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- I’m at Starbucks – Capturing Place in Social Media: Our very own CEO, @jeffholden, will talk about an entirely new idea- “footstreams.” Jeff views footstreams as a digital record of the places people visit, and believes analyzing footstreams will emerge as a fundamental driver for location-based services. Vote here.
- Collaborative Media- Fad or Future? Lucretia Pruitt, @geekmommy, is hosting a panel about the future of collaborative media. Is this is the wave of the future or just a passing fancy? Pelago’s @jkimlosangeles will also participate in the panel. Vote here.
- Case Studies in Social, Mobile and Local Advertising: The convergence of social, mobile and local is causing a major disruption in online and traditional advertising. What are brands, content creators and consumers are doing about it? Check out Pelago’s @jkimlosangeles and an all-star panel discussing the possibilities. Vote here.
- The Cause Affect: Social Media Capturing Social Awareness: We all know social media can be used to connect with others, but few are successfully leveraging social media to educate and inspire people to participate. Hear from those making a difference including the Creator of InvisiblePeople.tv, Mark Horvath (@hardlynormal). Vote here.
- Physical Virality: How a Gnome Sparked Online Virality: How do you create buzz for a successful social media campaign that people actually care about? With a Garden Gnome, of course. Learn from Swarm Collective’s @lindsayyaw and Pelago’s @jkimlosangeles how “Yim Gnome” sparked people to participate in a fun, quirky movement to increase brand exposure, engagement and loyalty. Vote here.
- A Conversation About Social Change Through Social Media: InvisiblePeople.tv’s, Mark Horvath (@hardlynormal) will share a few words, pictures and stories from his road trip documenting homelessless across the nation. He will also share the secret to telling good stories and how social media can affect real social change. Vote here.
Survive SXSW this year by checking in to the Underground on Whrrl
March 11th, 2010
You’ve read all the blog posts, seen the tweets, received the party invites and feel there’s something in the air (and no, it’s not smog). People are beginning to converge in Austin, starting today and it’s not for the world-famous BBQ or to hunt down Oscar-winner and resident Sandra Bullock – it’s to attend the technology conference of the year, SXSW Interactive.
Now I hate to call myself a SXSW Veteran, but if you can survive one year of this conference and make it back the following year in one piece, you’re doing pretty good in my book. The rumors you here are true: don’t expect much sleep, because between the panels, networking, parties, chasing down “tech celebs” and business opportunities, you’re going to be exhausted fitting it all in.
That’s why the team at Whrrl decided we’d make it easy on you. When you land in Austin, just check in on Whrrl. Why? Because we’ve taken the guess work out of what’s cool to do at SXSW and created the Austin Underground Society to do all the work for you.
Quite simply, The Austin Underground Society will provide you with at-your-fingertips access to the hottest parties, events, and other fun things to do at SXSW. Let our hostess, Velma Underground, save you from all the work as she recommends what the cool kids will be doing at the conference. Follower her on Whrrl and on Twitter. You can view and then save her recommendations in your “want to do list” (new in Whrrl 3!) so you don’t forget.
While the Underground has some “official SXSW parties” listed, we’ve learned that folks often go rogue and throw their own events. So, we’ve focused on providing you the insiders guide on what’s cool – not what’s official. If you want to know where Guy Kawasaki is throwing back some ribs at a boot barn outside downtown Austin, or Jeff Pulver is hosting the twitter elite for cocktails, the Underground Society is your place.
But that’s not all – we got deals for ya, too! Whrrl has partnered with over 50 merchants in the downtown Austin area to provide Underground members with exclusive offers. Simply check into the locations listed within the Underground Society and redeem your offer by showing your phone to merchants. The Four Seasons Hotel Austin, Outback Steakhouse, Cool River Cafe, Chuggin’ Monkey, J Black’s, Red Fez and Third Base are just some of the awesome local business participating.
But wait- there’s really more! Whrrl has some other fun surprises in store for you, too. We don’t want to say what they are, because we think it’s more fun for you to stumble across them… like this logo which made some noise on Twitter today (it’s just chalk guys… really!)
Finally, we’d love to meet you in person! Whrrl is proud to be a sponsor of the “State of Now” cocktail party on Friday, March 12th from 6-8 pm at Lanai. Underground members will receive a limited edition Whrrl t-shirt and free drink when you check in. Hurry- not only is there limited availability, but the party has over 1,000 registered guests- we don’t want to miss you!
See ya’ll in Austin- safe travels!
Look for our team in Austin – Jeff Holden, CEO & Co-Founder, John Kim, V.P. of Product Management and Marketing, and Heather Meeker, Director of Marketing & Corporate Communications.
I survived my first CES
January 19th, 2010Yes, you heard it correct. I just went to International CES (Consumer Electronics Show) for the very first time this year. For a gal that’s been in the technology space since Web 1.0, that’s quite a shocker.
What made me want to attend CES anyway? From a business standpoint, we didn’t have a presence with Whrrl at the show, as we’re a location-based application for mobile phones – specifically the iPhone – and as you know, Apple is noticeably absent from the show every year. I worried about whether or not there would be value in me attending?
The answer: A resounding YES.
From the moment I stepped off the plane and arrive at the Las Vegas Hilton Convention Center, I was greeted by many familiar faces: Jim Alden, Keira Dazi, Calvin Lee, Rynda Laurel and Ricardo Bueno. It was safe to say the LA crew was “in da house!” Each explained to me what was located in the North, South and Central halls, what I should not miss (the LG super thin TV, 3-D TV) and to wear some comfy shoes- which I was clearly NOT doing. Hmm. Wardrobe change!
