It’s Academy Award season, so we’re going to talk movies and entertainment with Jennifer Sargent, CEO of Hitfix.com.
Download the podcast from iTunes, or play it below:
Ah, the movie season. It’s been a good one, filled with blockbusters, dramas, and a controversy surrounding the producers of “The Hurt Locker.” I recorded a podcast on March 2 with entrepreneur Jennifer Sargent, and we discuss everything from the favorites for who will be thanking the academy, to how different industries approach piracy.
Topics covered:
Describe your unique path from Electrical Engineering student to the CEO of a cool entertainment company.
Jennifer explains that she wanted a more social career than being stuck in a room as an EE looking at microprocessors, so her path led her to investment banking, focusing on the intersection of media and technology. She later went to Doubleclick to learn about monetizing online brands, but wanted to start her own company.
Like any good entrepreneur, she focused on how she could use her skill set to work on something she was passionate about. After Harvard Business School, she worked at the parent company of Variety, growing the traffic on entertainment sites, and loved the combination of entertainment and technology.
She founded Hitfix in December 2008 to bridge the gap between gossip sites (like TMZ) and trade publications (like Variety).
In a crowded entertainment area online, what does Hitfix do to distinguish itself?
Two tracks
1. Team of proven journalists that break news about TV, Music, and Movie coverage (insider scoop without the gossip)
2. Event forecast calendar technology (location-based tool that lets users discover new events, set reminders, download to calendars, and sync news with events)
Example: The Spiderman franchise reboot. First they break the news: Tobey Maguire is out, shakeup of the storyline. Then, the event: Release date is no longer September 2010, instead, 2012. The action: Set your calendar!
It’s the dead of winter here, so to brighten things up we’re going to talk to the co-founder of Sunshine Suites, a unique office space for entrepreneurs.
Download the podcast from iTunes, or play it below:
I’ve got a great interview today, a person that I was connected to through Gary Vaynerchuk on Twitter.
His name is Cheni Yerushalmi, he’s the co-founder of a business called Sunshine Suites, and you should download the podcast just to hear me mispronounce his name (I think I was a little better by the time I signed off).
For most people across the country, we’re trapped in bland cubicles like worker bees for 8 hours a day, with many of us aspiring to be entrepreneurs so we can launch the proverbial startup from our garage.
But I think this company has found a great middle ground, giving ambitious new companies a unique place to work and grow their business.
In the interview we cover topics such as:
- Getting started
Like many business ventures, the idea for Sunshine Suites was born out of frustration. Cheni and his best friend/co-founder couldn’t understand why it was so difficult for small businesses to get cool, low-cost office space in Manhattan. So they did something about it.
Hey everybody and Happy New Year! It is so great to be back and diving into 2010 like a toddler at a kiddie pool.
Today’s topic is a little of everything. A pot pourri. A pot luck dinner of a multitude of topics.
It’s Ramblings and Rants.
Download the podcast from iTunes, or play it below:
Here’s an outline of today’s topics:
The 4-Hour Workweek
I talked about this book last year in my Book Report post listing my favorite marketing and business books, and to be honest, not much has changed so I will give you my review again below.
But what HAS changed is that he has an updated version of the book, with 100 new pages. Were these amazing new updates? Not really. However, I really wanted to read the book again, so figured the low price of $11 for The 4-Hour Workweek on Amazon.com was worth it.
Full Transcript of the Interview with Adam Wallace and Brian Simpson from The Roger Smith Hotel
Recorded in person in the 16th floor penthouse at The Roger Smith Hotel, Manhattan, New York
November, 2009
Jim Hopkinson, Wired’s Marketing Guy
Adam Wallace, New Media Director
Brian Simpson, Director of Social Hospitality
Sarah Prevette and Elizabeth King (Giggling in background)
Hi, this is Jim Hopkinson, Wired’s Marketing Guy, bringing you the marketing trends that matter. Welcome!
My guests today are Adam Wallace and Brian Simpson of the Roger Smith Hotel - two of the leaders using social media to build community, grow revenue, and truly create world-wide awareness for their business.
Jim Hopkinson: Hey everybody, today we have Adam Wallace and Brian Simpson of the Roger Smith Hotel, New York’s hip social media hotel. Adam’s the new media marketing manager while his partner in crime, Brian, is the assistant food and beverage director. They are marketing masterminds behind a hotel that promotes brand by personally connecting with its fans on all the major social networking platforms. So, welcome guys.
