Empowering Youth in the Age of Technology and the Internet

Would the world be a different place if young people were in charge… or at least had a platform to share their ideas and promote change? Those vying for the “Young Creators Award” certainly think so, and they have a vital ally in the effort.

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation is giving away $500,000 to anyone age 25 and under anywhere in the world with compelling ideas for using digitally delivered news and information to improve the lives of people where they live, work and vote. The award is a component of the Knight News Challenge, an annual competition that awards $5 million for innovative ideas using digital experiments to transform community news.

This year, for the first time, Neighborhood America’s enterprise social networking solution transformed the competition. Besides enabling the Knight Foundation to manage the contest via the Web, from the application submissions to the judging process, the Knight News Challenge website allowed entrants to invite public comment to help improve their entries and build community among the participants.

The ideas flowing into the website span the globe, including projects that inspire local communities to care about the environment and those that serve to educate and raise awareness about cultural, political, and societal issues.

MTV promoted the award on its youth-oriented social network focused on activism and works of charity called ThinkMTV and throughout its international network. The Boys & Girls Club of America, with more than 4,000 Clubs in the United States and abroad, also encouraged the more than 4.8 million young people it serves to participate in the contest. Winners will be announced by the spring of 2008.

Neighborhood America is privileged to support an innovative leader in the industry whose efforts have the potential to create transformational change. Whether it’s youth in the U.S. or across the globe, technology and the Internet proves to be an empowering and uniting force.

Why MySpace Just Won't Cut It
by David Bankston, CTO & Exec. VP

Social networking is here to stay. With a reported 114 million people frequenting MySpace, and another 52 million connecting through Facebook (source: comScore, June 2007), consumers have grown to expect opportunities for online engagement. It is critical for corporations to understand not only how people are growing accustomed to communicating, but also how this pervasive social trend translates into the company's bottom-line.

It is readily apparent that social networking has become a revolution of sorts, but can it be used as something more than a space to talk to your friends or watch funny videos? Can social networks actually drive profit for a company, promote meaningful discussion, or increase a brand's consumer engagement? And if so, how does a company go about getting involved? Is it really as simple as creating a MySpace page?

The answer is no.

Social networking at an enterprise-level is not about MySpace, nor is it about attracting crowds. It's about building high value communities that drive innovation and revenue through increased engagement with consumers, employees and even partners. The following "Rules of the Road" will help ensure a smooth trip for those corporations seeking to capitalize on the new world of social networking.

Learn the 5 "Rules of the Road" by continuing to read Bankston's feature story, published in iMedia Connection.

Engaging Your Public in Today's World
by Dan Bevarly, Sr. Dir. of Business Development

As U.S. presidential contenders travel the nation seeking the early support of American voters, they continue to rely heavily on the cornerstone of our democratic society – the town hall meeting. Why? Because participatory governance is the foundation of our nation – a
government created by the people, for the people.

But away from the campaign trail and out of view from the camera lens, the town hall meeting of old has become a rather antiquated form of citizen engagement. The concept is
timeless—reaching out to local citizens, giving them an opportunity to voice their opinions, and using that information to help make decisions. It’s the reality that has changed over the years.

This article appears on page 29 of the USA Services Intergovernmental newsletter published by the federal-level General Services Administration (GSA) and focuses on "How E-Government is Changing Society and Strengthening Democracy."

Sort through the Noise of Election '08

To most, politics are… dare we say… boring. Connect2Elect is changing all that.

Neighborhood America developed the one-of-a-kind public website with the support of introNetworks technology. The site enables citizens to quickly discover which presidential candidates are most, and least, aligned with their individual values and beliefs – not what is presumed to be important based on a random poll, a candidate’s speech or the latest news coverage.

Voters who have used Connect2Elect are speaking out about the experience:

“What a thorough look into the candidates. It made me stop and think about which issues are important to me.”
Sharon D., FL

“It was amazing that my top 3 picks were right there next to my pin. An added feature I enjoyed was clicking on the candidate, and up popped a profile.”
Dana R., IA

Who does America think is the strongest leader? What do the people think are the top three issues facing our country?

Neighborhood America has the ability to collect this valuable data. And if you’re curious to find out what other people are tagging as their priorities for the ’08 Elections, click on the “See Results” icon on the homepage. The results are displayed in four different tag clouds that mirror the site – political issues, social issues, core beliefs and candidate attributes. Just place your cursor over any of the words to see the number of participants who have selected it.

Try it yourself and see what all the buzz is about. Visit Connect2Elect.com and get connected!

Join the discussion, share your experience, and offer your feedback through our Connect2Elect (the blog).

