Tag: @Russ_DeVeau

Moms trust blogs!

Posted on by Russ DeVeau

Anyone developing communications programs targeting moms and families will be interested in taking a look at this report released last week at the eighth annual Marketing to Moms Conference.

Moms trust blogs!

A survey of 1200 moms found that over 80% of them trust blogs more than any other social channel when it comes to making purchasing decisions.

I know how important blogs are to reaching this incredibly diverse demographic based on several of the global projects I’ve been involved with this year. Congrats to the folks over at Child’s Play PR for confirming how important trusted – and trusted is the keyword here – blogs are to moms and families. – Russ DeVeau

 

Russ DeVeau: My blended approach to communications

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I often talk with clients and potential clients about my blended approach to communications and public relations. This is a proactive program that combines traditional and social media strategies and tactics with a steady stream of fresh content to help people and organizations reach positioning and visibility goals.

Here’s a good example of the blended approach in action from Climate Savers Computing Initiative (CSCI), a global leader in sustainability and energy efficiency initiatives, and an organization I support on the messaging and visibility front.

Blogging, news, events, video and social media – they all play an important role in today’s proactive communications programs – and they all provide important tools for communicating key messages to communities and influencers.

I launched my blended approach to integrated communications in 2006. Since then I’ve analyzed and worked with hundreds of social tools, networking, sharing, and community sites to stay on top of the continuously evolving social media industry and to ensure I am always maximizing client community building, visibility and message placement opportunities.- Russ DeVeau

What’s your content strategy?

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Do you have a Content Strategy?I’ve long been a big advocate of the “content is king” message as a means to educate client teams on best practices for leveraging traditional and social media as part of a comprehensive communications program.

So as we head through 2Q I’m updating content calendars to complement a variety of planned communications activities. In a communications environment where traditional and social media play important roles, no communications plan is complete without regular content discussions.

In fact, the majority of my recent client brainstorming sessions have focused 100% on content development and marketing opportunities.

Content development discussions are the new norm. – Russ DeVeau

 

OneID – The New Kid on the Block

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I’ve worked in the digital identity space for quite a while supporting the global positioning of organizations, standards and a variety of security and privacy initiatives from both the technology and policy perspectives. This is why I’m keeping an eye on OneID, the newest kid on the block in the identity space. With $7 million in new funding, will OneID be the one to bring the need for multiple passwords to an end? – Russ DeVeau

Online identity theft and your mother’s maiden name

Posted on by Russ DeVeau

I’ve worked for many years with leading industry influencers and organizations working to advance a more secure, trusted and privacy-respecting internet.

This includes the launch of the Liberty Alliance Identity Theft Special Interest Group – the world’s first initiative to bring people and organizations together to collaboratively address identity theft issues on a global scale.

I have first-hand knowledge of some of the great organizations and some of the remarkable people working to combat the identity theft problem.

But even with all of the great work that has taken place to date, the risks – due in part to the incredibly rapid growth in social networking – remain high.

A survey released today by Faronics finds that an amazing 32% of respondents would send a password, banking info, or their mother’s maiden name via email or a social networking site.

As was the case ten years ago when the identity theft awareness issue was just beginning to explode, it would seem that educating on how to reduce risks that could lead to identity theft needs to remain a top industry priority. – Russ DeVeau

What’s the social media ROI?

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I’m often asked how to best measure the ROI of social media programs and campaigns.

I typically answer that ROI is always determined by how well a social media program did in meeting original goals.

I recently finished a brief Twitter campaign that resulted in 807 retweets of a particular message, far exceeding my original goal and leading to a variety of new positioning and social media opportunities.

Having clear goals and remaining flexible based on industry and social media developments are always key factors in the success of any social media program. – Russ DeVeau

NYC energy efficiency

Posted on by Russ DeVeau

I’m always glad to see new activities taking place in lower Manhattan. And given that I focus heavily on sustainable ICT, I’m equally pleased to see that the new World Trade Center will become a model for urban energy efficiency.

EarthTechling has reprinted an article by Ali Levine that details how the new World Trade Center buildings are expected to be at least 20% more energy efficient than New York City’s current energy code requirement.

