DC Energy

Feds May Embrace the CLOUD

webdiva2004 — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 17:59:56 +0000

Yesterday the article “Tech Firms Seek to Get Agencies on Board with Cloud Computing” ran in the Washington Post. On Monday I had attended a lecture on cloud computing by Professor Michael Nelson at Catholic University of America, and then saw this article. There’s a huge concern about security of personal information (such as health records), but also a potential huge cut in costs related to storing data if federal agencies were to keep data on servers maintained by companies like Amazon and IBM. The Post article also noted that the lack of uniform standards for cloud providers presents problems. But NIST is collaborating with six industry consortiums to create requirements for how companies can manage government information. Here’s an example of a major public-private partnership focused on taking advantage of new technology.

“THE CLOUD” and the Internet Revolution

webdiva2004 — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 16:18:03 +0000

I learned more about “the cloud” last night, at a presentation on the future of the Internet given by Professor Michael Nelson. His talk about the Internet was hosted by the Potomac Valley chapter of the American Society for Information Science and Technology. Mr. Nelson is a visiting professor of Internet Studies at Georgetown University.

When I learned that someone was going to discuss “the future of the Internet”, I thought to myself — I have to be there. My career is grounded in the Internet. Professor Nelson’s discussion focused on cloud computing, how it would likely advance, the need for better policy, how the cloud has advanced already, and how the cloud could radicaly change society, even more than it already has.

What is “the cloud”? I believe this is open to debate, but based on his talk, it’s the infrastructure that supports the Internet. Information is collected and processed on computers in cyberspace. The Wall Street Journal discussed what “the cloud” means a few days ago, in the article, “The Internet Industry Is on a Cloud — Whatever That May Mean.“ The cloud has made possible the success of Google, and social media (such as LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube), and Salesforce.com. It has also promoted Internet video, high-end videoconferencing, and virtual worlds.

Professor Nelson went on to state that the Internet revolution is less than 15% complete. In the next 5 – 10 years, the impact of the Internet will advance even more, and cloud computing will contribute significantly. Still for its development, certain changes will have to take place. These include : agreement on standards, business practices that adopt standards, getting more users to embrace the cloud, and new policy. Certain issues will have to be addressed, such as, privacy, transparency, international data flows, liability for the cloud, and competition policy.

How will society change because of this third phase of computing? Professor Nelson recommended reading “The Transparent Society” to get one perspective of how society could change due to this next level of computing.

He also mentioned “the open cloud manifesto” that came out yesterday.

Obama’s campaign was successful because it used the cloud wisely. The MIT journal discussed this in a recent article entitled “How Obama Really Did It.”

Cloud computing can lead to leaderless organizations. Professor Nelson mentioned the book, “The Spider and the Starfish” as a source for learning how the cloud can affect organizations and their structure. He also referred to Clay Shirky’s book, “Here Comes Everybody: the Power of Organizing without Organizations.”

I was very excited to learn about cloud computing and the possible outcomes of its development. Professor Nelson noted that the cloud can lead to a more open society. It has made social media, high-end video conferencing, and virtual worlds possible. Still I’m left wondering…where it will ultimately lead us.

Changing Whitehouse.gov

webdiva2004 — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 02:22:07 +0000

Have you checked Whitehouse.gov yet? The site has undergone a major redesign, and more changes are likely to come. There is a blog, but comments are not being accepted yet. Many are wondering when comments will be accepted, and how will they be handled? And ultimately will the new Whitehouse.gov embody the shift to a new dialogue between the U.S. government and its citizens?

These questions are burning in a lot of minds right now. Journalists, techies, designers, and others are waiting and watching to see how the Whitehouse.gov site will evolve in an administration that came to power through technological innovation. I came across a few articles that critique and recommend how Whitehouse.gov can fulfill the promise of change that Obama ran his campaign on. See N’Gai Croal’s Newsweek article, “All the President’s Tweets: How to Plug Americans into the White House“ and Terry Hancock’s article, “A Glimpse of Hope from Whitehouse.gov“. Also, Katie Kelly takes a close look at the design, usability and accessibility aspects of the new Whitehouse.gov in “Whitehouse.gov Redesign: the Change Has Come.” Obama is our first tech-savy president and hopes are high for the government websphere.

