Continuing on with our April Big Data guest blogging series we have a great post from Chris Sheehan, COO of TrueLens. Chris gives great insight into how companies can take advantage of Big Data to create meaningful customer experiences and improve consumer-brand relationships. As a reminder, our next guest blog series starts in May and the topic is Mobile, if you are interested in contributing please e-mail me at taylor [at] MITX [dot] org.

Chris Sheehan is the COO of TrueLens, a customer intelligence company that sources deep insights from social data.  Prior to joining TrueLens, he was venture capitalist at CommonAngels Funds actively investing in marketing and advertising companies including OwnerIQ, Offerpop, Yieldbot, Linkable Networks, Promoboxx, and Xconomy.

Last week I signed up for a flash sale website. The registration process was effortless. I entered my email address and was instantly browsing sales on the site. After ten minutes, I decided not to purchase anything and left. Since signing up, I’ve received a daily email with a selection of products that don’t interest me, and I’m starting to find these emails annoying.

Sound familiar? It should. Millions of consumers provide their email addresses to businesses of all kinds: retailers, hotels, entertainment brands, restaurants and airlines—to name just a few. As a result, marketers at those businesses face important questions such as “How do I start a conversation to build a long term relationship?” or “How do I provide immediate value?”

Ten 20-somethings to present generational topics in 20 minute flash sessions

(BOSTON, MA) – Today, FutureM, the weeklong event experience on the future of Marketing (October 23 – 26, 2012), announces one-of-a-kind session topics from a generation, current 20-somethings, that has developed with digital in its pocket. New this year, FutureM is featuring ten 20-year old entrepreneurs, students and marketing gurus who will speak to what is next in Marketing from a millennial perspective.

“In marketing, all it takes is a fresh perspective and a risk taking idea to generate changes in a creative industry. That is why we are so excited about the marketing concepts and twists to conventional thinking we will see from these 20-somethings,” said MITX President, Debi Kleiman. “Generation Y is notably the first generation to have digital at its finger tips and FutureM will put them to the test to see if they are worth their salt.”

This is the eighth post in our social blog series. Throughout the month of May, we'll be featuring posts from some of Boston's most expert thought leaders, answering these questions: “How is the new technology landscape changing social marketing?  What do marketers need to understand now and in the future in order to be prepared for these changes?” This post is by Seth Lieberman, CEO of SnapApp. Seth has more than 15 years of online marketing experience. When he is not immersed in social media marketing, you can find him at home in Brookline with his young family or indulging in one of his many hobbies, from gardening to photography to music to woodworking. You can reach Seth at @sethwlieberman or slieberman at snapapp.com.

The Innovation Awards are fast approaching and we've been on the hunt for just the right person to host this year's ceremony. The host is an integral part of the celebration, and we are determined to find just the right person - someone who understands Boston's Innovation Community, someone who's unflappable and fearless, and someone fun who can turn this into a real party!

We captured one of Debi Kleiman's conversations about the search on video. Check it out:

Industry news! And member news! We love sharing!

4 Tips For Authentic Online Engagement
Don’t Just Network, Talk Up Boston
Pinterest vs. Google+: Which New Social Network Is Worth Marketers' Time?

Arnold Powers the Boston Bruins’ “The Bear and the Gang” Integrated Campaign
Corey McPherson Nash Selected to Develop Ad Campaign for Atlantic Broadband
Fresh Tilled Soil Redesigns Site for Hot Startup GymPact
Nathaniel Borenstein of Mimecast on How Spam and the Cloud Can Save the Future of Email
Fiksu Expands with Northampton Office

Guest post by Larry Weber, Chairman of W2 Group, globally respected marketing expert, and an original MITX founder! Larry has written several books, which you should read, read, and read. This is one of several guest posts in the MITX 2011 Perspectives Blog Series. Stay tuned for many more posts by Boston's most influential thought leaders.

Instead of getting into the obvious predictions for 2011, like using social media to engage external audiences or the growth of mobile apps (which I think will take off because how many companies can have a good app?) here are a few of my top picks for trends and technologies marketers should be on the lookout for in next year.

If you follow MITX on Twitter, you may have noticed that many of our tweets are followed by a caret and initials. You might be curious about the people behind the initials, so I’m going to tell you a little bit about ^kj…

 Last night's event at UK Trade & Investment drew a crowd of diverse sorts with dozens of questions on social media integration and practicality - and industry pros and authors Lois Kelly, Erik Qualman, Larry Weber, and Dan Zarrella, with moderator Robert Davis, were ready to dish their best practices.
Attendees were able to send their questions in advance for the panel to address at the event, which allowed the audience to interact & ask their follow-up questions throughout. Here are some of the great questions and the candid comments the panel had in response:

Clients seem to consistently have a fear in becoming involved in social media because of the doors it opens for negative feedback - How can you get them over that fear?

Brian Maleszyk
Brian Maleszyk was the first panelist to speak to some best practices he has found in working with iPhone app creation. He presented the thought that you really need to create with "Results-oriented design" in mind. He went on to explain that thinking about the goal is key, but make sure to think about the medium, too. Whatever platform you are designing an application for, SEO is still a critical factor, and often one that people tend to overlook for mobile. He pointed out that with over 60,000 apps out there, you have to make yours stand out. He concluded that the way to do that is to be sure to stay on top of measurement - measuring the app is important, but equally as important is measurement of what people are saying about the app. Brian's last words - "Start small - start really, really small" so you can really pay attention and design your app based on that feedback.

Check out Bryan Maleszyk's presentation here!

Yes, it’s true. We are in full force with a bullhorn reminding everyone in New England’s internet business & marketing community to enter their best web projects, digital marketing, media and mobile campaigns, and use of emerging technologies into the MITX Interactive Awards. With just over two weeks left (deadline is 09/11/09), I invite you to act now!