Check out all the energy saving features by reading Levine’s article here and see more renderings of the new World Trade Center complex at WTC.org.

Image via WTC.org. – Russ DeVeau

Intel: What happens in an Internet minute?

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Intel has released a very cool piece highlighting what happens on the Internet every minute. Did you know that in just one minute…

…more than 204 million emails are sent

…approximately 20 million photos are viewed on Flickr

…at least 6 million Facebook pages are viewed around the world

…more than 61,000 hours of music are played on Pandora

…more than 1.3 million video clips are watched on YouTube

Given my focus areas, I’d also be interested in looking at the energy consumed in an Internet minute and at the security and privacy risks involved in the continuously growing social networking world.

Check out the Intel Inside Scoop blog for more highlights. – Russ DeVeau

Threat predictions 2012, scams and phishing on the rise

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M86 Security Labs recently released Threat Predictions 2012, a paper that gives an overview of some of the security risk trends of 2011, and describes a number of potential risks organizations should be on the lookout for in 2012, including increased threats to public and private clouds.

Of course, risks associated with social networks such as Facebook and Twitter remain on the 2012 list as these sites continue to grow. The paper is timely as Pinterest – one of the newest and fastest growing social networking platforms – begins to see scams and phishing on the rise. – Russ DeVeau

Online privacy concerns continue

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It was early 1999 when Scott McNealy was working at Sun Microsystems and made public remarks about having zero privacy online.

McNealy was generally referring to consumers engaging in online e-commerce transactions, a phenomenon that was still relatively new at the time.

McNealy’s comments generated headlines as businesses and privacy organizations – including organizations I have partnered with – were targeting an increasing number of online privacy issues.

Fast forward to today and it appears privacy remains a huge concern among consumers. Findings from a TRUSTe report published in Direct Marketing News show that 90% of consumers worry about privacy online.

It’s a timely read as businesses, Google and social networking sites have privacy policies that continue to evolve. – Russ DeVeau

Let’s talk about energy efficiency, greener clouds and sustainable ICT!

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Russ DeVeau sustainability

With ten years of experience supporting tech giants and leading Internet and technology initiatives, and another ten years of experience supporting global technology consortia, I’ve expanded my portfolio of services to include an even greater focus on energy efficient technologies.

This includes sustainable information and communications technologies (ICT), the technologies that may help drive the deployment of greener clouds and the development of communications strategies and tactics to help organizations position and differentiate in these areas. – Russ DeVeau

Senior corporate executives on Twitter

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eMarketer Daily is reporting on a study conducted by BRANDfog showing that consumers appreciate company leaders who engage in social media activities.

I’m a huge fan of senior executives taking to social media platforms to communicate messages and to interact with customers, influencers and targeted communities.

Clear goals and messages need to be established before organizations move to leverage social media and flexibility is always key to realizing short and long-term successes. – Russ DeVeau

Russ DeVeau on social media contests

Posted on by Russ DeVeau

I’m supporting another social media contest – this time for CSCI, a global technology consortium with a membership base consisting of leaders in the sustainability industry.

While I’ve launched and managed many social media contests in the past, the growth of social networks has created a group of contest “professionals” who are aggressive in playing to win. New technologies, the formation of contest networks and the growth of online contest pros need to be key factors when launching any managing social media contests and sweepstakes.

Should a social media contest be on your content calendar? Take a look at my new best practices for social media contests post here. – Russ DeVeau

Climate Savers Computing Announces Earth Hour Power Management Twitter Contest

Theme: Turn power management on for a greener and more energy efficient planet

PORTLAND Ore., March 14, 2012 — Climate Savers Computing Initiative (CSCI), the international consortium focused on reducing the energy consumption and carbon footprint of information and communications technologies (ICT), today announced that its Earth Hour 2012 Retweet for Power Management Contest will run from March 23 through March 30. Winners will be announced on CSCI’s Twitter and Facebook pages on Tuesday, April 3.

CSCI started the contest in 2011 to raise awareness of the environmental and financial benefits of using power management on laptops, PCs and servers, and in response to Earth Hour’s call for people and organizations to do more for the planet all year long. People participated in the contest by following CSCI on Twitter, retweeting CSCI contest tweets, and taking the CSCI pledge to use power management at home and at work.

