VisibleGains Live Episode 46

00:00]

Cliff: Hello, and welcome. Today is November 19th, 2009, and you are watching Visible Gains live. [applause] My name is Cliff Pollen, I’m—and I’m at “Cliff Pollen” on Twitter. With me today is Kiki Mills, President of the Massachusetts Innovation and Technology Exchange, also known by most of us as “MITX”. Kiki, welcome.

Kiki: Thank you, Cliff.

Cliff: It’s great to have you here. Um, you can talk to us on Twitter, so you can send feedback to the Visible Gains hash tag and we’ll answer your questions here live.

[00:43]

Cliff: Um, Kiki, why don’t you tell us a little bit about MITX, and what it does, and—

Kiki: Sure.

Cliff: –And what you’ve been doing there.

Kiki: Great. So MITX is a non-profit industry association. And, uh, we are an industry association for the internet business and marketing industry. And for some, that’s not necessarily something that might, necessarily understand, because we, we operate at this very interesting intersection of technology, marketing, and media. So the companies that are members of our association are the digital agencies and the marketing services firms that are creating the experiences on the web, um, the media properties and companies through which all of this is unfolding, and then all the technology providers that are powering a lot of the web, and video, mobile, and social media applications. And then also the brands, basically the deployers of all these technologies and strategies. So, it’s, it’s a, it’s a broad mix of, of companies and of people, but a very, very dynamic one.

[01:43]

Cliff: It strikes me, having been involved with MITX, that people don’t have a sense for how big an industry this sort of represents. Can you tell us a little bit about that?

Kiki: It’s a great question, and, um, thank you for asking, and one which, um, you know, we struggled with for many years as we tried to put a wrapper around what this industry is and explain it to people. And just two years ago, we started a market sizing study which would actually measure it, and, and, in, now in our second year in doing it, we’ve uncovered a twenty-nine billion dollar industry in New England that employs sixty-nine thousand people in over two thousand companies. That’s nothing to, to sneeze about. It’s a significant industry.

[02:09]

Cliff: It’s, it’s almost mindboggling when you hear those, those numbers.

Kiki: Yeah. It, I mean, I think in our first year, we, we were a little bit spellbound ourself, because we didn’t realize the impact of it. And, uh, so you’re on, you’re even doing that, and we’ve gotten more attention from the state, and the people around economic development that need to understand that this is a pillar of the, the state economy.

[02:28]

Cliff: One of the things that sort of represents it was the big event the other night, was the MITX Awards.

Kiki: Yes.

Cliff: And, tell us a little bit about the event, and what it was like, and what it represents for the New England area.

Kiki: So, uh, the MITX Awards, it’s, it’s uh, our fourteenth annual, so it’s been around for a long time, it’s back in 1996 that we started it. And, um, it’s really a labor of love. It’s really our flagship event, and, and the goal of that is to celebrate the, the great innovations that are happening on the web. Um, I, I talked to many people about it, I said, “Well, think of it as the Academy Awards for web work.” And, in, throughout, throughout the, throughout the years, you know, we, we will honor websites, and new emerging technologies, and the application of those technologies for small businesses up to large-scale brands like Fidelity, Genzyme, um, consumer goods companies like Coca-Cola, so it’s, it’s a really, really broad spectrum. And, and what it means is, it means a lot of things. Number one, it, it shows that Massachusetts is a leader, um, in digital marketing and media. There’s a lot going on here, and we’re doing it for some of the biggest brands in the business. And then number two, it just, it brings together the community in a way that, people need to network and understand, what’s happening, what are the best practices, how are people using the mediums. So, it’s very much a brand-building for the state, uh, but also kind of a, a, a, basically an ohm-building for, for the companies and people there.

[03:47]

Cliff: The other thing I was struck by, not to, not to, um, we were talking about a little bit was also, some of the awards around the non-profit websites, so this doesn’t—

Kiki: Yeah.

Cliff: –Just per, pertain to business, but, you know—

Kiki: Yep.

Cliff:–Government and other organizations. Yeah.

Kiki: It’s a great point, and every year we take a look at the categories and, and we change them up, because so many things change. For example, um, this was probably mid two thousands, financial services was a huge category, I think a lot of things were exploding at that time, in a good way. And then non-profit became a much larger category over the years. So we see trends based on, kind of, a particular area of an industry where the web is becoming a more widely-adopted vehicle.

