Confessions of an eBiz Junkie

EMC Fights Cancer

It's one of the things I love about EMC's culture - the seemingly insatiable desire to make the world a better place.

Each quarter, we take on a new cause, and harness the power and passion of our global employees to make a difference. Earlier this year, we set our sights on fighting hunger. We sure did have an impact, collecting over 40,000 pounds of food and helping over 20,000 individuals across the globe.

In fact, we doubled our goal.

This quarter, we take on something that's touched just about all of us in some way or another - Cancer.

There are no shortage of organized activities taking place throughout our third quarter. Folks are posting ribbons in their offices, tomorrow we'll literally be painting one of our offices pink, we have a silent auction to raise money for Swim Across America, so much more.

What's Your Social Media Strategy?

It was an honor to see EMC's approach to Social Media cited in the July issue of the Harvard Business Review. The article is well worth the read, if you haven't seen it already. Be sure to read the healthy and provocative comments from the community.

What's most interesting to me in reading this piece is the fact that no one size fits all. The authors call out four basic approaches - The 'predictive practitioner', 'creative experimenter', 'social media champion' and 'social media transformer'.

While it's true that we (EMC) continue to embrace the notion of experimenting, our journey has actually taken us to each of the other approaches described (and then some...). The authors note this, suggesting that 'many organizations will progress from one to another' during their journey. That's definitely proven to be the case.

The most important take away is that all of the approaches cited, all of the different behaviors, have one thing in common - These brands have embraced Social Media and are leveraging it to transform their business.

We've seen remarkable results, and have only scratched the surface.

So, what's your strategy?

 

 

A Tour of Social City at EMC World

So I'm off to the Big Apple to represent EMC and pick up our first-place award for engagement marketing in BtoB Online's 2011 Social Media awards. The campaign that took the award was a rather large launch (internally known as 'Mega Launch') back in January.

As I sit here staring at the inevitable flight delay board, I reflect on our ongoing evolution in the social realm. One thing that's consistent - When we want to have an impact in Social, we go BIG.

To that end, and with EMC World 2011 now in the rear-view mirror, I thought I'd give you an inside look into our social presence at EMC World - 'Social City'.

Social City was designed to put all of our social engagement points front and center for attendees of the event. Be it EMC's Facebook presence, our EMC Community Network, our roster of industry bloggers - There's a point of engagement for everyone.

It was also designed to help drive EMC World discussions far beyond the physical confines of the event. As you'll see - Social City helped us extend the conversations to hundreds of thousands more via digital channels.

So - See for yourself. Here's your very own tour of Social City - including the now infamous Bloggers Lounge - at EMC World by yours truly. I suspect you'll see what I mean... We like to go BIG with Social.

 

 

We ARE Big Data

At EMC World last week, ten-thousand of us got together in person to discuss what happens when cloud meets big data. Through the wonders of Social Media, we were able to extend that conversation well beyond the physical confines of the event, to hundreds of thousands more.

It was simply awesome to watch.

As we've done in recent years, we had a really cool 'buzzboard' running on plasma screens throughout the event (See screenshot below). Somewhat par for the course, our buzzboard scrolled tweets and images tagged #EMCWorld in real time. It's a good reminder of the digital discussions that take place alongside the physical.

During his opening keynote, EMC CEO Joe Tucci shared that in 2010, the digital universe was 1.2 zetabytes. By end of decade, it's projected to be 35 zetabytes. That's 44x growth. WOW!

To that end, we added a new twist to our buzzboard this year - The 'Big Data Meter'. Here's a screengrab from the counter on our EMC World Facebook page.

 

 

We set out to project the amount of digital information generated during an event such as EMC World. To get there, we looked at social activity from last years event and made some assumptions based on audience growth.

We then turned our attention to the logistics of this years show... How many keynotes, how many breakout sessions, how many hours of live broadcast, etc;.

The net net here - Between tweets, blogs, images, breakout presentations, keynote videos, live broadcasts and the like, roughly 100 terabytes of information a day was created and added to the digital universe during EMC World.