Because I arrived so late on day one of the show, I decided to skip the floor and head out to Aquaknox for the Lenovo event, which included Jeff Pulver from the 140 Characters conference. Safe to say the “who’s who” of technology were in attendance, as I hobnobbed with folks including journalist Cathy Brooks, Shiny Heart co-founder Frank Gruber, Social Media Club founder Chris Heuer, PR rockstar Brian Solis and the Mashable crew- Ben Parr, Barb Dybwad, Adam Ostrow and Adam Hirsch. In fact, it was my first time meeting the “Adams” in person to which I was thrilled after emailing them back and forth for years! I tried to capture the night on Whrrl but it was a total fail due to lack of lighting (note to self: bring the Fastmac with flash next time). Thank goodness photographer extraordinaire Ken Yeung was on hand to snap fantastic pics and capture the event!
Day two of the show turned out to be a day of meetings and not a lot of time spent walking around the show- when would I do that? It was great to catch up with Momfluential Media founder Ciaran Blumenfeld and finally meet Liz Philips from HP. But I know what you are all really thinking- “where’s the party?”
Oh yes, there was a party! The Parnassus Group hosted an event at the Atomic Testing Museum (I know what you’re thinking- huh?) to which I was actually able to capture here. Again, the “who’s who” of tech showed up, including Robert Scoble who was shooting video of a flying saucer (don’t ask), and Sarah Austin who was enamored with Star Trek The Next Generation stars Brent Spiner and LeVar Burton. Again, I was thrilled to finally meet people in person, and Sarah was no exception. I wandered around the museum learning about the history of nuclear bombs while enjoying a cold adult beverage and meeting more people, and seeing lovely familiar faces like my good friend Marsha Collier, an eBay author and customer service expert. So glad that Brian M Westbrook caught us in a “totally unplanned” and “not staged” shot. :)
right image/brianwestbrook.com
Finally on day three of the show I walked the floor! G4TV’s Dave Mathews showed me around the entire convention, pointing out various gadgets that he thought were noteworthy. We checked out the much hyped 3-D TV which ended up making me dizzy. I learned all about Powermats and scored a Speck iPhone cover (won best of show). I even walked by the ultra-douchey Ed Hardy booth, complete with a scantily-clad model showing off her iPhone bling. Check out more of my experience here.
So, what was the return on investment of attending CES, you ask? Well for starters, just about everyone in technology and social media attends this conference. If you’re looking to build new relationships, meet with clients and connect with colleagues, this is the place. By far, the value I received from networking and in-person communication was priceless. And meeting people in person is always a huge advantage.
image/Ken Yeung, thelettertwo.com
In addition, it certainly doesn’t hurt to be up on the newest technologies and gadgets. Working for a company that develops apps for phones, it’s nice to hear what’s new with different mobile providers and be able to hold a (somewhat) intelligent conversation about the latest and greatest.
Most of all, any conference is what you make of it. Whether I was a booth babe back in the day at Internet World, prepping speakers for Ad:Tech, or wandering around CES, you have to have a clear goal and purpose in mind. For conferences where you don’t have a presence or tie-in (like CES was for me), it’s crucial you plan ahead. Think about technologies you want to see, people you want to meet, events you want to attend and meetings you want to have. There’s nothing worse than getting off the plane and wandering around aimlessly. Be prepared and I promise going to large conferences like CES will be worth it!
Interview with our CEO, Jeff Holden & Robert Scoble
October 19th, 2009Recently, Robert Scoble – well known technology blogger, evangelist and author- visited Seattle. His goal was to visit up and coming start-ups in the area to learn more about their technologies. We were thrilled to have the opportunity for him to visit Pelago and have our CEO, Jeff Holden, provide an overview of Whrrl.
As always, Scoble had some great questions which helped reveal not just information about Whrrl, but what the future holds for the product and our company.
You can check out the interview here:
Panel picking? Look out for Whrrl
August 17th, 2009
It’s that time of year again! The South by Southwest (SXSW) conference has opened the floodgates so anyone can vote about the topics they would like to hear about at next year’s event. That’s right- SXSW allows YOU to vote for the panels!
Because Whrrl has a special place in our hearts for SXSW (we launched Whrrl v2.0 at the conference this year), we’re excited to be considered for several panels at next year’s festivities. In addition, we have a few friends that we’d like to see speaking as well. So, read below and let us know- which topics interest you?
Like one of the ideas above but want to hear more about it? Just respond here or send email to: community@whrrl.com and tell us, we’ll feature one of these ideas in an upcoming blog post!
Happy voting*!
*Remember to vote by September 4!
BlogHer 2009: A Whrrl Recap
July 28th, 2009BlogHer 2009 was certainly a Whrrl-wind! From primping to bowling to ice cream socials and everything in between, many of you shared stories from these events – and we’ve captured them all here.
Check out the stories at http://pages.whrrl.com/blogher09.
See yourself or someone you know in the stories? If so, be sure to add your content to the stories ! Simply click on the story to add others to it, or ask someone who was there to add you. You can also leave a comment on this post and we’ll add you into the story. Once you’re in, add your own photos, text and comments! If you don’t have a Whrrl account, go to http://whrrl.com to sign up.
Want your BlogHer story added to the page? Email featured@whrrl.com with the link and we’ll add it.
