Mediaboss Marketing

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/glw4rf/global_social_medi) has announced the addition of Frost & Sullivan's new report "Global Social Media in the Medical Devices Industry" to their offering.

This study's research objective is to gauge social media usage within the medical devices industry. The data was collected in October 2011, using web-based surveys. The sample consisted of 170 medical devices professionals from the United States and Europe. Personal use of social media for professional purposes is quite high among employees of the medical devices industry; this study assesses the main usage reasons cited by users of social media as well as the main benefits that are afforded by this technology. It also covers the number-one ranked risk of social media and how this might impact usage.

Summary

Personal use of social media for professional purposes is quite high among employees of the medical devices industry. The main reason to use social media is to get in touch with colleagues. LinkedIn is the social media site most often used for professional purposes. Nearly half of companies have written policies restricting use of the company's computers/network to access social media sites. Employees in the medical devices industry (in total-regardless of whether their companies have or do not have written policies) claim that they have access to social media/networking sites. Almost half of organizations have a social media presence where information about them is shared. The most widely used sites are Facebook and LinkedIn.

Implication

Companies should not totally block access to social media sites, as the whole realm of customer knowledge can be found there. Social media is especially important, taking into consideration the growing popularity of an open innovation model within the healthcare/medical devices industry. Furthermore, it is likely that blocking social media sites will not be effective, as many people use mobile devices to access anyway.

There is no possible way to censor social media, so there is a need to train marketing/public relations how to react when discussions in social media become out of control and/or how to overcome social media disasters. To guard against social media disasters and to allay fears of the compromise or misuse of sensitive information, agencies, consultants, technology providers, and the social networks themselves can take an opportunity to address the needs of this specialized group of professionals.

As only a minority of medical devices organizations are very well developed in terms of social media, working to increase development may create a competitive advantage - at least in terms of communicating with the market.

Executive Summary: CEO Perspective

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Research and Markets: Global Social Media in the Medical Devices Industry 2012

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Control Group, a technology and design company, today announced the appointment of Andy Murray and Scott Hagedorn as advisors to its board of directors. As recognized industry veterans, Murray and Hagedorn together bring more than four decades of executive leadership, advertising, and marketing expertise to the Control Group team.

"Our clients are realizing the impact that a refined user experience can have on their brand and profitability, saidCampbellHyers, Founding Partner & CEO of Control Group. "We believe that the best way to help our clients create a valuable and marketable product and service for their customers, is to base engineering and design decisions on a solid foundation on consumer, user, and market intelligence. AndyandScotthave fantastic knowledge is these areas."

Andy Murray is the founder and retired chairman of Saatchi X, and a pioneer in the advertising discipline of Shopper Marketing, which is the science and art of converting consumers into buyers. This is a welcome perspective to Control Group as it moves to bring more interactive and engaging experiences to the retail space.

"Control Group demonstrates a strong commitment to leveraging technology to deliver better consumer experiences," said Murray. Im thrilled to be a part of the Control Group team.

Scott Hagedorn is a 15-year marketing/advertising industry veteran and is currently CEO of Annalect Group, Omnicom Media Groups digital data and analytics organization. Scott is leading the effort to reinvent the fundamentals of media measurement and activation. He previously served as U.S. CEO of PHD Network.

"The momentum and innovation inside of Control Group is exciting. The monumental shift in how organizations connect with people at the intersection of the digital and physical worlds represents a massive opportunity. Needless to say, I am pleased to be a part of the Control Group board of directors," Hagedorn said.

About Control Group

Control Group is a technology and design companythat creates exceptional user experiences across the spectrum of human and technology touch points, from infrastructure to interface. With a full stack of expertise in software development, design, and enterprise systems,we deliver platforms, products, and managed services thatenhance brand and operational value,create new sources of revenue, and elicit a "wow". Our clients include leaders in Architecture, Media & Entertainment, Hospitality, Healthcare, Art, Finance, and Retail industries. For more information about Control Group and its services, go to http://www.controlgroup.com.

Link:
Control Group Appoints Ad Industry Veterans Andy Murray and Scott Hagedorn to Board of Directors

Published by Steve Litchfield at 7:58 UTC, May 8th 2012

Launched last year and, for some unfathomable reason not covered here before, I thought TouchRemote was well worth a mention for anyone looking to control media on their Windows PC from a Symbian smartphone. This latest update works with Winamp, iTunes, VLC Media Player, Windows Media Player, Windows Media Center, ZoomPlayer and TerraTec HomeCinema - look past the implementation in Java and you'll see what looks to be a fairly comprehensive solution.

