While women have made some great strides in the tech world, there’s still a ways to go, as evidenced by Allyson Kapin’s Huffington Post article, “Giving Tech a Bad Name.” Some of the most amazingly gifted people in technology are women. Yet, women are underrepresented, making up only a small percentage of panelists at tech conferences and as go-to people for quotes.
Recently, Vantage Commubications CEO, Ilene Adler took part in a podcast interview with Suzanne Bowen ofDIDXchangeto explore this very topic about women and the tech industry. The two discussed how each got into working within the tech field and how it affected their lives. The conversation touched on how both women and men should support and encourage each other in order to surpass stereotypes. Also, how women should collaborate and encourage one another so more women can feel comfortable with entering such a dominantly male industry. The bottom line: to change the perception, people—women and men—need to take action and promote women in tech rather than wait for everyone else to change.
New technologies are always evolving and changing the way we communicate. According to research from IPG’s Universal McCann and AOL, “One out of every seven minutes of media consumption today takes place via mobile devices…That’s expected to grow by 60 percent over the next two years.” Many of our clients are looking into website redesigns in order to make them more mobile-friendly. It’s interesting to see this shift. No longer is just having a blog good enough. Now it must be mobilized. And in doing so, we are finding that content must be refreshed more frequently, so as not to get lost in the shuffle
MediaPost recently reported on a new survey by Princeton Survey Research International, which found that 90 percent of Internet users between 18 – 29 use video sharing sites, up from 72 percent one year ago. But that’s not all. Online adults ages 30 – 49 also showed big gains over the past year; 67 percent now use video-sharing sites, up from 57 percent in 2008. So we now work with our clients to produce more video content and add pictures and videos to press releases.
Additionally, how we get news and information is changing on a regular (dare I say, daily?) basis. As PR professionals, we focus on people who are influencers. Traditionally, this has been the media or industry analysts. While these folks remain influential, there is a new group of influencers. There are blogs that comment on or repackage the news, some of whom have larger followings than the original content (e.g. Gawker). People now regularly forward news to their friends and colleagues via social networks and Twitter.
PR is also an ever-evolving game. Not so long ago, press releases went out via fax. You read that right, fax. That little machine in the corner of the copy room that the interns look at in bewilderment. That was cutting edge. Then came e-mail. Now, as how people get their news is in a state of constant change, we are continually adapting to make sure that we are getting the word out to the right people in the way they want to receive it. I guess it is not surprising that change has come to news, which after all, is the business of reporting on change.
2009 has been coined a time of “change.” From the White House administration to the green movement, from technology to journalism and communications, change is a constant theme no matter what industry you’re in.
While new technology and online media are forcing a lot of the change in the field of public relations, the same is being done in the field of journalism. There is no denying that economic pressures are partly responsible for forcing some sort of change, but what isn’t always recognized is that these pressures can also stimulate innovation and reinvention.
What we have seen over the past few months is that some of the publications we regularly read have only taken a brief hiatus to reinvent the wheel, and come back with a new approach to getting the news out to the audience that has respected their editorial expertise for the past several years. Most recently, Network Computing has resurfaced with its first digital issue. RCR Wireless News is also on its way back, and set to re-launch come September 1, distributing its news online and via e-newsletters. Both of these are examples of publications that have reinvented the wheel in an otherwise difficult time.
So while “change” can have varying definitions depending on circumstances, in this case we see it as a welcome occurrence for these tech publications, and look forward to gathering our news from them once again.
Earth Day has come and gone, but at Vantage we definitely made the most of the special day. In fact, we started celebrating a week early and how else, but with a party! Actually, 2 parties in 2 cities. On Thursday, April 16 we brought together about 200 business, government and media folks for the Vantage Communications Bi-coastal Earth Day event. Offices in both San Francisco and Orlando celebrated Earth Day with networking, food and giveaways – with all proceeds benefiting the United States Green Building Council.
In San Francisco, at a special one night opening of the Autodesk Gallery, Vantage gathered with influential green individuals to network and share insights. The evening also featured a panel with speakers from the USGBC-NCC, San Francisco’s Green Building, Forbes Magazine, Autodesk, and Serious Materials who discussed “Sustainable Innovation in a Recession.” In case you missed the live streaming of the event, you can watch it here:
The Orlando green community gathered at the local Taste Restaurant, where a good time was had by all with drinks, savory appetizers and giveaways from local businesses and green companies. An evening of networking included guests from the local USGBC, Green Cities and CoLab Orlando.
For all who joined us, we hope the evening was as fun and meaningful for you as it was for us in making it happen. You also can see photos from the evening here.
Update: Thanks to everyone who participated and viewed our speaker panel discussing “Sustainable Innovation in a Recession” via our Live Stream and at our San Francisco Earth Day event on April 16, 2009 . We will be posting videos of the panel discussion here on Vantage Points. So please bookmark and check back.
