Internet : Innovation + Job News

Imagine being able to download an HD movie or other large file in just a few minutes. Or collaborating with classmates around the world while watching live 3D video of a university lecture. Those are just a few possibilities available to communities with universal ultra high-speed internet access, according to Google.

That's why, on Feb. 10, Google announced plans to build ultra-high speed broadband networks in a small number of trial locations across the country. The search giant's plan is to invest a few billion dollars to bring a few lucky communities with a fiber-to-the-home broadband network that offer speeds of one gigabit per second. The network would be competitively priced to at least 50,000, and potentially up to 500,000 people.

This connection would be 2,000% faster than the fastest connection currently available to Baltimore residents, according to BmoreFiber, the recently formed group trying to win the service for Baltimore.

BmoreFiber,  a conglomeration, of local leaders, tech companies and business owners, wants to show Google that Baltimore is a city replete with creative types who would be able to take full advantage of super fast broadband network.

"We expect the level of investment to be about $1 billion dollars and that's hard to turn down. I don't care what the investment is. It's something we'd love to see happen here in Baltimore," says David Troy, CEO of Roundhouse Technologies, founder of Beehive Baltimore, and BmoreFiber spokesperson.

"We have a burgeoning technical community in terms of tech startups. It's an opportunity to make a difference with the digital divide and that sort of thing. We offer a lot of diversity and opportunity for a business like Google," he continues.

However, the group needs the help of every citizen in Baltimore. They need everyone who would also like to see the Google project come here to vote for Baltimore by logging in their location and then filling out a short questionnaire about their current Internet service.

Google is asking local governments and residents to express their interest in the fiber optic trial, and to provide information about their community by completing a request for information by March 26, 2010.

"Part of this is that [Google] is trying to use these early implementations as a test market for learning the lessons that would be required to do this in other places. What we need to show is that if they came here people would be interested in it and sign up for services."

The second thing the Baltimore community needs to do, according to Troy, is show that we have a "representative climate," and that Google would be able to learn a broad number of lessons about physical infrastructure, dealing with digital divide issues, and what it takes to make businesses happy. "[We want to offer them] a nice test lab," he adds.

Historically, Baltimore has been a pretty good test market for a variety of technologies. "We're our own media market. We have a diversity of socio-economic classes represented and its a relatively low cost place to do something," explains Troy.

The win for Baltimore is that businesses would see the service as a plus when considering Baltimore.

"We are always looking for opportunities to distinguish Baltimore City from its competition," says Andrew Frank, deputy mayor for Economic and Neighborhood Development. "We need to find new and build on existing strengths that retain and attract residents and businesses. The Google high speed Internet opportunity would achieve those goals. Also, as a technology gadget aficionado, the Mayor gets that having access to the latest technology can influence the choices that residents and businesses make."

But, whether Google choses the city or not, Troy says its win-win for Baltimore either way.

"What's the worst that can happen, we are up against some pretty sitff competition with cities like Seattle, St. Louis, and Washington, D.C. all which I'm sure have good stories about why they'd be good for this as well. It's not clear how many cities Google will do this in. It could 1, 5 or 10, we just don't know yet. Even if this doesn't come through, aligning stakeholders around that cause is a good exercise and gives us something to rally behind going forward. There might also be other funds out there -- stimulus money or other kinds of investment -- that we can repurpose some of this work for."

Follow BmoreFiber on Twitter or join their mailing list.

Sources: Dave Troy, BmoreFiber; Andrew Frank, City of Baltimore
Writer: Walaika Haskins

Merritt Properties, one of the Mid-Atlantic region's leading commercial real estate developers, announced the launch of its commercial real estate application for the iPhone Monday. The app is the first to be released by a commercial real estate developer and is available immediately as a free download from the iTunes App Store.

"We have been looking at ways that we could utilize new technologies to talk to our customers as well as brokers. And we'd already been utilizing Facebook and Twitter and LinkedIn. So this is sort of a natural evolution of that process. We saw the iPhone app as a way to make our information more readily accessible. It's the digital age and people want access to information on a more mobile platform for when they aren't sitting at their desk," says Melissa Teague, Merritt Properties spokesperson.