[04:22]

Cliff: So talk about a few of the winners that you think stoo, I know they were all great.

Kiki: Yeah.

Cliff: But, talk about some that you think stood out, you know,

Kiki: So…

Cliff: In an exemplary way.

Kiki: Yeah, so I, I, uh, Zipcar, number one.

Cliff: Yeah.

Kiki: Um, was a huge winner. I mean, what a great brand to work with. Um, and, they have so much going for them. And, so, one of their firms, I-site Design, was involved in, um, their web, their website redesign, um, they also won an award for best user experience. Um, so that was, that was really great to see. Um, another one, Sapient, uh, who won Best of Show for the Happiness Factory with Coca-Cola, which is a really cool, unique, immersive 3-D experience, and, and, it’s for people and their, their kind of, fans to come in and just experience the brand. Um, another agency that won a lot, Mullen, um, did, did uh, won several awards with one of their iPhone apps for Stanley. Um, they’re non-profit, actually, category. Um, and, let’s see, and Arnold actually won for their financial services site for Citizens Bank for their Green Sense campaign, which was, um, one judge commented on, this is where the industry’s going. So, when you see things like that it’s just really inspiring, you know, that a lot of that’s happening here.

[05:25]

Cliff: You could feel the excitement, I was there that night…Can, tell us, um, tell us a little bit about, just, the concepts behind the awards.

Kiki: Right.

Cliff: What are people getting recognized for?

Kiki: So, so, a, a few different things. I mean, number one, this is a great, um, way for a company to show their prospects and their current clients, you know, we are creating award-winning work, and we’re being judged by our peers, which, are frankly, probably a lot more, harsher, than maybe other groups of independent bodies would be. Number two, it’s great for internal team-building. I mean, these people are slaving and creating these projects, they’re not necessarily client-facing, and they’re behind, they’re behind the boxes doing the work, and so, when it comes time for some recognition, you know, it’s just a great way to really, you know, mobilize the, the team, and show them how great, you know, what’s happening. So…and I think the third is, you know, just seeing and learning what’s, what’s happening, and, and understanding how certain agencies and companies are, are really pushing the media.

[06:22]

Cliff: Yeah, it seemed, it, one of the things I was struck by having been there was just the excitement of people using, and also was a very, a big networking event.

Kiki: Yeah.

Cliff: So, yeah, talk a little bit about that. Yeah.

Kiki: It’s, um, it’s a, it’s a grand-daddy, that’s for sure. You know, over eleven hundred people, and, and you know, frankly, I went into this year, 2009, thinking, well, you know, this, this is going to be a struggling year, can we really pull off a big event? And, I was blown away, because we had a bigger crowd this year than last year, and, and that, honestly, all that speaks to is just the incredible power of the community and the vibrancy of the community here in Massachusetts. And, you know, this has been a, this has been a, a troubling year for everyone. And the power of networking, and, and being together, as, as kind of, you know, silly as that sounds, or softy-feely sounds, it, it’s the most important thing that people could do right now.

[07:13]

Cliff: Well that’s one of the things I think that MITX does, obviously, is to bring people together. So we have some clips, because we asked a bunch of the winners,

Kiki: Great.

Cliff: You know, what did, what did they think, and how did MITX, you know, help them achieve their goals. So why don’t we take a, take a look at that.

[several interview clips]

Kiki: That’s great.

[08:46]

Cliff: So Kiki, what do you take away from that, what are some of the things you hear?

Kiki: So, I hear, a lot, um, about learning, and education. And, that, um, about, I think, that we bring together the intellectual capital to help people make sense of next generation marketing and media. Um, I hear, um, platform, and an avenue for companies to promote themselves, and for their work to be recognized. Um, and I hear stuff about talent, which is about, how do we cultivate and, you know, retain young talent, how do we foster entrepreneurship, and, and, you know, that’s really kind of the crux of what we do, so, thankfully we validated it.

Cliff: Right.

Kiki: Woo! We’re doing something right! You know? [laughter]

[09:26]

Cliff: Um, talk a little bit about the educational programs,

Kiki: Yeah.

Cliff: That you do do?

