Currently viewing the category: "Web/Tech"

2013 Mid-Year Report: The Year’s 5 Buzziest Stories & Trends So Far

On May 15, 2013 By

It’s hard to believe, but we’re already nearing the halfway point of 2013! As such, let’s take a look back at five topics that have caught our attention so far this year….

 

1.  Security breaches

Hacks and breaches are an unfortunate and all-too-common occurrence these days. While data security is critical [...]

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Redesigning the SPG Solar Website

On April 23, 2013 By

Since 2001, SPG Solar has been designing, engineering, building and maintaining high-quality solar power systems for large commercial, industrial, governmental and public energy users. In 2006, SPG Solar started manufacturing the SunSeeker single-axis tracker to generate up to 25% more solar power. In 2012, they began to sell [...]

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Building a Website? Keep it Simple

On February 14, 2013 By

Creating, updating, or designing a website for yourself or a client can get to be a little hectic, especially when you begin to think about all the moving parts that are involved in the process.  The important rule to remember when it comes to web projects is to “keep it simple”.

In [...]

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2012′s Most Notorious Events

On January 3, 2013 By

Happy New Year! As we head into what will inevitably be an exciting 2013, it’s interesting to sit back and reflect on some of the most notorious events of 2012 that caught our attention, and the lessons we’ve learned from each…

In January, just in time for Martin Luther King Day, many visitors to the [...]

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When is public relations more than PR?

On December 19, 2012 By

Public relations has been at the heart of Sterling Communications since our founding in 1989. Relating to the public, in case it hasn’t become obvious this decade, requires far more than mere “PR.”

Public relations — at least to our high-tech and cleantech clients — has grown far beyond press releases about new products, [...]

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How Social Media Became THE Destination for Election 2012 Predictions and PR Lessons

On November 7, 2012 By

The 2008 US Presidential Election may have been referred to as the “social media election” but that was then, and this year’s election campaign season was unlike any before it.

Four years ago, 1.8 million tweets were sent on Election Day. But now, in 2012, there [...]

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That’s a Wrap – Start-Ups: Silicon Valley

On November 6, 2012 By

The first thing I asked myself when I sat down to watch the premiere of Start-Ups: Silicon Valley last night was, “This is an hour long?” As I prepared myself to succumb to the hour-long event, I settled in to see what insights Bravo could offer about the entrepreneurial and innovative valley [...]

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Google Algorithms and Online Reputation Management

On September 28, 2012 By

Google’s autocomplete feature has long been a source of convenience – and sometimes shock and amusement. On the practical side, it’s so easy to just type in a couple words or even a few letters and select the result that matches your query. After all, if you’re looking for an answer to [...]

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Living Up to Minority Report’s Technology 10 Years Later

On August 23, 2012 By

“We thought 2000 was gonna be like ‘The Jetsons’ – It ain’t even ‘The Jeffersons.’”

While comedian Chris Rock –who told that joke over a decade ago– is still right today with flying cars and living in space not realities yet, one movie’s future technology that seemed largely impossible [...]

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Transparency in Social Media: Google’s Elimination of Anonymity on YouTube

On August 14, 2012 By

“Horror is the removal of masks.”

This quote from Robert Bloch, famed author of Psycho, particularly rings true with Google’s recent decision to prevent YouTube users from being able to hide behind aliases and instead have them disclose their full names when making comments on the [...]

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Dark Knight Terror: When Automated Tweets #Fail

On July 24, 2012 By

Context is king.

It’s one thing to provide enough context when explaining yourself, but it’s quite another to ensure that what you say won’t potentially be taken out of context. The latter is something that both the NRA and CelebBoutique learned the hard way last Friday.

The American Rifleman, the [...]

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My Journey from Politics to PR

On June 18, 2012 By

Editor’s note: Welcome to Dave Gifford, Sterling’s newest account associate. Dave brings a unique background in politics, and nonprofits. Here, in his own words, he recounts his previous experience and how he came to work in tech PR at Sterling.

Much like my colleague, Jennifer Kincaid, I can’t say I ever knew upfront [...]

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Second Screen Trend: Using New Media to Revive Old Habits

On May 31, 2012 By

“The world changed dramatically with all the smartphones and tablets. People are multi-tasking while they are watching TV.”

Adam Cahan, vice president of Yahoo!’s “Into Now” smartphone and tablet application, faced the challenge addressed in his above statement and saw an opportunity to connect that community and encourage more people to watch [...]

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Sound Off Podcast: Social Media Privacy in the Workplace

On April 19, 2012 By

Sterling Communications Account Supervisor Scott Smith sits down for a chat with colleagues Tiffany Bryant, Jordan Hubert, and Lisette Rauwendaal, to discuss how many companies are increasingly evaluating potential job candidates, and current employees, by evaluating content on their Facebook, Twitter and other social network pages. In [...]

