GSA Technology Council

Whether you run a business, department, or non-profit organization, you want Word of Mouth. Actually, you want great Word of Mouth. You want people to be talking about your product or service. In this podcast from the August 2008 GSA Technology meeting, hear Geno Church, word of mouth inspiration officer for Brains on Fire, talk about how to identify brand evangelists and build a word of mouth movement in an authentic way.

In this presentation, Geno covers:

* Where to begin to create a sustainable word of mouth movement
* How to find people to engage the brand
* How to facilitate the movement both on and offline (92 percent of word of mouth marketing happens face to face)
* How to manage the movement’s community
* How to evaluate a movement’s success

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Benefitfocus, a healthcare benefits software provider in the U.S., today began a new Engineering Summit designed specifically for Benefitfocus engineers to provide them with progressive methodology from notable developers. Held at the Company headquarters in Charleston and in Greenville, SC, engineers will have a forum to discuss the tools and methodology being used to build innovative applications that supersede the ever-evolving world of technology.

“We are ahead of the technology curve with software evolution designed by our engineers,” shared Don Taylor, Benefitfocus chief technology officer. “These quarterly meetings will provide our engineers with technology training from industry experts while showing appreciation for our talented engineers.” Taylor went to share that it is important to realize that our chief executive officer, Shawn Jenkins, shares the vision and appreciation for Benefitfocus engineers. “He realizes that our engineers are core to our mission as a Company,” explained Taylor. “It is vital that we continue to provide opportunities for them to sharpen their saws and stretch their creative programming muscles.”

Professional programmer, architect, technologist and author Michael Nygard will be the industry expert and guest speaker for this inaugural event. He recently published “Release It! Design and Deploy Production-Ready Software,” which discusses practical insights about architecting and designing software. During the sessions, Nygard will discuss Cloud Computing; a new concept coined by Gartner.

“This is an exciting time for our engineers - those who are currently here and those who are yet to join us,” exclaimed Taylor. “As we mesh the Web 2.0 world with enterprise applications Benefitfocus will be able to rapidly forge new ground. These Engineering Summits will help strengthen our cohesiveness as a team while encouraging associates to independently pursue special projects and/or certifications they desire. At the rate we are growing, new opportunities abound for Benefitfocus engineers.”

via Benefitfocus

The C. Tycho Howle family has made a gift of $2.5 million to Clemson University to establish two endowed chairs that will benefit computing research.

C. Tycho Howle is founder, chairman and CEO of nuBridges, LLC, a leading provider of software and managed services that protect sensitive data and enable digital information exchange.

“My life’s work has been the application of computer technology to help make companies more efficient and more responsive,” said Howle. “As computer technology continues to advance, I like the notion of smart people continuing to apply those advances to take on difficult and challenging societal needs. My career and accomplishments are all due to the great education I received. My life would have been entirely different had I not had the benefit of my Clemson education.”

The first chair is the hf (Howle family) Flagship Director of the School of Computing and the second is the hf Flagship Chair in Human Centered Computing within the department of electrical and computer engineering.

Larry F. Hodges was named the hf Flagship Director of the School of Computing on July 1.

“Our goal is to become a national leader in the definition and advancement of emerging academic fields in computing through the development of successful divisions that integrate computation with the arts, humanities, sciences and engineering,” said Hodges. “Clemson realizes the importance of computing to education and research and is already ahead of many universities in developing an infrastructure that supports computing across all disciplines.”

The second chair is in human-centered computing, an emerging field focused on understanding how to make computational technologies more usable and how computational technologies affect society. It is an interdisciplinary field that involves a wide range of computing applications in electrical and computer engineering, engineering and science education, industrial engineering, psychology and sociology. The chair is unfilled.

“Clemson’s goal is to be one of the nation’s top 20 public universities, and in that quest, one of the most important contributors is to have named professorships and named endowed chairs to enhance research and educational activities in a sustainable manner,” said Esin Gulari, dean of the College of Engineering and Science. “This very generous gift from the C. Tycho Howle family moves us toward that goal.”

Gulari says Howle epitomizes “a will to lead and to serve.” He is a long-time supporter of Clemson and has championed such programs as the Howle Family Young Alumni Challenge, which encourages young alumni to give back to Clemson. The dollars raised helped fund Clemson’s Academic Success Center, which enhances student learning, academic success and personal growth through inclusive engagement with the Clemson University community.

