The New Rules of Marketing and PR

Posted by Joe Panettieri

Greetings from Dublin, Ireland, where I’m covering a Cisco partner event. During the flight here I read a few more chapters of a rather compelling book, “The New Rules of Marketing and PR.” It should be required reading for everyone in high-tech media — from editors to reporters to PR to marketing folks. The author, David Meerman Scott, describes in detail how blogs, wikis, podcasts and other new media are changing the rules of PR and marketing. Let me give you a few prime examples.

Right now, I’m sitting in a conference room waiting for a Cisco press briefing to begin. A few other reporters here have laptops, but most are carrying pens and paper. How old school. By the time today ends, I will have posted multiple blog entries on TechIQ, while my media rivals are still formulating what to write about today’s event. And through big content distribution networks like SeekingAlpha.com, our coverage reaches millions of Google and Yahoo visitors every day.

The examples don’t end there.

City CIOs Galore at MuniWireless07:Silicon Valley

Posted by Mike Perkowski

It’s not easy being a big-city CIO. You’ve got to keep the network available 24/7, ensure absolute security for government records and employee files, and deal with the political whims of elected officials. Now, add onto that the task of rolling out citywide wireless networks; city CIOs today have to be one part technologist, one part politician and one part miracle worker. (All at a civil service salary, of course.)

But at our upcoming MuniWireless07:Silicon Valley industry conference on Oct. 21-23, literally dozens of city CIOs will join several hundred colleagues from all parts of the municipal wireless market ecosystem to discuss best practices in planning, deploying and operating wireless networks. Among our featured city CIO speakers will be Chris Vein of San Francisco, Hardik Bhatt of Chicago, Terry Phillis of Philadelphia and Bill Oates of Boston, to name just a few. (Important Update as of August 24: Add the name of Randi Levin, CIO for Los Angeles, to this impressive list.)

We’ll also give the audience a status report on what is arguably the highest-profile and most ambitious regional wireless initiative in the US: Wireless Silicon Valley. With a coalition of more than 50 Silicon Valley-area cities and counties, Wireless Silicon Valley could set a new standard for how municipalities collaborate on strategic technology initiatives. (“Municipalities” and “collaboration” usually aren’t found together in the same sentences, but you’ll hear plenty about it at our conference. Check out the program and register now for discounted pricing.