Archive for May, 2010

May 28, 2010

Microsoft gives way to Apple

Author: admin | Filed under: Business

How does a company remain relevant in its market? Microsoft may just be asking itself this question. A pioneer in computer software, Microsoft is so ubiquitous it was hard to envision the day when the company would be relegated to second-string. But that day has come and Apple has ascended the throne, claiming the title most valuable technology company.

It is due to innovation, solid product offerings and a great communications strategy that Apple has become the giant it is. Has Microsoft put as much effort into refreshing its brand; marketing both the company and its products? Or has it relied on old brand recognition to sell it new offerings?

Either way, the lesson to be learned here is; a company is not static, and the best way to promote the continuing expertise and relevance of your company is by having a solid communications plan mapped out. If you don’t, it might not be too long before you find your company chasing the competition.

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May 26, 2010

Are you one of the 66% with no social media strategy?

Author: Benoitsimoneau | Filed under: Business, Technical PR

So how is new and social media changing the face of public relations? What does the future holds for PR practitioners in an era dominated by the Facebook, Twitter, Digg, Linkedin and other channels? Dynamic Markets, a UK-based independent market research consultancy, set about to find out. And the results are inspiring.

According to the results of this study, experimentation with digital media has been commonplace for 59% of the PR consultants surveyed. Substantial changes have taken place: just under 1 in 10 agencies has created a specialist digital PR company; 1 in 5 has created a specialist division; and 1 in 3 has incorporated facilities to develop video etc.

On the other hand, only 1 in 3 clients have a new media strategy. There is little doubt that the media and PR industries are undergoing a period of profound changes. Are you moving with the times? And perhaps more importantly, is your agency? The full results of the study can be found here: http://bit.ly/alzJMt

If of course you want to know how social media is relevant for engineers then let’s have a chat.

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May 21, 2010

50th Anniversary of the LASER

Author: admin | Filed under: Uncategorized

It’s true; the laser celebrates its 50th birthday this year. Surprisingly many people are unaware that LASER is an acronym for –Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. Words like laser and radar have so embedded themselves in our lexicon that their origins are all but forgotten until we are given a timely reminder.

In our jargon laden industry of ASIC, LEDs, FIFO and MIMO, it is important that we remain aware of the roots of these words, the functions that brought them into use in the first place, so that we are able to celebrate the advances these technologies make and give a nod to those who gave birth to these ideas in the beginning.

It might be tricky to navigate the field with all this jargon floating about, so who better to team up with than an electronics technology PR agency that is already familiar with the terminology and who understands its context and relevance?

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May 11, 2010

Engineering and Electronics Awards: additional opportunities

Author: Benoitsimoneau | Filed under: Awards

Earlier this month we outlined a few awards opportunities. But many more opportunities exist hence this second post. You will find below additional information along with submission deadlines and hyperlinks.

- The IDTechEx Printed Electronics Awards recognize company innovation, success and development. The award ceremony will be held at one of the USA’s largest gathering – Printed Electronics/Photovoltaics USA in Santa Clara, in early December. The awards categories include Technical Development Materials Award, Technical Development Manufacturing Award, Product Development Award, Best Commercialization Award, and Academic R&D Award. Submissions must be received by November 5, 2010. More info is available from www.idtechex.com/printedelectronicsusa10/awards.asp

- World Communication Awards 2010: These awards recognise the companies and individuals responsible for the innovations, achievements and great new services that are helping to build tomorrow’s industry. They are open to all communications providers, whether they are traditional carrier, service provider, multimedia content provider or another organisation providing a communication service. The deadline for entries is 2 July 2010, and the winners will be announced on 24 November 2010. Additional information can be found here: http://wca.totaltele.com/

- The Environmental Excellence in Transportation (E2T) Award is administered by the Environmental Award Committee, under the auspices of the SAE Sustainable Development Program Committee. This award recognizes an individual or groups of individuals who through their ingenuity and dedication make significant innovations in reducing the environmental impact caused by the transportation industry. These innovative achievements may occur in motorized vehicles for land, sea, air, and space in the areas of fuels, alternative propulsion methods, fuel usage, materials, energy usage, manufacturing methods, logistics support, as well as in education, training and improving public awareness. The deadline for nomination is October 15. More info can be found here: www.sae.org/news/awards/list/e2t/

- EDN Hot 100: Winners are usually decided by EDN editors, amongst all new products that have been announced throughout a year. Therefore no nominations are necessary. The winners are announced in December.

And here are the awards mentioned previously, for completeness:

- E-Legacy Awards 2010 by EPD (IML Group); these are usually announced early November. Categories are Medical Advances, Environmental Design, Investment in Education, Contribution to Sustainability, Investment in the Environment, Contribution to Security, Green Manufacturing, and Alternative Energy. Nominations close on the 30th of May 2010, so don’t delay! For more information, simply visit www.epdonthenet.net/awards_nominate.aspx.

- Elektra 2010 Awards, or European Electronics Industry Awards, by Reed Electronics Group. These awards will be announced on 9th December 2010 at the Lancaster London Hotel. This event should attract up to 700 key industry people, making it one of the most high profile end-of-year gathering of senior industry people and executives. New award categories for this year include the following: Contract Manufacturer of the Year, Renewable Energy Design Award, and Environmental Award. For more information, visit www.electronicsweekly.com/events/elektras/.