The Dawn of New Possibilities…

webdiva2004 — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 19:11:03 +0000

amidst an economic crisis. The U.S. needs new direction and vision, and Obama brings a completely different view on how the government should deal with domestic problems (such as the economic crisis, the war in Iraq, extending healthcare coverage, the need for new energy sources) and international relations. He also brings a vision of inclusiveness, hope and optimism. In his acceptance speech he affirmed that all things are possible in the U.S. And on election night, as I watched traditionally red states turn blue, I started to see new possibilities. See www.change.gov to learn more about Obama’s and Biden’s stances on important issues and what steps they are taking since their victory.

Although his victory is followed by bleak news on the labor market (see yesterday’s WSJ article “Labor Data Show Pain Across Economy“), Obama has only just begun to fill positions in his cabinet and craft a strategy with the Congress and Senate for dealing with America’s economic crisis. And what a time to become president of the U.S.! But Obama is used to facing challenges. Time will tell how well he can work with the other branches of the government, as well as the private sector, and lead the U.S. economy to a recovery. But it will take time. It took time for the current economic crisis to emerge and unfold.

In the mean time, we’ll need to brace ourselves for more negative headlines. I think the economy will get worse before it gets better. What do you think? What are your views on Obama, and the enormous challenges he takes on as the economic slump continues? What kind of changes do you want to take place?

What’s next for US economy…

webdiva2004 — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 03:18:09 +0000

and the world economy? How will the election of a new US president change and not change our global economy? As I read headlines of how the US financial crisis has affected stock markets in other countries, I’m shocked and worried. When will the bleak economic news end? I’m seeing constant headlines on quarterly losses, layoffs, mergers, unemployment, governments funding banks. I’m wondering when will things stabilize. And ultimately I’m hoping that the election of a new president in a few days will boost the stock market and perhaps inject some optimism into these bad times.

And, of course, I’m wondering who will become president. And which promises will he keep when he takes office? And which promises will he not keep? And how will election 2008 compare with election 2004? I hope that whoever becomes president does indeed bring needed progressive change. Because words are just words.

Mobile Marketing – the Next Wave

webdiva2004 — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 03:59:56 +0000

Do you access the internet through your cell phone? Are you receiving marketing messages yet? If not, get ready because mobile marketing is the next wave for reaching consumers. The mobile space is new for mass media, but it promises to be the best way to market a brand in the future. I attended an AMA-organized panel discussion on “Mobile Marketing: Effective Strategies and How-to Implementation” at National Public Radio on September 4. The panel participants included Michael Lieberman, mobile integration director at The Hyperfactory; D.P. Venkatesh, CEO at mPortal, Inc.,; Demian Perry, product manager at National Public Radio; Chris Parandian, founder of Tin Can Communications and Mary Gramaglia, director of sales at Sybase. The discussion was moderated by Limor Schafman, founder and president of KeystoneTech Group.

I learned some interesting information. Smart phone penetration is rising. “Smart phones” are high end phones that cost $200 plus. Also, the mobile audience is very different from the traditional audience. Its attention span is very short. A message that would be 8 minutes online would be shortened to 2 minutes on a mobile phone. Text messaging is most pervasive on mobile phones, and this makes the mobile web “viral,” enabling useres to pass on information to friends and many other connections. This viral aspect makes for great marketing potential.

If a company wants to have successful campaigns through mobile marketing, it will have to make its message very compelling and will need to partner with a carrier. Google and Sprint are currently partnering. In order to reach 70 million people, a company must go through a carrier. Carriers vet the quantity and quality of the marketing messages sent to their users. Many marketing professionals don’t want to share profits with carriers, but the speakers on this panel stressed that there’s no getting around the advantages of partnering with carriers.

There is an organization called the Mobile Marketing Association that offers more information on mobile marketing. For example, mobile marketing guidelines are available at http://www.mmaglobal.com/. Also check the Mobile Marketer.