From the TouchRemote web site, here are some appropriate screenshots:

From left to right, the TouchRemote main menu on Symbian; the built-in implementation of Remote Desktop; the integral mouse emulation.

From left to right, the remote file manager; WinAmp media control; and iTunes control.

The TouchRemote download page has a trial version that offers most (though not all) of these functions, so you can check whether this is something that's practical for you in the first place.

Comments welcome - is this something that you need or is a solution looking for a problem?

Source / Credit: Nokialino

Go here to see the original:
TouchRemote allows PC media control

By Nicole Gaouette - Wed May 09 22:56:31 GMT 2012

Pedro Ugarte via Getty Images

A North Korean woman checks a computer a at music software company in Pyongyang.

A North Korean woman checks a computer a at music software company in Pyongyang. Photographer: Pedro Ugarte via Getty Images

North Koreans are increasingly able to access global media and other information, loosening the regimes iron grip on their knowledge and potentially bringing far-reaching changes to the so-called hermit kingdom.

Interviews with refugees, travelers and defectors reveal that North Koreans are using illegal Chinese mobile phones, DVDs, computers and small flash drives to work around official barriers to outside information, according to a report being released today. The interviews, conducted over a decade by the Washington-based consulting group InterMedia, show the information environment has undergone significant changes since the 1990s.

North Korea has long sealed itself off from the world, with an official state ideology of juche, or self-reliance, and a narrative that pits a resilient regime against a hostile world. That narrative, and the isolation that has allowed it to flourish, are beginning to crack as new information penetrates the North, InterMedia said.

Positive perceptions of the outside world can call into question many of the North Korean regimes most central propaganda narratives, which legitimate the regime by portraying it as the countrys protector from hostile outside forces, according to the report, which was funded by the U.S. State Department.

The changes in information access are creating a more aware citizenry and a greater space between North Korean citizens and their leaders and between the regimes portrayal of North Korea and the prevailing reality on the ground, according to the report, titled A Quiet Opening: North Koreans in a Changing Media Environment.

The report noted that the changes taking place in North Korea so far are very small and there is little hope for any near-term grassroots pushback against the regime headed by Kim Jong Un, grandson of state founder Kim Il Sung.

Go here to read the rest:
North Korea’s Control of Media Breached by Technology

BEIJING For a government that keeps a tight grip on information, this was a week when it lost control of the narrative.

In the diplomatic standoff over blind activist Chen Guangcheng, technology and growing social-media savvy helped spread, drive and at times even muddy a story rife with unexpected twists.

The round-the-clock use of Twitter and other social media by Chinese activists kept foreign journalists and human rights groups overseas apprised of developments in real time, even as authorities tried to isolate Chen and his supporters.

U.S. diplomats believe they have secured a tentative deal that would allow Chen to leave for the United States. Meanwhile here in China, the role of social media in highlighting his case, and in detailing the harsh treatment meted out to his friends and supporters, seems for many to mark a seminal moment in the Communist governments decades-long history of repressing dissent and stifling information.

The Communist Party controls most major newspapers and virtually all television in China. But the advent of Twitter-like microblogging sites called Weibo in recent years has given urban Internet users an alternative to state-controlled media.

And it is through that social media, as well as cellphones and text messages, that much of the information came through about Chens whereabouts and wishes, and about the fate of those who helped him escape. Many activists also relied notably on Twitter itself, which is blocked in China but can be accessed by exploiting holes in the Great Firewall that censors the Chinese Internet.

When Chen was driven from the U.S. Embassy to a nearby hospital and made a telephone call from the van to The Washington Post, the news broke first on Twitter. It was Chens friend Zeng Jinyan, another activist, who first informed the world via Twitter that Chen had been left alone by U.S. officials at the hospital and was afraid. Zeng also tweeted that thugs in Shandong province, where Chen is from, had threatened to beat his wife to death, and that Chen wanted to leave China for the United States.

And the next day, Zeng broadcast on Twitter that she was being followed by plainclothes police and had been placed under house arrest. She even warned journalists not to try calling her.

A particularly dramatic moment came Thursday when Chen isolated in his Beijing hospital room but with a cellphone at hand called into a U.S. House of Representatives hearing on the handling of his case and expressed concern for his family left behind in Shandong.

Total sea change

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With Chen Guangcheng news on Twitter, China’s censors lost control