Internet Summit 2017 | WRAL TechWire

Internet Summit 2017

Allan Maurer: At always entertaining Internet Summit, some off-beat attractions – and little swag

Posted by | Nov 21, 2017

Editor’s note: WRAL TechWire co-founder and veteran journalist Allan Maurer covered the Internet Summit last week as he has for several years. And he offers insight into what all unfolded at the event based on his years of experience covering high tech and life science. For Allan’s IS coverage, see links included with this post. RALEIGH – We saw some innovations in marketing for events at the Internet Summit in Raleigh last week, such as several game wheels, a banana catapult, and socks as swag. The Internet Summit has always paid attention to entertainment, from musicians everywhere last year,...

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Internet Summit: The strange future of mobile – and how to prepare for it

Posted by | Nov 17, 2017

As the first decade of mobile smartphones ends, the future ahead is “going to look a little weird,” Michael Trapani, product marketing leader for IBM’s Watson Marketing, warned at the Internet Summit on Thursday. Before talking about “The strange future of mobile and how to prepare for it” at his Internet Summit session, Trapani took a look at “how we got here.” He showed a slide of the Nokia 1100, launched in 2003, which had a one-inch LCD display and could store a whopping 50 contacts. It was the most popular cell phone in its time. Then, in 2007,...

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Internet Summit: The (serious) Monty Python guide to content marketing

Posted by | Nov 16, 2017

The famous British comedy troupe Monty Python featured silly walks, silly talk and the Spanish Inquisition, all of which provided Grant Simmons, vice president of search marketing at Homes.com, with a serious, if laugh-filled Monty Python guide to content marketing at the Internet Summit on Wednesday. Simmons used images and themes from famous Monty Python sketches to explain how Homes.com approaches its successful content marketing. For instance, he used the Python routine from the movie “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” about the crossing the “Bridge of Death” to say, “He would cross the Bridge of Death must ask...

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Attacking the zombie business: ‘Pledge against the undead’

Posted by | Nov 16, 2017

Julie Lellis, Elon University professor and co-author of “The Zombie Business Cure,” brought the members of the Internet Summit audience in Raleigh to their feet for a unique close to her address on Wednesday: A pledge against the undead. As Allan Maurer reports: Lellis concluded by having her audience stand and recite the “Pledge Against the Undead.” It goes: “I pledge to my fellow human communicators Of the superior organizations for which we stand, To develop and strengthen my core, To always pause and breathe, To be mindful and stretch myself, Perhaps riding a unicycle, Alongside a workout buddy...

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Internet Summit: Don’t be a zombie business, Elon U author says

Posted by | Nov 16, 2017

Many businesses too often act like zombies, behaving like the blundering walking dead, driving customers away. So said Elon University communications professor Julie Lellis at the Internet Summit. Lellis, who authored the book “The Zombie Business Cure,” highlighted the traits that make even well-meaning companies zombies and how to avoid them during her presentation on stage as the two-day Internet Summit got underway. ​Zombies, she explained, make horrendous communications decisions that don’t prioritize customers. She cited several recent much reported airline incidents as examples.” “​Companies that are zombies communicate in dreadful and destructive ways,” she added. ​Zombie traits include...

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Internet Summit: ‘A new set of rules’ for marketers, says author Seth Godin

Posted by | Nov 15, 2017

Today’s marketers need “a new set of rules,” author and marketing maven Seth Godin said in kicking off the Internet Summit on Wednesday at the Raleigh Convention Center. Godin, the author of 18 books that have been translated into more than 30 languages and many of which have been best-sellers, was the headline speaker for the two-day conference that is focusing on digital marketing this year. Instead of aiming at a mass audience, for instance, Godin said marketers should focus on the edge, on the fringes instead of the mass. “The mass means average stuff for average people,” he said....

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Internet Summit returns to Raleigh with focus on digital marketing strategy

Posted by | Oct 6, 2017

The Internet Summit returns to Raleigh for its 10th annual conference on Nov. 14-16, promising a bigger lineup with high-profile speakers and an emphasis on digital marketing. Here’s a preview in a Q&A with Eric Gregg of Tech Media, which puts on the event. How will it be any different this year? This year’s Summit is the 10th annual, so we’re taking out all the stops to celebrate that. More speakers, more stages, more content, more parties, more attendees. We’ve got lots of fun surprises in store as well. If you have anything to do with digital marketing or...

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