Adam Wallace and Brian Simpson: Thanks so much, Jim.
JH: So, why don’t we tell your background; how did you get here? Adam, why don’t you start out?
AW: Sure, I’ve been at the Roger Smith Hotel for three years now. I started out doing a video-based website for the hotel, working with John Knowles, my cousin who’s a filmmaker, and has a small production company called, “Panman Productions.” We did a video-based interactive site called, “Roger Smith News” for the hotel. And my position has evolved over the years, and our online presence has evolved, still doing a lot with video; that’s evolved to a blog now which is, “Rogersmithlife.com.
If there’s one buzzword that resonated in 2009, it has to be Twitter, so it’s fitting that I’m ending the year with a podcast about Tweets.
The week of December 14th I was in charge of Wired’s massive 325,000 follower account (@Wired), so I want to tell you the 10 lessons learned, and break down writing the perfect tweet.
Download the podcast from iTunes, or play it below:
In the podcast I give a background on how the @wired twitter account came to be, but here are the key points:
- At the end of 2008, Twitter really started gaining a lot of buzz and I knew Wired had to look at this up-and-coming platform
- I organized meetings with key decision makers and presented the pros and cons, with the data to back it up
- We decided to make @wired an interactive account (not just a feed of top stories), and that editors familiar with Twitter would rotate on a weekly basis overseeing the account
- This enabled us to give a unique voice each week (using editors from gadgets, science, transportation, programming) without burdening one individual with all the responsibility
- We started the year with only 8,000 followers, and Twitter was #49 on the list of traffic-drivers to Wired
- Three key things happened in early October… we passed 100,000 followers, we threw a party to celebrate that fact, and we were added to Twitter’s recommended follow list
- On 11/6 we passed 200,000 followers
- On 12/11 we passed 300,000 followers, and on more than one occasion Twitter was a top 10 referrer of monthly traffic
My predictionswere: we’d see growth with the iPhone, Twitter, Online Video, Facebook, and Green Technology, as well as the continued Mac vs. PC war and recession issues — while not so bold — were pretty spot-on. And I swear, I wasn’t endorsing any kind of growth in MySpace, I was just shocked to see that chart.
So what’s in store for 2010? I have to say that I’m sticking with all the topics I just listed. The one thing I would add is that this will be a huge year for the e-reader, although I don’t think there will be any kind of widespread adoption until 2011.
However, I know not to bet against Steve Jobs. Remember that the first iPhone sold a million units in 76 days, and the iPhone 3G sold a million units in the first weekend. The fanboys are frothing… we’ll see if he can deliver.
But for now, as online video continues to explode on the web, I see more of it in 2010. Here are
4 IMPORTANT VIDEO TRENDS WORTH WATCHING
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First, lets get to the numbers, because they are quite ridiculous. We’ll look at the month of October 2009, according to Comscore.
Hi, this is Jim Hopkinson, Wired’s Marketing Guy, bringing you the marketing trends that matter. Welcome.
Today my guest is Andy McLoughlin of Huddle.net, a UK-based start-up in the online collaboration space. Let’s take a listen.
Jim Hopkinson: OK, today we’re talking with Andy McLoughlin who is from Huddle.net. Huddle.net is an online collaboration provider based in the UK, and its product, ‘The Huddle’, is an online workspace where users can share files, collaborate on ideas, manage projects, and organize virtual meetings. Welcome, Andy.
Andy McLoughlin: Hey, Jim, how are you doing?
JH: I’m doing great! So, why don’t you start out, tell me a little bit about yourself, how you got involved with The Huddle, and how you got to this point.
Download the podcast from iTunes, or play it below:
“E-mail is a fine tool for communication, but an awful tool for collaboration.” — Andy McLoughlin
That statement — said with a British accent — is the basis for online collaboration tool Huddle.net. I sat down with Andy McLoughlin, the co-founder of the company, and we covered the following topics:
- How Andy got his start at a Telco in the UK… until he got tired wearing a suit.
- Why is online collaboration still so hard?
- What’s the problem that The Huddle is trying to solve?
- Who is using Huddle.net, including agencies, governments, and charities. - Did Business Week really call them “The Next Google?”
- How does the UK entrepreneur community compare to that in Silicon Valley?
- How does Andy’s company respond to Google Wave? Will Internet Explorer, a $10 billion market, and Sudoku prevent Google from being a true competitor?