And, as we watched it all unfold in real-time, I'm convinced that our assumptions going in were rather conservative.

My takeaway - big data is not merely an interesting theme on the horizon. It's not a phenomenon specific to big companies. Rather, it's here, it's now, and it's all of us...

More information on our exploding digital universe over here.

(Virtually) Live from EMC World

Well we're back - and last week was an absolute whirlwind. Perhaps you hadn't noticed, but we had a little something going on in Vegas.

Tons of great content coming out of our EMC Bloggers. All of the awesome keynotes are available to our fans on Facebook. In addition, the gang from SiliconAngle and Wikibon were broadcasting live from the Bloggers Lounge. Here's an excerpt of a chat I had with the boys, and you can catch interviews with folks like Jeremy Burton, Chuck Hollis, Howard Elias, and many more over on SiliconAngle.TV.

More EMC World thoughts soon!

 

Watch live video from SiliconANGLE.com on Justin.tv

VEX Robotics at EMC World

There is *so much* to take in here at EMC World. Tons of coverage from our bloggers, the keynotes are available to our friends on Facebook, and EMC.com is a hub of EMC World content.

In my travels, I came across the gang from VEX Robotics - and got a personal tour from my new pal Ellie. EMC does a lot with VEX - and sponsors many of these kits to school systems each year. The kids build robots from these kits designed to solve a variety of challenges. It's just awesome.

I put Ellie on the spot and fired up my camera. Apologies for the jittery nature of the vid - Too much capuccino from the Bloggers Lounge!

Enjoy!

 

Virtually attending EMC World 2011 - Let me count the ways

Not able to attend EMC World in Vegas this year? That's OK. We've got you covered! Here are some ways you can tune in via your favorite browser and catch some of the fun from the comfort of your sofa...

Follow EMC on Facebook

We EMC'ers sure like our friends. And to prove it, here's what you'll get for showing us some Facebook love...

*Exclusive* access to EMC World keynotes and Super-Sessions in near real time. Just check out the agenda to see some of the discussions you'll be able to access via Facebook.

We'll also be pulling random winners from our Facebook followers for a trip to EMC World 2012 - on us, of course. Still not enough? How about a free Mozy Home account?

Told ya we like our friends.

 

Join the (virtual) EMC World Community

We've got a cool schedule of meetups taking place in EMC World's 'Social City'. Topics range from a chat on VMWare and EMC integration to a physical version of the ever popular 'Ask Chuck'.

Many of these will be broadcast via the EMC Community Network - and you'll be able to interact with the session via live Q&A. Check it out!

 

Follow the Hashtags!

EMCWorld is our tried and true event hashtag... Tune in here for general show happenings. For more targeted conversations, be sure to check the latest on #BigData and #Cloud... When these two things intersect - there's bound to be some compelling discussions.

Of course, if you want the late breaking news from the show, be sure to follow @EMCCorp and @EMCWorld on Twitter.

 

EMC World Central on EMC.com

Not to be outdone by all this new-fangled social stuff, the gang over on EMC.com will be keeping pace with the latest news and info coming out of the event via the EMC World hub. Check it out for all the latest goodies.

 

Tune in to the EMC Bloggers

Opinions? Yeah, we got 'em. Many of EMC's blogging elite will be attending the show and providing their perspectives in real time. Get the latest inside scoop from some of the industry's biggest thinkers over via the EMC Blogging Corps.

 

Check out the live broadcast from the Bloggers Lounge!

Our friends from Wikibon and Silicon Angle will be back in full force and covering all the happenings at EMC World. My lips are sealed on the schedule, but suffice it to say you'll see some of the biggest names from the industry broadcasting live from our cozy little Bloggers Lounge. Tune in and be in the know!

 

So if you can't join us in person - know that we'll miss you! But there's no shortage of ways to tune in and expand your thinking on all things big data and cloud. Pay attention - as there just may be a test. ;)

I'm sure I've forgotten some channels... Feel free to leave additional ways to plug into the EMC World vibe in the comments!

LD

 

What Happens In Vegas...

