In review: #shiftsxsw video interview with Brian Solis

March 22nd, 2012 by Lea Green Posted in Featured, Interviews, New Media, New Work Life, Social Enterprise, Uncategorized

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It was only fitting that Brian Solis would kick off the #ShiftSXSW event series. Solis currently serves as principle of a research-based advisory firm called Altimeter Group. Most recently, Solis, who has built a reputation as a thought leader in new media, published a new book The End of Business As Usual. Something that Solis has received a rave reviews for is his popular online video series “Revolution” which examines technology, trends and best practices. PGi and Social People thought #shiftSXSW would be the perfect forum for a special SXSW “Revolution.”

The Saturday evening discussion titled “Revolution with Brian Solis” paired Solis with James Andrews that focused on how social media is transforming the way people connect with each other. As Solis sees it, much of the complexity with emerging technology and new media platforms, hundreds of which are launched during SXSW each year, ironically prohibits people from having meaningful missions. He has observed that the take away of SXSW shouldn’t be a greater awareness of the tools, but rather there should be a relationship between the people centered on a common mission. Solis consults companies to work on building these relationships so that they can have better connected companies and employee relationships to rewire the way success is defined.

#Shift, Altimeter Group, brian solis, connectivity, isolation in social media, james andrews, revolution, Revolution web series, shiftSXSW, social media, Social People, sxsw, technology, The End of Business as Usual

Turn Your Location Services on for #shiftSXSW

March 6th, 2012 by Blake Gruber Posted in New Work Life

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Attending SXSW this year? The SXSWi (interactive) panels bring together some of the greatest forward thinking tech-heads from around the world, with social media serving as the keynote for many of their ideas. With SXSW and our #shift event in mind, and being a bit of an app-junkie, I saw a new locational service that I had to write about: Sonar.

A majorly untapped social resource, in my opinion, is data that connects you with people that you don’t know, but you should. While there are services like this, for example Mingle!, they have yet to become mainstream. Many relevant connections exist in those 2^nd and 3^rd level networks, but meeting these people can be challenging, especially over the web. Sonar ties together LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and FourSquare data to create a unique social and geo-locational platform, connecting you to your extended network

Using a combination of, “distance, time, and social relevance [Sonar], determines the 15 to 25 most relevant people in the general vicinity… then plots them on a map” (mashable.com). While geo-locational services are a bit of a toss-up for most social users, this poses a unique advantage, especially when congregating at forums or events like SXSW.

There are many positives associated with allowing apps and social networks to use your location, for instance area specific promotions, but there are certainly drawbacks when it comes to security measures. Leaving that debate aside, the possibility of attending a networking event and being able to see who is relevant to you, how you’re connected, where they work, and even what you have in common, makes professional and personal networking arguably simple. Which is a reason, for me at least, to allow my devices access to my location.

#Shift, geolocation, pgi, shiftSXSW, sxsw

Everybody Owns the Cloud: The Technology Power Shift

December 16th, 2011 by Blakely Thomas-Aguilar Posted in New Media, New Work Life

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Twenty years ago, Microsoft was taking over the world, Oregon Trail was the coolest game ever and Googol was only a number. In those transformative days, consumers were getting a first taste of info tech — for work and play. Unless you were a geek genius or rich kid, the high price tag of hardware, software and support inhibited universal consumer adoption. Instead, we relied on enterprises to provide the full IT experience during the working hours. The cloud changed everything.

What the heck is the cloud?

Remember in the olden days when you went to CompUSA, bought a ridiculously expensive box of software, downloaded it using 12 CDs and then launched the program? Well, the olden days were only eight years ago. And the reason it feels so long ago? The cloud.

Here’s the Wikipedia definition of cloud computing:

The delivery of a service rather than a product, whereby shared resources,
software and information are provided to computers and other devices
as a metered service over a network (typically the Internet).

We mere mortals aren’t really interested in how it works and the fancy tech mumbo jumbo that goes into it. We just want the newest version of Angry Birds RIGHT NOW. The all-powerful cloud — from datacenter virtualization to end user computing — makes the magic happen and satisfies our human need for instant gratification. And while downloading the latest mobile app might not seem like much to you, the transformative app culture and cloud technology is changing everything.

End user empowerment and democratization of enterprise IT

cloud computing, consumerization of it, IT, mobile apps, pgi, technology, technology shift

76ers fans hit social media slam dunk

December 15th, 2011 by Sara Pilling Posted in Featured, New Work Life, Uncategorized

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Now that the NBA lock-out is over and with NCAA action heating up as well, basketball is front and center at my house (because ESPN is always on one at least one television). This amazing story about how a basketball fan with an above average social media skill set won accolades and a job from the 76ers really hit home for me when I read the coverage in Mashable today.

Here is the recap: Two friends and Philadelphia 76er fans registered Twitter handles (@PhilEMoose and @BFranklinDogg) to promote a fan contest aimed at selecting the next 76er mascot. Their Twitter accounts started to gain some online recognition which led the team to contact them. First, the team sent letter asking the fans to turn over the Twitter handles. Then the 76ers offered a ‘fair trade’ for the Twitter accounts: season tickets and box seats to the season opener. Then one of the fans involved gets contacted by the CEO of the 76ers, brought in for a round of interviews and then offered a job working with social media for the team. Boom.

