05/14/13

View from the UK: Paywalls Are A Global Story for News Media

By Tracey Johnston, London, UK

In June, editors and news business managers head to Bangkok for the World Newspaper Congress. The programme reveals the hot topic on everyone’s mind – business models in the digital age and, specifically, paywalls.

Most of the main US media outlets have already implemented paywalls of one type or another, whether metered (offering a number of articles for free and then charging for further access) or hard no-pay, no-access models.

In the UK, the paywall debate has not been settled as conclusively. News International’s London Times sits behind a hard paywall and the media group – part of News Corporation – is planning to do the same with its tabloid title, The Sun, later this year.

News organizations worldwide are adopting paywalls for their online and mobile content.

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04/30/13

Innovation in NYC: NY Tech Day 2013

By Andrés Uribe, Expedition PR

Expedition PR had the pleasure and excitement of being one of the over 400 companies exhibiting at NY Tech Day 2013. Companies ranged from established startups like Uber and Seamless to newly founded ventures such as Lineapple and I Know The Chef. Here is a short list of new apps I have downloaded and services that I have signed up for since last Thursday:

Eat Tribal. Let’s face it, with our forward looking eyes, keen intellect, and sophisticated hunting capabilities, humans are natural apex predators designed to thrive on a diet centered around animal meats (sorry PETA). New startup, Eat Tribal, attempts to satisfy your need for meat (and some veggies) with the delivery of healthy pre-cooked meals delivered right to your home, office, or gym. Once you sign up for Eat Tribal, you’ll receive 3-5 meals (based on your choosing) delivered weekly. All ingredients used in meals are grass-fed, pasture-raised, organic, and locally sourced.

Host Committee. Want your party to go as viral as your last Facebook photo album? Host Committee has you covered. Enjoy a beautiful integration of social media, ticketing, and event planning that guarantees a packed party where everyone will know at least one person before they ever walk through the door. Additionally, by gameifyng party planning, Host Committee is able to offer great party perks for attendees who bring the most friends. And with a constantly updating roster of venues, you’re sure to stay in the loop on what’s hot in NYC. Continue reading →

04/16/13

Eat, Tweet and Be Merry: Restaurants and Food Producers Use Social Media to Connect with Consumers

By Katja Schroeder, Expedition PR

Restaurants, from five-star establishments to the local coffee shops around the corner, have discovered the power of tech, most notably in the form of social media.

A good example is the food truck rave. Some of food trucks have amassed an impressive online following by Tweeting their daily specials, route and even open positions. Boston-based MeiMei Streetkitchen (@meimeifoodtruck) shared its recent job opening by picture with 2,800 followers.

MeiMei StreetKitchen ‏@meimeifoodtruck 3 Apr Hi friends, we’re hiring! Know someone who wants to join our team of food truck bandits?
Visit http://meimeiboston.com/jobs pic.twitter.com/DIsCRyWzXB

Kogi (@kogibbq), a Korean barbecue taco truck in Los Angeles, has more than 102,000 followers. That’s 17,000 more than star chef Marcus Samuelson, the founder of New York’s hot spot Red Rooster, although @MarcusCooks had just successfully published a bestseller book.

While a hundred thousand fans on Twitter is an impressive feat, it’s not quite social media rock stardom in the food industry yet. Over 817,000 people follow the musings of Food Network Star Bobby Flay (@BFlay). His Food Network colleague Giada De Laurentiis (@GDeLaurentiis ) has 792,000 Twitter fans.

As reported by Mashable, a study by the National Restaurant Association showed that about 45% of consumers have already chosen where to eat with the help of an online site, such as Yelp.

The study also showed that 27% of diners have viewed or posted reviews. Consumers love to share their views on food. They are flocking to food sites and apps like Foodspotting and foodgawker. Most of them also love a good deal, often offered by ScoutMob, Groupon or LivingSocial. Foursquare recently announced a partnership with OpenTable that allows diners to make reservations using their Foursquare account.

While grandmother’s recipes might still rule in the kitchen, it’s not your grandmother’s marketing style anymore. Continue reading →

04/2/13

Products and Prototypes: Exciting Innovations from the “Technology You Can Touch” Event at NYU

By Andrés Uribe, Expedition PR

We are always looking for examples of technologies that will change life as we know it, in a good and sustainable way. Last Tuesday, I had the pleasure of visiting NYU for a demo session called “Technology you can Touch”. Seeing startups boasting products that didn’t require a computer, smartphone, or even an internet connection to take advantage of was a nice change of pace from the many new web based startups we tend to see today. Here are a few of the innovative new products that are working to make an impact on people’s lives.

Jibon Health booth at “Technology You Can Touch”

1. Jibon Health Technologies. Working to fight maternal mortality from Postpartum Hemorrhaging (PPH), Jibon has come out with a product called Tampostat. A Tampostat works by placing pressure on the womb that slows potential excessive bleeding during childbirth and allows for time to make it to a hospital for proper care. It costs less than $10 to make and requires minimal training to use. By making a product that is low-cost and easy to use, Jibon hopes to put a dent in the roughly 150,000 women from developing nations who die every year because they are unable to make it to a hospital in time.

