Category Archives: Community Engagement

Innovation Movement

One of our great joys this year at CES (#ces2012) was the response members and visitors alike had to CEA’s Innovation Movement (#imovement) and its Declaration of Innovation campaign we have helped shape. The movement is a critical asset for the industry – a tie between the economy-rescuing new technology featured at the show and the policy decisions in Washington and around the world that can either accelerate or derail its development. At the show, we had an actor dressed as Thomas Jefferson and a band of Movement staffers circulating on the show floor, at parties and at member receptions, spreading the word about the importance of decisions on key policies like free-trade agreements, spectrum auctions, immigration reform and the potentially damaging SOPA and PIPA bills.
Posted on January 20, 2012 By Evan Kraus
Also posted in Musings, Online | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Applying Moneyball Logic to Managing a Corporate Volunteer Program

Spring training is right around the corner, so I thought it would be appropriate to dig into an analogy thrown out by Taproot’s Aaron Hurst at the 2011 BSR conference in San Francisco. Aaron compared the recent innovations in corporate volunteer practices to Moneyball. If you’ve read the book or seen the movie, you know the story: Oakland A’s GM Billy Beane revolutionized MLB roster management by employing a new approach to analyzing a player’s value. The “data nerds” have created a system that is more efficient and less risky, leading to improved performance for a franchise on the field and the balance sheet.
Posted on January 5, 2012 By Tara Greco
Also posted in Corporate Responsibility, Sports | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

You’re Never Going to Save the World Playing Video Games! Are you?

I grew up in the 70’s and 80’s, in the early days of video game development when Pac Man ruled and the internet was not yet a part of the popular consciousness. Multi-user online games did not exist and social media meant making a mix-tape for my friend Jenny’s birthday party. Anyone who grew up during that era remembers the frequent parental refrain that video games make kids… take your pick: Violent, Stupid, Fat, etc... The retort to any of these was the same, video games are great for hand eye coordination – ignoring the obvious, that activities like baseball or juggling are far better at teaching these skills.
Posted on September 21, 2011 By Virtual Vantage Points
Also posted in Online | Tagged , | Leave a comment

C U @ da riot 2nite or Icanhazlooterpics?

“To Alcohol! The cause of, and solution to, all of life’s problems.” – Homer Simpson If Homer Simpson were in London this week, he might be using that refrain for social media instead of alcohol. As riots broke out across the UK, beginning in Tottenham following the protest around the shooting of Mark Duggan by the Met police, the use of social media has been at the forefront of dissecting the organising potential of different communities. As the riots broke, rumours were rampant that the skirmishes had been organised through social media, particularly on Twitter and Facebook. As the days progressed, Blackberry Messenger was pegged as the main organising force for rioters, while Twitter was identified as inciting the violence with shared images and details that may have caused others to take to the streets. Regardless of the tools used, there is little doubt that social sharing through technology allowed those taking part in the riots to coordinate and communicate with one another.
Posted on August 10, 2011 By Virtual Vantage Points
Also posted in Crisis, Online, Social Media Best Practices, UK Politics | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Four Presidents and 1000 Points of Light

I attended an event in the Kennedy Center’s elegant Opera House last night and sat 10 rows behind four former presidents of the United States. I saw former secretaries of state, senators, congressmen. Even heard Carrie Underwood sing, along with Garth Brooks and a bunch of other A-list performers. But the brightest light wasn't among those names...
Posted on March 22, 2011 By B. Jay Cooper
Also posted in Corporate Responsibility | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

New Decade, New Consumer

On February 10, APCO Worldwide’s San Francisco office hosted an executive roundtable on the “New Decade, New Consumer: A ‘2020’ look at how brand and reputation drives business results in a connected, global economy.” Moderated by Shelby Coffey, former editor of the Los Angeles Times and member of APCO’s International Advisory Council, the panel featured senior-level communication executives from such leading companies as University of Phoenix*, IKEA*, Redphlag, and Facebook. The event attracted more than 90 attendees from Bay Area companies, including representatives from Gap, PlayFirst, Kodak Gallery* and Greenpeace.
Posted on February 11, 2011 By Cassandra Pye
Also posted in Corporate Responsibility | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment