As mentioned earlier, ReputationDefender is so excited to have been named a 2011 Technology Pioneer by the World Economic Forum. Check out these slideshows of this year’s recipients, created by BusinessWeek and Huffington Post. Congratulations to all of the 2011 TechPioneers!

From BusinessWeek’s “Meet the Tech Pioneers of 2011″:

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ReputationDefender

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ReputationDefenderRedwood City, Calif.
Online reputation management
Founder and CEO: Michael Fertik

ReputationDefender specializes in helping consumers and businesses shape how they are seen online. It sells different security products on a monthly subscription basis that let consumers and businesses monitor information about themselves across the Web, bury undesirable information, and promote vetted content to the top of research results. The company’s technology is based on innovations in the fields of recursive search, semantic and sentiment analysis, language-agnostic processing, and data schemata for global flows of personally identifiable information.

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From Huffington Post’s “See the 31 Most Innovative Start-Ups”:

ReputationDefender allows businesses to track how their company is perceived on the Web. In an examination of the state of Internet privacy, the New York Times described the company’s services:

Want to build influence? Or measure it? Here are four things you need to know:

Influence is simple…
which makes it complicated.

At its most simple, influence is the ability to make things happen. But which things? For whom? Over what span of time? Some people influence ideas, some actions. Some influence big actions, some small. Some influence lasts a moment, some lasts a lifetime.

When we talk about influence, and particularly when we talk about measuring it, we have to define our terms…and know the limits.

Influence is contextual.

Someone writes a post. Someone else retweets it. Another person sees the retweet, reads the post, and writes a comment. Still another person finds the post on his own and then follows the commenter’s advice, to the benefit of hundreds of others.

Each person took an action. Each action had an effect. But which action is the most important? Who had the most influence?

(Not so easy, is it?)

Influence depends on the situation and what you care about. The cause (the idea)? The effect (the actions, the results)? Or the connection between the two? Whether building or measuring influence, we need to understand which type of influence is important, and why.

Influence is the product of reach and authority.

To influence the actions of others, you have to have access to them—and they have to perceive you to have some level of authority, either over them or in an area of expertise they value. Popularity helps with access: the more popular you are, the more reach you have, and thus the greater possibility of influence. But popularity doesn’t guarantee influence, it only opens more doors. And it’s ephemeral: tastes change, needs change.

Authority doesn’t guarantee influence either, though you could argue its tie is stronger. Whether granted or earned over time, authority has the potential to intensify influence: authority grants power.

But it’s ephemeral, too. Earned authority—gained over repeated interactions—lasts as long as its integrity and its relevance do. Granted authority (as in the case of a leader or manager), often lasts only as long as the appointment (or the appointee…) does.

Influence requires both reach and authority, to varying degrees. Focusing on only one or the other will leave you seeing half the picture. Or less. Both need attention. And constant maintenance.

(Most) Influence is invisible.

You see a cause. You see an effect. What you can’t see, and never will, is where influence actually happens: in the “and” between the two. You can’t see inside every individual head to know or understand if and how the two relate, because it happens in the back channel. In instant messages, in DMs, in phone calls, emails, and Waves (sniff…). In person, in meetings. At lunches and dinners and breakfasts. Out of town. Out of sight.

That’s why what we can see gets so much attention, and measuring it the cause of such debate. But understand this: for every person consciously exhibiting their influence (and influences), there are just as many (or more) consciously shielding it.

Every King has his Merlin. Every Influencer has her own.

And you’ll likely never really know who they—the real influencers—are.

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At heart, influence is something we can only guess at based on what we see. We can throw metrics at it, but that’s like throwing dust at light, trying to see the beam.

Like throwing a sheet at the Invisible Man, trying to see what can’t be seen.

Is that what you see, too? Tell me.

image credit: ~Twon~

Behance is a powerhouse of some of the worlds top creative talent. Members can form a group and invite other members to join, groups can be public or private, and can be used to work together, share tips and media, get feedback, and more. So when your work is at its best, submit and promote. If you just want to follow the talent you can even go as far as to create a Follower Account.

