Over the weekend, a molehill has started to become a mountain. Or, in the view of some, a mountain became an even bigger mountain.

SageCircle posted a claim that Forrester Research will restrict its analysts from having personally-branded research blogs, implying that the policy will reduce the risk of analysts building their personal brands before bolting from the firm, taking their audiences with them.

Use of social media has become second nature to many, but one look at the range of comments on the SageCircle post reflects how strongly people still feel about the dichotomy of personal/professional social media usage and the tension around a company’s ownership of a worker’s intellectual property. Cries of Big Brother, paranoia and censorship abound, tempered by other statements that it’s good business practice or simply a matter of whose servers hold the data.

Source: speedy2

Read the rest of this entry »

On Wednesday, January 27^th, Apple unveiled its latest creation, a tablet computer dubbed the iPad. The device is similar in functionality to the dominating iPhone, but offers the user a 10-inch screen for viewing content. While the possibilities for the iPad platform are seemingly endless with the App Store integration, the merging of print and web content might be one of the greatest. For a decade, a plethora of publishers have attempted to bridge the abyss between the paid world of print and the all-you-can-eat-for-free Internet content realm. No software company or hardware manufacturer has been able to successfully marry the two, until now. In a blog entry prior to the debut, Derek Powazek nails it:

“Tomorrow […] Apple could unleash a device that’s sexier than reading a magazine. A glossy screen like the iPhone, quality content in the iTunes store for a (hopefully) reasonable price, major publishers on board and independent publishers like me able to join in.”

From an initial look, it seems that this is precisely what Apple has done. Only time will tell if the treasured experience of print can translate to Apple’s latest and greatest.

You don’t need to subscribe to TheMediaIsDying Twitter feed to know that thousands of journalists have lost their jobs in 2009.  Publishers’ loss, however, seems to be turning into vendors’ gain.  Companies can now bypass editorial review and hire celebrity journalists to publish on their own outlets.  At the recent CES show, for example, Nvidia hired Stephen Wildstrom, formerly BusinessWeek’s Tech & You columnist, to blog from its booth.  Meanwhile, another former BusinessWeek veteran journalist Steve Hamm accepted a position at IBM.

Read the rest of this entry »

As 2010 begins, Gartner bolsters its position in the IT analysis market.

Gartner and Burton Group both announced that Gartner, Inc. has agreed to purchase Burton Group for $56 million in cash. This marks Gartner’s second acquisition since Dec. 1, 2009 when it acquired AMR Research.

Gene Hall, Gartner’s chief executive officer, stated, “…Burton Group is a great strategic fit for Gartner and should enable us to offer a more complete solution to every level and functional expert within an IT organization.  By leveraging our scale and worldwide distribution capabilities, we expect to significantly grow Burton Group’s business over time.”

It will be interesting to see how this affects companies’ perceptions of independent firms and individuals. Will companies be comforted by the massive size and resources of the Gartner conglomerate, or could there be backlash and a fear of receiving cookie-cutter consulting, particularly among smaller organizations with limited research budgets?

My two cents: More than ever is it important to pay attention and engage with independents via blogs and other channels such as social media. For example, former Forrester analyst Jeremiah Owyang’s Web Strategy blog is an excellent resource for technology insight.

The Gartners of the world may continue to dominate the business of research. The independent analysts and firms, however, are on the rise, and they’ll stand a fighting chance if they have the connections and ability to deliver more focused insight for companies in important niche markets.

Change always accompanies a New Year, and 2010 will be no different.  Join us again in January as we analyze new trends, reveal new methodologies, and examine the overlapping worlds of technology and communications.

All of us at Eastwick wish you a happy, healthy 2010!

Anyone who’s written for an audience can attest to the humbling experience of having one’s work edited. A Ragan.com feature titled “Black and white and red all over” is an assortment of communicators’ recollections about the first time they experienced the wrath of the red pen.

The advice ranges from the stylistic, like avoiding Gonzo journalism and questionable metaphors, to the emotional - not falling in love with your own words.

That may be the toughest advice to take, as that love can be as enduring as your very first crush. (In my case, “baseball Brad.”) Painful as it may be, though, it is still vital instruction to follow in order to communicate effectively with your audience by using language that is meaningful to them rather than your ego.

This leads us to another item of interest: Americans are consuming more information overall.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Peacock is switching owners. GE has agreed to sell Comcast a 51 percent stake in NBC Universal, creating a joint media venture that will be managed by Comcast.

The move is significant since GE has owned NBC for 23 years, not counting that period in the 1920s. It’s also indicative of the broadcast media shift that has been gaining momentum over the last few years.

Read the rest of this entry »

The wave of acquisition and consolidation continues, this time in the world of research.

Gartner and AMR both announced today that Gartner, Inc. has agreed to purchase AMR Research for $64 million in cash, Lord willing and the creek don’t rise.

Bruce Richardson, Chief Research Officer for AMR, offered an explanation of what it might mean for its clients and analysts.

He also noted some key assets Gartner has to offer, including a bigger audience, global reach, presence in more vertical markets, access to many more research resources, and a focus on quality writing.

I’m curious to see what this will mean not only for these firms but for the competitive landscape as well.

We found this recent post by Justin Siefert especially interesting and valuable.  Not a day goes by where we aren’t having to defend our use and support of Twitter as a communications channel for our clients and for us, as a matter of fact.  Despite skepticism from late Twitter bloomers…end users are using this medium as a way to get info…and so are influencers.  Thanks for the insight, Justin…hope your eyes are better.

This Thursday night is the much anticipated “Tech The Halls: The Technologizer Holiday Bash 2009” party at Varnish Art Gallery in San Francisco’s SOMA neighborhood. The event is sure to entail all kinds of fun and insightful conversations with friends and colleagues from the media industry. Some of the latest consumer tech gear will be on display, and with this crowd there will be plenty of gadgets, apps, web tools and social media talk. Eastwick Communications is proud to work with Harry McCracken and Marie Domingo as the PR agency sponsor for The Technologizer Holiday Bash.

What will be the big trend of 2010 that everyone reads or writes about? How much more will we hear about the cloud? Or are you just plain curious what everyone predicts will be the talk of CES?  In what is sure to be one of the best nights of 2009, who knows what we’ll come up with as we celebrate the past year and look forward to the next one.

Registration is full, but you can participate virtually: Tag along with us between 7 and 9 PM on Twitter - hashtag is: #TechTheHalls or follow @eastwickcom. Join the conversation, ask questions or just see what’s going on with your favorite people.