HyperFair Blog

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Virtualize Your Life: 3D modeling and medicine

3D models of the human body are being laid out on the slab to be "dissected" by med students all over the world. Would you want your doctor trained virtually? The initial reaction might be no, but Jack Choi shows us in this Ted Talk, how going virtual could make better doctors. 3D does it again! 

Watch here: http://www.ted.com/talks/jack_choi_on_the_virtual_dissection_table.html

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The Reality in Virtual

At Hyperfair we say it all the time; the world is constantly becoming more virtual. As sad as it may be, we will never move back to that simpler time everyone remembers. You know, that place you think back to that's stress free and untouched by cell phones, where everyone is smiling.  Today we've moved far from that sepia bathed memory, we have HD!

The virtual nature of our individual lives is obvious, however here Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman takes the discussion further, insisting that it isn't our world that is becoming more virtual; it is the virtual world that is becoming real. In fact, it's really a balance that is occurring. Companies are finding that combining real world and virtual aspects to their product offering can be the key to success, offering more to the customer and growing in the process. "What we're learning is that operating in the real world lets us build better software."

Source:

http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130408160410-5434591-the-next-50-ideas-for-billion-dollar-software-companies

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Gaming is here to save the world! And I don't mean the virtual one this time.

"Gaming can make the world better." Sound like an oxymoron? I thought so, and then I watched Jane McGonigal's 20 minute Ted Talk on the subject. The girl makes a great point. With all the gamers in the world spending hours and hours trying to save the day in virtual reality, why not apply those minds to real world problem? 

Find out more about this not so crazy idea by watching or, as I did while working, listening to Jane's Ted Talk here:

http://www.ted.com/talks/jane_mcgonigal_gaming_can_make_a_better_world.html

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Virtualize Your Life: Take your commute to the next level

Thanks to head sets and voice activated apps like Siri for iPhones, the commute has become safer for us who like to chat with friends or respond to texts behind the wheel. Has it become more fun though? I say no. Having the option to fill my commute with mindless chatter isn't that much of an improvement from the radio and people watching.  

Insert Jeff Chen and James Zhang here. The pair launched Joyride yesterday and they have big plans for your commute. This voice activated app will keep you engaged and entertained throughout your commute. In fact the start up's first application for Joyride is a game leading many to presume this app will take your commute to the next level, literally! 

Ok enough with the cheesy lines. It is safe to say though, that this app will have a very positive effect on peoples day to day commute.

“The most important thing is that people are suffering in their cars,” Chen said. “They are these tiny little boxes with tiny little windows and we are going to turn cars into starships and make it fun and interesting and even safer. This is just the beginning. It is a cool, untapped area that has a lot of potential.”

With your commute moving online in Joyride, it's clear that virtualization is on the rise. "What's next" you ask? We'll keep you updated in our new Virtualize Your Life segment.

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Event Attendance: Getting the people in the door (physically or otherwise)

We are officially big fans of Andy Crestodina's web marketing advice. In today's round up we want to get the word out on how to get people on board for your next event be it of the virtual variety or not. In this post, Andy runs down the key's to driving traffic to your social media and web marketing efforts. What does that have to do with event attendance? These days, EVERYTHING! Unless you have a captive audience such as an internal company conference, you are going to need to engage people via the internet if you want to get large attendance numbers day of. So give Andy's post a look, we are positive you will learn something, we did!

http://www.orbitmedia.com/blog/content-promotion-strategy 

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16 Event Promotion tips to help us all avoid the post posting crickets.

With people connected to the internet almost constantly, events promotion has never been easier. You can now have your event, be it a massive industry event or dinner party, in front of your entire audience within seconds. Why then does it so often happen that we find ourselves after a huge email blast or an array of posts across the major social media platforms with no response? Those hours of silence, hearing nothing, but crickets from your targeted audience can be painful for any organizer. This unfortunate happenstance is, however, a direct result of a general miss understanding of the "how it works" of web marketing. Here Andy Crestodina, Strategic Director at Orbit breaks it down for us dividing events marketing on the web into three categories: Social Media, Email Marketing, and Search Engine Optimization. His 16 Event Promotion Tips  are a great place to start if you are dreading those pesky crickets when promoting your next event be it a live expo or a more virtual solution.

Source

http://mpitechcon.com/event-promotion-tips/1002/

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SXSW drains downtown San Francisco: will this last forever?

If you work in downtown San Francisco you may have noticed that the last week or so things emptied out a bit: fewer people on the bus, shorter lines for coffee. You may have even noticed a certain demographic missing. WHERE DID ALL THE STARTUPERS GO? Before any of us got too worried everyone was back again and the wait for the morning dose of caffeine was back to usual. But where did they go? Why? 

This mass exodus happened for South By Southwest, a yearly film, music, and interactive festival in Austin, Texas. The interactive portion of this years event was set to highlight the start up scene outside our beloved Silicon Valley. With major groups coming in from New York, Chicago and Mexico City. I cannot attest to the start up exodus in these cities, but I imagine the line at Starbucks was ever so slightly shorter there too.

This diffusion of the Innovate itch is telling. The world has taken notice of the Bay Area startup fever and is recreating those dynamics at home. What does this mean for our beloved Silicon Valley? Will we see a permanent mass exodus of entrepreneurs being lured by incentives in more up and coming locals?

Most people out here will tell you, no. Flat out, no. We got the knowledge, the history, the big VCs all out here! The likely hood that SV will keep plugging along in the city by the bay is high. So what about those other guys? How will they connect with the industry's home out on the best coast? At Hyperfair we think its simple. Let's take this meeting virtual. See you in 3D! 

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More time savers for the wannabe social media marketer in us all

Last week we highlighted some very useful tools to keep us all using our time efficiently in "Social Media: Who's got time for that?". This week we move to high lighting the most important social media tool in any business's arsenal: people!

A company is always only as good as its people. And whether it's a team of 2 or 2,000 having the whole group on board for a social media marketing campaign is the easiest way to get the ball rolling fast. However, the original question remains: recruiting all employees to push your company through social media, "who's got time for that?" 

Ask and you will receive. Dynamic Signal just launched a new product called VoiceStorm that addresses this very problem. Tech Crunch laid out the basics of the new technology in this post last week; it is a platform, "which encourages, manages and measures employees’ efforts to promote a company on social networks." It's as simple as that. So what are you waiting for? Get the team tweeting! 

Sources:

http://tmblr.co/ZFb4TwfD7-zF

http://techcrunch.com/2013/03/08/dynamic-signal-launches-voicestorm/

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A Salute to Women in Tech

Today being women's day, Hyperfair wants to not only celebrate the women in our company, but all women in tech. Traditionally the industry has been more of a boy's club and currently only 3% tech startups are owned by women. However, many are making the inclusion of women in tech more of a priority and the field is opening up to women in many ways. In this article Usa Today covers the recent upswing of female led start-ups and in this article ScriptEd, highlights some of the women making computer science education a priority. Hyperfair is happy to see this new trend of women's involvement in tech world wide and is excited to see what the future has in store. 

To learn more about IWD:

http://www.internationalwomensday.com/default.asp#.UTolOqVRvbc

Source:

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/news/story/2012-06-04/female-tech-executives/55382536/1

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/maurya-couvares/women-in-tech_b_2831248.html

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3D featured on LinkedIn

Many remember Second Life and the entertainment side of that virtual environment, but not everyone saw the potential application of that environment to other fields. 

This article featured on LinkedIn delves into the applications of 3D beyond Second Life. Read on to learn more about 3D in everything from education to business:

http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130305051047-21564708-what-i-learned-about-the-real-world-as-an-avatar

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Technology linking start ups and investors in real time at this years Launch Festival

This years Launch Festival is the host of nearly 300 start ups. With that many participants plus the 6,000+ registered attendees it's easy to see it's going to be a full house. With so many people to see and presentations to attend it's almost a given that the average person is only going to see a fraction of the whole event.

To bridge this gap Launch Festival organizers teamed up with MicroVentures and SourceBits, to create an app that allows all attendees (VCs and us regular folks alike) to "invest" in companies they find interesting. Though no money is changing hand (the app deals in fake dollars) this real time rating system allows all to see who the "must see" companies are. Making for a more efficient live experience. 

Kudos to Launch Festers for the innovative use of technology at a live expo. Of course we at Hyperfair can think of another great tool for your next event. 

Read more on this live crowdfunding app here: http://venturebeat.com/2013/03/04/fake-crowdfunding-cuts-through-the-chaos-at-launch-festival-2013/

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Social Media: "Who's got time for that?"

Today most all companies have an online presence. Of those companies nearly 75% of Fortune 500s and 90% of small businesses say they use social media. With the outstanding participation suggested by those numbers it's a wonder that we don't see more social media activity on the company side. Or is it? The Fortune 500s we can assume have at least one if not many employees with the sole occupation of manning the company’s presence and interaction across the major platforms. These are the rock stars of the social media world. However, for businesses who don’t have the resources to devote full time to online engagement blogs fall behind, events go un-tweeted, followers are ignored, and any impact these social media efforts might have had evaporate. So what is a business owner to do? Dave Kerpen suggests “5 Social Media Marketing Platforms Worth Your Immediate Attention” these tools are a great start to getting your social media accounts under control in as little time as possible. Read here to learn more:   

http://www.linkedin.com/today/post/article/20130214165907-15077789-5-social-media-marketing-platforms-worth-your-immediate-attention?goback=%2Egde_4511851_member_214608505 