Howle has served on the board of directors of the Clemson University Foundation. He was inducted into the Thomas Green Clemson Academy of Engineering and Science last year for outstanding career success, contributions to community and notable contributions to engineering and science. A number of other Clemson entities have benefited from his generosity: the Class of 1956 Endowment, Call Me MISTER, the Clemson Outdoor Lab, Nursing Alumni Endowed Scholarship and the ECE Industrial Graduate Fellowships, among others.

“This truly generous contribution from the Howle family exemplifies the long-time leader Tycho Howle has been within the Clemson community,” said President James F. Barker. “It is the ultimate gift that embodies what we are about at Clemson. We are extremely grateful.”

Tycho Howle received his bachelor’s degree in physics and a master’s in systems engineering — a degree program previously in the electrical and computer engineering department — from Clemson University in 1971. He also holds an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School. A native of Lancaster, S.C., he and his wife, Marie, reside in Atlanta and have two daughters, Meredith Russell and Dana Sample.

In the mid-’90s, Howle and his family formed the C. Tycho and Marie Howle Foundation, which has made more than 400 grants to support education, health care, the homeless and the arts.

via Clemson

Upstate Website developer Practical Business Systems has rebuilt and redesigned websites for the Homebuilders Association of Greenville County (www.hbaofgreenville.com), the South Carolina Recreational Vehicle Dealers Association (www.scrvda.com­), and Dillard-Jones Builders (www.dillardjones.com). The HBA and SCRVDA sites feature extensive Members/Dealers only sections and searchable resource databases, as well as links to numerous Upstate attractions and services. The Dillard-Jones site features home plans categorized by square footage and design as well as extensive information on their Southern Living custom built homes.

Practical Business Systems also rebuilt Websites for two area churches, St. Giles Presbyterian and Berea Friendship United Methodist. The new sites, www.stgilespres.org and www.bereafriendshipumc.com, are fully configurable and feature multiple pages and special sections such as a photo gallery, article archive, and contact form to facilitate easy submission of prayer requests and volunteer responses.

via Practical Business Systems

The Worthwhile Company, Inc. of Greenville, SC relocated its office to Pelham Road to accommodate for recent growth.

The new office building offers Worthwhile the following benefits:

• increased workspace for employee growth and productivity

• conference space for meeting with current and potential clients

• professional working environment

• room for future growth

• convenient location

“We are very excited about our new location,” says Dan Rundle, Chief Operating Officer at The Worthwhile Company. “Our new office space will allow us greater opportunity to serve our customers.”

You can find The Worthwhile Company’s updated address and driving directions to their new office on their Web site.

TiBA Solutions has promoted Sara Olewiler to the position Director of Client Services.  Sara is a certified project manager,  and has been employed at TiBA for 7 years.  Rob Croak  was  promoted to the position of Lead Developer Analyst.  Rob has been employed by TiBA for 2 years, and is a graduate of the United States Coast Guard Academy.  Chris Falter has been hired to the position of Lead Technical Architect.  Chris previously worked for  Seibels Bruce in Columbia, South Carolina, and is a graduate of Princeton University.   Daryl Francis has been hired as Senior Developer Analysts.  Daryl has 9 years of experience writing high quality software solutions, and earned a BS degree in Information Systems Management at Bob Jones University.

via TiBA

Just in case you missed it, we have launched a new logo for our Tech After Five Events. The official announcement, from designer Laura MacPherson follows:

The GSA Technology Council announces the launch of the Tech After Five brand identity, designed by Northstar Creative, a web and graphic design studio located in the Greenville area. The logo is reflective of the GSATC brand, communicating the relationship of Tech After Five as a program of GSATC. It captures the feel of Tech After Five as a relaxed, fun event where people can interact and network.

GSATC President Phil Yanov says “I told Laura what was important to me. She asked a few questions, did a bit of research and then simply nailed what I was looking for in the very first try. The GSATC is a busy and growing enterprise and being able to get to success so quickly was invaluable. We are communicating exactly what we intended without spinning our wheels even once.”

via: North Star Creative

President, Chief Executive Officer, and Founder, 10 Best

As President and Chief Executive Officer of 10Best, Inc., Brice oversees the company’s operations with a focus on strategic positioning and national and international partnerships.

Since starting the company in 1999, Brice has been instrumental in growing 10Best into the trusted source for online travel advice, with more than 40 million travelers and the world’s leading names in the travel business turning to 10Best for surprise-free advice for travelers.

Prior to 10Best, Inc., Brice held senior management positions with Ross Systems and SCT Corporation, and corporate sales positions at Inacom Information Systems and Pfizer U.S. Pharmaceuticals Group.

