Pontiflex named in 2010 AlwaysOn Global 250 list
Pontiflex has been named among the top 250 private companies in the world by AlwaysON.
To quote: “After examining the companies that are on the AO Global 250 list, it’s obvious that innovation is not only alive and well in the Global Silicon Valley, it’s accelerating in economic power and scope.” says Tony Perkins, founder and editor of AlwaysOn. “The companies certainly represent some of the highest-growth opportunities in the private company marketplace.”
Reading the gloomy newspaper headlines, one can be forgiven for furrowing the brow. But cheer up folks. Innovation is indeed alive and well. And we are happy to be a part of it.
Add comment July 30, 2010
Social media firms looking to hire
Emily Laermer from Crain’s New York business stopped by the Digital Dumbo event last night, and wrote an article on what she saw.
One clarification: We don’t rely on Facebook and Twitter for revenue. The growth of social media has been great for Pontiflex’s growth as marketers use us to acquire interested users for their social communities. A subtle nuance.
As we continue to grow, we are actively looking for qualified candidates in sales, software engineering, quality assurance and marketing. Say Hello. Attach your resume. Send a note to careers at pontiflex.com.
Add comment July 30, 2010
How Many Bottles of Beer Does it Take to Host An Event
600. But one should order wine too. Just picked up a 600 bottles from the Brooklyn Brewery. Also ordered in a bunch of wine. That’s all for the Digital Dumbo job fair starting in a little over an hour from now.
I know wine is made from grapes. And there’s red wine and white wine. That’s the extent of my scholarly knowledge, but apparently there’s more to wine selection than that. Here’s a sampling of what will be available (courtesy our resident wine expert Geoff Grauer).
- Vientos del Sur Viognier – an aromatic white made in Argentina. Stone fruit and floral characters with good weight on the palate.
- Saint Francis Red 06 – 100% Sonoma County fruit, lush with succulent ripe red fruit flavors and spicy aromas. Full-bodied and versatile.
- Colle Moro Ceresuolo 09 – A rose wine made in Abruzzo from Montepulciano grapes. Dry, delicate red fruit.
- Faillenc St. Marie Rose Glacieres 09 – Sweet rose made from Syrah in Corbieres in the south of France
- Pepiere Muscadet 09 - A perennial favorite, the 09 version is just great: briny with a refreshing lemon-lime zing.
- Monterrey Pinot Noir - While it has that tell-tale Pinot Noir finesse, it also shows the depth of fruit and power that somehow only Cali Pinot can muster and a deft use of wood frames the full fruit and gives a nice kick of spice.
It’s a hot day. So head on down if you are feeling thirsty.
Add comment July 29, 2010
Privacy: The Latest from the FTC
According to reports by Kate Kaye of ClickZ and Wendy Davis of MediaPost, the FTC is closely examining a “Do Not Track” list for online ads. It would operate similarly to the current “Do Not Call” lists wherein consumers can opt-out of telemarketing. People would still receive online ads, but their past browsing history would not be used to target ads their way.
FTC Chairman Jon D. Leibowitz stated support for even more consumer control over online ads. He told lawmakers that he personally favored opt-in consent to behavioral targeting, a step that, in his opinion, would go further in protecting consumer privacy. In an opt-in model, people would actually have to give marketers permission to track their online behavior. Politicians argue that current privacy policies aren’t well enough understood by consumers, who may not be aware of exactly how their online data is being used.
If this legislation is passed, it could have huge implications for many advertising companies who rely on behavioral targeting and “opt-out” methods.
What will it change for us? Nothing.
We’ve built our company on the core belief that people should sign up for the ads they want to see, and that giving consumers a say over what brands they interact with is better for everyone. People feel safe; marketers get to dialogue with people who actually want to hear from them.
For more information on how online advertising should protect consumer interests, check out our privacy center.
Add comment July 29, 2010
Theft in the offline world and online world
Stopping theft in the offline world is a lot easier than doing the same in the online world.
Two articles from today’s Slashdot.
1. A study in the Netherlands indicates “the most commonly colored vehicle stolen was black. This may be because black vehicles look more luxurious. Following close behind black were gray/silver automobiles. Of the 109 pink cars in the study, not one was stolen. A bright and uncommon color, like pink, may be as effective deterrent as an expensive security system.”
Will not be stolen
2. 100 Million Facebook Pages leaked on BitTorrent site
“A directory containing personal details about more than 100 million Facebook users has surfaced on an Internet file-sharing site. The 2.8GB torrent was compiled by hacker Ron Bowes of Skull Security, who created a web crawler program that harvested data on users contained in Facebook’s open access directory, which lists all users who haven’t bothered to change their privacy settings to make their pages unavailable to search engines.”
You can paint your Facebook profile pink all day long. It’s not going to stop a thief.
What you can do is log in to Facebook and follow this path:
Account–>Privacy Settings –>Applications and Websites–>Public Search
Here’s another useful Mashable guide dealing with instant personalization.
Add comment July 28, 2010
Digital DUMBO & Pontiflex: Get your Job On
We’re thrilled to be sponsoring Digital DUMBO tomorrow night. Join us for “Get Your Job On” at The Dumbo Loft. Enjoy beer and cocktails on us, get to know some of the great companies in the neighborhood, and who knows? Maybe get yourself a new job.