Kiki: So that’s really the crux of what we do, when you think about the product of MITX, it’s actually events. And, um, they’re all, um, professional development events. We have about sixty or seventy a year, and they range on, on topics from mobile, to video, to general marketing technologies, to social media, online advertising and strategy, so, quite a big breadth and depth of content. And, you know, with all those events, you know, we, we’re probably bringing together, I’d say, probably two to three hundred speakers over the course of a year in all different types of competencies, at all different types of levels, because while we like to hear the senior, we also like to hear the person that’s really in the trenches actually implementing the work. So, two-hour sessions, you know, enough where you learn something and you can apply it back, you know, to your, to your company. So…

[10:13]

Cliff: And just so people understand, can, can individuals become members? Corporations? How does it work in terms of joining MITX?

Kiki: So, it’s a member-based organization, um, we do have individual members, we actually have student memberships too. On the individual side, we reserve that for sole proprietors, so essentially, kind of one man/one woman shops, that don’t have employees yet. So once you start to have employees, that’s when you get a corporate membership.

Cliff: Right, right.

Kiki: But we were sensitive to the fact that, you know, a lot of, a lot of our companies are frankly, our history, you know, starting back in ’96, started with, you know, one-person, kind of multimedia designers which evolved, so, that’s really where it came from.

[10:46]

Cliff: How do you help local businesses find employees? Talk a little bit about the connections you’re doing there.

Kiki: So, a couple ways. Um, we’ve always had, which is, which is standard, but in, in the, in the heydays it was the most valuable thing, and we have our job board. So companies can post jobs there, and also, people can, um, um, post their resumes there. And, and, over the years, and I’ve been with the organization for ten years now, so I’ve heard a lot of stories, but over the years, I’ve heard the, “I got my job from you guys” and, and “I found someone from your website”. So, that’s a really powerful thing. And then, I think, just the obvious aspects of networking, um, at our events. You meet a lot of people, and, you know, when times are bad, you need networking, and, when people are out of work, you know, they need organizations to meet people. And the same with students, when they’re starting to learn and look for jobs, you know, they, they need to come to, to events, and, we’ve been working very hard around a special initiative called Recruit-Retain, um, which is about how do we cultivate the young talent here and keep it in Massachusetts. So, uh, we’re doing a lot of effort to work with the schools, and, and put, um, some tools on our site so we’re more student-friendly, so they think about, you know, find, they can find us, and see what type of entry-level jobs there are out there. And this something we’re, actually, haven’t really, out, rolled out yet to our membership.

Cliff: Right.

Kiki: So it’s, it’s coming in the next few weeks.

[11:59]

Cliff: Right. That’s, I think that’s such an exciting thing, because we all want to get, you know, there’s such great talent, you know?

Kiki: Yeah.

Cliff: And how do we, how do we, you know, har-, you know, get them connected so they know there’s great opportunities for them.

Kiki: Exactly. We’re in our second year, and we’ll have the results next week, of our, um, hiring intentions survey for entry-level talent. So we poll the membership and ask them a series of questions around, are you going to be hiring for entry-level? What types of positions, what majors are you looking for? So, we’re excited to launch that, um, and that will be, um, also rolling out some of our services on the website.

[12:30]

Cliff: That’s great. Let’s hear a little bit, then, about what some people’s, on that point, what were some people’s plans for two thousand and ten?

Kiki: Okay.

Cliff: So we asked a bunch of the award winners that question.

[several interview clips]

[13:59]

Cliff: Great, thank you. So, Kiki, tell us a little bit about what you see in 2010, we’re hearing a little bit about—

Kiki: Right.

Cliff: –What the companies are seeing, what are some of the initiatives for MITX, and what do you see in some of the industry trends?