OK.. I know. Let's get it right out of the way. Bad blogger! Bad! I've been neglecting my duties here. Sorry for that. On the bright side - I have a good reason.

What happens in Vegas won't be staying in Vegas... At least if EMC's Social Media Team has anything to do with it.

That's right, EMC World is less than two weeks away. Months of planning coming together, an undeniable excitement in the air. You think 2010 was big? Ha. Wait until you see what happens when cloud meets big data!

And if you know anything about EMC, you know we like to go BIG when it comes to social!

You know the Bloggers Lounge is back. While I'm a bit biased, I've not seen anyone else do it quite like EMC. So - if you're a blogger - and will be at World, be sure to sign up for access! Like last year, our good friends from Wikibon & Silicon Angle will be broadcasting live from the lounge throughout the week. From experience, these folks tend to bring in some high-profile guests.

Woah... You say the Bloggers Lounge isn't enough for you? You're hardcore.

That's OK - we're upping the game again in 2011 by introducing 'Social City'. Social City will be *the* hub of social engagement during EMC World. We'll be touting all of the great ways to engage EMC, via the EMC Community Network, our Facebook and Twitter offerings, and more.

Still not enough?

OK - How about meet-ups with EMC execs, geeks and gurus? Not going to be there in person? No problem! Many will be broadcast live via our communities and will offer live Q&A for those who are representin' digital-style.

I can't begin to describe how pumped up I am for this years event. The entire EMC Social Media Team will be there - so drop by and say hello!

Hopefully, you've already registered and we'll see you in person. If not, there are no shortage of ways to participate from afar. WIll share more on this next week (hint - Big surprise coming for our fans on Facebook... So stay tuned!)

 

 

 

 

Congrats EMC - First Place for Social Media Marketing

Much like the Academy Awards... The winner gets up on stage, is humbled at the recognition, especially given the competition at hand, and ultimately sets out to thank the Academy, a long list of producers, family and friends, actors and the like.

Except for us, it's not about the Academy, the Directors, or anything like that. For EMC, it's about our social voices. It's about the multi-year investment we've made in helping our global workforce become 'socially proficient'.

EMC's been awarded first place in B2B Online's 2011 Social Media Marketing Awards for the technology category. The recognition is based on our supporting social campaign for EMC's record breaking product launch back in January.

There were several components to this social campaign - from driving early speculation as to what EMC was up to, to engaging influential social voices, to a rather addictive Facebook game that went rather viral and helped us grow our Facebook community significantly.

All in all, the 'social' aspects of the campaign ended up realizing 28% of the total audience at the launch event in January... Not bad, eh?

But, as suggested above, what can't get lost here is the power of social proficiency. Since beginning our journey some years back, we've taken an inside-out approach. We invested in ourselves - helping our global workforce of more than 48k become 'proficient' in the social world. These are the folks that ultimately helped us go BIG.

So kudos to EMC, our highly-passionate and always engaged global employees, and a stellar Social Media Team that I'm honored to be a part of.

Oh... There's one more thing... We're honored to now be up for the 'People's Choice Award'... How about casting a vote for your pals at EMC? I hope we can once again show how we EMC'ers like to GO BIG using #SocMed.

Thanks!

 

EMC World 2011 - The Bloggers Lounge is Back, Baby!

Where does the time go? Seems like just yesterday we were hanging backstage with The Counting Crows, getting jacked up on free espressos, and chatting about the wonders of all things Social...

Well, it's THAT time again.

What happens when big data meets cloud? Does whatever happens in Vegas really stay in Vegas? Does Len Devanna actually have a caffeine threshold?

There's one way to find out.. Join us in Las Vegas in May for EMC World 2011!

Bloggers who have attended in the past will likely attest to one thing.. The EMC World Bloggers Lounge is the place to be during the event. Always a good crowd, a steady stream of EMC thought-leaders to chat with, and no shortage of good fun...

The Bloggers Lounge is open to any attendee of EMC World who's also a blogger. It's that simple.

Sign up below and we'll see you soon in Vegas! Here's the list of bloggers so far... Already a great crowd.