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Greenhorn Connect Weekly Countdown: June 3rd-10th

The stock market may be hitting a rough patch but the startup world is only rising. Get out and help make your company a buy. Boston has 39 startup networking events and office hours this week that could trigger your climb to the top.  How will you invest your time?

/ / / Monday, Jun 4

Marketing Analytics 101

Description:  You know what they say…you can’t manage it unless you measure it! In this course, you’ll learn the fundamentals of Marketing Analytics. Review how to identify the metrics that drive business success, and how to track the efficacy of your marketing campaigns.
Time: Monday, Jun 4, 6:00pm – 7:30pm
Place: Intelligent.ly Campus – 500 Harrison Ave – Boston, MA 02118
Cost: $30

The Boston Python User Group: June Project Night

Description: Come work on Python projects, get programming help, help others, and hang out. Food sponsored by Yieldbot! Bring your own project or work on one of the suggested projects below.  Everyone is welcome, all skill levels are encouraged.
Time: Monday, Jun 4, 6:30pm – 9:30pm
Place: Microsoft New England Research & Development Center (NERD) One Memorial Drive Suite 100 Cambridge, MA

/ / / Tuesday, Jun 5

100 Beers

Description: Believe it or not, it’s time for our next get-together!  Join MITX on June 5th for our quarterly 100 Beers party, where we buy the first 100 beers and you bring the fun (well, we will, too). We’ll also be giving you a sneak peek into the amazing things we have in store for the final two quarters of the year – like early-bird access for FutureM, a revamped Interactive Awards and many other great opportunities to get involved, get educated and get connected.
Time: Tuesday, Jun 5, 6:00pm – 9:00pm
Place: Julep Bar – 200 High Street, Boston MA
Cost: Free for MITX members / $10 for non-members

/ / / Wednesday, Jun 6

Space Matters: Finding the Right Office Space for your Business

Description: Finding the right office space for your growing business can be an unexpected challenge. With an array of options in and around Boston and Cambridge, it’s hard to even know where to start. In this program, Jon Frisch and Dan Stevenson from T3 Advisors will guide you through the steps you need to take to find space that will satisfy your needs without breaking the bank.
Time: Wednesday, Jun 6, 9:30am – 11:30am
Place: Cambridge Innovation Center One Broadway 5th Floor – Havana Training Room Cambridge, MA 02142
Cost: FREE

/ / / Thursday, Jun 7

Startup Sox

Description: Running a startup isn’t easy. You need a break. And a beer; or three. We can help. Join the Startup community on Thursday June 7th for a night at Fenway Park. We’ll kick off the evening at 5pm with a pre-game networking hour at MassChallenge, sponsored by Peak Organic Brewery. At 6pm, we’ll head over to Fenway (we’re working on buses) for the 7pm game where we’ll sit together in the bleachers.
Time: Thursday, Jun 7, 5:30pm – 10:00pm
Place: MassChallenge & Fenway Park
Cost: $19-49 (Coupon code to save $10: greenhorn)

/ / / Saturday, Jun 9

ProductCamp Boston

Description: ProductCamp Boston is the only full-dayunconference for product managers and product marketers in the Greater Boston area.  It’s the premier event for product professionals to find out the latest developments, discover new ideas, and network with other professionals.  Because it’s an unconference, ProductCamp is organized by attendees, for attendees so you can get the most out of the day.
Time: Saturday, Jun 9, 8:00am – 5:00pm
Place: Microsoft New England Research & Development (NERD) 1 Memorial Drive Cambridge, 02142
Cost: $10.00 Deposit, refunded when you attend event!

Event of the Week Sponsored by Microsoft NERD 

Space Matters: Finding the Right Office Space for your Business

Why? Learn when and where is appropriate to move your startup and connect with the experts from T3 Advisors that can make it happen!

from BostInno http://bostinno.com/channels/greenhorn-connect-weekly-countdown-june-3rd-10th/

10 Local Higher Ed Experts to Follow on Twitter & Why

Boston is a higher ed hub. Yet, with 50 colleges and universities, the city’s higher ed experts have needed a centralized space to connect and communicate. Twitter’s quickly become that place, and for anyone interested in knowing what’s locally going on in education, we’ve provided a list of 10 people we recommend you begin paying attention to now. Want to get schooled? Then just start hitting “follow” on the knowledgeable people below.

Eric Stoller@EricStoller — Eric Stoller is a nationally known speaker, author, consultant and blogger in the areas of higher education, student affairs and technology who’s currently stationed right here in the hub. He currently writes for Inside Higher Ed, and is also is the host of Student Affairs Live on the Higher Ed Live network.