Kiki: So, a few things, um, and we saw this from the awards, I mean, number one, kind of the whole social application, social influence, social networking, is, is becoming kind of mainstream. So, um, and you saw that in a lot of our, in almost all of our websites, and we’ve been seeing as, sort of, the categories have grown, um, as well in the awards competition. So, um, much, a lot more focus, um, on social media and more about the application and the case study and really trying to get to the, to the root of the ROI, which is what everyone wants to understand, and more importantly just also wants to figure out how to actually use it and ensure that their brand’s voice is resonating the right way. Mobile is still a very important area for us. Um, Massachusetts is rich with a lot of the mobile industry, so we focus a lot on the mobile apps side, on mobile advertising, and more of the application of it. Um, video is still a very important area, we’ve got a lot of great companies here, including the one I’m at, so um, there’s a lot more around that we want to do. Um, user experience is very, is also been an area that we’ve started to explore last year, and it was interesting, one of the, one of the person on the video was talking about user experience, and I think it’s, it’s a growing competency, um, and you’re seeing a lot with just, even like Fuse Labs here at Microsoft, where so much is at around social activity and how to actually combine it into user experience, so it’s a growing area for us. Um, consumer internet, um, you know, there are more and more companies that are here and growing, but you still have the mainstays, like TripAdvisor, e-commerce players like ShoeBuy, and CSN Stores, so, we’re focusing more on that, and, and on e-commerce as well. Um, and then, digital trends and strategy, I mean that type of area never goes away for us. Um, but that’s the content area. From the more, you know, initiative area, um, we’re really going to be ramping up our student effort, um, you know, it’s no small task to try and get into a lot of the universities and talk to them, and just explain to them what this industry is. So, you know, that’s a huge area for us. And then also, how do we foster more entrepreneurship, particularly among the web industry-type startups, that are in, you know within kind of the confines of our, our purview. So, those are some areas, and then , you know, kind of the ongoing awards shows we do, career fair, just to help, you know, promote and help advance.

Cliff: That’s, that’s a big agenda.

Kiki: I know, I know.

[16:26]

Cliff: Let’s, um, let’s switch gears for a sec,

Kiki: Yeah.

Cliff: Because we talked a lot about these awards, but you have the other set of awards which represent sort of a whole nother part of things in the technology awards.

Kiki: Yes.

Cliff: Right? So that was in the spring.

Kiki: Yes, exactly. And interestingly enough, it used to be part of the MITX, uh, the big MITX Awards, but we found that, um, there was just such a difference between kind of the creativity and application and the actual building of the technology. So we split it off several years ago. But the, the um, the, the theme of that show is to honor the, uh, technologies that are developed here in New England. And we focus more specifically around kind of our core competency area, around communication, and mobile, and video, and collaboration technologies, and, you know, all locally-grown, built in New England, and, you know, it goes through a very different process, where we bring in a lot of the VCs, and analysts in media, and CTOs and experts to do, um, to hear pitches from these companies on what their technologies do. So, um, and then we do a, a show as well. So, the MITX Awards, we have the big one, our technology awards, kind of the science and technology of the Academy Awards, but it’s growing in importance.

[17:31]

Cliff: Well I thought it was great, I think, um, you may want, I think we had, the lead speaker there, uh, honorary, was the head of iRobot. Right?

Kiki: Yes, exactly, Helen Greiner.

Cliff: So, you can talk a little bit about, just to give people a feel for that side of it, what that was like.

Kiki: Yeah, um, it’s really interesting, we have always had, um, called our Innovation Hall of Fame, and, um, so where we could bring in one type of, you know, one special person to talk about, kind of, how they got to where they did and their vision, and, and, it’s, we’ve, we’ve had so many speakers, a wide range of years, from Ray Stata, Bob Metcalfe, Nick Negroponte, Tim Berners-Lee, Helen, way back in the day, Patty Mays, and David Weatherall, when he was just launching CMGI, George Colony, Ray Ozzie, so, it’s been a rich mix of speakers, and it just, hearing about what they’re talking about.

Cliff: Yeah.

Kiki: And what they’re doing.

Cliff: Terrific.

Kiki: Yeah.

Cliff: It’s a terrific group.

[18:17]

Cliff: So why do you think this has grown up, when we think, we’re sitting here on 128,

Kiki: Yeah.

Cliff: And this used to be, you know, sort of, whether you wanted, the, the hardware capital,

Kiki: Right.

Cliff: With that, with Prime, with Apollo, you know, we can, and, and all of a sudden, here this is, and probably, if you surveyed most people, um, they wouldn’t realize how big an industry this is here.

Kiki: Yeah.

Cliff: So, so, how did, how did it come about, and why are we such a leader? What’s, what’s driving that?

