I’m a big fan of location based networks. I’ve been using Foursquare since last July, but I have to admit that I’m getting a little bored of it. Facebook Places seems somewhat interesting, but it’s more because most of your friends already have accounts. If I’m going to be motivated to keep checking into places, I need an incentive. Foursquare occasionally gets me something for free, but the gaming element of the service seems like an afterthought. That’s why I was excited to check out SCVNGR when a reader recommended them as a company to feature. They’re based in Boston, MA, and their focus is on getting people to do challenges at specific places and share what they’ve done with friends. Their go to example is making tin-foil origami out of the wrapper from a burrito place and then uploading a picture of it, but I’ll bet that it can get way more interesting than that. For instance, anyone can build a set of challenges and treks with rewards on SCVNGR—I could take the Cornell Daily Sun’s list of 161 Things Every Cornellian Should Do and turn it into a SCVNGR trek. Maybe I could even team up with a sponsor to reward people who knock off certain items on the list. SCVNGR seems like a really fun way to learn about cool things to do and then share what you’re doing with friends. I can definitely see this taking off—maybe I’ll make a trek for getting an internship. Continue reading about SCVNGR…
A company’s marketing is usually done by one of two groups—an internal marketing team or an integrated marketing agency that is hired by the company. I’m sure there are some exceptions, but most brands fall into one of those two buckets; however, marketing software is carving out a growing piece of marketing budgets. Automation is a wonderful thing, and as marketing becomes more analytics and results based, automation gets easier. Agencies and marketing teams aren’t anywhere near being replaced by computers (but I guess it’s possible in the future), but software can really change how brands approach their marketing. Aprimo is an Indianapolis, IN based company that provides integrated marketing software. They serve both B2B and B2C clients with software that aids in areas including “campaign management, lead management, brand management, e-mail marketing, event management, performance management, social marketing, spend management, and workflow & project management.” Continue reading about Aprimo…
My family is in Colorado Springs this week, and we’re staying at an amazing ranch on top of a mountain in the middle of nowhere. Yesterday we went back to civilization for the first time, and we decided to visit Cripple Creek—an old mining town that was home to “the last great Colorado gold rush” and more than half a billion dollars in gold ore. Unfortunately gold mining can only last so long, and Cripple Creek eventually became a ghost town. In 1991 voters legalized gambling in Cripple Creek, and the city was reinvigorated, albeit with most of the storefronts inhabited with gaming establishments. Our visit was interrupted by a massive hail storm, so we waited in the car until it let up a bit and ran into the first restaurant we could find. Turns out that it was a restaurant inside of a casino, and we had to walk past a bunch of slots and other machines to get a bite to eat. Of course, I couldn’t make it past the Game King video poker machine without playing, and luckily I came away from “lunch” 90 bucks richer. That gave me the idea to take a look at IGT (International Game Technology), the Reno, NV based gaming company that designs and manufactures the Game King machine among many other casino machines. Continue reading about IGT…
There aren’t a lot of things that I can do for 12 hours straight. I’m not even sure that I can sleep that long anymore unless I’m sick or completely sleep deprived. Yet for some people it’s a tradition to participate in or attend free twelve-hour music marathons. It all started in 1978 when a group of New Yorkers came “together to create their own performing arts center.” It became a movement and a non-profit organization called Symphony Space, which has been “embraced by its cultured and educated neighbors and become the centerpiece of the Upper West Side Renaissance.” Cultural institutions like community theaters can have wonderful effects on neighborhoods and their residents, so it should be no surprise that Symphony Space is still going strong and garnering tons of support 32 years later. Continue reading about Symphony Space…
Believe it or not, I started thinking about retirement right after I graduated college. No, I didn’t win the lottery or have a big entrepreneurial success. I started investing and contributing to my IRA. It was a good way to stay productive and get ready to be an adult. If you start thinking about retirement in your early or mid 20s, you’re likely going to be in great shape 40 years down the line. Unfortunately, many people don’t plan that far ahead, so they end up needing help much later in life—and often they don’t have access to good advice once they realize that they need it. Financial Engines is trying to change that. It all started with Bill Sharpe, who won the 1990 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. By combining “Bill’s pioneering investment methodology with proprietary technology” Fiancial Engines is able “to provide all investors with cost-effective, expert advice and management—the kind previously available only to the world’s largest institutional investors.” Financial Engines, which is based in Palo Alto, CA with offices in Boston, MA and Phoenix, AZ, partners with both retirement plan providers and large employers to offer their services and change the way that people get retirement help. Continue reading about Financial Engines…