2. Entrupy. Last week hedge fund owner Steven A. Cohen bought a Picasso for $155 million, making it one of the most expensive private art sales transacted. With huge sums of money being tossed around for art, one might think they should try their hand at making their own “Picasso”…well think again. After a few years in the making, Ashlesh, a PhD. candidate at Courant at NYU and his team, have created a device that is built to “fingerprint” works of art. This device is able to map out the texture speckles of a painting in order to create a record that is unique to that specific painting. Once the record is created, not even the most skilled forgery will go unnoticed by this machine.

3. AdhereTech. If you’re someone who has trouble taking their medication in a timely matter, AdhereTech’s smart pill bottles might be your solution. These smart pill bottles are able to hold liquid or solid medications. Once medication is stored in them, the smart pill bottle will automatically keep a real time count of how much medication is left. After programming the bottle, users will be able to receive phone calls or text to remind them to take their medicine on days they might be behind. In trial cases, these reminders have been able to increase adherence by 60% to 90%.

Overall the event featured ten startups with new and tangible products. For a complete list and brief description of the products featured, please visit nyctechconnect.com.

03/14/13

Pi Day: Do More than Eat Pie

By Andrés Uribe, Expedition PR

In case you haven’t heard, this Thursday, 3/14, is Pi Day!

Pi day was started in 1988 by physicist Larry Shaw. The first celebration consisted of Larry, staff, and friends marching in a circle and consuming fruit pies. 25 years later, Pi Day has become an international event that’s used to help raise awareness of the importance in math in everyday life. Here are seven fun ways to help get you in the Pi Day mood:
1. Know what you’re celebrating. When you celebrate a holiday you usually want to know what exactly it is that you’re celebrating. Unless of course that holiday is Cinco de Mayo, St. Patrick’s Day, or Valentine’s Day, then as long as you’re having Mexican beer, Irish carbombs, or a romantic dinner for two, respectively, you’re ok. But for one Japanese PhD student, Shigeru Kondo, the exhilarating Pi Day celebration alone just wasn’t enough. In October of 2011 Shigeru took it upon himself to calculate Pi to the 10 trillionth digit, a world record. Thanks to TWO-N designer Hermann Zschiegner we can now see 4 million of these digits artistically displayed for us in a single interactive image!

2. Watch Pi in dominos. This might not be the method Shigeru used to calculate pi to the 10 trillionth decimal place, but none the less a fun way to reach a close approximation. And even more fun to celebrate once the stacking is all done. Continue reading →

03/7/13

5 Ways to Attend SXSW Without Ever Leaving the Office

By Andrés Uribe, Expedition PR

SXSW is taking place this week and the entire Expedition PR team is super excited to be attending…spiritually and digitally. For all of those who also are unable to physically attend the festivities this year, we’ve assembled a list of five great ways to stay in the loop secondhand:

1. SXSW Video, Audio and Photos. When looking for news on SXSW happenings, the first and most obvious place to look is the SXSW website. Here you can find a wealth of information on happening from all three portions of the SXSW festival. While those who aren’t actually at the festival might not be so concerned with things such as scheduled workshops and lounge locations, the video, audio and photo sections on the other hand are worth taking a look. Here you will find a constantly updated stream of videos and audio recordings from and about SXSW happenings. Under the official Flickr page you will find a live photo stream from the event.

2. Live Coverage from Adweek. Get a glimpse of what’s hot at SXSWi this year with Adweek’s continual coverage of all tech related stories. Their dedicated SXSW live coverage page not only features insightful articles, but also has a wall of photos from the team for your enjoyment. Continue reading →

02/21/13

Corporations, Social Entrepreneurs and Sustainable Development

By Shikha Nepal

Entrepreneurs have long been known to be the “backbone” of economic growth and job creation. At the recent 2012 State of Entrepreneurship Address, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation along with others called for state and local government policy changes to foster entrepreneurship and accelerate economic growth. As Schumpeter defined it an entrepreneur is a “person who is willing and able to convert a new idea or invention into a successful innovation”. And innovation drives growth and competitiveness.

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12/3/12

The Wild Men of Borneo: MarCom Do’s (and Don’ts) Compliments of P.T. Barnum

By Tress Fereday

My sisters recently both described some disobedient kids as the “Wild Men of Borneo.” I asked “are the men of Borneo really that wild?” Neither knew the origin of this strange phrase, and why the people of Borneo were being besmirched. So, I took to Google to find out.
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09/28/12

The Art of Communicating Sustainability – dOCUMENTA (13)

By Katja Schroeder

After 100 days dOCUMENTA (13) just closed its doors in Kassel, Germany. Held every five years, the dOCUMENTA is one of the world’s largest contemporary art exhibitions. This year’s festival drew a record number of 860,000 visitors. Art works were showcased at a variety of venues across the entire city.
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