- British Engineering Excellence Awards 2010 by Findlay Media (publisher of New Electronics & Eureka magazine); these awards will be announced on 14 October 2010. Categories include Design Engineer of the Year, Young Design Engineer of the Year, Consultancy of the Year, Small Company of the Year, Start Up of the Year, Green Product of the Year, New Product of the Year (Mechanical), New Product of the Year (Electronic), as well as the British Engineering Excellence Grand Prix and the Judges’ Special Award. Visit www.beeas.co.uk/ for more information.

- The Engineer Technology + Innovation Awards 2010 by British magazine The Engineer: these awards will be announced on 3rd December 2010 at the Royal Society, in London. There is a high number of categories, including Aerospace, Defence & Security, Energy, Medical & Healthcare, and Environmental Technology; please note the project submitted must involve collaboration with a UK university. The entry submission deadline is 16th July 2010. For more information on these awards, visit www.theengineerawards.co.uk/

- The Innovation in Engineering Awards 2010 by the IET (The Institution of Engineering and Technology); these awards will be announced at a gala dinner on 24 November 2010. Nominations close on 30 June 2010. There are also the IET North West Engineering Innovation Awards 2010, who identify and reward leading innovations in engineering, science and technology from across the region. For more information, visit http://conferences.theiet.org/innovation-awards/index.htm.

- The National Business Awards 2010, including The Santander Small to Medium Sized Business of the Year Award, which is open to all organisations with no more than £25 million turnover in their last financial year. The entry submission deadline is on the 23rd of June 2010. Other key dates are as follows: Finalists to be announced on 28 July 2010. Finalist/Judging Presentations: September – October 2010. The awards ceremony itself will take place on the 9th of November 2010. Visit www.nationalbusinessawards.co.uk/ for more info.

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May 7, 2010

Electronics Weekly launches new video and TV channel

Author: Benoitsimoneau | Filed under: Uncategorized

Electronics Weekly has just announced a new section to its website: Electronics Weekly TV or EWEE TV, a brand new video channel. It’s been designed to bring together video materials which were already available on the EW site. This new channel is expected to complement nicely EW’s coverage of the electronics industry.

Other topic segments will be added over the next few weeks, with ‘Analogue’ being the next addition to the current ‘Power’, ‘Miscellaneous’, and ‘All’ categories. With research strongly pointing towards more web users embracing multimedia,  it will be interesting to see how this new platform develops.  To view the EWEE TV channel, visit http://www.electronicsweekly.com/static-pages/video-channel/

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May 4, 2010

In it to win it: registration deadlines for 2010 Electronics awards

Author: Benoitsimoneau | Filed under: Business

It’s this time of the year again: the awards season is in full swing, with some early deadlines already looming. If you’ve been working hard on an innovative project worthy of recognition by your peers and the electronics community at large, now is the time to shout about it. You will find below a round-up of the main awards up for grabs.  Good luck!

- E-Legacy Awards 2010 by EPD (IML Group); these are usually announced early November. Categories are Medical Advances, Environmental Design, Investment in Education, Contribution to Sustainability, Investment in the Environment, Contribution to Security, Green Manufacturing, and Alternative Energy. Nominations close on the 30th of May 2010, so don’t delay! For more information, simply visit www.epdonthenet.net/awards_nominate.aspx.

- Elektra 2010 Awards, or European Electronics Industry Awards, by Reed Electronics Group. These awards will be announced on 9th December 2010 at the Lancaster London Hotel. This event should attract up to 700 key industry people, making it one of the most high profile end-of-year gathering of senior industry people and executives. New award categories for this year include the following: Contract Manufacturer of the Year, Renewable Energy Design Award, and Environmental Award. For more information, visit www.electronicsweekly.com/events/elektras/.

- British Engineering Excellence Awards 2010 by Findlay Media (publisher of New Electronics & Eureka magazine); these awards will be announced on 14 October 2010. Categories include Design Engineer of the Year, Young Design Engineer of the Year, Consultancy of the Year, Small Company of the Year, Start Up of the Year, Green Product of the Year, New Product of the Year (Mechanical), New Product of the Year (Electronic), as well as the British Engineering Excellence Grand Prix and the Judges’ Special Award. Visit www.beeas.co.uk/ for more information.

- The Engineer Technology + Innovation Awards 2010 by British magazine The Engineer: these awards will be announced on 3rd December 2010 at the Royal Society, in London. There is a high number of categories, including Aerospace, Defence & Security, Energy, Medical & Healthcare, and Environmental Technology; please note the project submitted must involve collaboration with a UK university. The entry submission deadline is 16th July 2010. For more information on these awards, visit www.theengineerawards.co.uk/

- The Innovation in Engineering Awards 2010 by the IET (The Institution of Engineering and Technology); these awards will be announced at a gala dinner on 24 November 2010. Nominations close on 30 June 2010. There are also the IET North West Engineering Innovation Awards 2010, who identify and reward leading innovations in engineering, science and technology from across the region. For more information, visit http://conferences.theiet.org/innovation-awards/index.htm.

- The National Business Awards 2010, including The Santander Small to Medium Sized Business of the Year Award, which is open to all organisations with no more than £25 million turnover in their last financial year. The entry submission deadline is on the 23rd of June 2010. Other key dates are as follows: Finalists to be announced on 28 July 2010. Finalist/Judging Presentations: September – October 2010. The awards ceremony itself will take place on the 9th of November 2010. Visit www.nationalbusinessawards.co.uk/ for more info.

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