"Increasingly people are in their cars or in meetings and they need information. This is another way to provide that information. What's unique about it, especially for our brokers is that this provides real-time information that they couldn't get using Costar.

The commercial property search application can also be used on Apple's iPod touch, making Merritt's portfolio of 16 million square feet of commercial real estate easily accessible to brokers and prospective and current customers on a mobile platform. Download the app from the landing page on Merritt's website.

Merritt Properties iPhone App Features:

· Customized Commercial Property Search: Results can be sorted by property type (industrial/warehouse, flex/warehouse, office and retail), square footage (minimum and maximum), city (throughout Central Maryland and Northern Virginia), radius and space availability.

· Commercial Property Profiles: Search results include the property address, building type, a photo or rendering, overview of building specs, available space details, floorplans and Merritt contacts.

· Map & Driving Directions: Google Maps show location details and driving directions from any location.

· Forwarding: Listings can be forwarded to another phone or email address.

· Automatic Updates: Automatic updates reflect real-time data as properties are leased, completed or become available.

· News Updates: The latest news from Merritt Properties can be viewed and shared.

The company chose to initially develop the application for the iPhone because it has the largest share of the smart phone market, but build-outs are planned for both the Blackberry and Google Android operating systems. In the meantime, Blackberry and Android users can access the commercial property search function via Merritt's mobile website.

To make the company fully accessible to clients, however they choose to communicate, Merritt is also using a texting application that sends property-specific details to any mobile phone and has established a Twitter channel, Facebook fan page and LinkedIn group.

Source: Melissa Teague, Merritt Properties
Writer: Walaika Haskins

It's our 24th issue! We can hardly believe it's been six months since the site went live on Aug. 11. In that time, we've written 44 features; published 14 videos; shown the spotlight on 24 local companies doing really cool things; featured 38 Baltimore residents who love their neighborhood and run more than a hundred breathtaking images taken by our photographer, Arianne Teeple, highlighting the best of Baltimore!

So, what better way to celebrate than a party! We invited everyone we've featured, our partners, freelance writers, friends and family for an evening filled with discussions about what makes Baltimore such a great place to live and what we all can do to make it better!

But, a party wouldn't be a party without a place to have it, some libations and a little nosh! We want to thank PNC Bank for allowing us to hold our party in their newest green branch at Paca and Baltimore Streets as well as Curtis Pope, branch manager, and his staff. Thanks also go out to Blue Agave Restaurante y Tequileria, Caesar's Den Restaurant, Hideaways, Langermann's, Morton's The Steakhouse, NADDs - New Age Dine and Dance, The Dogwood, and Waterstone Bar & Grille for donating wonderful tidbits of deliciousness from their restaurants.

Most importantly, though we'd like to thank you, our readers! It's great to know there are so many people out there who are committed to this charmed city and are working in your own ways to make this the best city in the world. Be sure to become a Bmore fan on Facebook and get invited to other upcoming events.

Maryland beat the odds when it came to technology-related jobs in 2009. The state saw growth in the computer systems design and related services adding 5,3000 jobs in 2009 as well as the management, scientific and technical consulting, where 4,500 jobs were added, subsectors and in fact, led the nation in both. 

The 8.7 percent growth in computer systems design and related services and a 13.8% increase in management, scientific and technical consulting meant Maryland accounted for almost half of the jobs added nationally in those areas.

Overall, while 2009 saw every state lose jobs, Maryland retained jobs at a rate better than all but five states. The state lost 41,000 nonfarm payroll jobs at a 1.7 percent rate during the year, compared to the national rate which saw nationwide jobs lost at a 3.0% rate, almost twice as fast.

Industrial sectors leading the state's job creation included health care, federal government and educational services. The health care and social assistance industry added 5,800 jobs for 1.8 percent growth. The fed added 4,100 jobs for 3.2 percent growth and private educational services added 3,600 jobs for 4.9 percent growth.

Without 31,500 job losses in construction and 10,800 jobs losses in financial activities, Maryland would have gained jobs. Construction lost jobs at an 18.5 percent rate and financial activities lost jobs at a 7.3 percent rate.

Source: Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development
Writer: Walaika Haskins

Take One Digital Media joined forces with Special Olympics Maryland for the third year to produce zany viral media to pump up the volume on the 2010 Polar Bear Plunge.

"What we do every year is try to produce funny videos that will go viral. None of them are about Special Olympic athletes, or the Special Olympics at all. They're supposed to be kooky," says Liz Thibodeau, Take One Digital Media account manager.

This year the videos were done a la the Onion News, a fake news site, Thibodeau says. "We called it PNN, the Plunge News Network. We did kind of pseudo news stories about plunge teams in the area that were doing wacky fundraisers. They've been very, very successful."

Take One released four videos, one a week beginning four weeks before the plunge. They also released daily videos the week before the plunge. Dubbed "Will it Plunge," the videos featured Tom Schniedwind, Special Olympics MD sports marketing director, plunging every morning off of Sandy Point. A riff of off David Letterman's "Will it Float" bits, Schniedwind plunged with different objects to see if they would plunge and also provided prospective plungers with tips.

"Yesterday morning, we put the Thursday morning video up and registered a 1000 unique hits within a couple of hours. It's truly being viral in nature where plungers are getting a huge kick out of it and passing it around," says Thibodeau.

The jewel of the series according to Take One is Special Olympic athlete Jimmy Myrick showing off his acting skills as American Idol's "Jimmy Randy" and a med-tech on the hit show "House". Contrary to the "tugging heart-string" approach used by many charities, plunge co-founder Tom Schniedwind is devoted to celebrating these athletes.

Thanks to these videos, the site saw a huge spike in traffic, viewers and buzz at www.plungemd.com and in all social media and despite a down economy, donations rose significantly. "The videos are up on our site, they're up on YouTube."

On the Friday morning before the Jan. 30 plunge, Thibodeau says online donations had reached almost $2.5 million. "That's amazing. We've never seen the online donations that high. The Maryland plunge is the highest grossing single day fundraiser in the world."


Source: Liz Thibodeau, Take One Digital Media
Writer: Walaika Haskins

Canton-based R2integrated has begun expanding its operations to other cities, including Seattle and St. Louis following a bang up year during which revenue increased by some 60 percent.

"We're attributing most of that growth to the fact that a lot of companies, particularly during economic down times, are seeking more creative and cost effective marketing approaches through the Internet, Internet technology and active tech services," says Matthew Pugh, R2i's director of communications .

R2i, bouyed by that trend, has seen not only a substantial increase in revenue, but also large engagement with more substantial brands such as Yamaha, Forbes, Black and Decker, Heineken, Coca-Cola, Pella, and Ford. The company was also one of 10 vendors selected for Microsoft's digital marketing campaigns.

"Though the Seattle office is not exclusively to serve Microsoft, that is why we entered the market there and it is our full intention to become engaged with the community there," explains Pugh.

Pugh credits R2i's success to the company's technology development expertise. "Even the best creative technology in the world is only as good as the technology that sits underneath it."

R2i provides the platforms that enable companies to more quickly and easily distribute critical communications, leverage social media and social networks, and implement rich internet applications. R2i technology enables companies to create and manage the dynamic media and social interactions that drive brand value and sales in the age of peer-to-peer communications. They have helped the world's largest corporations improve their customer communications and relationships, by providing them internet marketing systems that provide direct, compelling interaction with their customers.

The firm is currently hiring for its local and New York offices. "We're looking for system development people in New York and we're always looking for additional web designers, programmers and digital account execs, search specialists and positions like that locally," says Pugh.

A recent survey, conducted by R2i found that while mobile marketing is recognized as an integral component of digital marketing strategies in 2010, uncertainty looms over its return on investment. R2i conducted this survey from January 13 � January 25.