Click on the images below to check out some of the recent media coverage:

"Heard it Through the Newsvine"
by Catherine Holahan

The lines between citizen and professional journalism are blurring, creating opportunities and risks for media outlets like MSNBC, which recently acquired user-generated news site Newsvine.

Read the article that appeared in Business Week.

"Baby Boomers Hit the Web, But Not To Find Each Other"
by Jesse Noyes

Once seen as the exclusive realm of teens and college students, social networking sites catering to those kids' parents and elders have been amassing on the Web. What isn't clear is whether that graying generation wants a Web site of its own.

Read the article that appeared in Boston Business Journal.

Exclusive Event for Leading Marketers

Attention all Marketers:

Plan to attend the Online Marketing Summit in San Diego, February 21-23. (And just because you know us, you'll receive a 40% discount!)

OMS is an exclusive event for leading marketers designed to share online marketing best practices while further educating participants on the critical marketing topics in today’s economy. Neighborhood America's Jason Breed will join presenters from Home Depot, Cisco, LinkedIn and many more leading companies that will offer exclusive insights into successful online marketing:

• Social Media Business Strategies
• Online Lead Generation
• Web Optimization and Analytics... and much more.

To learn more, visit: http://www.onlinemarketingsummit.com/na/

Neighborhood America Hosts First-of-its-Kind Leadership Conference

An exciting energy hummed as everyone shuffled into the seats. The tables inside the conference room at the Ritz Carlton Golf Resort in Naples, Florida were set up in the shape of a “U” to encourage interaction. In attendance, key leaders having a diversity of business experience, representing various industries, from automotive to healthcare.

The purpose of the October 18th conference was to listen to our close friends and executives – experienced business leaders – to together build an understanding of how Neighborhood America (and our partners) will maintain leadership in this important emerging marketplace.

Larry Weber, an international authority on social media and marketing, kicked off the discussion with his point of view on national and international trends in Fortune 2000 companies. He spoke on how enterprise social networks are being used to add value to business. Weber is chairman of W2 Group, a global marketing services ecosystem that helps CMO’s in their new role as builders of communities and content aggregators.

Neighborhood America also invited Mark Sylvester, President and CEO of introNetworks, to show us how major brands are using data visualization to enable connections of consumers to their brands, and businesses and executives to each other.

The third hour was dedicated to listening to the wisdom of our audience and gaining their insights on how various industries will most probably use enterprise social networks to improve processes, market readiness, and strategic approaches to the market. The high-level discussion generated some amazing ideas and helped us identify new opportunities.

This conference is the first in a series of 7 executive leadership sessions that Neighborhood America will host through April of 2008.

Content is Dead, Community is King?

“Buy, buy, buy!”

“Click here. Read this.”

Your company’s website promotes products and pushes content to consumers, but does it allow you to have a conversation with them, or with each other?

Consumer interaction and good old-fashioned word of mouth is taking on a life of its own thanks to the Internet and the rise of social networks. As a result, more and more businesses are scrambling to build community online.

The Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) hosted a "Brown Bag Lunch" in New York City. The event brought together experts from companies with social networking initiatives to share ideas on how to create - or cultivate - the right communities and develop the systems to make them sustainable and profitable.

Organizers selected CEO Kim Kobza as a panelist for the session, “Content is Dead, Community is King? The Promises and Risks of Social Networking in the Information Industry.” Kobza discussed Neighborhood America's unique offering and the value of building enterprise social networks.

Missed the session? Watch the webcast.


Social Networks & User Generated Media as a Technology Challenge

Enterprise social networks are proving to be powerful environments - places where companies can build a stronger dialogue with their customers, or potential customers, that drives the brand. But the reality is... they don’t always succeed.

Some set their sites on the technology, but fail to focus on the content, and visa versa. So what’s the right mix?

CTO David Bankston participated on the panel, “Social Networks & User Generated Media as a Technology Challenge: The Platform, the Content & the Network,” at Digital Hollywood Fall 2007 in Hollywood, CA.

During the discussion, he disagreed with a panelist's assumption that old media is dead. Bankston pointed out the continuing success of several Scripps Networks initiatives, powered by Neighborhood America, that enable the company to overcome the challenges of creating and engaging an audience, as well as increasing advertising revenue.

Recently, Bankston discussed similar issues on the "Talking Portraits with Tom Parish" series, which covers a wide range of topics on technology and people, using an informal and thought-provoking style.

Listen to the podcast of the interview on IT Conversations.

It is our goal to deliver quality information of value to you. We encourage you to share your thoughts and suggestions on how we can improve our newsletter.  Click here