dougpollei

"How VCs are affected: Often times VCs can be shielded from short-term blips because they are looking for exits over the long-term. But if IPOs and M&A activity dries up, then it trickles down to investors. One of the more popular statistics being thrown around right now is that fewer start-ups have gone public this year than in any year since 1977. With IPOs out of the question, that leaves an acquisition. And, if the buyer knows the company doesn’t have the chance to go public, valuations are depressed, he said." - dougpollei

Current high speed shifts in media consumption and consumer behaviour are nothing short of spectacular. Digital advertising has exploded. Social networking sites are all the rage as marketers look to obtain eyeballs in places they've never gone before. The effect of media convergence is clear. Marketers are now empowered to get granular with their audiences and track them across an ever expanding group of media platforms. - dougpollei

"Earlier this week, the search giant filed a patent application with the U.S. Patent Office describing its vision of an open wireless network where smartphones aren't tied to any single cell phone network. In Google's open wireless world, phones and other wireless devices would search for the strongest, fastest connection at the most competitive price. Essentially, wireless operators' networks would be reduced to "dumb pipes." The idea is that depending on where a wireless user is at any given time, he could be on any number of networks. For example, if coverage is better from Verizon Wireless at home, a subscriber might connect to that network to make phone calls. But he might use AT&T while at work, where the signal is stronger. Price would also be a factor, and operators would constantly be vying in a sort of auction to provide the most competitive pricing for the call." - dougpollei

"But there are signs that the internal debate is causing Google to shake-off of its reluctance to advertise. The search giant has recently held discussions with several Madison Avenue agencies, including Wieden + Kennedy and the boutique firm Taxi New York, about new efforts to promote some products, according to people familiar with the matter. In August, Google launched an advertising effort in Japan that included outdoor and online ads created by Wieden + Kennedy, which is best known for its Nike "Just do it" campaign. The effort, dubbed "100 Things You Can Do With Google," was designed to promote the Google brand and several products such as Google Maps and Gmail." - dougpollei

"The liquidity drought for venture-backed startups, which was already declared to be a crisis in the second quarter when not a single VC-backed IPO went out, continued in the third quarter. For the first three quarters of the year combined, IPOs brought in only $470 million and M&A activity totaled $11.3 billion, a steep decline from prior years (see chart). Don’t expect the situation to get better any time soon." - dougpollei

"Digital spending is still too low, but in the spirit of wanting to appear current, some marketers have rushed to embrace any and every new digital tactic. This has resulted in a scenario where some digital tactics are dangerously close to "jumping the shark." Everyone is doing them, so they're not original anymore. They generally are not done well." - dougpollei

"Peek is a stylishly thin device that, to a mobile email novice, could pass for a BlackBerry. It receives and sends email, period. Peek doesn't have a Web browser, phone or built-in digital camera. It's sold for $100 at Target and GetPeek.com, and costs $20 monthly for contract-free service. Most email accounts work with this gadget, including Hotmail, Yahoo, Gmail and AOL, and up to three accounts can be set to work on each device." - dougpollei

This Conference will focus on how organizations can leverage Social Media to achieve their business goals. Social Media technologies such as blogs, micro-blogging, wikis, podcasts, video, RSS, forums, social networks, online communities, and social bookmarking are increasingly being leveraged by companies - dougpollei