Happenings, advice and other technology thoughts !

Art in the honor of National Train Day

noreply@blogger.com (Shashi Bellamkonda) — Sun, 13 May 2012 15:22:20 PDT

Art in the honor of National Train Day, a photo by ShashiBellamkonda on Flickr.

[VIDEO] Bustin' the Stereotype for Science : Science Cheerleaders

noreply@blogger.com (Shashi Bellamkonda) — Sat, 05 May 2012 06:27:00 PDT

On Sunday April 29th 2012 I visited the Us Science and Engineering Festival. The expo hall was filled with a large number of exhibits which I enjoyed very much. I also saw the Science Cheerleaders in action on stage. What a great concept. More details about them and their mission is at http://www.sciencecheerleader.com

3 Minute Tips Getting Smart with Your Social Marketing

noreply@blogger.com (Shashi Bellamkonda) — Tue, 01 May 2012 06:25:00 PDT

I enjoyed the session “Getting Serious with Your Social Marketing” panel along with:
Wendy Moe (@wendymoe): Associate Professor of Marketing at the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland
Jen Consalvo: Cofounder and COO of Tech Cocktail
Souny West: Owner of the W Salon, a hair salon and spa located in Northern Virginia
Susan Wade (@susan_w): Senior Director of Corporate Communications at Neustar (moderator)

The audience participated with a lot of good questions. You can see the highlights of the panel in the video posted on the Network Solutions Small Business Blog.

Thank you Conrod Associates—a branding, strategy, and communications firm for corporations. David Conrod, who organized the panel, and Kathy Young, Board of Directors 2011, ViennaTysons Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Swami Starts the Week : April 30th 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Shashi Bellamkonda) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 04:12:33 PDT

Every Monday (usually) I meet with Bob London at the Panera Bread in Fallsgrove, Rockville MD and the result of this meeting is usually a video we call "Marketing Confessional". Occasionally others will stop by and have a conversation. We welcome small business owners who want to get some questions answered to stop by.

This week I am going to be speaking at the Washington Business Journal Offices with Elizabeth Shea on "Make Social Media Work for Your Business" followed by Happy Hour at Cafe Asia in Arlington. Hope to see you there RSVP http://dcsocialmadness.eventbrite.com

I am also excited by my trip to Chicago at the end of the week for SOBCON . Sobcon is a must attend event and I learn a lot from it and meet old friends and make new ones. It is not a big conference and the organizers Liz Strauss and Terri Starbucker want to keep it that way to maintain the involvement and engagement. You should consider attending.

Here is the latest edition of Marketing Confessional:

How to be Great at Word of Mouth Conference Austin May 10th

noreply@blogger.com (Shashi Bellamkonda) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 08:57:23 PDT

Andy Sernovitz of Word of Mouth Marketing.org puts on some great events albeit not very often. On May 10th Sernovitz is organizing the Word of Mouth Crash Course a one day course with 12 How-to classes and 12 Real-world case studies and 6 Brilliant Authors.

Details of the crash course are at http://wordofmouth.org/crashcourse/#details. Here is a special offer to readers of this blog - you get 33% off if you use the code shashiismyfriend for the Word of Mouth Crash Course at http://wordofmouth.org/cc.

Please check the conference out.

[PHOTOS] Mid-Atlantic Marketing Summit April 2012 #mamsummit

noreply@blogger.com (Shashi Bellamkonda) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 08:31:00 PDT

The Mid-Atlantic Marketing Summit was help on Friday April 20th. The agenda was filled with content from speakers from the region and others who flew in for the event. Here are some pictures that I took. Are you in them?