Mike Petroff @mikepetroff — A digital content strategist for Harvard, Petroff is also the creator of followEDU, a searchable directory of Twitter users in higher ed. Petroff organizes and runs EDUtweetups, as well, which you can find on Inside Higher Ed.

Marissa Lowman@marissalowman — Not only is Lowman the founder of the networking event EdTechup, but she also helped coordinate Boston’s first Startup Weekend EDU.

Kyle Judah@KyleJudah — As the CEO of Betaspring company RecoVend, Judah is helping schools discover, research and buy the products they need, all while saving them time and money.

Mike Garvin @BostonGarv – Mike Garvin is a UMass Amherst alum, and now works as the vice president of college and consortium partnerships at CollegeWeekLive, the “world’s largest college fair.”

Kris Mattera @KrisMatt – Kris Mattera’s an adjunct professor at Suffolk University, as well as a communications assistant at MIT. With an education background that includes stints at Emerson, Bentley and Northeastern for marketing, continuing ed and graphic design, Mattera’s got a handle on Boston’s higher ed scene.

Gene Begin @Gbegin — After getting his MBA at Babson, Begin started working as the College’s digital marketing director. He’s also previously served as Babson’s assistant director of MBA Alumni Relations, the manager of Alumni Online Communications, the marketing manager of Client Operations and the undergraduate school marketing director. The ultimate expert on Babson? We’d say so.

Eric Clark @EA_Clark — Eric Clark is the director of the Center for Academic Success at Eastern Nazerene College, as well as the founder of Quincy Tutoring, a platform perfect for tutors who are interested in working with new clients.

Jenny Mackintosh @JennyMack — Currently a public relations assistant at Boston University, Mackintosh tweets on both @BU_Tweets and @BUToday, connecting everyone to all that’s going on at Boston University.

Georgy Cohen @radiofreegeorgy — Georgy Cohen is a writer, speaker and consultant focused on digital communications in higher education and nonprofits. She’s co-author of Meet Content, a website focused on “empowering higher education to create and sustain web content that works.”

from BostInno http://bostinno.com/2012/06/04/10-local-higher-ed-experts-to-follow-on-twitte...

How to Raise Startup Capital Without a Pitch Deck


Shafqat Islam is the co-founder and CEO of NewsCred, a platform that connects publishers and brands with the world’s best journalism. Follow him @shafqatislam.

My company has gone through three rounds of financing, with our latest Series A closing in the fall of 2011. We did the Series A fundraising without a pitch deck, also known as your sales pitch.

It’s true that the deck is often considered the main piece of fundraising collateral. But I would argue that the main marketing collateral while fundraising is you: the founder. Below are the lessons we learned from raising a series A round without a pitch deck.


1. Date Before You Marry


Finding a great investor is like finding a great spouse. You would never decide on your life partner after a week of frantic courting. Why do that when finding an investor? Remember, you can’t divorce your investor. So select investors that you think will make great long-term partners.

My number one criteria: only date people you really like spending time with. In our case, we “dated” our lead investor for more than a year. During that period, I kept in touch, had occasional coffees, sent interesting links, engaged him on Twitter, and kept him up to date on the company. As a result, our story had a nice, positive arc and our investor had a lot of context. As Mark Suster says, VCs invest in lines, not dots.


2. Don’t Ever “Start Fundraising”


The added benefit of the “date before you marry” approach is that you never have to go into “fundraising mode.” There is no flipping the switch one day. When you think funding is on the horizon, you can increase the frequency of your meetings and start sending stronger signals — more numbers, charts showing growth, news of key hires.

In our case, the occasional meetings slowly turned more serious, and when it was time to start thinking about fundraising, the transition was natural and the investor already knew that things were going well for the company. Instead of pitching him on a general offer, we were in a position to share the product road maps, pipeline, and financials.


3. Create Urgency


Once you have the interest of investors and it’s clear that you are raising a round, the most important thing is to create some sense of urgency. Deals don’t close by themselves. Salespeople close deals, and in this case, you are the salesperson. If you don’t know about sales, this is probably a good time to pick up a good sales book or find a sales mentor.

Also, don’t forget that VC’s have little incentive to say “no” right away (although the best VC’s give quick responses), because it’s usually in their interest to drag on the process to collect more information and know the investment has little risk. You should try and create some sort of forcing function, whether it’s based on time, an important hire, a deal closing, or product milestones.


4. If You Create a Proposal, Don’t Send It Early


Think of your pitch deck as your sales proposal (or wedding proposal!). In a normal sale, you would never send a proposal to a prospect before you’ve spent enough time getting to know them, understanding what they are looking for, and finding out if your solution is a good fit. So why do it differently here?

