Scripps Networks' HGTV.com Gets Crafty



Most of us know someone who loves taking those family pictures during the holidays and putting together a scrapbook to save the memories. Or maybe they spend all their spare time searching the aisles of the local craft store for inspiration. For those creative souls, Scripps Networks has created a new online community on HGTV.com called “Share My Craft.”

This latest venture brings together talented crafters who want to share photos and videos with the world to show off their favorite projects. The site features several areas of interest, including: gift ideas, holiday, home décor, kids’ crafts, knitting/crocheting, and scrapbooking.

“Share My Craft” is the fourth initiative for HGTV.com that features Neighborhood America’s solution. In February 2007, Scripps launched their first initiative “Rate My Space,” which became a quick success, followed by “Share My Quilt,” a community for people passionate about quilting, and “Rate My Dorm Room,” a destination for college coeds to upload pictures and videos of their dorm room for others to rate, rank or comment on.

Check out Scripps' latest community at: http://sharemycraft.hgtv.com.

Florida’s Capital City Set to Manage Growth Issues with Neighborhood America's Solution

Too much congestion and not enough money plague the challenges of over-capacity facing parts of Tallahassee, Florida and Leon County.

It’s a big headache for transportation planners. And has a significant impact on where development goes. A challenge that is not unique to this area, but rather just about every metropolitan area in the nation.

The Tallahassee-Leon County Planning Department (TLCPD) wants to know how citizens feel about the growth, so it’s embarking on a large-scale visioning project.

This complex transportation planning initiative includes an economic impact analysis as well as analysis of the county’s growth needs. The agency wants to ensure its citizens and stakeholders will have the education and understanding needed to provide input into the planning and decision making process.

The TLCPD chose Neighborhood America’s solutions to support the internal work teams, helping them manage the administrative requirements and the external outreach activities around an extensive public education campaign and various phases of citizen participation.

This strategic partnership provides added exposure of Neighborhood America’s solution within the Capital City and to numerous lawmakers who upon learning about the TLCPD’s initiative stand to recognize the need to engage citizens in the political process.

Big Changes on the Horizon
by Kim Patrick Kobza, president & CEO

While 2007 was a year of enormous strides in social media, the industry is beginning to realize that the dream of monetizing popular consumer destinations such as MySpace, Facebook and YouTube is not going to materialize.

As the markets ponder ‘what’s next,’ we at Neighborhood America offer four bold predictions on where the industry is heading, and how it will impact business in 2008:

1. Web 2.0 is on its way out. By now, we've all realized there's something much bigger on the horizon. This next evolution of the Internet is not simply an extension of today, or a new version waiting to be tagged with a trivial 3.0 label. It's a whole new way of doing business. Web 2.0 will be replaced by the Smart Web as businesses learn that squandering resources in an effort to superficially 'befriend' consumers just doesn't make good business sense. Instead there will be greater realization that smart businesses engage consumers through strategic communities that deliver smart results.

2. The advertising model will transition away from impressions to a more valuable, measurable, experience model. That loop - or the advertiser's goal to engage consumers in a way that creates an experience and promotes measurable action - will begin to close as marketing leaders increasingly look for more effective ways to maximize budgets under greater scrutiny and accountability.

3. Industries will view enterprise social networks as a valued business asset. Greater adoption of the concept will become evident as organizations move beyond the 'cool factor' and realize that high value communities can drive results throughout virtually every aspect of their organization. There will be greater realization that the value of many can impact multiple disciplines throughout an organization. A community that may have initially developed from a marketing campaign, for example, will feed the business intelligence needed for product research and development, change management, customer retention and loyalty programs, and stronger partner networks.

4. The capital markets will be more demanding for all things “social.” The market has become saturated with social networking companies, most of which deliver fun to consumers, but little in the way of successful business models. Venture capital and private equity funds will absorb the failures quickly. The capital markets will quickly begin to realize that valuations based on impressions are so... well, last year!  Watch net native Software as a Service models emerge as the preferred delivery business model.

In 2008, the Internet will continue to evolve and businesses will utilize enterprise social networks to reach their full potential as a brand. At Neighborhood America, we will continue to be a thought leader in the space and are looking forward to a new year that is sure to see these transformative trends take hold.

Enterprise Social Networks: World Changing Concepts

Great business is not about following trends. It’s about setting new ones... smarter ones... better ones.

During Neighborhood America's first leadership conference, we had the opportunity to interview respected executives ranging from the former chairman of Chrysler to the author of Marketing to the Social Web. The resulting video captures the essence of the impact that enterprise social networks will have on the future of business.

We invite you to view this four minute video to learn how the consumer's voice can impact a company in the areas of product development, customer retention, loyalties, brand awareness, gaining trust and remaining competitive in a global marketplace.

Customer Training and Support Breaks New Ground

We’re all customers. It’s how we get the products and services we want in life. Especially when you’ve made a substantial investment that requires training and support, you don’t want to feel like the company has dropped off the face of the earth, right?

Last month, Neighborhood America launched the Customer First Group to ensure that the highest level of service is delivered to every customer and partner. Following closely on the heels of this announcement, we kicked off the new Web-based Customer Training Program.

The classes offer our customers the flexibility of receiving technical training, as well as corporate and industry overviews, when it’s most convenient to them, in 30-minute intervals. Representatives from the Michigan Department of Transportation and the Department of Information Technology, and the Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation attended the first webcast, intended as a technical refresher of our solution. Participants received tips and tricks on how best to use HTML code to maximize their public involvement sites.

“The feedback that I received from the participants was very positive. I shared with them tips that will help make their Public Comment forms more interactive, which allows the public to engage more in the process instead of just reading a large number of questions which can turn some people away,” said David Kiszka, Neighborhood America’s Sr. Technical Support Representative.

Besides expanding their knowledge, the program promotes ‘champions’ among our customers, those that fully grasp the potential of our solution and can speak to the success they’ve had utilizing our technology and services.

Neighborhood America intends to go above and beyond the initial training a customer receives, providing continued support, and walking hand-in-hand with them. You’ll never hear from our customers, “Where are those guys?” We’re always here.

Classes will be held weekly on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Eastern time. For a list of available classes, log in to the Communications Manager and click on the registration link to sign up.

S.F. TV Station Gets Social on Net
by Shahnaz Mahmud


CBS' local CW affiliate station in San Francisco has partnered with social networking firm Neighborhood America in an effort to find cutting-edge ways to engage viewers and expand its audience.

Read the full article that appeared in AdWeek.

The Future is Phoning Now
by Bill Schiller


A few Southwest Florida companies are at the forefront of a revolutionary trend that’s not only redefining how businesses engage and interact with their customers, but has the potential to reshape the virtual fabric of our technological lives.

Read the full article that appeared in Southwest Florida Busines Today.


Naples Software Company to Add 40 Jobs
by Laura Layden

Naples-based software developer Neighborhood America has "launched" a new expansion. Using the theme "Go for Launch," the company has unveiled plans to add 40 jobs this year.

Read the full article that appeared in Naples Daily News.

The Business Case for In-House Social Networks
by Robert McGarvey


Call them a plague against productivity - or, just maybe, they are the tool that will unlock enormous new value for business. The debate is that sharp.

Read the full article that appeared in CIO Update.

Civic Engagement and the Web


When Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick took the oath of office one year ago, he made a promise to open the government to the public. Patrick embraces technology and new media, and its ability to transform politics and business alike, so much so that his staff includes a Director of New Media and Online Strategy, Brad Blake.

During those first few months, Neighborhood America began reaching out to Blake to share our company’s expertise and best practices for connecting citizens to government. As a result of this relationship, Blake invited Neighborhood America to join a panel discussion he was moderating on December 11, 2007 at the annual Massachusetts Digital Government Summit in Boston. The purpose of the event is to foster discussion and dialogue on the use of information technology as a strategic tool for managers, executives and policy makers at the state and local government levels.

Our Senior Director of Business Development, Dan Bevarly, participated in the session, “Civic Engagement and the Web,” which focused on the Web-based social networking phenomenon that is sweeping the country. The discussion centered on the issue that most of the social networking takes place outside of government - their closest connection being found thriving in political campaigns. The question addressed by the panel was could government use Web 2.0 technologies to significantly increase civic engagement?

Joining Bevarly on the panel were Jim Caralis, Founder of OpenMass.org, a web site dedicated to civic involvement around the Massachusetts legislature; and David Crowley, President and Founder of Social Capital Inc., a web portal of community-based social networks in the commonwealth.

Determining if the Price is Right




Media agencies, advertisers, and brand managers looking to spend advertising dollars must feel like they’re on a game show sometimes.

“Come on down. You’re the next contestant on The Price is Right!”

Here they come running crazily down the aisle after their name is called. They take their spot on Contestants Row and the bidding battle commences. Maybe it’s a refrigerator or a piece of jewelry, but the objective is the same: come closest to the price of the item without going over.

In the real world, in the ad world, it’s much the same, but the stakes are higher. When it comes to user-generated content and social networking, evaluating pricing can be tricky. How do you know if the dollars you’re spending are worth the value?

That’s the topic of a panel Neighborhood America’s VP Dan Miller will moderate at the Digital Media Measurement & Pricing Summit. The panel includes: Rob Griffin, SVP, U.S. Director of Search, Data, & Analytics for Media Contacts; James Hering, EVP and Director of Integrated Marketing for TM Advertising; and Todd Steinman, COO of M80. This session will take audience members through the thought process behind the pricing associated with user-generated content and social networking, and how it is justified.

Designed as a one-stop-shop for industry senior executives looking for the latest solutions in tracking, measuring, and pricing, the Digital Media Measurement & Pricing Summit welcomes a variety of attendees ranging from national consumer brand companies to ad agencies and interactive strategy firms to digital ad networks. Presentation topics typically include user-generated content, social networking, search engine marketing (SEM), mobile marketing, and many more. This year the two-day summit will feature case studies spotlighting JCPenney, Discovery Channel, Hilton Hotels, and Coca-Cola.

The Digital Media Measurement & Pricing Summit will be held on January 22nd and 23rd in Manhattan, New York. The User-Generated Content & Social Networking: Pricing discussion is scheduled for Day One of the conference.

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