- What’s the revenue model? How Huddle.net charges for their popular features.
- What post-recession collaboration trends does Andy see, including a fractured, distributed workplace around the world.
Think you’ve got a good business idea? Can you back it up?
Companies give their pitch as follows:
The egg timer starts and companies have 7 minutes to give their best pitch to an audience of more than 100, including a five-person expert panel comprised of attorneys, financiers, accountants, technologists, and investors. This allows entrepreneurs to reach a diverse group of influential leaders who can play a role in helping their companies succeed. The panel asks probing, deep-dive questions, then the audience gets their turn, followed by a final critique by the experts. Not for the feint of heart.
Try it for free at www.Huddle.net Bonus: Andy gives out a promo code for a free month of paid services near the end of the podcast. New: The Huddle has just released an iPhone application!
Recorded via conference call in New York City and Vancouver
September 11, 2009
Jim Hopkinson, Wired’s Marketing Guy
Ryan Holmes, CEO, Invoke Media (Creator of Hootsuite Twitter Client)
Hi, this is Jim Hopkinson, Wired’s Marketing Guy, bringing you the marketing trends that matter. Welcome.
The popularity of Twitter continues to grow, both on a personal and business level, and in this episode I interview Ryan Holmes, the CEO of Invoke Media, the creator of a Twitter dashboard client called, “HootSuite.”
Jim Hopkinson: Well, welcome everyone. I’m here today with Ryan Holmes who is the CEO of Invoke Media. Welcome, Ryan.
Ryan Holmes: Thanks a lot, Jim.
JH: So, Ryan comes to us from Vancouver. Now, Ryan, I don’t know if you know about this, but, I’m getting huge in Canada with the Hopkinson Report. I’ve got you coming in from Vancouver, I interviewed Saul Colt and Sarah Prevette from Toronto, Mitch Joel from Montreal, and maybe I’ll expand into, like, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, or something next.
RH: That’s great to hear, I’m in good company there.
JH: So, tell me about what your major company, ‘Invoke Media’, is all about. How you founded that, and then we can get into the Twitter dashboard, ‘HootSuite’, after that.
Jim Hopkinson: Alright, I’m sitting here in Wired’s New York City office with Mitch Joel. Mitch is President of Twist Image, an award winning digital marketing and communications agency. He’s also a blogger, a podcaster, a passionate entrepreneur, and speaker, who connects with people worldwide by sharing his marketing insights on digital and personal branding. Marketing Magazine dubbed him the ‘Rock Star of Digital Marketing’, and called him one of North America’s leading digital visionaries. And, in 2008, Mitch was named Canada’s most influential male on social media, one of the top 100 online marketers in the world, and was awarded the highly prestigious ‘Canada’s Top 40, Under 40.’ And as of this week, he has another title to add. So, welcome, Mitch.
Mitch Joel: Hey man, thanks.
JH: So, what would you consider your primary job, are you the owner of an agency, a speaker, a blogger, or as of this week, an author?
MJ: My friend, Chris Brogan, who’s got chrisbrogan.com and Trust Agency, says I’m a typist, is what he says [chuckles]. No, I’m actually, definitely a digital marketing agency owner. I’ve got three partners, we have offices in Toronto, Montreal, we have about 90 employees, and I really consider what I do fundamentally, marketing. I definitely use these other cool channels to build and promote the business in a very non-pitching way, but, I consider myself a marketer, at heart.
JH: So, you have the agency, and then all these other things you do kind of help you represent the agency?
MJ: Yeah, people are really shocked to hear about, but like anytime I speak, or the book advance that I got, goes right back into the agency; I don’t take my own cut out of it. When I was teaching digital courses, all that money went into the agency. I really am trying to build the business, after years of being both an entrepreneur and working for companies, I consider myself a rottweiler – this is mine, and I’m not letting go.
And, so, I just sort of look at it as I use a lot of these channels to communicate and connect to people in a very, very non-pushy or salesy way. I’m trying also to build the industry, the interactive world that we live in. And, it’s crazy! You’ve got traditional advertising will account for 90% of the budget, compared to interactive, which is like 10% - on a good day, it’s 10%. And, so, I really do see myself a little bit as an evangelist, a person who likes to go out there and speak to small and big groups about the importance of thinking differently about marketing in this day and age. Because, I’m really on a kick lately, that I think marketers are being highly irresponsible in this marketplace.