In 2012 there are even more ways to win. In addition to Twitter, people can enter by liking CSCI’s Facebook page and by sharing CSCI’s Facebook contest post with their Facebook friends. People who retweet, take the CSCI power management pledge, and like and share on Facebook will have 10 chances to win a prize donated by CSCI members.

“We invite everyone to join us in celebrating Earth Hour 2012 by turning their power management on and by participating in this year’s CSCI Retweet for Power Management Contest,” said George O. Goodman, executive director, CSCI.

Rules and prizes are available on CSCI’s Facebook page.

About Climate Savers Computing Initiative
CSCI is a 700 member consortium led by sustainability leaders from Cisco, Emerson Network Power, Google, Intel, Juniper Networks, Microsoft, Samsung and World Wildlife Fund. Since its launch in 2007 the organization has helped the ICT industry save over $2 billion in annual energy costs by decreasing annual CO2 emissions from computing equipment by 41 – 45 million metric tons. CSCI has done this by driving the adoption of power management and through the development of more energy efficient computing and networking technologies. Nearly 11,000 people have joined CSCI by pledging to use power management and to purchase energy efficient computing products. Follow CSCI on
 
the Web http://www.climatesaverscomputing.org/,
Facebook http://on.fb.me/MJhVU,
Twitter http://twitter.com/csci_tweets ,
LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=44067&mostPopular=&trk=tyah
 
                                                                                ###
 
Climate Savers® is a trademark or registered trademark of WWF, the international conservation organization. Used under license.
 
Contact:
Russell DeVeau
Russ DeVeau 
Russ DeVeau on Twitter @Russ_DeVeau
 
 
 

New book on energy efficient computing

Posted on by Russ DeVeau

A new book authored by energy efficiency experts from Intel shows how computers use energy, how to measure energy use, and specific hardware and software design methodologies that lead to energy savings. Check out “Energy Aware Computing: Powerful Approaches for Green System Design,” and meet the authors on the Intel Press website here. – Russ DeVeau

Russ DeVeau on communicating across cultures

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Such an honor to be asked by PR Newswire to participate as an expert in global communications for their first ever webcast focused on communicating across cultures!

I developed my portion of this presentation based on my experience working in London and Paris where I managed global communications for companies and initiatives positioning in international markets.

The presentation serves as a good starting point for any organization looking to communicate messages and drive visibility in markets around the world. – Russ DeVeau

A Big Day for Online Privacy?

Posted on by Russ DeVeau

As Google implements its new privacy policies, AP provides an overview of what these changes mean to Google’s over one billion users. This comes as ZDNet reports that Facebook is facing a nationwide class action lawsuit for tracking users even after they are logged out of the social network. – Russ DeVeau

500 million Twitter users

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Twitter has hit 500 million users and is growing at over 1 million accounts per day.

While some analysts are questioning how many accounts are actually active, on average 13 new Twitter accounts are created every second.

I’m readying a new research project where nearly every Twitter feed I’m monitoring is filled with spam. I’m wondering how many of the 500 million Twitter accounts have been developed specifically for spamming purposes.

I’ll address Twitter spam in a best practices document I expect to release later this year. – Russ DeVeau

Named one of the top ten women in sustainability

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News this week from CSCI, one of the organizations I work with! – Russ DeVeau

President of Climate Savers Computing to Speak at GLOBE 2012

Panel addresses energy efficiency and alternative power for business

PORTLAND Ore and VANCOUVER Canada, Feb. 21, 2012 — Climate Savers Computing Initiative (CSCI), the 700-member international consortium focused on reducing the energy consumption and carbon footprint of information and communications technologies (ICT), today announced that its president, Lorie Wigle, will participate in a panel discussion on March 15 at GLOBE 2012 in Vancouver, Canada.

Named one of the top ten women in sustainability by Pink Magazine in 2010 and recipient of the 2011 Sustainable Business Leadership Award from Sustainable Business Oregon, Lorie Wigle is General Manager of Eco-Technology at Intel Corporation where she drives Intel’s market position across energy efficient performance and use of technology to address environmental challenges.

