Astronaut Cady Coleman dishes on NASA Space Apps, STEM and Innovation
I had such a great weekend in NYC meeting all the great Hackers on the Bluemix platform. You will see a set of videos around participants from 15 years old to 70 years old, as well as a ton of folks driving innovation into the local communities.
Today, we have Astronaut Cady Coleman, an amazing woman who spent 6 months in space!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=88KtkdVD8gs
More on the NASA Space Apps Challenge
Millennial Myths and Truths!
Not a shocker! Collaboration is valued highly!
In phase 1 of the millennial study, we found that 56% of millennials and 64% of gen x'ers value collaboration (boomers operate more independently) in decision making. Given that, there are things that really matter to these new workers (I love them too!)
Not just gut feel!
Millennials and Gen X'ers rely on analytics to help them make decisions (Baby boomers operate more on gut feel). For instance, Millennials love the analytics inside of email (like IBM Verse) help prioritize your inbox and make your day more productive using analytics.
Virtual plus In person matters:
One of the key findings from the phase 2 millennial study is in the way these new folks like to work. They like to meet in person but also virtually. Social collaboration matters to them. So training the team on how to use social on social selling ...During the sales cycle, make sure that you enable your sellers on social influence and selling. For instance, IBM has partnered with Hootsuite and sellers can get a license to help manage their social accounts.
For in person value, we have been building out our influencer network with the influencers that millennials listen to (e.g., TED@IBM). In addition, we have a world class social good focus. Through our IBM Corporate service corps, we deploy IBMers to do smarter city projects for local governments to give local citizens visibility to IBM and how we are helping local communities.
I have a team of millenials that have just started a weekly in person meeting because as they love the virtual work environment, that in person get together is also crucial.
Social -- Millenials are more careful
One big difference between Gen X and Gen Y, is their use of digital. We know that millennials grew up digitally and as such they are more careful in their use of social tools But because they know how to use the tools, make sure you take advantage of their knowledge. Have them do reverse mentoring to assist you in the workplace.
Make it real -- Influencers need to be authentic!!!
From #SMMW15, I loved Douglas Karr , the President and CEO of DK New Media, and his examples of powerful Influencer Marketing.
Authenticity is when your voice and input are helpful, real, verifiable and meaningful, A simple example of the power of authenticity is a viral video hero!
The Authentic Rap
Did you catch the YouTube video that a husband filmed his wife in a very authenticate set of moves, as she raps to a song in the car. It has about 18M views to date. And the song playing by Salt and Pepper received another 500K downloads through the Ellen Show.
The Brand "takes over":
Acura asked this "YouTube" star to do a commercial for them with their rap. I still like the rap in their new commercial -- but it only racked up 172K views on YouTube "Drive like a boss". Why? It was not as authentic because of the heavy branding.
Why?
The second video is very branded, and not as authentic. The big question is how do you leverage an influencer in an authentic way?
Doug's 3 top pieces of advice:
1. Leverage influencers that have an audience that matches your audience.
2. Find influencers who are willing to share the story with their audience.
3. Measure the impact of the influencer
Twitter Battle between Duke and Wisconsin - Social goes #ncaa
It started with a tweet from Wisconsin!
Duke counters with a Vine Video of the Duke Devil! 
So Wisconsin brings in a Blue Man Group Video!
And of course, Duke goes away for a bit to bring back pictures of influence from the past
You get the picture .... it's a Social Battle of Twitter, Vines, YouTube, and Instagram between the best teams in the nation right now!What will happen next?
5 Insights From VC Meetup and Panel for Enterpreneurs
I love to learn and share those learnings so here are 5 things I took away:
- Validate the good idea. Over 50% of new apps and products fail. Those that success have been vetted and tested. The advice they gave was to have as many people as possible provide you feedback as quickly as you can. That could be through Kickstarter or just creating an MVP!
- Either be or hire a Tech Geek! The VCs validated that every company today is competitive through technology (well, just about!). The discussion was that every company is a tech company so either the founder or her right hand person needs to be steeped in the knowledge of technology.
- Network. Networking is crucial to a successful startup. All the VCs said that they bet on the person first, the idea second. In order for them to bet on you, they need to know you and trust you! Take the time to get to know those who might fund you!
- Have a business plan. This factoid amazed me. Over 50% of those companies that come into a VC come in with a great product but no business model. Make sure you think through both the offering and the way that you make money.
- Dream big and have confidence. A lot of success is trying again and again and not being afraid of hearing no Facing rejection can be tough, but ensure you have the confidence to wirhstand it. One entrepreneur said he was turned down for funding over 20 times before he was funded, and is now a successful serial entrepreneur. Be passionate about what you bring to the table.
The Weather Channel and IBM using IoT and IBM Cloud to "change" the business of weather!
I am very excited for the Partnership of the Weather Channel and IBM! IBM and The Weather Company through WSI, its global B2B division, today announced a groundbreaking global strategic alliance to integrate real-time weather insights into business to improve operational performance and decision-making.
As part of the alliance, The Weather Company, including WSI will shift its massive weather data services platform to the IBM Cloud and integrate its data with IBM analytics and cloud services.
IBM and WSI will deliver new cloud services to businesses in three key ways:
- Watson Analytics for Weather: IBM and WSI will enable easy integration of historical and real-time weather data in business operations and decision making with IBM analytics platforms such as Watson Analytics. The companies will jointly develop industry solutions for insurance, energy & utilities, retail and logistics among others.
- Cloud and Mobile App Developer Tools: Entrepreneurs and software developers will be able to rapidly build mobile and web apps that take advantage of WSI data combined with data from operational systems, connected devices and sensors using advanced analytics through Bluemix, IBM’s cloud application development platform.
- Business and Operational Weather Expertise: Thousands of consultants from across IBM Global Business Services will be trained to combine WSI data with other sources to more effectively interpret industry pain points, providing clients new insights that solve business problems.
Check out https://ibm.biz/IoTandWeather
I am also loving our VINE videos to use social media showcase the power of this announcement. https://vine.co/u/1025833884602232832
A YouTube Video, Harnessing the power of Weather: IBM and The Weather Company, voiced by The Weather Channel(R) Meteorologist Jim Cantore, this video offers an overview of IBM and The Weather Company's alliance to bring advanced weather insights to business.