Bellevue Business Journal » Technology

Dolby Laboratories has appointed Ray DiCasparro as Director of Strategic Accounts, Americas Sales

Joe Kennedy — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 04:50:31 +0000

Dolby Laboratories has appointed Ray DiCasparro as Director of Strategic Accounts, Americas Sales. In this role, Ray is responsible for strategizing and managing Dolby’s largest customer, Microsoft.

Prior to joining Dolby, Ray spent 15 years working at Microsoft in domestic and international positions, including: Director of Consumer Experience Marketing, where he developed and executed strategies to compete against Apple, Director of Corporate Development responsible for the acquisition of Danger /T-Mobile Flip Phone supplier, and Director of Business Development where he negotiated large dollar value component and IP agreements for Xbox, Zune, and manufacturing to compete against Sony.

Ray is based in Kirkland, Washington and works with Microsoft product groups including Windows, Windows Mobile, MediaRoom, Xbox, and SilverLight. His role is to understand the businesses’ needs for high quality audio technologies and provide the best Dolby solutions for Microsoft and its end user customers.

When Ray is not focused on Microsoft and Dolby, he is an amateur Digital Forensic analyst, sailor, snowboarder, cyclist, photographer, and hiker.

Enter to win $10,000 for your small business!

Joe Kennedy — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 02:23:26 +0000

Any business with seven or fewer full-time employees in Washington state is eligible to enter. Not you? Share this with family, friends, and your favorite small businesses!

BellevueBusinessJournal.com has joined with the Greater Seattle Chamber of Commerce and Microsoft Corporation for the “It’s Time for Business with Office 2010 Video Contest.”

Participation is easy. Simply follow three steps to enter:

Download a FREE trial version of Office 2010 and use it in your business.
Create a short video about your positive experience with Office 2010. Your video must be at least 30 seconds but no more than two minutes in length. Absolutely no video production experience is needed!
Complete the video contest submission form at itstimeforbusiness.com. Be sure to follow all the required steps.

Videos can demonstrate your favorite feature of Office 2010, show how Office 2010 improves your productivity, or explain how Office products helped you launch your business. Submissions will be judged on five criteria: originality, creativity, concept, information, and overall presentation.

Prizes
$10,000 Best Video/Grand Prize Winner
$1,000 Best Foreign Language Video
$1,000 Best Video by a Woman-Owned Business

ABOUT THE CONTEST
No purchase is necessary but participants must meet all contest rules and eligibility requirements.

Questions? Read the contest FAQs at itstimeforbusiness.com/contest/faqs. Submissions will be accepted until April 22, 2010.

Kirkland Goes After High Fiber Google Network

Trusted Sources — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 00:03:19 +0000

Kirkland hopes to add some seriously high fiber to the community’s broadband network as it competes for Google’s “Fiber for Communities” project. Google plans to test ultra-high speed broadband networks in one or more locations in the United States and seeks proposals, including citizen feedback, from cities, counties and communities. The Kirkland City Council supports the bid and encourages citizens and businesses to nominate Kirkland to Google by Friday, March 26 online at https://www.google.com/appserve/fiberrfi/public/options. The City seeks public comments to be included in its bid; comments can be submitted online by March 21 at www.ci.kirkland.wa.us/googlerfi.

“There’s no denying that Kirkland has a need for this kind of speed,” notes Mayor Joan McBride. “We are a high-tech, innovative community and Google’s high speed service will make our teachers and students, employers and employees and computer users more efficient.”

Google’s Kirkland campus is located on 6^th Street South in the Everest neighborhood. Google’s ultra-high speed broadband network will provide Internet speeds more than 100 times faster than what most users have today. The company will announce its selections by the end of this year.

Editor’s note: I did go and nominate Kirkland, although I live in Bellevue and wish we would go after this network too.

‘Social Media 201 Conference’ Event to Deliver Next-Level Content for Business Decision Makers

Joe Kennedy — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 08:55:42 +0000

On April 15, 2010 the Social Media 201 Conference will be hosted at Microsoft’s Conference Center in Redmond, Washington. Social Media 201 will deliver high value and engaging content for business decision makers to help them understand how to achieve profitability and strengthen customer relationships with social media strategies and tactics. This one day event features powerful keynote presentations, insightful lightning talks, a round table working session, and a panel discussion from recognized experts in business strategy, brand building and monetizing of social media. These industry experts include:

Eric Weaver - Account Director and Strategist at Tribal DBB Worldwide
Dave Hanley – CEO & Principal at Banyan Branch
Daniel Rasmus – Author of “Listening to the Future”
Kristen Ruby – CEO, Ruby Media Group
Dr. Udi Schlessinger – Managing Partner, U Labs
Darren Williger – President & CEO, Regillo Consulting Group
Bille Baty – COO & Managing Partner, Phi Concepts
Jeff Dance – Founder, Fresh Consulting

Social Media 201 is sponsored by Microsoft Local Engagement Team, Comcast Business Class, Fresh Consulting, Eastside Entrepreneurs Social Network, Ruby Media Group, Banyan Branch, Regillo Consulting Group and Tribal DDB Worldwide.

Social Media 201 will provide engaging content and roundtable discussions designed to help organizations take their social media strategy and implementation to the next level.

Mike Whitmore, President of Fresh Consulting from Bellevue, Washington explains, “the concept for Social Media 201 stemmed from the Social Media 101 Conference the Eastside Entrepreneurs and Joe Kennedy hosted last September at Microsoft. The 101 conference helped educate business owners about what social media is and why companies should participate. The new Social Media 201 conference is designed for those businesses that have started to delve into social media and want to take it to the next level and find a path to profitability and measure return on investment.”

Registration is available at the event site www.SocialMedia201.com with early adopter discounts available before March 15, 2010 using the discount code “EASTSIDE”.

Twitter feeds on the event are available from Twitter.com/SM201CONF and may be tweeted and followed in general from the Tweetup #SM201.

The Microsoft Conference Center will provide free wireless Internet connectivity and lunch will be provided by Comcast Business Services.