[VIDEO] Is this intern qualified ? #DCSocialMadness

noreply@blogger.com (Shashi Bellamkonda) — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 06:20:00 PDT

Have you checked out http://socialmadness.com? The Biz Journals group is organizing a competition for businesses based on their engagement and it will be interesting to see the contest between companies in the 43 markets where the Biz Journals has a presence. See this funny video and have a few minutes of fun. Couple of actions for you : Register your company or client for the SocialMadness contest at http://socialmadness.com Come to the Happy Hour at Asia Café, 1550 Wilson Blvd. Arlington, VA May 2nd from 5 to 7 p.m. RSVP for the Happy Hour at http://dcsocialmadness.eventbrite.com/

Marketing Confessional: Is Marketing a Dark Art? Lessons from Mad Men that don't involve Martinis

noreply@blogger.com (Shashi Bellamkonda) — Mon, 23 Apr 2012 05:06:07 PDT

Last week was awesome and being the eternal optimist I will probably say this every Monday morning. BTW every Monday morning and probably as you are reading this I am doing my Monday morning " Marketing Confessional" with Bob London at the Panera In Fallsgrove, Rockville. See the Marketing Confessional video starring me and talking about the dark art of marketing.
Confessional.

Last week another highlight was the Mid-Atlantic Marketing Summit In the picture below is a panel moderated by my friend Geoff Livingston.I was in a panel on the "Changing Media Landscape" and the details on the panel are on the Network Solutions Blog

I wrote a post for Smallbiztrends.com on 5 Small Business Lessons From Mad Men, check it out and let me know what you think. HAve a great week ahead.

Tech Cocktail Comes to Baltimore May 2nd 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Shashi Bellamkonda) — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 13:08:14 PDT

TechCocktail is having it's Baltimore start-up mixer event on May 2 at the Venue: Mother's 1113 South Charles Street ,Baltimore, MD, United States, 21230 Register for the Techcocktail event. I usually don't miss any TechCocktail event but I am scheduled to speak at Washington Business Journal Make Social Media Work for Your Business and organized the #DCSocialMadness Happy Hour later so I am going to miss this event. If you are a start-up in the MD-Baltimore area please consider going to the TechCocktail event.

See the pictures I took at a previous Techcocktail Baltimore.

[PREVIEW] Small Business #TheLittleCouple : Bill & Jen finally open up their pet store, Rocky & Maggies in Houston, Texas!

noreply@blogger.com (Shashi Bellamkonda) — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 11:49:25 PDT

Did you open a business because you loved the employee discount? Bill jokes about that in tonight's episode of The Little Couple that airs tonight at 10 & 10:30PM ET/PT. A small business starting albeit on a Tv show is still a cause for celebration. Thought you may like this preview Discovery folks sent me and is on their website.
This Season's Description

The Little Couple follows Bill and Jen as they continue their exciting life together in Houston, Texas. They’ll finally move in to their dream home, make big strides toward starting a family, and juggle their flourishing careers – starting a new family business, traveling, and enjoying quality time together along the way!"

Local News has strong support : Most adults are local news consumers : Pew Internet Research

noreply@blogger.com (Shashi Bellamkonda) — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 12:23:11 PDT

Image credit: 2012 PEW INTERNET & AMERICAN LIFE PROJECT

This is good news for most local publications. I read these local media publications avidly :

I was happy to see the latest research from Pew Internet Research on the topic of local news

Nearly three quarters (72%) of adults said local newspapers are by far the source they rely on for much of the local information they need
One-third of local news enthusiasts (32%) say it would have a major impact on them if their local newspaper no longer existed
Local news consumers are more connected to their communities than others
Local news enthusiasts use the internet, cell phones, social networking sites and other technology about as much as those who follow local news less closely

Are you a local news enthusiast? Maybe we should have our own Facebook Group. What do you think? Read the rest of the report and more details at http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2012/Local-news-enthusiasts/Summary-of-Findings.aspx

Audience Views from Social 2012 Panel #mptech

noreply@blogger.com (Shashi Bellamkonda) — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 20:04:33 PDT

New Social Networks on the Horizon and What They Mean to PR- #WWPRLunch

noreply@blogger.com (Shashi Bellamkonda) — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 21:21:08 PDT

WWPR is a DC organization whose members are good friends. The members are very enthusiastic ad always learning and sharing and helping each other succeed. I spoke to this group in January last year and today I had the privilege of speaking to over 60 people and we talked about the different new networks and tools and what they could mean to business/clients. Here are my slides and a storify of the tweets is below inc ase you want to use it for notes. What new networks are you watching?