Brice is a graduate of the University of Kentucky, with a Bachelor of Arts in Marketing.

10 travel tidbits about Brice:

• Brice has been to four continents and roughly 27 countries


• He has visited more than 55 major cities including Hong Kong, Singapore, Melbourne, Perth, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, Beijing, Shanghai, Penang, Madrid, Paris, London, Zurich, Geneva, Munich, Vienna, Belfast, Santa Domingo, Toronto, Helsinki, Monte Carlo and many, many more


• The most exotic local food he’s eaten: fried beetles in Beijing


• Best travel tip: pack light


• Favorite U.S. destination: Tent on the Madison River in Montana (no cell phone and a 5-weight fly rod)


• Favorite international destination: Hong Kong


• Favorite small town: Barwon Heads, Victoria near Melbourne, Australia


• Coolest place under $400 a night: The Oriental, Bangkok for $300/night but well worth it; Service and setting is fantastic


• Favorite thing about traveling: I love to experience new destinations and the fascinating foods and lifestyle of other cultures


• How he balances a home life and busy travel schedule: I have the greatest family in the world. My wife and children allow me to chase my dreams and have supported me since day one. They put up with my very challenging travel schedule of 100-150 nights away per year and everything that comes with that lifestyle

Brice Bay speaks to the GSA Technology Council in September.

AdvantageWest Economic Development Group and The Blue Ridge Entrepreneurial Council have announced the 6th Annual Carolina Connect Conference on September 11th at The Grove Park Inn in Asheville, NC.

Carolina Connect is a regional conference fostering entrepreneurial growth of businesses of all sizes and stages.

Leading our morning discussion this year will be Ryan Allis, Founder and CEO of iContact which is a Durham NC based company who currently leads market in providing email marketing tools for small business. Ryan built iContact from its start in 2003 to its current size of over 100 employees, 25,000 customers and $15 million in annual sales. In 2005, Ryan was named by BusinessWeek as one of the top 25 Entrepreneurs under age 25. He is the author of “Zero to One Million”.

Every truly successful business started around an idea; the age old question . . . what differentiates a good idea from a great idea? Building on the electricity created by last year’s keynote, Guy Kawasaki and upon his recommendation, we are pleased to announce the lunch keynote, Dan Heath, co-author of “Made to Stick”. Dan will describe the traits that link sticky ideas of all kinds from urban legends to corporate mission statements to successful advertisements. Dan has taught and consulted on the topic of making ideas stick with audiences from organizations including Nissan, Microsoft, Home Depot, Fannie Mae and West Point. Dan is a consultant with Duke Corporate Education in Durham NC.

In addition to these two dynamic speakers, we will be offering the Kaufman Foundation’s widely-acclaimed “Power of Angel Investing” seminar as a separate track of the conference. This track is resereved for those individuals who are existing angels or those interested in learning more about angel investing. Space is limited so please register early for this session.

Three exciting educational tracks for entrepreneurs include; Startup Survival, High Growth Gear and Fund Me which will cover everything from strategic business planning, sales and marketing, cash flow management to sources of funding for your venture.

Finally we will close the day with a dynamic PowerPoint free series of theme-focused roundtables in our Critical Conversation Networking Cafe where you will hear from industry experts on topics such as; Startup Management, Social Marketing, Fundraising Facts of Life, When Your Partner is Your Partner, Putting the WOW in website Design and Function, and more . . .

We will close the day with networking at its best amid the magnificient Blue Ridge Mountains on the Vanderbilt Terrace and recap the day’s events and who know’s you might even win some cool new tech gadget.

Registration is affordable at $50.00 and covers the cost of breakfast, lunch, closing reception and access to all educational sessions. Register online at www.brecnc.com or contact Pam Lewis at plewis@awnc.org - 828-687-7234

via: BRECNC

On Tuesday, Anne Korin, of the Set America Free coalition spoke to a group at CU-ICAR about the opportunity to use alternative fuel sources for transportation in order to reduce America’s dependence on oil purchased from other companies. She spoke about methanol, ethanol, and their several sources as alternatives for petroleum based gasoline to power cars and trucks. Korin appeared as a guest of congressman Bob Inglis who has been conducting a series of town hall meetings on the subject of foreign oil.

The podcast below is Anne Korin’s entire presentation along with questions and answers from the audience. The “play” button appears at the bottom of the photo.

If you prefer you can download the MP3.

Additional Photos:

Event Photos: on Flickr