaboration (SB4CC) even outpaces cloud computing as IT and business driver with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 50% by 2016!
You want to get a summary of the study? Send a note to Stefan.Pfeiffer@de.ibm.com. He will make sure, that you get the PDF as soon as it’s available.