The most common question that I get asked is “Where do you find all of the companies that you write about?” There’s no simple response to that; however, I consume a ton of information every day, and it usually leads me to some interesting companies—and often those companies are hiring. It’s funny because I was terrible at finding companies when I was a job seeker, and now I do it every day. One of my favorite sources for new ideas is blogs, and specifically blogs of venture capitalists (since it’s their job to identify and fund exciting new companies). The ones that I read most often are Brad Feld’s blog and Fred Wilson’s blog. Yesterday I learned about BigDoor Media from Brad Feld’s blog since his firm just gave them $5 million. They’re a Seattle, WA based startup that allows web publishers to add game-like mechanics and virtual currencies to their websites to promote loyalty. Continue reading about BigDoor Media…
It’s the longest day of the year and the official beginning of summer! (At least for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere). The only bad thing about it is that from here on out the days are getting shorter. I don’t like that. Now, the only way that I can come up with to tie length of the days with digital word of mouth marketing is the thought that it’s probably easier to generate buzz in the summer because people get out more with the good weather. And that’s my segue into Fanscape, a Los Angeles based marketing agency. They know that word of mouth is the “#1 influencer of consumers when making a purchase or behavioral decision,” so they’ve decided to focus entirely on marketing that enhances word of mouth. You can’t just get people to talk about you (please do tell your friends about One Day, One Job—seriously go tell a friend today), but there are many ways that you can foster “targeted WOM conversations with the individuals, influencers and gatekeepers who inhabit the online social media landscape,” and Fanscape knows all about them. Continue reading about Fanscape…
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We’ve seen an explosion of startups that help small businesses reach new customers. There are Yext, Groupon, Yelp, and, of course, Google all serving this market in one way or another. But what about smaller, personal businesses? How do dog walkers, personal trainers, tutors, and handymen grow their businesses without relying solely on word of mouth? SkillSlate is one option. It’s a New York City based startup that helps individual service providers connect with customers. When you’re hiring someone to walk your dog or fix your door hinge, you want to know that they’re trustworthy. SkillSlate lets you check these people out and see what other customers are saying about them. It’s just like what Yelp does for restaurants. Continue reading about SkillSlate…
I have my big annual fishing trip coming up next week, which means that I’m starting to go through my mental gear checklist. One thing that I’ve been looking for is some sort of pack to carry all of my stuff when I’m on the river. I used to use a vest, but it’s no longer doing the job. In my search for a perfect pack, I came across a company called Recycled Waders that makes gear out of old waders (waterproof boots that go up to your chest to keep you dry while standing in the water). I’m pretty sure they’re too small to have any internship opportunities right now, but luckily I found a company (from a reader e-mail) that takes a similar approach, but with a much larger audience. They’re called TerraCycle (based in Trenton, NJ), and they turn trash into stuff. You can get an insulated cooler made out of Skittles bags. Or a kite made out of Oreo wrappers. Or a tote bag made of Capri Sun pouches. It’s all about making “affordable, eco-friendly products from a wide range of different non-recyclable waste materials.” Continue reading about TerraCycle…
I’m consistently surprised that I am able to continuously find marketing agencies that I’d never heard of before. I always imagine that large companies have large marketing departments, but the truth is that a lot of marketing gets farmed out to agencies. Differentiating between agencies as an internship seeker is tough once you get away from the biggest names in the industry. I always like to look at client lists as a quick proxy for agency quality, but then again it continues to surprise me how many agencies there are with awesome client lists. Chicago based TargetCom is one of them. They’ve worked with names like the Atlanta Braves, Hooked on Phonics, Allstate, Audi, and Citi. Marketing is all about growing revenues, so TargetCom does well to describe themselves as “an integrated marketing agency that practices the art and science of generating, executing and measuring great ideas for clients who are serious about growth.” Continue reading about TargetCom…
See the comments at the bottom of the page to get an update on how Jumptap has repositioned itself.
