Doreyne Douglas – SMB Executive, Mom & VP at PlanetMagpie – Shares Insights on Tech, Design and Advice for Entrepreneurs

2 Comments/in /by

PlanetMagpie is a technology and design partner of PerkettPR. They specialize in delivering IT Consulting, Web Design, App Development, Web Marketing, Hosting and Comprehensive Network Support.

Where did the name PlanetMagpie come from?

Our dog Magpie, a black lab, was the company’s mascot. She embodied all the traits we believe any good business should have.  She was fun, smart, a great friend, incredibly loyal and worked really hard to please us. That’s what a true partner should be.

What do you like about living and working in the Bay Area?

I love that there are a million things to do here – plus the lack of mosquitoes and cold weather!

How did you get into tech?

My husband Robert incorporated PlanetMagpie in 1998. Five years ago the business had grown to a size where he needed additional support in marketing so he recruited me to help out. Prior to that, I was in legal marketing and recruiting for 15 years, most recently with the second largest law firm in California; Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, probably best known for representing President Bush in Bush v. Gore.

What are three things small business owners and entrepreneurs should be sure to have in place when launching a new company?

1)      A solid IT infrastructure that can grow with them

2)      An identity and brand that inspires employees, customers and partners

3)      A customized, professional website that captures who they are; custom sites are not that much more expensive than template sites and are worth the investment.

What sticks out to you like a sore thumb when you see a badly designed website?

1)      The site is disorganized and all over the place

2)      There isn’t a clear message of who they are and what they do. That is particularly frustrating to a marketer because what they don’t realize is people will leave immediately if they can’t get a feel for what you can offer them.

What are some of the pitfalls or security risks businesses should be aware of when setting up their IT infrastructure?

Be sure to consult with an expert. Just because Microsoft (or any vendor) says a certain software or system will suffice for your business “up to 50 people,” doesn’t mean it will perform equally fast whether you have 1 or 50 people using it.  We see systems meant for 50 slowing down at 20, and that can hurt your productivity.  Build your systems based on your planned growth and be sure they fit your needs for the foreseeable future.  Consulting with someone who has built/used/implemented these systems in the past is your best bet for ensuring you are set up for success.

What advice do you have for entrepreneurs starting their own business today?

After “Don’t do it?” 🙂

I think the most important thing to remember is what starts twisted will stay twisted. If you don’t have a vision and a plan in place to execute on that vision in an organized way you won’t succeed. Ask yourself, “What is the right way to do this?” – then plan it out from there. A lot of entrepreneurs will just take it as it comes and roll with the punches but they need to develop a plan first.

Secondly, I would say find the right employees and partners. No one gets there alone, and you need to have good people you can trust, that are reliable and loyal to move your business forward. Once you find those people hang on to them. They are the ones that will help you protect your company.

As a working mom and business executive/owner what do you find gets lost in the shuffle most?

Working on our house, which we love to do.  When the economy started taking a turn, we had to abandon our house renovation project mid-stream and devote all our attention to the company.  That was about 2-1/2 years ago.  When we start working on our house again, that will be proof positive to me that the recession is behind us.

What is your favorite tech gadget and why?

If I could only have one tech toy for work, it would be Microsoft Office Communications Server.  The “presence” and “IM” features of OCS are indispensable. My web development team’s collaboration and work efficiency went way up after we implemented those tools.  We can’t work without them anymore.

What inspires you to work as hard as you do?

I guess it’s the midfielder in me.  I don’t stop running until the referee blows his whistle … and that’s usually around 1 a.m.!  But seriously, I do it for Robert and the kids.  For Robert, because I’ve never met a harder working person more deserving of success.  For our kids, because I want to be able to leave them something tangible when we’re gone, to make their lives a little easier and to make sure they have a common place to gather and call home.

What are your favorite blogs?

I like Women on Business, The Business Insider (Silicon Alley Insider), and ReadWriteWeb.  I’m still trying to find a favorite blog on web design/development.

What would you be doing if you weren’t in tech?

If I could do it all over again, I would be a professional soccer player. I play on three soccer teams and absolutely love it.