Keep the deck to yourself, and customize and send it when both sides are comfortable that there is a deal there. In our case, the only time we actually used any slide was on the day before we got the term sheet, just so our investor had something to show his partners during the Monday morning partners meeting.


5. Ask for Help


My entire fundraising approach is predicated on the fact that you have to build relationships with investors first. That said, we initially built our company in Switzerland, and I did not know a single investor. As such, not knowing investors is not a valid excuse. Hustle and figure out a way to build those connections. Cold email people, go to events, comment on VCs’ blog posts, ping them on Twitter, set up your AngelList profile, do whatever it takes. Once you build some initial relationships, even if they are informal, nurture the hell out of them.

If there is one takeaway, it’s that fundraising is not a one-time thing. It’s an ongoing process, and the most important part of VC fundraising happens when you aren’t actually raising money. VC’s invest in you, so return the favor and invest in your relationships with them. Ultimately the relationships will matter more than an amazing pitch deck.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, andrearoad

More About: contributor, features, funding, startup

from Mashable! http://mashable.com/2012/06/01/raise-a-series-round-without-pitch-deck/?utm_s...

ITV Player 2.0 adds live streams of the UK broadcaster's TV to iPhone, iPad

For our friends in the UK, ITV Player has received a 2.0 update that gives you live access to ITV 1 and ITV 2 over Wi-Fi or 3G. ITV also will provide an extra stream for live events that do not show on either of those channels. For those wanting to catch up on a show, however, that can only be done via Wi-Fi at this time.

Users can now use content switching within the app and will be able to mirror using AirPlay. Retina graphics and improved location services have been added to the app.

[Via Engadget]

ITV Player 2.0 adds live streams of the UK broadcaster's TV to iPhone, iPad originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Fri, 01 Jun 2012 05:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Source | Permalink | Email this | Comments

from TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog http://www.tuaw.com/2012/06/01/itv-player-2-0-adds-live-streams-of-the-uk-bro...

The 9 Best Credit Card Signup Bonuses

A month and a half back I developed a top 10 credit card signup bonus list. It’s amazing how much has changed since then.

The links I had for 50,000 American Airlines miles and 50,000 Southwest points no longer work. The Chase Ink Bold signup bonus now requires more spending. The British Airways Visa, which I believe has the best current signup bonus offer in the market, is expected to pull that bonus on June 7th. These lists rapidly evolve, so I’ve updated what I think is currently the best out there, and what I’m drawing from for my own churns.

Fortunately it remains the case that for folks with reasonably good credit (and see my thoughts on the effects of credit card signups on credit scores, in many cases it can actually help), the banks still want you to travel around the world in a premium cabin almost for free.

  1. British Airways Visa 100,000 point signup bonus: 50,000 points with first purchase, 25,000 more after $10,000 spend, 25,000 more after the next $10,000 in spend.Fee is $95, they offer a free companion award ticket after $30,000 in spend, and the card earns 1.25 Avios points per dollar spent. No foreign currency transaction fees.

    Here’s my analysis on how to leverage the signup bonus into being 350,000 or even 700,000 miles.

    (Note that there’s also an offer which Mommypoints flags that I haven’t been able to replicate, by test booking a British Airways flight some folks are able to get 50,000 points now, 50,000 points after a year, without minimum spend — you wait for the miles and pay two $95 annual fees but avoid a spend threshold for those miles.)

  2. Chase Sapphire Preferred Visa offers no fee the first year, 40,000 points after $3000 in spend within 3 months, no foreign currency conversion fees, double points on travel and dining, points transfer to United, Hyatt, Southwest, Amtrak, British Airways, Korean Airlines, Marriott Priority Club, and Ritz-Carlton.
  3. Chase Ink Bold small business card 50,000 point signup bonus25,000 after first purchase and 25,000 more after $10,000 spend within 3 months. Points transfer to United, British Airways, Korean Airlines, Southwest, Hyatt, Marriott, Ritz-Carlton, Priority Club, and Amtrak. It earns quintuple points on wireless/telecommunications services, cable and satellite TV and radio, and office supply stores and double points on hotels and gas stations up to 200,000 points per year.
  4. United Explorer 50,000 point signup bonus, fee waived the first year.
  5. 40,000 American AAdvantage miles for a new Citi Mastercardafter $3000 in purchases within 3 months, no fee the first year. In my experience churnable every 18 months.
  6. US Airways Mastercard 40,000 points after first purchaseand fee waived the first year. This is from Barclay’s Bank so gets a plus for not being Chase/Amex/Citibank, and is generally churnable — you can get the bonus more than once in a lifetime for this card.
  7. 50,000 American Express Membership Rewards points for a new Mercedes Benz Platinum American Express card ($475 annual fee, but with benefits that make the fee worthwhjile).
  8. Citi Thank You Premier Card with 50,000 point signup bonus after $2500 in spend within 3 months, no fee the first year. Currently points are worth only 1.25 cents apiece towards paid travel, though it’s expected that points will become transferrable to airline milesin the coming weeks or months.
  9. Virgin Atlantic American Express with up to 65,000 points as a signup bonus: 20,000 miles after first purchase; 2,500 miles for each of the first two authorized users added to your account; 25,000 miles after $2,500 spend within 90 days; 7,500 for $15,000 spend within the anniversary year and an additional 7,500 if you hit $25,000 spend within the anniversary year. There’s a $90 fee for the card, not waived. Virgin Atlantic points can be transferred to Hilton, using them for travel on Virgin incurs some hefty fuel surcharges. A plus here because it’s a Bank of America card, so not Chase/Citi/Amex.