Did you know that if you drink one beer after work, then throw it in the recycling bin – that one aluminum can saves enough energy to watch television for three hours? It is amazing how much of a difference we can make together if each person began cleaning up their environmental habits.With Earth Day just around the corner, the Vantage Team is celebrating the changes we’ve made to help Mother Earth, and hosting bi-coastal networking events tomorrow to do so.
Both the San Francisco event – sponsored by Autodesk – and the Orlando event will feature giveaways and collect voluntary donations to benefit the Northern California and Central Florida chapters of the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), respectively.
The San Francisco event will also feature a speaker panel discussing “Sustainable Innovation in a Recession,” with panelists from the USGBC-NCC, San Francisco’s Green Building Program, Forbes Magazine, Autodesk, and Serious Materials.In case you can’t make it, the panel will be streamed live right here on this blog starting at approximately7:00 pm Pacific/10:00 pm Eastern – so check back! Please tell your friends and use the buttons below to share and tweet.
So whether you’re on the East Coast or West Coast, we hope you can join us!For full details, or to RSVP, check out the following links –
Update: Tweet Up location: The Las Vegas Hilton, the Pool Area on the Third Floor. The Hilton is connected to the North Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center.
Attention all folks attending CTIA in Las Vegas. Our friends at Qik will be hosting a Tweet Up on Wednesday, April 1, at 7-10 pm. This is a great opportunity to connect with people interested in the intersection of social media and the mobile industry. This also is a great opportunity to build on the success of the Tweet Up at Mobile World Congress.
The location is still being determined. You can sign up and get more information at http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=69119667494. If you are not on Facebook, feel free to post in the comments section if you are interested in attending. I will pass the information to the folks at Qik.We will post updates here on Vantage Points and on Twitter, Facebook, etc. Check for hash tag #CTIA on Twitter. For more information about networking events at CTIA, check out the awesome list from:
It’s no secret that the economy is struggling. While it seems like everything is being affected by the current economic client – from gas prices and consumer spending to political campaigns – I have to wonder: what about the technology industry?
John Soat of InformationWeek recently discussed this topic in his blog entry, “IT is a Recession-Proof Profession.” According to a survey conducted by Jobfox, 6 of the 20 recession-proof occupations listed are in IT, making tech jobs the largest category on the list.
Other reported findings are mixed; IT jobs are increasing while overall technology spending may be slowing down. The data is tricky, but the trend is clear – decreased spending and increased hiring cannot simultaneously continue forever.
It’s important for companies to focus on high-impact results. With clear messaging for the market and strategic direction, tech companies are in a position to make the right decisions and weather this storm to come out on top. With an effective PR campaign, technology companies can stand out from the competition to not only survive – but thrive in a struggling economy. Although no industry can be completely immune from a recession, technology will continue to evolve – creating opportunities for creativity and growth.
What is your company doing to compete in today’s technology market?
And Stephen Wildstrom gives NBC the gold medal…in cluelessness…over on BusinessWeek’s The Tech Beat.
In a world of blogging, microblogging and instantaneous everything on the Internet, it seems NBC Universal really dropped the ball this August when it came to Olympic coverage of events halfway around the world.
In regards to Usain Bolt’s unbelievable feats on the track, Stephen points out, “But the best you can get on nbcolympics.com is a still photo. And don’t think about YouTube either – Bolt videos are being taken down, apparently at the demand of NBC Universal, as fast as they go up.”
What do you think?? Did NBC miss the boat on this, one of the most widely-anticipated Olympic games, possibly ever?? During an era when technology is at our fingertips??
And it seems many others are interested in the technology aspect of the race as well. Roy Mark over at eWeek dishes on a not-so-good thing for tech in Obama wins, tech loses.
He mentions that “Although no one will remember this Congress as particularly tech friendly, the few issues of importance still remaining for tech are now likely to disappear in a blaze of “wait until next year” rhetoric.”
And he is probably right. What technology are YOU waiting on that has yet to come to fruition?
While women have made some great strides in the tech world, there’s still a ways to go, as evidenced by Allyson Kapin’s Huffington Post article, “Giving Tech a Bad Name.” Some of the most amazingly gifted people in technology are women. Yet, women are underrepresented, making up only a small percentage of panelists at tech conferences and as go-to people for quotes.
New technologies are always evolving and changing the way we communicate. According to 
2009 has been coined a time of “change.” From the White House administration to the green movement, from technology to journalism and communications, change is a constant theme no matter what industry you’re in.
Earth Day has come and gone, but at Vantage we definitely made the most of the special day. In fact, we started celebrating a week early and how else, but with a party! Actually, 2 parties in 2 cities. On Thursday, April 16 we brought together about 200 business, government and media folks for the Vantage Communications Bi-coastal Earth Day event. Offices in both San Francisco and Orlando celebrated Earth Day with networking, food and giveaways – with all proceeds benefiting the ![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=ec763a76-a3b9-467c-bcd7-cb36b3c9e76c)
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