______________________________________________________________________

If you are interested in learning more about PlanetMagpie’s services visit PlanetMagpie or contact Doreyne directly at: doreyne [dot] douglas [at] planetmagpie [dot com]

Ilina Ewen – Super Marketer, Blogger, Mom – a PerkettPR Interview, Part 2

1 Comment/in /by

Today we continue our interview with Ilina Ewen, where she takes us beyond her blogging to share her thoughts on everything from big brands and social media to her perspective of the “social media scene” in the Southeast region. She talks a little about her company, iFactor, and how she helps companies define strategies and tactics to ensure that key audiences “digest what we’re communicating” – and how they “spit it back out.”

“Social media is still media – it’s not anything new.” Watch the video to learn more, and be sure to check out Part 1 of the interview if you haven’t seen it yet.

Thanks again to Ilena for sharing her time and insights with us – and you!

NOTE: We continue our interview series of influencers, media and entrepreneurs across industries such as tech, fashion and healthcare. If you have an interesting subject for us to consider, please email blog [at] perkettpr [dot] com!

Ilina Ewen – Super Marketer, Blogger, Mom – a PerkettPR Interview

1 Comment/in /by

Recently PerkettPR had the pleasure of sitting down with Raleigh-based blogger, entrepreneur, mommy, foodie and wife, Ilina Ewen. I met Ilina within only a few weeks of my move to Raleigh, NC. She and I first connected on Twitter (@IlinaP) and then met in person shortly thereafter at a local TweetDiva event – and the rest is history.

Ilina is a firecracker. That is the word that most use to describe her. She is the definition of a straight-shooter and that is what I love about her. Your classic Type-A, she is a self-proclaimed ‘neat freak’, die-hard Democrat and mother of two boys. In her ‘spare’ time Illina runs her own marketing company, iFactor, and also finds time to write for multiple blogs including Foodie Mamma and Deep South Moms and is a regular contributor to WRAL’s GoAsk Mom column. Talk about an effective multitasker!

In this first of a two-part series, Ilina sat down to talk to PerkettPR about her gritty – and sometimes controversial – blog Dirt and Noise.  In this interview, she shares background on what inspires the content for her blog, what postings garner the most attention – both positive and negative – and offers sound advice for others who are thinking about dipping their toe into the blogging pool.

PerkettPR Interviews Robert “Scobleizer” Scoble, Part II: Good PR, Bad PR, Great Leaders and More

1 Comment/in /by

We continue our interview with Robert Scoble, “The Scobleizer,” as he gets into some interesting PR and business topics. Scoble tells us how Google helps him deal with PR executives, what makes a good PR pitch, what PR emails will get trashed and what makes a PR person smart in his eyes. He also shared his opinion on what makes a great leader, what his “non-techie” pastimes are (hint: take him to a sushi spot!) and if he ever, ever unplugs. Be sure to check out Part I of this interview if you missed it.

 

 

 

NOTE: We’re reviving our interview series of influencers, media and entrepreneurs across industries such as tech, fashion and healthcare. If you have an interesting subject for us to consider, please email blog [at] perkettpr [dot] com!

PerkettPR Interviews Robert “Scobleizer” Scoble, Part 1: tech, blogging, social media & more

in /by

In PR, it’s important to pay attention. Paying attention means listening, reading and following – especially when it comes to industry innovators. One of the biggest tech influencers we follow is Robert Scoble, otherwise known as “Scobleizer.”

While Robert now has a corporate job as a video blogger for Rackspace – where he is building a community for people fanatical about the Internet called building43, he has long been a technical evangelist. Also a published author of Naked Conversations: How Blogs are Changing the Way Businesses Talk with Customers, with Shel Israel, Scoble is probably best known for his blog, Scobleizer, which came to prominence during his tenure as a technical evangelist at Microsoft and is now unarguably one of the top tech blogs around. Scoble also used to work for Fast Company as a video blogger, where he learned his fair share of dealing with PR people.

PerkettPR sat down with Scoble recently and asked his opinion on everything from how kids influence his perspective to what his favorite sites are (hint: tweet, tweet) and how he uses them, to what he wanted to be when he grew up. Here, in Part I of our two-part series, you get to know a little bit about how he got started (there were only about 200 blogs around when he did!).

