Archive for the ‘Technology’ Category

Christine
Dolendo

Google’s New Privacy Policy: Here’s the Real Deal

Monday, February 6th, 2012

Image of Google

 

Once again, Google has stirred up controversy with the announcement of a new privacy policy set to roll out on March 1st.

To summarize the new policy, Google may combine information that you’ve provided in one service with information provided in other Google services, thus treating you as a single user across all Google products. Because of this merge and de-compartmentalization of data, Google users are becoming less and less anonymous, and all your user data history will now be explicitly cross-referenced. Google says this step will create a more seamless “user experience.”

Google is strongly defending the new policy despite its recent spar with Microsoft and criticism from some members of Congress. Based on Google’s assertiveness, it seems like the policy will pummel through all the controversy and roll out without any changes, and Google account holders might just have to either face the music or switch to other services.

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Jett
Choquette

A Year for Scientific Innovation: How Biotechnology Fits into America’s Future

Friday, February 3rd, 2012

Photo credit: RACHEL DEVOR / THE EAGLE

Last week I had the opportunity to listen to two U.S. presidents discuss the future of America and the world – President Barack Obama in the 2012 State of the Union (via live-stream) and former President Bill Clinton at American University where he spoke about his latest work with the William J. Clinton Foundation (as a member of the audience).

While the purpose and overall messaging of both speeches were drastically different, one theme tied them together: America’s future depends on scientific innovation and, more importantly, investment in science. If the calls for action in both of these speeches materialize, this may be the year for biotechnology.

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Kaitlin
Doody

Managing your Reputation: Back in the Day and Today

Tuesday, November 15th, 2011

“Oh, Johnny the butcher, he’s great! He always asks about the kids and serves up the best three and a half pounds of roast that my family could ask for.”

Back in the day, word of mouth recommendations were a golden currency. Proprietors got to know the people who came to their shops – they understood who they were and what their needs were. In turn, business owners relied on their customers to spread the word to their friends and family about the services they provided or the products they sold.

Today, the web is actually taking us back in time, according to Mark Britton, CEO of Avvo.com, the largest legal- and health-related Q&A website. Just like with Johnny the butcher, people today are usually using a good or service based on a friend’s or family member’s recommendation. And sometimes, it’s not just friends and family, but the random person on Yelp that helps you decide what hair salon to go to or which Mexican restaurant to go to downtown.

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Anthony
LaFauce

Digital Pharma East: I Got iPad Fever

Thursday, October 20th, 2011

I know the title of this blog post may seem a little odd. What is iPad fever? Can I catch it? What are the symptoms? Who is to blame?

Don’t worry there is an easy way to pinpoint if you might have a problem:

  • Does your CEO get doe-eyed when they see an iPad?
  • Do your fellow colleagues carry around iPads like they are small children?
  • Does “Let’s make an app!” come up in almost every brainstorm?
  • Does your company think the iPad will solve all of your marketing needs?

If you answered yes to any of these questions you might have iPad fever.

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Kaitlin
Doody

Recipe for Dining Social with Chicago Magazine

Tuesday, October 18th, 2011

During this year’s Social Media Week in Chicago, Spectrum had the chance to sit in with some of the city’s most online-savvy chefs, foodies and restaurateurs in a session called Dining Social, hosted by Chicago magazine. We’ve whipped up our “recipe” for dining social with some of Chicago’s best, which includes the top ingredients and directions for making digital work in the restaurant realm.

Also-if you’re looking for some insights from the District’s great digital foodies, head on over to D.C.’s Social Media Club event “I’m Only on Twitter for the Food Truckstomorrow, Wednesday, October 19 at 6:30pm. You’ll get to hear from @LobstertruckDC , @CurbsideCupcake and @BigCheeseTruck on how they’ve made social media work for their businesses.

Now, back to our delicious recipe for dining social:

Ingredients

  • 5 foodie panelists
  • 1 founder of Restaurant Intelligence Agency
  • A bunch of Tweets
  • A sprinkle of Facebook posts
  • A variety of blog content
  • 4 oz. of a good red wine

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Anthony
LaFauce

Digital Pharma East 2011 Day One

Tuesday, October 18th, 2011

A big thank you is in order to my employer, Spectrum, as I attend Digital Pharma East this week. Day one kicked off with a great session lead by Takeda Pharmaceuticals Chad Ballentine who spoke about how to use a patient focused, multi-channel, customer relationship management (CRM) to really capitalize on your database to assure you are getting the right information to the right people…and of course increase sales.

Chad had a ton of good points but I was blown away by his simple, and spot on, key points on how to get the best value out of your CRM.

  1. Use digital [technology] to grow your database
  2. Use your database: Chad said that nearly 60 percent of marketers don’t actually use their DB
  3. Minimze duplication: With budgets scalling down, efficiency is key. If you have a high conversion touch point, make sure to increase your efforts toward that touch point and scale back those that don’t work well

Social Media & Pharma…it’s out there

As I sit here and type, drinking my coffee, Todd Kolm from Pfizer is on the stage talking about some of the great tools Pfizer is using to engage customers. Pfizer is taking to social media and positioning YouTube as an educational tool for consumers by using a blend of paid ads and search ads which link to channels with custom play lists.

As a lover of PR/Digital media I am constantly getting hit with, “oh Pharma doesn’t really do social” or “we don’t want to deal with the legal issues.” I am surrounded by around 700 people who see things differently. I am energized by hearing not what we COULD do but hearing about what we ARE doing.

Anyone else out there excited about this?

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