New Social Networks on the Horizon and What They Mean to PR

View more presentations from Shashi Bellamkonda.

View the story "New Social Networks on the Horizon and What They Mean to PR- #WWPRLunch" on Storify

#Hispanicbizexpo Cuba Libre Chefs

noreply@blogger.com (Shashi Bellamkonda) — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 12:44:14 PDT

Serving Shrimp Ceviche af the expo

Great to be featured in the Capitol Communicator

noreply@blogger.com (Shashi Bellamkonda) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 06:08:00 PST

Good news! I was featured in a news item in the Capitol Communicator Feb 21st 2012.

Shashi Bellamkonda of Network Solutions is one of the 2012 honorees in the Washington Business Journal’s 5th Annual Minority Business Leader Awards. Presentation of the awards, which honor the entrepreneurial drive, creativity and success of the honorees, will take place Friday, March 16, at The Capital Hilton

Continue reading the article at Capitol Communicator

#FredNMT @cariegrls Carie Lewis presenting "Why I Don't Like You:Measuring success in Social Media"

noreply@blogger.com (Shashi Bellamkonda) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 08:15:57 PST

#FredNMT @cariegrls Carie Lewis presenting "Why I Don't Like You: Measuring success in Social Media".

#FredNMT Amanda Changuris session: Sticky Situations: How to plan for difficult social media situations

noreply@blogger.com (Shashi Bellamkonda) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 18:00:15 PST

#FredNMT Amanda Changuris, a photo by ShashiBellamkonda on Flickr.

#FredNMT Amanda Changuris

Details of the conference : Frederick Chamber Website

Top Takeaways:

Always respond to both positive and negative feedback
Offer a solution immediately
Take the conversation offline if necessary
Great point - Assume positive intent when getting feedback on social media
Have a good comment policy on your Facebook Page "info" page. Set limits if warranted.

In my opinion Frederick Memorial Hospital is a great example of proper use of social media tools for communication. Check the Frederick Memorial Hospital Facebook page.

The Seventh Annual Small Business Summit NYC March 6th 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Shashi Bellamkonda) — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 12:26:58 PST

If you have not watched Ramon Ray in action at the Small Business Summit you are missing on a great experience. On March 6th around 500 small business will gather in NYC and learn from experts, sharing stories and gaining new ideas to help grow their business. Ramon Ray and Marian Banker.

March 6th - 8:00 - 5:00 p.m., Metropolitan Pavilion,
125 West 18th St., New York City.

The conference early bird rate is $149 and ends on Feb 25th 2012. Register here http://www.eventbrite.com/event/2584339830

For more details go to the SmallBizTech Summit website for updates and the latest agenda. See the conversation on Twitter: #smallbizsummit and the Summit Facebook page is at http://www.facebook.com/smallbizsummit

DC Chapter of the Internet Society Events - Feb 22 &March 1, 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Shashi Bellamkonda) — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 13:27:11 PST

The Internet Society is a global organization that seeks to maintain a free and open internet - www.isoc.org and is having two interesting events.

I. Social Media and Freedom, Promoting Democracy in the Middle East

Wednesday, February 22, 2012 from 8:30 AM to 10:30 AM (ET)

Discussion Leaders:

Davin Hutchins – Managing Editor, Middle East Voices at Voice of America
Sherif Mansour - Senior Program Officer, Freedom House
Sirwan Kajjo – Syrian human rights activist and journalist

Where:

Busboys and Poets
2021 14th Street, NW
Washington, DC

II. Connecting Everyone! Mesh Networks, Public Internet and the Drive Towards Universal Access

Thursday, March 1, 2012 from 9:00 AM to 11:30 AM (ET)

Panelists:

Bob Frankston – Frankston.com

Bob Frankston is the co-creator with Dan Bricklin of the VisiCalc spreadsheet program and the co-founder of Software Arts, the company that developed it.

Brough Turner – Founder, netBlazr, Inc.

Brough Turner is a well established communications industry engineer and entrepreneur. He founded netBlazr to dramatically change the landscape for broadband Internet access in the US. Previously Brough was founder and CTO of Natural MicroSystems (IPO 1994) and NMS Communications, building several successful businesses in fixed and mobile communications equipment.

Preston Rhea – Open Technology Initiative, New America Foundation

Preston Rhea is a Program Associate for the Open Technology Initiative at the New America Foundation. He supports OTI's mission of digital justice for its Broadband Technology Opportunities Program work with research, analysis, writing and program assistance. Preston also researches and writes on community-based communications and technology activism. Before joining the New America Foundation, Preston spent a year in Beijing, China working for an internet content delivery network

Where:

SRI International
1100 Wilson Blvd.
Suite 2800
Arlington, VA

Fun Valentine's Day Campaign from The Motley Fool

noreply@blogger.com (Shashi Bellamkonda) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 21:26:36 PST

I just had to tell you about this fun website from Motley Fool for Valentine's Day. On http://www.foolvalentines.com/ you can check out the "investing pickup line generator", and "investing valentines" and share them with your friends.

The campaign is by one of my students who is the Social Media Maven at The Motley Fool Katrina Chan. Check it out and let me know what you think ?

Fun Valentine’s Day Campaign From The Motley Fool

View more presentations from Shashi Bellamkonda

On the Deborah Shane Show Tomorrow : Tune in at noon EST

noreply@blogger.com (Shashi Bellamkonda) — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 19:04:38 PST

I will be on Deborah Shane's Radio show tomorrow at noon. We will discuss Social Media and small Business. Hope you can tune in
Show Information
Guest: Shashi Bellamkonda
Date: 2/13, Noon est
Show Call In Number: 347-215-9599,
Show URL: www.blogtalkradio.com/deborahshane

Learn ore about Deborah from these sites :

What is Linguistics? My daughter is studying it

noreply@blogger.com (Shashi Bellamkonda) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 05:46:00 PST

So you know a linguist

View more presentations from Jodie Martin

Super Bowl XLVI : Facts and Figures : Who is the winner?

noreply@blogger.com (Shashi Bellamkonda) — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 10:46:11 PST

First time the Super Bowl has been played in Indiana.
Indianapolis is the northernmost city in the United States to host the Super Bowl since Detroit hosted Super Bowl XL in 2006.

	Super Bowl XLVI: Giants vs. Patriots
	Giants : New York City	New England Patriots :Boston	Indianapolis
Population ( List of Most Populous Cities)	Rank 1. The population of New York in 2010 was 8,175,133.	Rank 22. The population of Boston in 2010 was 617,594. The Patriots actually play in suburban Foxborough, Mass., which had a 2010 Census population of 16,865.	Rank 12. The population of Indianapolis in 2010 was 820,445.
Commute Time	38.7 minutes	28.4 minutes	22.2 minutes
Population holding bachelor's degree or higher	33.4%	44.3%	26.7%
Residents who spoke a language other than English at home	49.2%	35.5%	12.7%
Median household income	$48,743	$49,893	$38,502
Median home value	$504,500	$369,600	$118,100

Source: Census.gov

#wholeheart2012 Nice Theme by Newseum

noreply@blogger.com (Shashi Bellamkonda) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 06:34:23 PST

#wholeheart2012 another place to go to, a photo by ShashiBellamkonda on Flickr.

Sign up for Startup America with Techcocktail

noreply@blogger.com (Shashi Bellamkonda) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 12:02:45 PST

Announcement from Frank Gruber of Techcocktail

DC based Tech Cocktail is currently in a friendly but fierce battle vs. Seattle-based Startup Weekend to see who can get the most startups to sign up as Startup America members. If you are an entrepreneur or run a startup, or know other entrepreneurs starting a company please have them become Startup America members using this link - http://ar.gy/techcocktail
You can keep tabs on the TC vs. SW leaderboard here (TC is currently up 58 to 40 but that could change so we need your help spreading the word) - http://www.startupamericapartnership.org/master-challenge/cocktail-stars
We appreciate your support and in doing so you help startups get access to the free resources provided by Startup America. - with Jen Consalvo and Glen Hellman at Tech Cocktail.