  Sources:

http://socialmediatoday.com/ariherzog/820046/90-percent-small-

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ciocentral/2012/12/11/5-ways-social-media-will-change-the-way-you-work-in-2013/business-use-social-media

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Hyperfair joins sf.citi

We are very pleased to announce Hyperfair's decision to join the San Francisco Citizens Initiative for Technology and Innovation. This group brings together the technology community of San Francisco under the umbrella of civic action focusing on tech sector interests and growth. Visit their website and learn more: http://www.sfciti.com/about

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Hyperfair's own COO featured in Reuters Article

Though it's not news to Italians the brain drain that has been going on in Italy over the past 10+ years has yet to make a real splash across the International headlines until now. In an article originally published yesterday in Reuters, then picked up by several international publications over the course of the following hours, Hyperfair COO Andrea Ballarini was interviewed discussing his move to California and how Hyperfair came to be in Silicon Valley, the land of tech-opportunity. 

Read more here: http://www.cnbc.com/id/100480515

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Virtual Endorsements

Lately, we LinkedIn users have been hearing a lot from our favorite professional social networking site. Some of us receive regular updates on our connections, prompts to join a group within our fields or interests, pop ups to complete our profiles, and, for the lucky “few”, notifications that we are in the top 10 or even 5 percent of profiles viewed during 2012.

Though their motive might not yet be clear, it is obvious that LinkedIn is making a concerted push to have users feeling more connected than ever with the newest effort being: endorsements.  LinkedIn has been sending many notifications on this front and in case you have opted out of the emails, they made this feature front and center on your profile with an easy to use endorsement ticker scrolling through all of your connections and his or her [his/her] endorsable skills. The endorsement craze has been met by many questions almost immediately. Many of us out there questioning the point of it all. Why endorse? Personally I endorse when endorsed and usually pay it forward to one or two people that pop up right away. Why not? It’s easy.

However that small action is not all that’s happening here. Let’s take a step back. What just happened? I just logged in to LinkedIn and endorsed a few people, maybe I checked out who has been looking at my profile or confirmed a few contact requests. Regardless, I just spent a total of 5 to 10 unplanned minutes browsing LinkedIn.

Like any other company, LinkedIn wants people to use their product. Like any other networking company, LinkedIn’s product is only as strong as its members are engaged. The more people logging on, the more valuable the technology is as a whole and the more worth while it becomes. A shrewd move by LinkedIn no doubt, but before we get upset with our social network overlords, let’s think.  Will employers or possible new business leads really take the word of my high school classmate that I am proficient in Mircosoft Powerpoint? No! However, the more frequent that all LinkedIn users log on for whatever reason, the more valuable my LinkedIn experience will be and the more useful it will be in my own networking. So keep up the good work, you tricky marketing minds you!

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Fashion to the masses: Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week goes virtual for the public

The fashion industry has always taken the trend of exclusivity, but this year community engagement is the new black! With the success of last years live stream to buyers world wide, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week is now open to the public. Unfortunately, the tents in Lincoln Square will still be closed to the masses, but this year's shows are being broadcasted live to the public here. Fashion week has officially gone virtual! 

Source: http://thehighlow.com/2013/01/nyfw-goes-even-more-egalitarian-with-embeddable-online-shows/

Watch live: http://newyork.mbfashionweek.com/live

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Not ready to go virtual? Not sure if the virtual space is right of your brand or your event? Don't worry, you're not alone. Then again, neither are the 31 teams who didn't win the Super Bowl this year! 

In any competition, only the best team wins and to be the best in business, you need to stay ahead of the curve. Not only was the winning team (this 49ers fan is choosing to leave them nameless here) ahead of the curve this Super Bowl Sunday, but one company in particular was also on the ball.

Unlike in years past this company didn't catch our eye with their top dollar commercial. Instead the most talked about piece of advertising was actually free! Just after half time, when the lights went out, Oreo tweeted a picture saying, "you can still dunk in the dark". A piece generated and approved within minutes of the black out (find out how here) and then shared over 30,000 times via Facebook and Twitter. Meaning Oreo didn't just reach those attentively watching the commercial breaks, but they hit 30,000 people who then spread the word to their extended network of Facebook friends and Twitter followers. What's more important is Oreo reached them because they did something so quickly that it was really cool! All of those billions of dollars spent on commercial slots seem a little silly now huh? 

Bottom line customers now not only expect the unexpected, but they crave it. So now it's my turn for a question: business professionals do you want to be caught in the end zone with time run out and the ball just out of reach? I didn't think so! Why not start being different today? GO VIRTUAL!