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A Day in the Life of an Account Executive

On April 17, 2012 By

Woke up, fell out of bed

Dragged a comb across my head

Found my way downstairs and drank a cup

 

Like the Beatles song suggests, there’s a certain level of monotony to our workdays. Mine start no differently, except substitute watching “Boy Meets World” for [...]

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Can the King of Twitter Play the King of Apple?: Social Media Sentiment on Ashton Kutcher Portraying Steve Jobs

On April 5, 2012 By

Ashton Kutcher Cast as Steve Jobs. 

That’s like casting Adam Sandler as the Pope. Or John Wayne as Genghis Khan. Or even Cate Blanchett as Bob Dylan. Oh wait…those last two actually happened!

What initially seemed like an April Fools’ Day prank, or part of the return of [...]

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SXSW: The Witnessing of a Brand Growing Up

On March 19, 2012 By

They grow up so fast.

These words frequently spoken by my mom when looking at old pictures of my brother and me (yes, there’s one to the left!) aren’t so different from the ones being spoken at this year’s South by Southwest (SXSW) by faithful devotees that have been following [...]

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Online Identities: Branding Yourself in Social Media

On March 6, 2012 By

Given there’s seemingly a new social media site to join every week now, choosing the right handle and picture for your profile is becoming increasingly important.

First off, to get the handle or profile name you want, it’s best to strike while the iron is hot. With the plethora of [...]

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Pinterest: the Next Social Media Frontier

On March 1, 2012 By

By now most brands have (or at least attempted) a presence on Facebook and Twitter. And many companies have added sites such as Delicious, YouTube, Flickr and LinkedIn to their social media repertoire. But what new social medium has risen so [...]

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How the Internet Changed Life as we Know it

On February 17, 2012 By

Looking back fifteen years or so, I remember the first hints of what would become the Internet as we know it today. Back then, I was a young twenty-something attending Sacramento State University, majoring in Psychology, when a forward-thinking professor of mine decided to require the class to use email (then completely text-based) to communicate [...]

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One Bad Apple Can Ruin the Whole Bunch

On January 10, 2012 By

I am always reading blogs and Twitter feeds by reputable public relations professionals to learn new tips and tricks of the trade.  Intermingled with those tidbits of useful information, I also make it a point to pay attention to idiotic moves by PR hacks. After a series of recent high-profile gaffes by executives and PR-noir [...]

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Fight the Power: Customers Force Verizon to Abandon Fee Increase

On January 4, 2012 By

I recently issued a retrospective on the Sterling blog on the most provocative and head-scratching events of 2011, but one managed to sneak in during the very last days of the year.

During the late afternoon on December 30, Verizon stated that it was scrapping a controversial $2 [...]

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12 Provocative Events in 2011 from a PR and Tech Perspective

On December 29, 2011 By

Here on the Sterling Communications blog, we’ve never been shy about expressing our opinions on current events. From the events that made us want to stand and clap, to those that left us scratching our heads in confusion, here is a recap of the Sterling response to a dozen of the year’s most intriguing issues [...]

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Holiday Gift Guides – Why Didn’t You Start in August?

On November 18, 2011 By

Holiday gift guides are a golden opportunity for companies to showcase their products to a targeted audience using stories and photos. What’s better, it’s free. However, there are a number of key elements that companies need to keep in mind as they begin the gift guide process, if they want to be [...]

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To Wire, or Not to Wire… That is the Question.

On September 29, 2011 By

In my line of work, a huge part of my role is disseminating material company news to the largest audience possible. (For those not familiar with the term, “material news” is a public company’s news that might affect the value of its securities or influence investors’ decisions). So, when working with these companies, [...]

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Sound Off Podcast Episode 2: Netflix, What the F***?

On September 20, 2011 By

Netflix’ stock price, brand value and customer goodwill all seem to be tanking after the announced split of its video streaming and mail-order DVD businesses. Not only are most vocal customers unhappy [...]

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Open the Door

On August 30, 2011 By

We’re an all-Mac shop at Sterling Communications. We’re big fans of Apple even when one of their computers isn’t a fan of us. So when Steve Jobs resigned as CEO from Apple, we (like [...]

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CES Innovation Awards: 5 Tips to Prepare Your Submission

On August 16, 2011 By

So your client has decided to submit their product (or many) to the annual Consumer Electronic Show (CES) Innovations Design and Engineering Awards. With the Call for Papers opening yesterday, here are a few helpful tips as you prepare your submission.

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Press Check

On August 16, 2011 By

While PR has traditionally been our bread and butter, there’s a reason why we’re called Sterling Communications. Here’s a quick video, shot and edited with an iPhone, of a press check we attended. We’re designing business cards, stationery, and a website for a new client. Details coming soon.

Kawika Holbrook can be reached at Continue Reading →