I have mixed feelings about any company that decides to take on Google. In one sense I think that they must be extremely stupid, and in another sense, I love the ambition. What seems crazier is taking on Google in their core area of expertise: search. But that’s exactly what Jumptap is doing. Now, they’re not trying to build a new web search engine (that’d be really crazy), but they are aiming to be the name in mobile search. Jumptap is headquartered in Cambridge, MA (with regional offices in NYC and Tel Aviv, Israel), and they realize how much potential there is to make money selling advertising on top of mobile search results. The key difference between what Jumptap and Google are doing with mobile search is that Jumptap is building a unique search experience for mobile users, while Google’s mobile search delivers results that are generally the same as what you’d find when you’re sitting at home on computer. Continue reading about Jumptap…
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Yesterday we talked about the intersection of science and public relations, but today we’re just going to stick to science—Chemistry to be specific. I struggled with Chemistry in high school. I’m pretty sure it wasn’t my fault though. I had a teacher who wasn’t quite qualified for the job. The amazing thing is that even in high school Chemistry, you’re working with some pretty nasty stuff. That means that a lot of the chemical companies out there aren’t very environmentally friendly. Novomer is an exception. They convert “carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide from pollution into valuable materials [that have] the potential to transform the plastics and materials landscape on a global scale.” And I thought it was cool that trees could turn carbon dioxide into wood. Novomer is based in Waltham, MA, but their R&D lab is in my favorite college town, Ithaca, NY. Continue reading about Novomer…
This morning I was reading a blog post about why interns should be paid (which goes nicely with my article on the legality of unpaid internships), and I noticed that the guy who wrote the post happens to work at an ad agency that pays its interns. Since paid internships in the ad industry are always in demand, I figured that GSD&M Idea City was worth a look. I learned that they’re based in Austin, TX (I feel like a lot of companies that are hiring right now are based in Texas), and that they are one of the bigger names in the industry. In fact, from 1987 until 2007 they were “one of two agencies that held the Wal-Mart account” according to Wikipedia. That means that they helped “build Wal-Mart from $11 billion in sales to $312 billion.” The agency has since moved on, but their client list continues to impress. Continue reading about GSD&M Idea City…
I’m sure that you’ve heard plenty of people bemoan the fact that it’s nearly impossible to get users to pay for online content. Most people wouldn’t pay a single dollar to read a wonderful article from The New York Times. Maybe this will change eventually, but for now the “freeconomy” is giving many content producers fits. Some people who aren’t having a problem are the folks at Cambridge, MA based Forrester Research. They’re “an independent research company that provides pragmatic and forward-thinking advice to global leaders in business and technology,” and they consistently get people to pay hundreds or even thousands of dollars for their content. Most of the reason for this is the fact that they’re often selling to corporate clients who are a lot less price sensitive than individual users, but it’s still impressive. Buying research done by Forrester is a lot cheaper than doing the research yourself, so it’s a smart investment. That’s why Forrester Research was able to generate nearly a quarter billion dollars in revenue in 2008. Continue reading about Forrester Research…
I’ve failed you. After two years of getting it right, I forgot to do a post for Pi Day yesterday. In 2008 we looked at internships at Pi Media, and in 2009 we looked at internships with The Mathematical Association of America. So, what does the guy who is late for the Pi Day party do when he was supposed to bring the pie? He obviously goes the Hostess Brands route—the cheapest and easiest way to get Fruit Pies at the last minute (I guess McDonald’s is your other option). It may not be like the pies that your grandma makes (my grandma makes an awesome Chocolate Dream Pie), but it gets the job done. And if you don’t like the Fruit Pies, you can rely on other favorites from the Irving, TX based (their operations center is based in Kansas City, MO) baking company like Twinkies, Hostess Cupcakes, Sno Balls, Ding Dongs, HoHos, and even Wonder Bread for those of you who are lacking a sweet tooth. Continue reading about Hostess Brands…
I probably should have done this post last week in the days leading up to Valentine’s Day, but I still think it’s worth talking about New York City based OkCupid today. They’re a free online dating site that matches people based on what they say they find important. Since I’m not looking, I don’t usually come across dating sites in my daily Internet travels, but OkCupid keeps popping up. Most of the time it’s because of their brilliant blog called OkTrends. It has some amazing posts that analyze the data generated by OkCupid’s users. Previous articles have covered topics like profile pictures and how race affects online dating outcomes. It’s really impressive and interesting stuff. OkCupid is actually run by a company called Humor Rainbow, but that website redirects to OkCupid.com, so it’s clear where their priorities are. Continue reading about OkCupid…
In the world of startups, hardcore usually means eating ramen for 17 meals straight, working 100 hour weeks, and sleeping under your desk. That’s not the case with Tough Mudder—that kind of lifestyle will prevent you from finishing their races. What races? The most hardcore races known to man. Tough Mudder was “launched because there is not a race in America that tests toughness, fitness, strength, stamina and mental grit all in one place and all in one day.” There will be soon. The team at New York City’s Tough Mudder doesn’t think much of marathons or even ironmans. They want something that puts the human body and mind to the ultimate test in one day and one location. They haven’t quite nailed down what this race will look like, but I think the pictures on their website will give you a good idea of what they have in mind. Continue reading about Tough Mudder…
You may have heard that NASA just had what was probably the final night launch of the space shuttle. I was lucky enough to see one a few years ago from a beach in Connecticut, although it didn’t look like much more than a bright light screaming through the night sky. Our space program is going through a lot of changes, and it seems that current funding for some future programs isn’t what the people at NASA were hoping for. Many fans of the space program are disappointed and pessimistic about the future of space exploration. Luckily, the past decade has led to the rise of private space companies that are taking up a lot of the slack when it comes to space flight. One of these companies is Hawthorne, CA based SpaceX, which was started by PayPal co-founder Elon Musk in 2002. Their focus is on building launch vehicles (mostly for satellites) that are not only more reliable, but also more affordable. Continue reading about SpaceX…
I have to admit that the “jobs” that I’m most concerned with today is Steve Jobs. I can’t wait to find out what Apple is announcing today, and I wish that I had some relevant internships to bring you. I don’t, but I did come across a really cool list yesterday called 5 Butt Kicking Companies You (Probably) Never Heard Of. The list is exactly what it promises, as it features 5 later stage startups that are growing rapidly and hiring lots of people. The first company on that list is Palantir, a Palo Alto, CA based company (with another office in McLean, VA) that “is working to radically change how groups analyze information.” They were founded by former PayPal employees and Stanford computer scientists. Right now the company is focused on two verticals: Government and Finance. Both areas deal with massive amount of data and information, so it makes sense that Palantir is starting with them. Continue reading about Palantir…
The future of marketing and media is getting more results based, and that trend is going to continue as tracking technology progresses. Some people think that means that branding campaigns are a dying breed, but the folks at Undertone Networks would strongly disagree. They are a New York City based online advertising network that is helping Fortune 500 companies move their branding campaigns online. The trouble with doing this is that controlling your brand online is much more difficult than controlling it on tv, radio, or in print. That’s why Undertone Networks has developed an ad network that offers “Fortune 500 marketers an ad network where they [can] confidently and safely market their products and services without having to compromise their brand.” Continue reading about Undertone Networks…
I may not be into jazz, but I will readily admit that people who like jazz have better taste in music than I do. I don’t know why I feel that way, but jazz gives off an aura of being ultimately cool. You just can’t tell a jazz lover that he has bad taste in music. If you’re one of those people who is cooler than me, then I hope that you know about Jazz at Lincoln Center. It’s a New York City based non-profit arts organization that aims “to enrich the artistic substance and perpetuate the democratic spirit of America’s music.” Their mission is accomplished through four key strategies: Curatorial, Educational, Archival, and Ceremonial. Whether it’s producing and presenting performances or maintaining “a comprehensive library of original scores, transcriptions, arrangements, books and artifacts important to jazz,” Jazz at Lincoln Center is doing its best to promote the art. Continue reading about Jazz at Lincoln Center…
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Pants are important. Especially when you’re trying to land an internship. Going to an internship interview without pants is the kind of disaster that only happens in nightmares. Showing up with wrinkled pants is a more likely problem for most college students—it makes you look sloppy and careless. Wearing ill fitting pants is almost as bad, even if you have demonstrated to your potential employer that you know how to properly use an iron. The problem is that there aren’t a lot of non-jean pants out there that fit men well. At least that’s what Bonobos, a New York City based fashion startup, thinks. They kind of have a Web 2.0 feel to them, even though they’re in a business that is hundreds of years old. They pride themselves on making great fitting men’s pants (they do suggest a pants hack for women who want Bonobos), offering unbeatable customer service, and providing an overall wonderful shopping experience. I just bought my first pair of pants from Bonobos last night, and I’m excited to see if they live up to the hype. If they don’t, I can take advantage of their free two-way shipping and “any pant, any time, any reason” return policy. Continue reading about Bonobos…
I love playing with data. I’m always poring over Google Analytics looking for ways to improve things on my sites. If you’re like me, then you’ll almost certainly enjoy Swivel, the “YouTube of data.” They’re a San Francisco based company that makes it extremely easy to visualize and compare data. For instance, you can take a look at cities with low temperature variance and how their highs and lows vary over the course of a year. (I can tell you that Chicago is not on that list with a high of 12 degrees today after much warmer weather just a few weeks ago.) I still haven’t figured out how to make the most out of Swivel, but I definitely see the potential for using it to identify some interesting relationships. Continue reading about Swivel…
I have to admit that I pretty much stopped watching local news after going to school and living in Central New York for four years. I swear that every night the news would come on at 11 PM, and there would be a new crew reporting live from a barn that caught on fire. Here in Chicago it’s more likely to be a shooting or possibly some government corruption. I’m sure that your area has its own regular story. Usually I like to talk about how the Internet is kicking traditional media’s butt, but that hasn’t been true when it comes to local stuff. TV and newspapers still own the local market, which is why NBC Chicago and Telemundo Chicago would be pretty cool places to intern. (Telemundo is a local network much like NBC 5 Chicago, but it’s tailored to a Spanish speaking audience.)They’re still the place to go for local news (whether it’s on the web or on the tube). Continue reading about NBC and Telemundo Chicago…
It took long enough, but Internet video is everywhere. Yes, we had online video 10 years ago, but now it actually looks good—and works. The main reason for this is that end users (you and me) finally have technology in their homes that can handle playing online video. This means high speed Internet connections and computers with enough processing power to not crash when a website uses a Flash video player. The issue for content creators is that delivering video still poses some challenges. Sure, I was able to produce an online job search training course that relied heavily on video with little trouble, but I wasn’t delivering video to thousands or even millions of people (I wish I had the problem). As your use base increases, the challenge of delivering video increase exponentially. Moreover, managing video content in an organized fashion is a completely different challenge than organizing text and images. Brightcove is a Cambridge, MA based company that provides an online video platform for many of the worlds biggest brands. Continue reading about Brightcove…
It looks like Yahoo! Finance has taken a page out of my book and used Fortune’s 40 Under 40 list to highlight some companies that are hiring. I found the link on Twitter, and was pleased to see that I had already featured a number of the companies. One that I haven’t yet featured (and don’t remember hearing about before) is Slide. They’re a San Francisco based startup that claims to be “the world’s leading social entertainment company.” I think that’s a bit of a stretch, but they do make social networks more fun for hundreds of millions of people. Their 40 Under 40 CEO is Max Levchin, who co-founded PayPal (which was sold for $1.5 billion to eBay). He is apparently well on his way to having built another billion dollar company, considering the fact that Slide was valued at $550 million last time that they took money. Continue reading about Slide…
It feels pretty good to be talking about a Boston based newspaper today knowing that they have to report on another trip to the World Series for the Yankees; although, I’m sure they’d much rather be publishing stories on what Dustin Pedroia and Jonathan Papelbon are doing during their offseason (possibly watching the World Series from their couches). Now that I’ve gotten in my dig at Red Sox fans, we can take a look at The Boston Globe, Boston’s most widely read newspaper. The paper is owned by the New York Times and has an excellent web presence at Boston.com. Much like other newspapers the Globe has had significant financial struggles, and The New York Times even threatened to shut the paper down if the paper’s union didn’t accept major concessions. Apparently those problems have been worked out, and The Boston Globe is now on more stable ground. At least that’s what the fact that they’re hiring would indicate. Continue reading about The Boston Globe…
Social networking is a new thing, right? Not at all. Social networks have been around almost as long as the Internet. They’ve just become way more mainstream in recent years. Take Redwood City, CA based Care2 for example. They’re an online social network that aims “to help people make the world a better place,” and they’ve been doing it since 1998. That’s impressive, not only because it means that they were early to social networking, but also because it means that they survived the dot com bust of the early 2000s. “Making the world a better place” used to be strictly the territory of non-profits, but now we’re seeing more and more companies like Care2 that are choosing to be B Corporations. That means that they can do good and build a profitable businesses at the same time. That’s exactly what Care2 is doing with their “more than 50 employees, 11 million members, 400 nonprofit partners and hundreds of responsible advertisers making a difference.” Continue reading about Care2…
I think that e-mail is still the king of social media. We have all of these fancy social networking accounts, but they all send their notifications to our inboxes. If you want someone’s attention, e-mail is the way to go (assuming your message doesn’t look like spam). Heck, you’re probably reading this in your e-mail. That’s why e-mail marketing continues to be a rapidly growing industry. Over on One Day, One Job we’ve already taken a look at jobs with Constant Contact, Aweber, and e-Dialog, and now we’re going to look at an industrial strength e-mail marketing company, ExactTarget. They’re based in Indianapolis, and since 2000 they’ve been focused on “providing the most powerful on-demand software for email communications and finding the best and brightest marketers on the planet to revolutionize the way people think about email.” Continue reading about ExactTarget…
Let’s say that you wanted to come visit me in Chicago. You’re not afraid to do touristy things, because you’re willing to accept the fact that you are a tourist. You’re going to visit the Art Institute, the Hancock Observatory, the Museum of Science and Industry, and the Sears (now Willis) Tower. Then you want to take a ride on the Navy Pier Ferris Wheel followed by an Architecture Boat Tour. That’s a lot of separate admission fees (and an exhausting day). With a Go Chicago Card from Boston, MA based Smart Destinations, you can pay once and do all these things and more. The card will even get you a discount on your Lou Malnati’s deep dish pizza. Smart Destinations offers the same service in quite a few other cities, and it seems to be pretty popular. While the Travel industry is struggling with the economy, Smart Destinations has managed 424.7% revenue growth over the past 3 years and #652 on the Inc. 5000. Continue reading about Smart Destinations…