Abduzeedo

Designm.ag

DesignM.ag is a community-based website for web designers and developers. The site includes a popular blog, a user-submitted news section, a design gallery, and a design job board.

Dribble

Dribbble is show and tell for designers, developers and other creatives. Share sneak peeks of your work as “shots” — small screenshots of the designs and applications you’re working on. Dribble may be the one you want to jump in right away with some sneak peaks at those designs your working on, because it is all about feedback and the community seems pretty positive in helping each member grow creatively.

There are so many great communities, some are filled to the brim with serious talent. What do you think are the best art & design related communities out there and when do you think the best time to jump in is?

It’s exciting, it’s competitiveand it’s hard work. When you review the Request for Proposal (RFP) the potential for ideas and opportunity seems endless.

Public Relations agencies will first review the RFP and break it down into a few sections. They will look at the opportunity, scope of work (is it just PR, or is there advertising, social media and account service attached to it?) and what the brand is. They also take into account the industry vertical.

The industry vertical is important for a few reasons:

1. Is it a regulatory industry such as healthcare or finance?
2. Is it a high tech brand, and if so, is it healthcare IT?
3. Do we have any of their competitors on our roster that would go against agreement?
4. What type of experience do we have on our current roster, and does anyone on our team have outside experience?

Experience is key when it comes to the new business process. Lack of experience in an industry vertical can sometimes be the death of the pitch, even before it starts. When responding to the RFP, agencies will include references from clients and related experience as proof of work, and that they can get the job done for this specific brand.

There are speciality shops for a reason – many brands like knowing the type of knowledge and education that comes to the table. But what happens to a heavy B2C client roster agency that has an amazing opportunity with a B2B brand?

Although there are similarities in the B2B and B2C field when it comes to traditional and digital approach, there are just as many differences. A B2B brand will first want their agency to understand the processes they have, what type of audience they serve and what they do. Then, industry vertical comes into play – is it high tech? Is it healthcare? Do you have experience in both healthcare and B2B? The list goes on and on.

That doesn’t mean that all is lost, or that the agency shouldn’t pitch the brand. There are other ways to show strength and that you understand the type of industry, even with no experience in B2B.

Rally the Troops

There is a possibility that there is someone on your team (or that works for the agency, depending on size) that has had experience with a B2B brand. It’s not bad to reference a team member that has worked previously on accounts that the agency hasn’t had. So, if Billy Senior Account Director has worked with a B2B brand, write down what he has done, the knowledge he has and how many years of experience he brings. It’s also ok to reference these clients by name. Name recognition can go a long way in niche circles such as a healthcare IT vendors.

If there is not experience in that specific field, it is up to the agency to showcase experience in the overall industry, whether its in public relations, advertising, marketing communications, analytics/research or consumer insights. What does your agency bring to the table, and how do you make up for lack of experience in the potential client’s field?

Research Will Be Your Best Friend

We learned in school that research will get you far in life. If you don’t have the experience needed for that particular industry, start researching. You will want to review both mainstream publications for information on the client, and then trade publications for information about that industry. Ping a few people you might know in that particular industry, and take them for coffee. Try to discuss trends and what has been happening in their professional life. Heck, even ask them what their typical day is like. Use Google and see if they have a social media presence. Ping a few professional organizations and look at their websites for resources. If they have had an agency before, see what type of services they offer. Meet regularly with who will be pitching and discuss ideas, knowledge found and how it applies.

Show Related Work and How To Apply

You might not have work in that specific industry, but you have something. You have knowledge of certain industries, the industry you work in and experience working with brands. Use that related work and show the potential client similarities and comparison. Show your success stories and why certain areas, such as media relations or social media presence, would work for them. If they can relate to you and your experience, you are already building that trust foundation. Don’t just use any type of work, but one that is solid, relatable and had success.

These are just a few ways to get your foot in the door in a B2B new business pitch. What areas would you add? Have you seen brands that go with agencies over another because of experience? Let’s discuss.