Kiki: It’s a great question, I mean, our roots started, um, in, kind of, in the design area, and what we did was, we brought together designers with a lot of the software companies, when the, kind of, user-design interface was a developing competency. And, you know, through that design, and we were, really rich, it just grew into these independent, kind of, multimedia design boutiques, which then expanded into these web development competencies. So, it’s been a very interesting ride to get there. I think that one of the issues in terms of understand it has been because the industry is constantly conver…it’s constantly changing, and it’s converging into all different types of industries. And so, when we talk about how, and, and what’s interesting is, you think about a lot of industries that, innovation happens on an intersection. And, and I’ve heard that and I’ve read that in many books. And that’s where we sit, at that intersection of marketing, media, and technology. And so, I think a lot of times, it’s just hard to understand that and grasp that, because in reality you could, you could talk to a company and you could say “well, I’m a media company.” Well, no, but another person would say “I’m a technology company.” And so everyone has a different filter on it. And that’s the beauty of it, and the strength of it, by just an understanding, the power of it, you have to, kind of, take off that lens to see, kind of the, all different sides of, that play into it.

[19:57]

Cliff: It, it really is amazing that we sit here, and we have Unica behind you.

Kiki: Yeah.

Cliff: Right? And then upstairs, in our building, we’ve got Constant Contact,

Kiki: Yeah.

Cliff: Which is one of the big, sort of, success stories that plays into this whole environment of, of connection. So I think it’s been interesting to just, um, to see the juxtapose of not the big hardware companies, where scale is the big issue.

Kiki: Right.

Cliff: Um, but Constant Contact, you know, built over eleven years. And, a market leader in what they do at this point.

Kiki: Exactly. I think, you know, there’s so many small, and I know the argument of, there’s not the big companies here anymore, but, you know, I’m not sure that’s a bad thing necessarily, when you think about all the small companies and small business, runs and rules this country, so, there’s so much of that that’s happening here, and you see it in a lot of different events that are happening, whether it’s Web Innovators’ Group, whether you’re Dart Boston, whether, um, you’re Mass Innovation Nights, I mean, there’s so much going on to promote the small companies and businesses and start-ups that are out there.

[20:55]

Cliff: I think another trend we, which maybe you can comment on, is, we have a lot of companies here, it appears to me, that are servicing very small businesses. I’ll go back to Constant Contact.

Kiki: Right.

Cliff: For a second. And so, there seems to be a change also, that what used to be able to be just afforded by the largest companies, is now really being democratized in, you know, and people are creating their own content, and using the tools at a much smaller level. But a very huge market in that context.

Kiki: No it’s, it’s a great point, actually, as I, as I had written on, on our blog about some of the trends we saw with the awards this year, and this is not just this year, it’s been happening over time, but just, with the technology becoming cheaper, with the barriers coming down, there’s, there’s so much more that someone with a, you know, a million, millions-dollar budget to uh, not zero, but, a very limited budget, can do now. So the, the entry fees to do this have completely lowered or gone away. Um, and so you could create the same type of experience because there’s such, quality tools out there that allow you to create that experience. And then you see things like, you know, Brightcove’s announcement the other day, about—

Cliff: Yeah. Right.

Kiki: –the express solution, about they’re offering a low-cost solution, so, you know, you, you see it happening, and it’s been pervasive, and I’m sure you guys are seeing it as well.

Cliff: We are. And then you look at, you know, I was looking at some, just look at the YouTube statistics in terms of online video, you know, the new medium that’s being created there for—

Kiki: Right. Yeah.

Cliff: –for people to communicate with. And that has, just, sort of, become the newest communication vehicle.

Kiki: Exactly.

Cliff: You know, whether it’s the Brightcove announcement, whether it’s watching the views on, on YouTube. Now, I was reading a statistic in a Nielsen report, um, that, uh, that basically video viewing has exceeded, uh, email.

Kiki: Really? I didn’t see that.

Cliff: So there’s more videos being watched than emails being read from a marketing perspective.

Kiki: Wow.

Cliff: So, um…

Kiki: I know. It’s good for us, I think. We have to be, start doing more of that.

[22:48]

Cliff: Um, so talk a little bit about, um, you, you touched on it, I wanted to come just back to, the education, and the colleges, and that can actually, because there’s a big initiative that you really, you know, got going there, to get, to keep the kids here.

Kiki: Right.

Cliff: And talk a little bit about the challenge. I, I’ve been in some of the meetings where we’ve talked about some of the challenges, so…

Kiki: Yeah. So, we’re, we’re, our strategy is kind of to go to, kind, there’s three-pronged strategy. Number one, we want to get to our members, because a lot of our members who are small businesses, they don’t have an HR, they don’t have a person who kind of helps them find an intern or go to the schools, and stuff like, “Oh, who graduated from where” and then you go through that route. So number one is, how do we help our companies get more, um, understand how the schools, and how to get in there. Number two, it’s around the schools, and how do we educate the schools, and a lot of that is going in and talking to a lot of the professors and identifying them. We’ve done a lot of work with Northeastern, we’re starting some with BU, um, we can’t go to all the hundreds of schools here, but we gotta start small and work with a few. Um, but then also, working with the students as well, and, and that’s the area that’s going to be the challenge, just from the fact of, how do we reach them, and how do we engage them. We’re coming, um, we’ve, we’ve, uh, just launched a contest called My First Big Gig.

Cliff: Right.

Kiki: And, what that is about, is to get to the, the pe-, the kids that have, well kids, but you know, their first job, and, and talk about what they’re doing in their first job and how excited they are, and so for us to be able to build a, a roster of videos, and we’re getting some in right now, just so then we could go and, and show the schools and show people that these are the types of jobs that are out there for after you graduate. It’s, because it’s not, it’s not necessarily a, an easy concept to understand, what types of jobs are within this industry, so we’re also doing just some, um, research, and some charts and things, into what types of jobs are out there for entry-level students. So if you’re, if you’re a liberal arts degree, then, you might be interested in more the social media. If you really like numbers a lot, then analytics might be the way for you to go. So, just kind of putting it into common terms and language, so they can understand and see the vibrant companies out there. So, it’s, it’s a large effort, and we will need more people to help us, and more members to step in and do it, but, um, we’re really bullish. I think we have the right, um, vibe and energy, and the right types of companies to help us really market what this industry’s all about.

[25:04]

Cliff: It’s, it’s interesting, and I’ll put in a plug for it, we have a great intern from Tufts that’s been with us,

Kiki: Yeah.

Cliff: Since the summer, and Avid just does a, a fantastic job. And it brings a whole different perspective to what, to what we do.

Kiki: Yeah.

Cliff: And um, you know, in some sense, and I will say it, they’ve grown up on a lot of this stuff. We’ve adopted some of the, you know,

Kiki: Yeah.

Cliff: some of these things, but, that’s all they know.

Kiki: Right.

Cliff: You know, so we’re still clouded with some other experiences. So, it’s been a great sort of–

Kiki: Good cloud. [laughter]

Cliff: –education. Yeah, exactly.

Kiki: I don’t mind the cloud sometimes.

Cliff: Yeah, it’s, you know, it’s been, you know, uh, I encourage everybody to sort of, you know, to, to take advantage, if you will,

Kiki: Yeah, that’s great.

Cliff: of the fact that there’s great energy. You know, sort of, out there.

Kiki: Right.

[25:46]

Cliff: I wanted to touch, and we touched on a little bit, one of the things I’m struck by, and I’m bringing us back to what the piece was, um, that, all of this technology can be harnessed not only by small businesses, but, but, it’s interesting, I was watching the other day, we talked a little bit about the computer exchange.

Kiki: Yeah.

Cliff: Um, which is, for those of you who don’t know, is a, is donating computers to, uh, over a hundred countries, to help, sort of, non-profits. And I met the person at the MITX Awards. And, I was watching another non-profit that I know, um, and they were using a phenomenal video-based approach to sort of get their CEO out there.

Kiki: Yeah.

Cliff: So just the use of these tools in that area, feels, you know, like there’s a great new connection that’s come of, out of this, that not only the big businesses, but, all of a sudden non-profits can have a great presence and tell their story.

Kiki: It’s so true. I mean, I, I’ll put ourselves in that same boat, because we’re a different type of non-profit, but we still are one. But the, the, the tools now that we have to market ourselves, it, it goes beyond anything that we had even five years ago. I mean, just the free publicity, and, and the ease of, of so many of these things, that we don’t even have to do the marketing. Um it, it has changed everything that, that we do. And I think anyone would say that whether you’re profit or non-profit, um, particularly when it comes to events and things that you have to do customer acquisition, that it’s completely changed your entire, it’s completely changed your outcome. It’s a game-changer.

[27:14]

Cliff: And, thinking about that in relation to what’s about to happen, which is, um, you know, tremendous cuts coming in the state budget, talk a little bit about all the work you do at the state level, so that people are aware that we actually exist here. Right?