Month after month, the newspapers report shrinking job numbers. However, fueled by the digital economy, DUMBO continues to grow. Why? Because there are hundreds of companies in the Digital District that are providing services that matter in the new economy. And the good news is….THEY’RE HIRING in:
- Sales
- Marketing
- Technology
- Mobile app development
- Project Management
- Client Services
- User Experience
- Visual Design
Attend the Digital DUMBO event at The Dumbo Loft on July 29th from 6:30 – 8:30 and have the chance to meet decision makers from some of the industries hottest media and technologies companies. At the event, you can find out more about hiring at HUGE, Pontiflex, The JAR Group, Carrot Creative, DealNews.com, FanFeedr among many other companies. These companies are working with some of the world’s most recognizable brands from Ford, Disney, PepsiCo, ASPCA, Tommy Hilfiger, Heinz and many others.
This will be a great chance to meet hiring managers and learn about opportunities over casual drinks!
Note: You don’t need to be actively persuing a new career to attend. The event, as usual, is open to everyone and will be in the typical Digital DUMBO format.
Where:
The Dumbo Loft
155 Water Street
Brooklyn, NY
When:
Thursday, July 29th
6:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Add comment July 28, 2010
Focus on Quality When it Comes to List Growth
Kara Trivunovic from Strongmail penned a new article for Mediapost last week, provocatively titled “Does Size Really Matter?” (Her answer — yes, it does).
Kara rightfully cautions that in the quest for list growth, marketers shouldn’t forgo quality in the name of quantity: “If you are just adding people for the sake of hitting a number, the rest of your metrics will suffer, I promise.”
Her advice is solid:
- Set goals for growth. Kara says marketers should come up with realistic objectives that “align with the addition of quality subscribers who want to engage with your content and your brand and will have a positive impact on your other performance metrics.” The goal should be to add new subscribers to your list who are as likely or even more likely to open, click and respond to your emails than your previous and current subscribers.
- Identify where your customers are most likely to sign up. Kara suggests auditing how one’s subscribers prefer to sign up, including whether offline channels are optimized for “natural email acquisition” and whether a company’s social presence is helping to attract new customers.
- Deliver value. List attrition can be a prime indication that your content is becoming irrelevant and needs a refresh. More than any other tactic, building and maintaining an email program that delivers value will help keep subscribers from opting out and encourage new ones to opt-in because of positive word-of-mouth.
Quality matters as much as quantity — the two are not, and should never be, mutually exclusive.
Add comment July 26, 2010
The Big Lebowski at The Brooklyn Bridge Park
Tonight, when dusk falls on New York City – no, no this isn’t about vampires and such.
This is to say that there will be a screening of The Big Lebowski at the Brooklyn Bridge Park. Needless to say, we will be there.
Join the Pontiflex team in the evening at the screening. The grass will be as soft as an old and faithful rug, the moon will be shining bright like a White Russian and a good time will be had by all.
Add comment July 22, 2010
The Business Development Institute: Social Convergence
Have you been to an event hosted by the Business Development Institute? You should.
The Pontiflex Marketing team spent the morning at “Social Convergence & The Enterprise: Case Studies and Roundtables.” It was a fantastic event. The speakers were all industry thought-leaders, the audience was highly engaged, and most importantly, the word “leverage” was only used once.
Highlights:
- Brian Kenny, Harvard Business School’s Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, speaking about cross-organizational social integration (@hbscmo).
- Jenny Dervin, Director of Corporate Comm at Jet Blue, discussing crisis management through Twitter and YouTube (@SkyWriter012).
- Stacie Bright, Sr. Communications Marketing Manager at Unilever, talking about brand building for some of the world’s biggest consumer products (Dove, Axe, etc) through social media (@Dove).
- Paul Hernacki, CTO of Definition 6, sharing insights about Coke’s pioneering social campaign (@phernacki).
- Evan Welsh, Director of Global Media Relations for SAP, presenting on how to take a B2B software company and turn it into one of the world’s most engaging brands through social and blogger outreach (@evwelsh).
Learn more about all of the speakers and register for BDI’s next event here.
Add comment July 21, 2010
The Problem of Dormancy
Best enjoyed dormant
Sometimes dormancy is a good thing. Like when it comes to volcanoes. When volcanoes lie dormant, there are fewer flight delays to Europe.
But dormancy when it comes to an email list is not as good. An article in today’s eConsultancy says that as much as 40% – 70% of subscribers in an email list are dormant.
The author recommends four steps to combat this dormancy:
- Define the inactive segment.
- Create a series of win-back mailings designed to grab the subscriber’s attention
- Be sure to send win-back campaigns from separate IP addresses
- Get rid of the dead wood.
To this I would add a fifth point: Constantly replenish the list with new and engaged subscribers. Because it’s not just necessary to get rid of the dead wood. It’s also necessary to grow new trees.
And with that, I have to stop this post because I have reached my metaphorical limit for the day.
Add comment July 20, 2010
Arun Krishnan
Jessica Ling
Jason Penta
zlasker
Roshan Bangera
Jordan Cohen
eadlman
Geoff Grauer
Jerrie Gullick
Jon Beardsley
Nick Herman