 

 

 

Persuasive Picks for the week of 06/07/09

in , /by

Facebook

Coming Soon (tonight!): Facebook Usernames Coming soon really means coming this weekend. Prepare for the mad dash as like-named people around the world vie for their own Facebook “vanity URLs.”

10 steps to stop identity hijackers
Theft of brand identity on social networks is nothing new. There have been numerous accounts of it on Facebook and Twitter alone. In this post on Ragan.com, David Berkowitz shares 10 steps you can take that will help reduce the chance it might happen to your company’s brand(s).

Twitter to roll out ‘Verified Accounts’ this summer
Twitter will be rolling out a new identity verification process to help combat the aforementioned brand hijacking. This post from Leslie Katz, senior editor of CNET’s Crave, gives the lowdown.

Content Marketing Strategy with a Side of Social
As a PR agency that’s been entrenched in social media over the last few years – from training, to messaging and strategy, to digital content production and other tactics – we constantly refer back to the “basics” of how it all fits into our clients’ (and our) overall online marketing strategy. This post on TopRank’s Online Marketing blog falls nicely into that level of thinking.

Five Levels Of Social Media Responses
Continuing on the theme of social media basics, Dave Fleet shares “five levels of approach to online listening and responding” to help gauge how effective you are at true and active online engagement.

Christine Perkett on Women Entrepreneurs – The Secrets of Success

2 Comments/in , /by

This week I was interviewed by career coach and blogger, Deb Bailey as part of her Woman Entrepreneurs podcast series on BlogTalkRadio. You can listen to the interview in its entirety via the widget above.

Be sure to check out the rest of Deb’s interviews at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/coachdeb, as well as her blog at http://www.dbaileycoach.com/.

From Fast Company to Boston Business Journal to Mass High Tech to… Peru? “Journalists Are People Too” Continues with Doug Banks

2 Comments/in /by

Doug Banks has seen his fair share of PR pitches – having worked at various tech publications over the years. In our continuing effort to help PR executives and journalists better understand each other, we interviewed Doug recently. From cold-weather camping with his children, to keeping the newsroom connected with Mass High Tech’s readers, Doug knows how to work hard, play hard and keep his priorities in check.

PPR: You are the Editor for Mass High Tech; how long have you been doing that and what do you find most fascinating about New England’s high tech industry?

I’ve been editor since 2005, when I came over from our sister paper, the Boston Business Journal. I started reporting in 1992, but I’ve been doing business journalism in Boston since 1998, when I joined the BBJ. I left there to go to Fast Company magazine from 2000-2001, where I got to see the highest heights of the tech industry and then one of the lowest lows (assuming we’re not at the lowest low right now). The most fascinating thing about New England’s high tech industry? Probably its ability to change, on the fly, without much notice. In barely four years, the complexion of this region’s economy has undergone seriously rapid transformation.

PPR: With all the chatter about traditional media and the PR industry dying, what are you guys doing to stay relevant, informed and connected at Mass High Tech?

Our readership is geographically and demographically niche, so we’ve been spared from some of the carnage going on nationally in journalism. But a bigger reason, I think, for our ability to not be dying, and to stay relevant, is our move last year to redesign our web site, add new industry-specific email newsletters and news digests, and get more active in the places our readers are hanging out and looking for their news. And that’s why you’ll find a better collection of RSS feeds, you’ll find us with a very active Twitter presence, and (at long last) finishing up a Facebook presence. We’re also doing more targeted things, such as launching new Linked In groups specifically for All-Stars and Women to Watch honorees to help them network with one another better.

Ultimately, it’s all about staying connected to our readers, knowing where they are and what they’re doing and reporting it in as many forms as necessary. And we’re the first to admit that we have a lot more to do.

PPR: What’s it like these days in the newsroom? What’s the most impactful change that you’ve experienced in your industry/job over the last five years?

It’s busier than ever. All newsrooms, not just ours, are so multimedia now. If you asked me 10 years ago, or even five years ago, how many reporters would have to tote video cameras around to capture video interviews while they’re doing interviews for the print edition and then for the web site, I would have thought you were crazy. Now we’re asking reporters to file information for creating online maps, mashups; we’re asking them to not only shoot video, but help edit it; we’re asking them to promote their stories on the social networks. I mean, they’re doing it all — it’s definitely different. And I will say this — it’s never boring.