Kiki: So, we got introduced, when we first came out with our market sizing study last year, and, we got introduced to Secretary Gordon Bialecki and his team, who are responsible for business development. Um, it was great, because we started a dialogue with him, to understand that there is this industry here, and they were very interested in it. And so since that time they’ve done, um, several events, um, focusing around innovation, and have been using a lot of our board members as, essentially, kind of poster children of what’s happening here in New England. Um, we also participated in the State Innovation Day, where they had a lot of the lawmakers come in to understand some of the different types of companies that are in gaming, and mobile, and video, which we, um, contributed to. So, you know, I look at our first year, first year and a half, as more of awareness-building, and then really figuring out how we can, how we can work with them more hand-in-hand. And, a lot of that is just having the dialogue and starting the dialogue, and they understand that there’s a lot of vibrant businesses around.

Cliff: That’s, I mean, it’s been a big effort, I’m sure.

Kiki: Yeah.

Cliff: To get that going.

Kiki: No small effort, but, you know, you need to do it.

[28:28]

Cliff: Do you think the state takes advantage of enough of the technologies? That you’re seeing? Or, are there some good examples, maybe, a different way to, you know, put it, you know…

Kiki: I’m, I’m impressed, I mean, I haven’t delved too much into it, but you know, they’re, they’re, they’re adopting some of the social media technologies, and I’ve seen that. So, I think that’s really good. I think, any time, particularly in these budget cuts, they’re going to be forced to look and see how they can consolidate. I mean, sometimes you need those, you need those, kind of, negative, you know, triggers to happen so they can actually become more efficient. So, um, they have to now. So, I think that we’ll probably see an even more efficient government, you know, if they’re applying their technologies right. But, you know, they’re, they’re adopting, how, some of the, now what we might say is mainstream, but, Twitter, and, and YouTube, and following, essentially, kind of President Obama’s lead in, in, incorporating some of those into his campaign. So, I think they’re getting it.

Cliff: Which was, which was, a lot of that which was, driven out of one of the local companies here.

Kiki: Yeah, exactly, Blue State Digital.

[29:30]

Cliff: So, so as we, as we, um, you know, get ready to wrap up here, I guess the other question that, um, that I was thinking about was, letting people know, how do they get up for these awards? What’s your process for that? Because there may be companies out there who say, wait a second, I didn’t even know about this thing.

Kiki: Yeah, no, that’s great. So, we have a special website for it, it’s MITX, m-i-t-x, awards dot org. And, for the technology awards, we start our call for entries in January-February time frame, it’s about a three to four month process, and so that, um, show is in June. And then we kick off our interactive awards in the summertime, it’s typically July. Um, we have about a two, three month entry time there, and then, the, the judging, and then the awards show is in November. So, June and November are kind of the milestone events, and so, basically, subtract four months off each, and that’s where the entry process starts. So, I mean, we have a lot of great partners that help us market, and we have a lot of great social media tools to help us get out there, but this is a perfect venue for me to raise the flag, so, thanks for asking.

[30:30]

Cliff: And the final piece.

Kiki: Yeah.

Cliff: Some of the key upcoming events that you’ve got. We, we have the big, you had your, you know, uh, the awards obviously.

Kiki: Yeah.

Cliff: But I think there’s a couple events left this month. Right?

Kiki: Yes.

Cliff: Or this month, I say, before the end of the year.

Kiki: We just, we just, I know this is probably, this, Jamie’s gonna laugh, from the team, she’s gonna be like, she’s not going to remember it. [laughter] It’s a bad question to ask. No, I can answer a few. We just had, uh, we just had an event today on, on how HR people can use social networking to hire people, which was a very, very well attended event. Uh, we’ve got an upcoming one on Facebook Connect, and what it is, how to use it. Um, we have a charity gala, um, on December 10th, which will be raising money for the homeless children for Horizons, or, the, Horizons Children for the Homeless. Um, and then we’ve got, um, we do in December, we do kind of a digital trends, digital strategy wrap-up on how the year’s been, and so I believe that date is December 17th. So…but, I’m probably wrong, but check the website.

Cliff: That’s right, check the website.

Kiki: MITX, m-i-t-x, dot org.

Cliff: Kiki, thank you so much.

Kiki: Thank you for having me.

Cliff: It’s been great. Wonderful.

Kiki: This is great.

Cliff: Thank you.