Twenty two percent of survey respondents said that mobile marketing is "very important" to their overall marketing strategy for 2010; 26 percent said "important"; and 28 percent said "somewhat important." Only 8 percent said "not important." The majority of respondents, 41 percent, said their main reason for executing a mobile marketing campaign was "company awareness," followed by "lead generation," 33 percent.

Quantifying the return on investment was considered the most critical area of improvement for planned mobile marketing campaigns among respondents at 43 percent. Forty nine percent said an increase in customers would measure a successful campaign.

"It appears that 2010 will be a year of experimentation and education on mobile marketing as marketers struggle to come to terms with its practicality and ROI," says Matt Goddard, co-founder and CEO, R2i. "This shouldn't suggest that marketers ought to table their mobile marketing plans, but that they should pay considerable attention to how they can connect the dots back to driving revenue."

The biggest impediments to executing a mobile marketing campaign were "not knowing how to develop the business case," 32 percent, and "not enough analytics to measure the ROI," 30 percent. Sixty three percent of respondents said they'd only allocate up to 15 percent of their budgets on mobile marketing.

More than half (52 percent) of respondents said that their mobile marketing campaign would focus on mobile Web site development channel, while 40 percent said they would focus on mobile application development. When asked to rate the importance of mobile platforms, 59 percent of respondents said the iPhone and 40 percent said the BlackBerry were "very important"; only seven percent thought that Android was a "very important" platform.

"I think because the technology is still working to fully prove itself, most marketers are playing it safe by focusing on the mobile browsing experience, where they can leverage existing Web assets, rather than on mobile marketing where the ROI proposition is still being evaluated," says Goddard. "The iPhone still reflects the largest base for marketers to sell into even though the Android may be the platform du jour in terms of hype.

Source: Matthew Pugh, R2integrated
Writer: Walaika Haskins

Chicago-based TravelClick, a digital marketing and consulting firm for hotels, has opened a new Digital Agency in South Baltimore. The move, the compay explains, comes during a time when despite the downturn in the tourism industry, hoteliers continue to see marketing directly to consumers through the web as a critical part of their business strategy. More than 55 percent of hotel reservations are booked directly through hotel and corporate websites now. The new location will help TravelClick accommodate this demand and better serve its growing number of hospitality clients.

The new facility, located at 1410 Key Highway, is the homebase for a talented group of designers, marketing experts, and Internet gurus who blend the art of design with the science of marketing hotels directly to online consumers. They are dedicated to serving the digital marketing needs of the hospitality industry, including improving website performance, expanding online visibility, enhancing guest engagement, and ultimately, increasing online bookings and profitability.
 
A 50-person staff has reportedly been hired to fill a variety of positions at the new office with more positions expected to become available as the company expands its operations. The company will be recruiting world-class designers, Flash developers, media specialists, and programmers. The expanded team will support TravelClick's growing roster of global clients, including the industry's best-known chains, iconic properties, and independent hotels.

"Our new location is a positive indication of TravelClick's financial strength and the growing importance of Internet marketing in the hospitality industry," says Robert Post, TravelClick's President and CEO. "Not only does this new presence help us support our customer-centric culture, it brings more jobs to the Baltimore area."

Follow TravelClick or friend the company on Facebook.

Gov. Martin O'Malley has launched a new series of Maryland Economic Updates.  The intent is to provide a status update on Maryland's economy. The Governor's Economic Updates focus on such economic indicators as rising real estate sales, an unemployment rate consistently below the national average, and companies throughout Maryland announcing the hiring of additional staff.

"We learned this week that our national economy grew by three and a half percent in the third quarter, with economists now saying that things are moving in the right direction. This is encouraging news, yet all of us agree that we're not out of the woods yet," Gov. O'Malley says in his first online message. "While there is an emerging consensus that things are getting better we still have a ways to go. The good news is that the strengths, the potential, and the assets of innovation are right here, in Maryland."

The economic updates will include Maryland's latest economic news, including information on the State's unemployment rate, job growth and the local real estate market. The Governor will also highlight news on Maryland's businesses, including mergers, expansions, contracts and awards.

Governor O'Malley also noted this week's news that Black & Decker and Stanley Works will enter into a $4.5 billion merger. The Governor has directed Maryland economic officials to work with any and all impacted workers as the Department of Business and Economic Development remains engaged to ensure the Black & Decker power toll division remains in Towson.

"As we work to restore business confidence in Maryland, it is vital that we continue to tell Maryland's positive economic story and keep our finger on the pulse of the business community," says Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED) Secretary Christian S. Johansson. "Governor O'Malley's weekly webcasts will complement DBED's ongoing efforts to inform our stakeholders about the things we are doing to grow business in Maryland."

Gov. O'Malley's weekly economic updates can be viewed here.

Source: DBED
Writer: Walaika Haskins

The Los Angeles Museum of the Holocaust has selected Fastspot, an interactive agency based in Baltimore, to design and produce the Museum's new Website. Fastspot was chosen following a national search of leading interactive agencies as part of the Museum's re-invention of itself. In addition to renovating its Website, the Museum is constructing a new building to house its permanent exhibits and rich archives.

Maryland will join forces with Microsoft in an innovative, public-private partnership to provide free technology training to displaced workers.

"This partnership will provide thousands of people in Maryland with the workforce education that is necessary to come through this recession," says Gov. O'Malley. "Giving people the important job and technology proficiencies to succeed will help to boost our state's employment and improve the quality of our world class workforce. We are excited to work with Microsoft on such an important program."

"Thanks to Governor Martin O'Malley and Microsoft, more Baltimore citizens now have a chance to improve their technology proficiencies as the city and state continues to bridge the digital divide," says Mayor Sheila Dixon. "In today's workforce and classrooms, it is crucial to know basic Microsoft applications. With these vouchers, we will improve the technological knowledge to Baltimore City residents and provide new and better job opportunities."

In Maryland, Microsoft has partnered with the state's Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation to distribute a total of 13,500 training vouchers statewide during the next 90 days to the state's One-Stop Career Centers, local community college system and the Maryland State Department of Education, Division of Rehabilitative Services. Courses range from basic technology literacy to intermediate-level technology skills. A portion of the vouchers will be issued to Maryland residents for Microsoft Certification Exams all at no cost to the recipient.

"Elevate America is a powerful program for people who need crucial skills essential to obtain employment in today's competitive workplace," said Fred Humphries, Microsoft Managing Director, US Government Affairs. "We at Microsoft believe that this type of public-private partnership plays an integral role in rebuilding Maryland - and the nation's economy - through access to technology training that can open doors to employment opportunity."

Maryland will receive 6,000 vouchers for Microsoft Windows and Office online training, 6,000 vouchers for Microsoft Business Certification Exams, and 1,500 vouchers for advanced technical professional level online training:

• Each training voucher is redeemable for free online training in Microsoft Windows Vista, or one of the programs in the Microsoft Office suite.
• Each certification exam voucher is redeemable for a Microsoft Business Certification Exam.
• Advanced technical professional level vouchers are redeemable for free online training for individuals in technical professional career tracks in areas such as web development or database management.

"This partnership will give thousands of Marylanders the technology skills they need to compete in the 21st century economy," Sanchez said.

Any Maryland resident may request and receive a voucher. The vouchers will be distributed through the state's One-Stop Career Centers and its partners, community colleges, the Department of Rehabilitation Services and the Department of Human Resources. In its role as Microsoft's "designated partner" for administration of Elevate America in Maryland, Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation is responsible for the overall statewide distribution program. Vouchers will be distributed to citizens across the state on a first come, first served basis.

For additional information regarding the Microsoft vouchers and locations where citizens can obtain a voucher in Maryland, visit the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation website at www.dllr.state.md.us and click on the Microsoft Elevate America button.

Source: Gov, Martin O'Malley
Writer: Walaika Haskins

The Enoch Pratt Free Library will open a new Computer Commons in the Central Library Main Hall on Wednesday, October 21. The new section will provide 26 additional public computers for patrons.