PPR: It’s just warming up – what did you do to keep yourself entertained during New England’s long winter?

I love camping and I don’t let the cold stop me and my kids from enjoying the outdoors. My daughter and I love playing in the backyard snow, and my son and I recently went to Maine for an overnight camping trip. We also spent an outdoor activity day in Gardner and in January I organized an indoor overnight as part of a church-based scouting program I’m involved in. So entertainment, when you have kids, is never difficult.

PPR: Name the most interesting place you’ve ever visited.

Tough one. Most recently? Probably Bryce Canyon in Utah, in 2007. My daughter and son, 5 & 7 at the time, hiked the entire canyon, which is practically 8,000 feet above sea level. They’re hardcore.

PPR: TV, Internet or books?

I’m 30/30/30. Books in the morning when I first get up, Internet all day, TV at night to wind down.

PPR: Did you always want to be in journalism? If you weren’t an Editor, what would you be?

I always thought I wanted to be a teacher, but found that I was pretty good at digging up news, so I ended up as a reporter. And I still get to teach — I’ve been an adjunct at Emerson for a few years now and BU before that, as well as a number of community colleges when I first moved to Boston. If I weren’t an editor, I’d probably be a teacher of some kind.

PPR: What’s your favorite type of food?

Lebanese. My wife’s cooking, in particular.

PPR: What would we find on your iPod?

Podcasts? Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese language lessons; Music? R&B, soul and contemporary gospel. But mixed in with the Stevie Wonder and John Legend is some Pixies, early REM, Van Halen and U2. My tastes are eclectic.

PPR: What’s the most daring thing you’ve ever done?

This July, I’m going to Peru, up the Amazon River, with a team of people to build a school/church building for a couple of local villages there. I haven’t done it yet, so it doesn’t really answer the question, but judging from how far remote we may be going, it’s the only thing I can think of at the moment.

PPR: What three words would other people would use to describe you?

Most people I know are too wordy to use just three words. I would hope they would use words like “authentic.”

PPR: What’s one thing that would surprise people about you?

For people who only know me through work? Probably my commitment to putting family and faith first. Work is important, but it doesn’t come close to those two things.

PR Firms Need to Get Personal Now More Than Ever – a “Journalists Are People Too” Interview with David Spark, Spark Media Solutions

4 Comments/in /by

Spark Media SolutionsRecently, one of our staff members, Fred Han, received an interesting email from an industry friend – David Spark of Spark Media Solutions. David is a new media consultant and producer with more than 14 years knowledge and experience as a journalist reporting on the tech industry in print, radio, TV, and online.

In the spirit of learning from each other, he wanted to share a negative experience he had recently encountered with a PR firm. David’s frustration echoed what we often hear from journalists and bloggers when it comes to PR – that PR executives don’t take the time to read and understand who they are pitching. David said, “In this case, the blatant desire to take advantage of me and my status with absolutely zero interest in me was offensive.” This stemmed from the PR agency “pitching” David to write a blog post on their client – before building any type of relationship with him or even acknowledging that they read, followed and understood what David does on a daily basis and why this story might be of particular interest to him and his audience.

We appreciated David’s openness and effort to help educate PR executives on how to work better with bloggers – and we thought it would make for an interesting guest post in our “Journalists Are People Too” interview series. So we met with David, captured his thoughts on camera and have posted them here for you. We hope you find his insights helpful – and if you have experiences with PR (good or bad) that you’d like to share in the spirit of harmonious working, please let us know. We’d love to include you in our interview series.

And FYI – Fred may be a geek, but that’s how we like ‘em here at PerkettPR!

Scott Porad at SXSWi 2009

3 Comments/in /by

While asking random people at SXSW what two words described their experience at the conference, I ran into Scott Porad, Cheezburger Technology Officer for I Can Has Cheezburger – a website well known for its cat pictures with hilarious captions that has been going strong since January 2007. I just had to speak with Scott about the site that is currently attracting five million page views a day and closing in on hitting two billion (BILLION) page views this year. See what Scott has to say about I Can Has Cheezburger.