As president of Climate Savers Computing, Wigle represents Intel on the CSCI Board of Directors and collaborates with other board members from Cisco, Emerson Network Power, Google, Juniper Networks, Microsoft, Samsung and World Wildlife Fund to drive the CSCI mission of advancing the use of power management on laptops, PCs and servers, and driving more energy efficient computing and networking technologies.

During her remarks at GLOBE 2012, Wigle will review steps Intel is taking to improve energy efficiency and will highlight how CSCI has already helped the ICT industry save over $2 billion in annual energy costs by decreasing annual CO2 emissions from computing equipment by 41 to 45 million metric tons.

“We’re thrilled to have CSCI leadership participating in GLOBE 2012 where leaders in sustainability are coming together to advance a cleaner and more energy efficient future,” said George O. Goodman, executive director, CSCI.

Information about GLOBE 2012 is available at http://2012.globeseries.com/

About Climate Savers Computing Initiative
CSCI is reducing the energy consumption of ICT by increasing the adoption of power management and driving the development and deployment of energy efficient computing and networking technologies. Since its launch in 2007 CSCI has grown to 700 members. Nearly 11,000 people have joined by pledging to use power management and to purchase energy efficient computing products. CSCI maintains a catalog of energy efficient products and a library of best practices and white papers for energy efficiency on its website. Follow CSCI on the Web http://www.climatesaverscomputing.org/, Facebook http://on.fb.me/MJhVU, Twitter http://twitter.com/csci_tweets , LinkedIn http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=44067&mostPopular=&trk=tyah
 
Climate Savers® is a trademark or registered trademark of WWF, the international conservation organization. Used under license.
 
Contact:
Russ DeVeau
russ deveau @ comcast.net
Russ DeVeau on Twitter – http://twitter.com/#!/Russ_DeVeau
Mobile/Text- 908-251-1549

RSA Conference 2012 Features Keynotes by Tony Blair and Robert Mueller

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One of the most important security events of the year begins next week in San Francisco. RSA USA 2012 features keynotes by Tony Blair, Former Prime Minister, Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and Robert S. Mueller, III, Director, U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation. A big theme this year is protecting yourself and your company against cyber attacks and those who launch them.

I plan on attending this event. There’s still time to register. – Russ DeVeau

Fighting phishing with standards

Posted on by Russ DeVeau

A while back I worked on a program that brought the FBI, the U.S. Department of Justice and industry leaders in the digital identity management sector together to collaboratively address the growing online identity theft issue.

Yet as time passes the identity theft problem continues to grow. This is why it’s good to see the launch of a new organization made up of industry leaders working together to address phishing issues with industry standards. – Russ DeVeau

I’m participating in Earth Hour 2012

Posted on by Russ DeVeau

Earth Hour was started in 2007 and takes place once every year on the last Saturday in March. I’ve participated since 2008.

I’m looking forward to taking part in the event again on March 31 when hundreds of millions of people will be turning their lights off in a show of support for the planet.

World Wildlife Fund gives a great year by year overview of Earth Hour – complete with pictures and videos – here. – Russ DeVeau

Twitter for breaking news?

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Mashable reported yesterday that news of Whitney Houston’s death broke on Twitter almost thirty minutes before major news outlets began reporting on the story.

This is another significant proof point for demonstrating how Twitter and other social media platforms are forever changing the communications and media worlds.

I’m increasingly seeing Twitter used both as a news source and as a platform for breaking and issuing news.

Is it time your organization had a Twitter strategy? – Russ DeVeau

A shift in the social networking landscape?

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Among some of my clients – as well as in the overall social networking industry – I’m seeing a general increase in LinkedIn activity, with Facebook somewhat flat and Twitter continuing to grow.

I’m regularly looking at ways to best leverage – and help shape – these and other potential social networking trends. I do this mainly to ensure that I am consistently delivering new positioning and visibility opportunities to my clients.

