No surprise that Sun Microsystems is up to par with technology innovation these days. It seems that have been very busy working on new platforms for the “future of computing” - cloud computing that is. This is very interesting stuff that will keep them up to speed with Microsoft and Adobe. Read more here. - and please comment.
Check out this YouTube entry from a Deloitte Employee. It was one of approx. 35 video entries that were selected as finalists in a internal competition. This is a excellent example of how new media was leveraged to create awareness about the employee experience, rather than the companies spending hundred’s of thousands on recruitment advertising. Approximately 450 cameras (later donated to charities - more good press) were handed out to employees to create videos on their experience at Deloitte. One last thing, they also picked-up a couple of Gold Quill Awards for this project.
Useful PPT Nuggets
Who hasn’t had to sit through boring PPT presentations before? Since we are often asked to build presentations for clients, I wanted to share what I found while cruising around slideshare.net.
Click on the link below for some great tips on creating simple yet powerful presentations.
http://www.slideshare.net/thecroaker/death-by-powerpoint?src=related_normal&rel=38668.
NewCommForum 2008

Just a quick hello from Sonoma! Great conversations happening about how to incorporate social media within marketing, internal communications and community building efforts. I’ll post some lessons learned from the event later, however feel free to check out the sessions (specifically 4/23) and let me know what you think would be interesting. I’m really looking forward to a new session later today with Shel Holtz titled: Employees ARE the Brand. Stay tuned…
dang, this feels good.
Sitting here in the NewCommForum 2008 keynote today, I’m feeling pretty good. Specifically, it feels good to see that each and every one of the approx. 300 people here have reviewed or at least glanced at our Bonfire Factsheet. It sounds like a simple thing, however when I arrived yesterday I noticed the the Factsheet was actually placed on the left hand side of the Welcome Folder along with only one other much smaller brochure. Our Bonfire Brand definitely has a presence. At the cocktail reception yesterday, approx. 6 people said “oh, your with Bonfire”. Who knows for sure if it was just because of the Factsheet or not? But dang, that feels good.
Now what? What does this kind of brand awareness mean? How do we further the conversations beyond the “oh” factor? This will be a ongoing conversation and I am open to all thoughts. Today, the first place I go is Step Two. How do we identify a specific point or need that is relevant to these folks who now at least have a sense of our services? How do we target those in need? This is the next and most important question to our business today. Let’s all look to the new data coming out of the WOMM movement (Word of Mouth Marketing). We all know that much of our business has come from recommendations, how do we leverage these promoters? Stay tuned for more and please comment on any thoughts.
RSS readers: explained
This is a great article (again on MyRagan.com produced by CommonCraft) that breaks down the whole “RSS thing” and explains how to make RSS work for you.
This is a two-fold bonus. If you are not already a member of MyRagan, check it out on MyRagan.com. It’s one of a few great social networks for professional communicators. This week, they are highlighting a article on Twitter. Good stuff.
This is so cool. Slideshare.net is the YouTube for powerpoint presentations. I have found this site very helpful for working on some of the new Branding and Technology presentations for Bonfire. It’s free and a great resource for doing research or learning. You can literally see who is presenting what, around the world. There is a ton of potential for a site like this and it will be very interested to see how quickly it grows. Please comment with any thoughts.
Bonfire Wins Gold Quill!
Congratulations to the gRide Team for another win! Bonfire captured the IABC Gold Quill for it’s work on the Genentech gRide Commuter Transportation Awareness Program. This is the second Tier 1 gRide Award, coming weeks after Bonfire learned that we also won the PRSA Silver Anvil Award.