The Computer Commons, located across from the Circulation Desk, will have 26 computers with hour long timeslots. Currently, the Pratt Library provides more than 500 public computers system wide and offers free wireless internet access at most branches.

The additional computers were purchased using donations from the Joseph and Harvey Meyerhoff Family Charitable Funds and Bank of America Charitable Foundation.

With 40 percent of Baltimore City households lacking internet access at home, the Pratt's more than 500 public computers systemwide are often the only way for some to get online.

"Everyday our patrons line-up outside at all Pratt locations eager to use our public computers," says Carla D. Hayden, Chief Executive Officer of the Enoch Pratt Free Library. "During these difficult economic times, some of our patrons have even told us they have given up internet access at home and now depend on us. We are very committed to our mission of offering free access to all our patrons, from the very youngest to seniors. We're hoping these additional computers will make a difference for patrons seeking anything from personal enrichment to career development."

The Central Library will also begin offering free computer classes this winter. 

Check out the Pratt Library on Facebook, Twitter and MySpace.

The University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) has launched a new web site that designers hope will enable the university's students to give prospective Retrievers a sense of what its really like to go to school there. "College.Be" came out of creative meetings between Ed Neenan, marketing director, Dept of Information Systems, Mark Neustadt, Neustadt Creative Marketing and UMBC's Creative Director, Jim Lord.

"Once we had the concept�the vibe�what we thought would communicate to and resonate with the prospective and current, new undergraduate college audience. The idea to build a unique, proprietary website specifically to support our radio and outdoor advertising campaign came about. Mark brought his colleagues Tracey and Amy at Fastspot into the mix. They had a methodology of using a social web aggregator�lots of behind the scenes function, with a branded screen face that is purely "College. Be." and UMBC,"explains Ed Neenan.

The first of its kind sites works as an aggregator for a bevy of social media websites, including Flickr, YouTube, Facebook, Last.fm and Twitter. Once students sign up for the site, any photos, video, Tweets, blog posts, and music lists that they've posted on other social media sites will be streamed to College.Be.Through the posted pictures, videos, Tweets, etc., potential students are able to get a feel for what current students think about UMBC and do when they aren't in class.

"Essentially, our purpose for going in to this was marketing. This site was developed primarily to appeal to prospective students and we needed to find a way to communicate the social world of UMBC. With the new technologies availabile in this day and age, it just made sense to try and use social media as a way to convey what life is like on UMBC's campus," says Mark Neustadt.

The site started with 20 students who "seeded" the site, but has grown to over 100 users in the week or more since it launched. The university plans to drive traffic to the site via a multi-pronged marketing campaign that will include radio, billboard and other outdoor advertising in the DC Metro area.

Source: Ed Neena, UMBC
Writer: Walaika Haskins

Ciena® Corporation, the Linthicum-based network specialist, has entered into agreements with Nortel to purchase substantially all of the optical networking and carrier Ethernet assets of Nortel's Metro Ethernet Networks (MEN) business for $390 million in cash and 10 million shares of Ciena common stock.

The purchase includes product and technology assets such as the purNortel's long-haul optical transport portfolio; metro optical Ethernet switching and transport solutions; Ethernet transport, aggregation and switching technology; multiservice SONET/SDH product families; and network management software products.

The proposed transaction would strengthen Ciena's global presence and bring together complementary technologies in switching and transport that will offer customers a practical path for transitioning to automated, optical Ethernet-based networking. Based on the closing price of Ciena's stock on Tuesday, October 6, 2009, the aggregate value of the shares to be issued by Ciena is approximately $131 million, bringing the value of the consideration to approximately $521 million. The assets to be acquired generated approximately $1.36 billion in revenue for Nortel in 2008 and $556 million (unaudited) in the first six months of 2009.

"This is a unique and exciting opportunity for us to accelerate our existing strategy and the pace of our growth plans by two to three years," says Gary Smith, CEO and president, Ciena. "We believe this transaction will position us for faster growth by giving us greater geographic reach, broader customer relationships and a deeper portfolio of solutions. We believe we are best positioned to leverage these assets, thereby creating a significant challenger to traditional network vendors."