Clear and flexible goals should be in place before embarking on any new social networking initiative. Is it time your organization had a plan and goals for leveraging LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter? – Russ DeVeau

VIDEO: One of my YouTube strategies – short and sweet

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While people are becoming increasingly more willing to click on and watch longer and longer videos, I’m still a fan of brief and fun videos that deliver the right messages. Here’s a good example from Climate Savers Computing – an organization I work with – of a 30 second video reminding viewers to turn their PC power management on to save on their electricity bills and to do their part for the environment. – Russ DeVeau

Russ DeVeau on social media contest prep

Posted on by Russ DeVeau

I’m readying another social media contest for one of my clients. Following #win, #contest and #sweepstakes hashtags. #Giveaway is hopping as well. These are important feeds for organizations looking to launch and manage contest campaigns on Twitter. – Russ DeVeau

Related:

Russ DeVeau: Should a social media contest be on your content calendar?

The Facebook IPO – $38.00?

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All eyes on the potential Facebook IPO. I’ll be watching this from the perspective of what the IPO may mean for the overall social networking and advertising industries, and from the user privacy point of view. But like most folks, I’m also curious about price points, where it may open and where it goes over the short- and long-term. – Russ DeVeau

Update: On IPO day, FB closes at 38.23.

The McDonald’s #McDStories Twitter Campaign

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Epic #McFail or social media growing pains?

There are some great lessons from the McDonald’s #McDStories campaign that should be noted by any organization or PR firm looking to leverage social media as part of their overall communications strategy.

Every possible angle – including what could possibly go wrong angles – must be considered and addressed during the campaign planning process.

The substantial – and pretty much negative – press and social media coverage resulting from the McDonald’s #McDStories campaign did spark my interest in taking a look at the McDonald’s Twitter page.

I generally believe the majority of tweets issued by an organization should come from a single enthusiastic voice and help support brand positioning objectives. That doesn’t seem to be the case right now over at @McDonalds.

Perhaps the McDonald’s Twitter team should consider issuing a “Good McMorning!” every now and then. – Russ DeVeau

Related:

– Should a social media contest be on your content calendar?

– Russ DeVeau on community and social media management

Russ DeVeau on Google, Bing, Yahoo and other search engines…

Posted on by Russ DeVeau

I use them all and have some very strong preferences and requirements when it comes to search engines and search capabilities.

Wondering what the privacy experts at Kantara Initiative – and their partner orgs – think about Google’s new privacy updates.- Russ DeVeau

Russ DeVeau bio

Posted on by Russ DeVeau

Russ DeVeau is a communications specialist and writer specialized in helping organizations meet strategic marketing, public relations and visibility objectives.

He has focused extensively on the technology and telecommunications sectors and has been at the forefront of positioning many of the most influential Internet, e-business and mobile initiatives.

For the past decade, DeVeau has managed strategic communications for organizations in the digital identity management and security and privacy markets, as well as high-visibility campaigns and proactive programs for positioning some of the technologies and organizations that are helping to drive digital transformation and the Industry 4.0 revolution.

Having been based in London, Paris and New York, DeVeau has worked with some of the most well-known brands in the world including Alcatel, American Express, AOL, AT&T, BMW, General Motors, Google, HP, IBM, Intel, Microsoft, Nokia, NTT, Oracle, RSA and SAP.

He has provided strategic and hands-on tactical communications services in support of numerous technology industry ‘firsts’ and has partnered with senior executives, developer communities and marketing teams worldwide to position and launch new business initiatives and a wide range of innovative products and services.

As an acclaimed market researcher and strategist, DeVeau has helped organizations of all sizes implement proactive media and industry analyst relations programs in support of corporate branding initiatives, crisis communications and merger and acquisition activities.

He is a recognized leader in helping organizations understand the value social media can deliver to today’s communications initiatives and has created and launched campaigns that blend traditional public relations programs with new media strategies and tactics to meet a variety of communications and visibility objectives.

DeVeau has presented to audiences around the world on best practices for successful industry analyst, media and social media relations, authored two books on the subject of fiber optic illumination and regularly writes blogs, byline articles, executive reports, newsletters and strategic positioning papers.

He has served on numerous educational boards and committees and has a BA in communications and marketing from Central Connecticut State University and an MFA from Parsons School of Design in New York City.

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