I usually try to grab no more than one card from each issuer at a time, though often I’ll grab a personal and small business card from an issuer and those will be treated separately. The really advanced churners will pay attention to which issuers pull credit reports from which companies in their home state to try to spread out their credit inquiries, I don’t worry about it to that same degree.

Note that this list of cards is of best signup bonsues, meaning the best for big points up front, which is different from the best cards to carry in your wallet for travel benefits (some cards with lounge access or companion tickets, etc. may make sense to carry) and different from the most rewarding for actual spending. Put enough spending on these cards to meet the minimums for signup bonuses, but in between card churns they may not make sense for more spend than that.

Are there any better offers for these cards that I’ve missed? Please share those in the comments.

(Disclosure: one-third of the links in the list above offer referral credit to me if you use my links, as always I want to share the best available offers. When I’m aware of an offer that’s better than something that will provide any credit to me, that’s the offer I share, hence the offers on this list that don’t include my links.)

from View from the Wing http://boardingarea.com/blogs/viewfromthewing/2012/05/31/the-9-best-credit-ca...

ITV Player 2.0 brings live streams of the UK broadcaster's TV channels to iOS

Image

It's on Apple's iPhone and iPad, but this is the ITV Player, not the rumored iTV supposedly under development in Cupertino. After initially launching last summer (along with an Android version) offering streaming video on-demand, the UK channel's iOS app has been updated to version 2.0 to offer a live streaming feed of its two channels. Other than just ITV1 and ITV2 over WiFi or 3G, if there's a live event being broadcast that isn't on either, you'll still be able to tune in via the app. Other new features include AirPlay Mirroring, easier switching between content, improved location detection (to determine what channels are available) and Retina Display quality graphics on the iPad. Unfortunately, The Digital Lifestyle points out catch-up access is still unavailable over 3G, but those with access should grab the new app from iTunes.

ITV Player 2.0 brings live streams of the UK broadcaster's TV channels to iOS originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 31 May 2012 06:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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from Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/31/itv-player-2-0-live-streaming-ipad-iphone/

Social Media Day Is June 30. How Will You Celebrate?


Social Media Day is exactly one month away!  On Saturday, June 30, digital enthusiasts will hold meetups across the globe to celebrate the one thing that unites us and keeps us in constant contact: social media.

Whether you’re an obsessed Instagram photographer, an endless Pinterest pinner or a ten-times-an-hour tweeter, Social Media Day is a time to recognize the digital revolution that has changed how we live.


How Will You Celebrate?


Social Media Day will be a truly international event. Mashable community organizers are already hard at work planning events in hundreds of cities worldwide.

The meetup in Swindon, U.K. will feature presentations about social media strategy as well as a speed networking session. Thousands of miles away in the United States, a celebration dedicated to startups will be held in Detroit.

We want to know: How are you celebrating Social Media Day? Will you organize a Foursquare scavenger hunt? Attend a fast-paced panel discussion about social media branding? Play Pinterest-inspired hopscotch? The possibilites are endless, and we want you to get creative!

Tell us what you’ve got planned for Social Media Day in the comments below.  We look forward to hearing what you have in store!


Ways You Can Participate


  • Check out the Social Media Day website for resources and more information.
  • Sign up to attend or organize your own event on the Mashable Meetup Everywhere page.
  • Use the #smday hashtag on Twitter, Instagram, Google+ and any other social network of your choice.
  • Find your Mashable Meetup community:

Image courtesy of flickr, ancawonka

Social Media Day 2012 Is Presented By Motorola Mobility


 

More About: community, smday, social media day

For more Social Media coverage:

from Mashable! http://mashable.com/2012/05/30/social-media-day-june-30-2012/?utm_source=feed...