"We have tremendous respect for the talented people at Nortel and for their track record of innovation, and we look forward to the opportunity to build on our existing presence in Canada, where we have operated an R&D center of excellence since 2003. Should the transaction be completed, we will be disciplined in integrating the acquired assets on an aggressive timeframe. We will draw from the best in our respective organizations, cultures and expertise to ensure that we deliver continuity of supply and innovation for our customers and meet shareholder expectations," he adds 

Ciena is expected to make employment offers to at least 2,000 Nortel employees to become part of Ciena's global team of network specialists. The proposed acquisition would significantly enhance Ciena's existing Canadian-based development resources, making Ottawa the company's largest product and development center. Ciena currently has development facilities in Alpharetta, Georgia; Linthicum, Maryland; Ottawa, Ontario; San Jose, California; Spokane, Washington; and Gurgaon, India. As of July 31, 2009, the end of its fiscal third quarter, Ciena employed 2,110 employees globally.

Source: Gary Smith, Ciena
Writer: Walaika Haskins

Not sure if you'll be near the TV for Saturday's 2009 Under Armour Baltimore Running Festival? Not to worry, R2integrated (R2i), a Baltimore-based Internet marketing company,has teamed with Corrigan Sports Enterprises (CSE), to present the race online via its new social media platform, R2iSMASH.

R2iSMASH drives interactivity around specific events, campaigns, or initiatives by combining feeds from popular social networking sites into one presentation window. The R2iSMASH site developed for the Baltimore Running Festival will feature live streamed video,Tweets, texts, Flickr and cell phone photos, and blog feeds�all collected simultaneously, yielding a real-time gallery of event content and commentary.

"Unlike most social media tools that push internal messages outward, R2iSMASH technology gathers external messages inward and neatly packages them for exhibition," says Matt Goddard, CEO, R2i. "We've never seen a major metropolitan running festival�or major sporting event for that matter�harness social media in this way, and we're excited to be aligned with CSE to make sports broadcast history."

Some 20,000 runners are expected to participate in the five races that comprise the Under Armour Baltimore Running Festival taking place on October 10. By using R2iSMASH, CSE provides both festival participants and non-participants with a unique way of tracking the event and sharing in the experience�live. Fans, friends, and family of runners competing in the festival can now watch the scene unfold from almost anywhere in the world.

The running festival R2iSMASH site will also include a results button that visitors can click to find runner finish times. Site visitors can also view immediate updates from the official time car in the "Running Commentary" feed where they will be marked with a red bus icon. Festival sponsor logos will be interspersed within the Flickr photo stream as well. When the festival concludes, all images, Tweets, and data captured on the R2iSMASH page will be archived and available for review.

Earlier this year, R2i -- which has had a 24 percent growth in revenue since 2008 -- deployed R2iSMASH sites to cover the Sonia Sotomayor confirmation and the Michael Jackson Tribute. Combined, the two sites aggregated more than 300,000 Tweets and texts feeds, and more than 5,000 photos.

Source: Matt Goddard, R2i
Writer: Walaika Haskins

There's been a lot said about the negative impact for kids who spend too much time tied to their computer screen, but according to a recent $50 million study funded by the MacArthur Foundation, using digital media could teach kids something and is not just mindless Internetainment.

Children, according to the study, can learn technical skills, how to get along with people and maintain an online public identity. Some kids are able to take these lessons to the next level by "geekin-out" a peer-driven method of learning focused on gaining deep knowledge and expertise in specific areas that interest them.

Enter Cogito.org, an online community for so-called geeks, gifted middle- and high-school student who live for math and science. Developed by the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth in partnership with other leading centers for gifted children, Cogito, students have geeked out with Terry Tao, 2007 recipient of the Fields Medal in mathematics (the Nobel Prize equivalent on that subject), Johns Hopkins stem cell pioneer Doug Kerr, and geophysicist Allen West, whose theories about the extinction of the great mammals were featured in NOVA on PBS.

Writer: Walaika Haskins

Source: JHU