Talk about slam dunk and a shift in the way companies, teams and brands evaluate talent. Jerry Rizzo started a fan campaign using his social media expertise but also had a virtual paper trail of his work that proved he was knowledgeable, passionate and qualified. Although this is a lesson in social media, to me it’s also a lesson about how to get hired in this day and age. I’ll be working on my virtual paper trail and my “Twesume” if you need me.

The Work From Anywhere Phenomena

October 19th, 2011 by Sara Pilling Posted in New Work Life, New Work Life, Uncategorized

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In case you missed it, here is an amazing Mashable post which points out – what we think – is an obvious trend: working from home is here to stay.

Source: Mashable

The data for the infographic came from a survey that Work Simple completed with Fortune 500 hiring managers. More than HALF of the hiring managers surveyed believe that the telecommuting trend is here to stay and only going to grow larger. Working remotely is productive and holds great advantages – for both the employee and the employer.

During our #ShiftNYC event we spoke about future work trends and working virtually seemed almost the norm with this group of digital nomads. But there also seems to be a great rise in coworking spaces. These co-working environments are built to encourage people to plug in and start producing but also give people a place to gather and socialize. It comes as no surprise that what people dislike the most about telecommuting is the absence of the “watercooler” talk.

What is your company’s policy? How do you build the case as an employee or as a manager to better equip people with the tools to work virtually?

Infographic Source: Worksimple.com via Mashable.com

The Death of the Traditional Ad Agency and the Rise of New Media

October 5th, 2011 by Blakely Thomas-Aguilar Posted in New Media, New Work Life, Uncategorized

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I can’t help but think of AMC’s television show “Mad Men” as the perfect jumping off point for discussing old school advertising agencies. While drinking martinis and smoking cigarettes (during the workday, mind you), ad men sketched on real drawing boards, pitched campaigns by showing those sketches and picked up the newspaper to see the ad in action. It’s just so… provincial in today’s digital world. The Ad Man is dead. Social Media is king and digital shops are queen.

The internet is personally responsible for contributing to the death of the traditional agency. Over 2 billion people surf the internet across the world, up a whopping 1.5 million since 2000. The explosive rise of the World Wide Web caused a huge scramble in the ad world that quickly became evolve or die. Newspapers and magazines are now barely read — or produced — in paper form. Netflix and RedBox revolutionized the movie, TV and video game industry. And people don’t even have to watch live TV or commercials, thanks to on-demand and DVR. With so many multimedia options — computers, cinema, TV, internet, DVDs, on-demand streaming, mobile phones, tablets and more — people aren’t doing one thing anymore. And the New Media Ad Agency thrives in many different worlds.

ad agency, advertising, digital media, multimedia, new media, social media

Landline of the Lost: The Telecommunication Shift

September 27th, 2011 by Blakely Thomas-Aguilar Posted in New Work Life, Uncategorized

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Telephones everywhere are dying their hair blue. Claiming social security. Hitting up iHop for a 15% discount. Retiring to two-bedroom condos in Boca Raton. Today, the new generation barely picks up a phone unless us old fogies want to talk. With VoIP, texting and social media, the old school Alexander Graham Bell telephone is on its last legs. The end is near, folks, and we old timers better get ready for the new era in telecommunication.

Man, the phone was cool. I remember being thrilled when we got a wireless handset, sneaking into my closet for late-night chats with girlfriends. And when Zach Morris rocked that huge brick of a cell phone on Saved by the Bell? I begged my parents to spend the $4,000. Now, a mere 25 years later, there are 5.3 billion mobile phone subscribers — 77% of the world’s total population. And as the mobile revolution continues to spread across the globe, people are cutting the cords. Well, aren’t you?

#ShiftNYC, collaboration, consumer behavior, future of work, innovation, social media, workplace innovations

Coworking in Austin Has Arrived

September 19th, 2011 by Holly Anderson Posted in Interviews, New Work Life

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As mobile technologies become more critical to the way we do business today, “work” has become more about what you do and less about where you go every day. As businesses look for ways to cut costs, they’re encouraging their staffers to work remotely. And as employees look for ways to improve their work-life-balance and reduce their daily commutes, they are embracing workspaces that offer the comforts of home, the vibe of a coffee shop and the resources of a traditional office space. The future of work is shifting and new concepts are redefining what a company/coworker/community can be. Knowledge sharing, creativity and business practices are under review, and a new generation of mobile workers are organizing and offering rewarding alternatives to the daily grind.

How It All Began

Founded by four like-minded individuals who recognized a global trend and wanted to bring it to Austin, Dusty Reagan (chief instigator of Jelly Austin), David Walker, John Erik Metcalf and Cesar Torres embarked on building a community where people could share ideas, trade business leads, foster partnerships, create friendships and get real work done. Having found working at home lonely and unfulfilling, and working remotely at local coffee shops fragmented and exhausting, these young entrepreneurs took a fresh look at the new workspace movement and opened the third-ever coworking space in the state of Texas. “As independents, we wanted a way to work for ourselves and still interact with others just like us. Since there was no way to do both before, we decided to create it,” said Cesar.