MTV Movie Awards Go Social With Live Voting, Facebook Tracker and More

MTV Movie Awards Twitter Tracker

MTV’s extensive social and digital tactics for the MTV Movie Awards offer viewers new ways to engage before, during and after the June 3 live broadcast.

Building off its social success with the VMAs, MTV is looking to deeply integrate social elements into its other major awards show, the MTV Movie Awards.

For the first time, movie fans can vote using Twitter hashtags. The live social voting works only for the new “Best Hero” category, which already has attracted more than 60,000 votes since Tuesday. Registered MTV.com users, however, can still vote in other categories on the show’s website.

Vying for the “Best Hero” title are Harry Potter (#votepotter), Katniss Everdeen (from Hunger Games, #votekatniss), Thor (#votethor), Captain America (#votecaptain) and Jenko (from 21 Jump Street, #votejenko).

MTV told us that it knows from past live-voting initiatives that fans love to get the word out to promote their favorite stars and franchises. “They love to game the system and we look forward to helping them do just that,” MTV told us. As a result, expect a showdown for “Best Hero” between fans of The Hunger Games and Harry Potter to continue until Sunday night.

MTV also has these digital elements on tap for the awards show hosted by comedian Russell Brand:

  • Twitter Tracker: Like MTV did during the Video Music Awards in August, it will dissect Twitter conversations in a visualization that displays popular moments and celebrities. The feature will allow users to view how many tweets per minute any moment is garnering and share photos of certain moments across social networks.

    What’s different about this year’s implementation is that MTV will be providing context around what happens at the moment of a tweet. So instead of just seeing “Beyonce” as a trending topic, fans can see a clip or image from the show that correlates with the social activity taking place online.


  • Facebook Tracker: MTV will introduce a Facebook Tracker to keep tabs on the level of Likes and shares of Movie Awards moments shared on its Facebook page.
  • All Access Live: The show’s second-screen experience for desktops and mobile devices will give viewers six camera angles (red carpet, dressing room, paparazzi, audience, balcony and MTV cut), sharing capabilities, a place to chat with fellow viewers and animated GIFs from celebrities on the red carpet. The GIFs will be posted on MTV’s Tumblr blog.
  • Shazam: The ceremony will be Shazam-enabled, meaning viewers can use the app during the broadcast to buy performers’ music and watch social media interactions.
  • Post-Show Features: MTV will have a red carpet galleries and interviews, backstage video highlights and editorial coverage of the show and winners.

  • A Launchpad for the Future


    Some of the features that MTV is launching for the MTV Movie Awards might just find their way into the big show — the VMAs — later this summer.

    In this way, the Movie Awards are a testbed of sorts for the future initiatives for the VMAs. “It just so happened that the Movie Awards are first,” MTV told us, noting that it plans to refine the most successful initiatives into its flagship awards show.

    Understanding that virility is a major component to award shows, MTV wants to make it as easy as possible for fans to tag and share the best moments of the show across mobile and the desktop in as close to real-time as possible. The net result — as last year’s VMA ratings proved — is that socially engaged audiences tend to watch more.

    To pump up the shareability factor even more, MTV will air exclusive footage of The Dark Knight Rises with director Christopher Nolan and actors Christian Bale, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Gary Oldman on hand for the occasion at Gibson Amphitheatre in Universal City, California.

    Christina Warren contributed to the reporting in this article.

    More About: celebrities, Entertainment, Facebook, Film, GIFs, Movies, mtv, mtv movie awards, shazam, social tv, tumblr, TV, Twitter

    For more Entertainment coverage:

from Mashable! http://mashable.com/2012/05/30/mtv-movie-awards-social-tv/?utm_source=feedbur...

LoveFilm signs multi-year digital deal with NBCUniversal, looks Kick Ass

LoveFilm signs multi-year digital deal with NBCUniversal, looks Kick Ass

LoveFilm is living by its name, and snapping up more movie content for its online service. The latest signing? NBCUniversal. So, if you're a paid up member, this means you'll now get exclusive access to the latest Universal Pictures flicks during the second "pay window" (i.e. once the subscription movie channels have had their time with them.) So if you were hovering over the streaming only option, or undecided on which service to go for, maybe this will help you along with that decision?

Continue reading LoveFilm signs multi-year digital deal with NBCUniversal, looks Kick Ass

LoveFilm signs multi-year digital deal with NBCUniversal, looks Kick Ass originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 30 May 2012 06:38:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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from Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2012/05/30/lovefilm-digital-deal-with-nbcuniversal/