For all that social media is all the talk of the business town these days, the B2B sector seems to be having a tough time making sense of – or seeing the value of – these channels. Are they really useful for the B2B world? All we see is B2C success, are there cases of B2B social media success out there? How do we make social media work for us?

We offer a resounding “Yes!” as answer to those first questions, and as for that last one, well, that’s the question we’ll be working to answer for you throughout September. This month we’ll be offering up as many tips, concepts, anecdotes, and examples to help you start connecting the dots between your B2B company and social media.

And to support our social-media-for-B2B endeavors, we’ve written up quite the eBook that faces head-on the argument that states social media only fits the B2C business dynamic. We don’t agree with that statement, and we’ve taken the liberty of laying out exactly why we don’t agree, as well as providing some concrete examples of goal and objective setting and strategy development for you B2Bers to refer to.

We hope you’ll be on our side by the time September 30^th rolls around. Social media in its purest form is communication, and communication keeps business moving, no matter how it’s facilitated. We’ll do our best to round out the social-med-for-B2B discussion for you, so please jump in and share your thoughts on this topic, and if you’ve got any questions for us, you know what to do (leave us your questions in the comments section, that’s what you do).

The group has purchased advertising space on a 540 sq ft Jumbotron in Times Square and they’re using it to blast Google’s CEO Eric Schmidt. The animated feature is called “Don’t be Evil?” and shows cartoon Schmidt spying on children from the innocent trappings of an ice cream truck.

In a press release, Jamie Court, president of Consumer Watchdog said;

“We’re satirizing Schmidt in the most highly trafficked public square in the nation to make the public aware of how out of touch Schmidt and Google are when it comes to our privacy rights.”

The ad asks people to text the word Evil to 69866 to show their support. I guess “666″ wasn’t available.

“Don’t be evil” is Google’s unofficial corporate motto, but Consumer Watchdog says that Google isn’t doing a good job keeping the mounds of personal data they collect private.

Court says that Schmidt himself is clueless when it comes to privacy and quotes him as saying,

“If you have something that you don’t want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn’t be doing it in the first place.”

Then there’s this, from a recent Wall Street Journal interview;

“[Schmidt] predicts, apparently seriously, that every young person one day will be entitled automatically to change his or her name on reaching adulthood in order to disown youthful hijinks stored on their friends’ social media sites.

“I mean we really have to think about these things as a society,” he adds. “I’m not even talking about the really terrible stuff, terrorism and access to evil things.”

Really? When I started writing about this sign in Times Square I thought it was overkill. Now, I’ve now changed my mind.

John M. Simpson, director of the group’s Inside Google Project, suggests a “Do Not Track Me” list that would keep Google, or anyone from tracking your moves online.

According to a poll conducted on behalf of InsideGoogle.com, 80% of people in the US supported such a list. They also like the idea of an “anonymous button” that allows individuals to stop anyone from tracking their online searches or purchases and a ban on collecting data on minors.

All good ideas, but implementation and enforcement would be very difficult. The trouble is, it’s not just Google who is collecting and / or spreading private data. Schmidt was right about one thing when he mentioned the “youthful hijinks stored on their friends’ social media sites,” and then there are the drunken Facebook updates and the obscenity-filled blog post aimed at your ex.

Maybe, before we go throwing stones at Google, we should be looking at how much information we ourselves put online for all to see.

Not passing by Times Square anytime soon? You can watch the ad on YouTube.

We already know that we have a lot of Trackur fans in Australia and New Zealand, but it still brought a smile to our faces to see Trackur so positively endorsed by The Age – arguably Australia’s most respected daily publication.

Trackur - www.trackur.com

This is a free online tool which reveals the conversations that are happening in social media such as blogs, Twitter and Facebook. You may think that no one’s talking about but you would be surprised at the kind of conversations that go on about yourself or your brand, without you knowing about it.

I recently tracked the name of my business and my own name through www.trackur.com. It was fascinating to find people talking about my business by commenting on blogs that I didn’t even know existed. It’s like eavesdropping on a conversation about yourself.

G’day to all our mates from Oz!