Women Entrepreneurs Win Awards

webdiva2004 — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 17:18:39 +0000

I attended the 9th Annual Women in Business conference on April 2 at Montgomery County Conference Center. The conference featured two outstanding inspirational speakers — Debra Poneman, Founder of Yes to Success, Inc. and Emily Greene, Founder of VIVA Creative. Debra is a speaker, seminar leader and author. She underlined the importance of believing in your dreams and referenced “the law of attraction” — the idea that your dominant thoughts manifest your outcomes.

Emily Greene, an entrepreneur who started a communications business, VIVA Creative in 2001, spoke about the characteristics of truly effective networking. She emphasized that networking is not prospecting. Many people attend networking events with their business cards handy, seeking to get clients or other desirables. Emily highlighted the importance of being ready to give. People who give and connect others are among the most successful networkers.

Rockville Economic Development, Inc. administers the StartRight! Business Plan Competition which awards prizes to the best business plans developed by women entrepreneurs. Several women who had submitted outstanding business plans were honored and awarded prizes. And the winners were:

Lisa Chan, ZaraCom Technologies, Inc., First Prize Winner ($10,000 and 9 month virtual office solution from Intelligent Office) ZaraCom has developed a patent-pending artificial intelligence-based technology that identifies the bottlenecks in wireless carriers. It then offers instant solutions to resolve the bottlenecks. This year the company signed contracts with China Mobile.

Sharon Flank, Ph.D., InfraTrac , Second Prize Winner, ($5,000 and 6 month virtual office solution from Intelligent Office) InfraTrac is a venture-backed start-up company established in 2006 that uses patent-pending near-infrared spectroscopy to detect counterfeits.

Jessica Feltz, The Turning Point – A Community Acupuncture Center, Third Prize (tie), ($2,500 and 3 month virtual office solution from Intelligent Office) The Turning Point offers high-quality alternative healthcare at an affordable price.

Colleen Nye and Dr. Loleta M. Robinson, Syan Biosciences, Third Prize (tie), ($2,500 and 3 month virtual office solution from Intelligent Office) Colleen Nye and Dr. Loleta Robinson are licensing and bringing to market “lab-on-a-chip” technology that will enable performing rapid, accurate and inexpensive diagnostic analysis in a non-laboratory setting.

Blogging – an International Movement

webdiva2004 — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 17:17:34 +0000

On Feb. 25 I heard Dan Lackner’s interesting presentation on blogs which was sponsored by the American Marketing Association DC Chapter. Dan is the Senior Vice President of comScore, an internet marketing research company which tracks the online activity of 2 million people. Early on Dan noted that blogging is a highly global phenomenon. According to his presentation worldwide traffic to blog sites outside of the U.S. is 84% and U.S. traffic is 16%. Areas of the world where Web traffic to blogs is very high include South Korea, Argentina, Canada, Spain, Chile and Japan. I was surprised to learn that blogging has taken off so strongly in other countries. I have this vision of millions of people across the world simultaneously checking their favorite blogs a few times per day. I didn’t know that the popularity of blogs was so strong outside of the U.S. and the sociologist in me can’t help but consider how the internet is contributing to a global culture. I would love to interview people across the world to find out what they learn from blogs and how they became interested in them. What are the differences between blog visitors and creators of different countries? What are the similarities? How does culture contribute to internet usage? I hope that people from other countries will come to my blog and find the experience worthwhile.

WIW Conference on Feb. 9

webdiva2004 — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 02:30:45 +0000

I went to the Washington Independent Writers conference on Feb. 9 at American University. I heard a great panel discuss the many benefits of blogging and I’m sold. I decided I can’t miss out on the power of blogging. Poet and SEO expert Deborah Ager, author C.M. Mayo, “the happy booker” Wendi Kaufman, author/teacher Leslie Pietrzyk and blogger Shawn Westfall talked about how to start a blog, the marketing benefits for writers and the joy of connecting to people through a blog. I’m looking forward to attending the next WIW conference.