The Next Chapter: Joining Citrix Online

A little more than 2 years ago Chris Brogan and I were both attending the first Social Media Jungle event in New York so we decided to carpool down together. During those 5 hours or so of driving and over a dinner at a Chili’s in Middletown, CT later that night, we talked about a new project that he was launching. He was getting ready to unveil New Marketing Labs to the world and was close to signing the first contract which was going to be with Citrix Online (the folks who make GoToMeeting, GoToWebinar, and other similar products). That night we talked about what we thought the future of business looked like, their use of social media and how NML could be helpful. After more conversations and brainstorming, often in the middle of the night over DM, we set sail, launched NML and I relocated to the Boston area. A couple days after the launch we found ourselves on an airplane headed out to CES to tell anyone who would listen that we were there to be helpful.

Since that trip 2 years ago we have had the opportunity to work with some great companies on amazing projects. In between launching new projects for our clients, we continued to grow the Inbound Marketing Summit, launched Red Pin Marketing and The Pulse Network. There are also some really exciting projects on the cusp of launching over the coming days and weeks that I can’t wait to see after working through them for the past several months with the team.

However, as they prepare to announce these launches, I will be cheering them on instead of on the front lines. I’m excited to announce that I’m joining the team at Citrix Online as part of the corporate communications team and will be overseeing social communications.

Over the past 2 years I’ve worked closely with the folks over at Citrix including Bernardo De Albergaria, David Baeza, Lisa Horner and many others. They are among one of the brightest and most forward thinking teams that I’ve met and had the opportunity to work with. I start with Citrix Online on January 17th, a mere few hours after I return from sailing around the Grenadines. I’m looking forward to the challenges that I know are awaiting me when I get there and am really excited for what 2011 holds in store.

It’s an interesting intersection of passions for me because it combines my experiences in social media, marketing and communications along with my interests and continued research into productivity, time management and workshifting, all things which the Citrix Online products assist with.  I’m looking forward to continuing to explore all of these areas, including my role leading up social communications, in more depth in the coming year.  Throughout the year I’ll be covering a lot of this in my free newsletter (have you signed up yet?).

With the new job comes a new place to explore. Within the next couple months Laura and I will be packing up the dog, cat, putting the car on a trailer and driving a moving truck across the country to our new home, San Francisco. We’ll trade our view of the Prudential Center for the Golden Gate Bridge and for a whole new set of experiences filled with exploration.

I can’t thank Chris and the entire team at NML enough for the past 2 years. I’ve grown professionally and personally because of the great people that comprise the NML team.  Now I’m going to use those experiences and growth to help me be achieve success as I start the next chapter of my career with Citrix Online.

And don’t worry, my allegiance to the Boston Celtics, Boston Red Sox and the New England Patriots will not change. Heh.

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Photo Credit: Amanda Breann

Get 25% Off the Genesis Theme

Genesis Framework for WordPress

If you’ve stopped by the blog recently instead of  only catching up via a feed reader such as Google Reader then you noticed about a month ago I switched over to the Genesis theme framework (affiliate link) and chose to use the Prose child theme. Since then I couldn’t be happier and Genesis has become the premium WordPress theme that I recommend to anyone that’s consider switching things up on their website or launching a new project.

The Genesis framework from StudioPress is excellent due in part to how easy it is to use, how fast it runs, and how it has been optimized for SEO. It also allows you to choose how much control over your website you care for. Just want to set it up with the basic settings? Great, you’ll get Genesis along with the child theme you choose up and running in just a few moments. Want to really dig in and start customizing every little feature? Even better. You don’t even have to understand HTML, CSS or any other coding language, for the most part. Just walk through the different settings and tweak to your heart’s content.

I can’t say enough good things about the Genesis theme framework. There are so many child themes to choose from that you’re able to achieve the overall look/feel that you want with minimal effort (unless, of course you want something completely custom). The child themes make Genesis the perfect theme framework to handle your blog, your company website or any other project you’re working on.

To celebrate the holiday weekend, Brian Gardner of StudioPress is running a special promotion that I think you should take advantage of.

25% Off Everything at StudioPress

Here are the full details of the StudioPress sale:

In honor of the crazy shopping traditions known as Black Friday and Cyber Monday, we’re holding a big sale at StudioPress.

Starting now through next Tuesday, November 30, you can save 25% off everything we sell – including the Pro Plus All-Theme Package that gets you everything we’ve got and everything we make in the future.

Just use the code BLACK at checkout. If you decide to get the Pro Plus All-Theme Package, you’ll save an additional $62 off the list price.

This code is only good through next Tuesday. And we’re also canceling all otherStudioPress codes in existence and taking a “no discount” approach going forward.

Act Now to Save

If you’ve been considering switching over to Genesis after seeing other sites such as [chrisbrogan.com], Copyblogger, ProBlogger and others running it, you should act now to save. When this deal expires, it will be the last discount that StudioPress offers and you’ll be stuck paying full price.

And yes, if you decide to buy anything from StudioPress, I’ll get to buy an extra beer or two.

Genesis Framework for WordPress

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Announcing Red Pin Marketing: Social Media Solutions for Small Businesses

As we have traveled across the country over the past couple years we have met so many people especially small (to medium) business owners that are jumping up and down looking for help in generating more leads, increasing sales, getting more foot traffic, more reviews and more conversations about their products or services. When we’ve had the chance to sit down and chat with these people we’ve asked them where they needed help. Their answer? They need help with everything from developing a strategy to setting up and optimizing their social accounts to designing a new website that is search engine optimized, designing listening and monitoring portals, email marketing and how to measure all of it. This is not too dissimilar from the enterprise brands that we work with at New Marketing Labs however small businesses have some unique needs, concerns and it takes someone with experience in small businesses to fully understand it all.

Over the past several months our team has been working on how we could be more helpful to small businesses. During this time, I’ve done a lot of thinking on what I’ve done at Caminito Argentinean Steakhouse over the past few years and what my competitors and the other businesses in the town where our restaurant is aren’t doing. I’ve also been researching hundreds of small business websites, online communities and talking with people in my local community to understand what their knowledge base is of social media and what they think of their current marketing plans (or if they even have one, in many cases).

With all of that knowledge and experience in hand, I’m really happy to announce the launch of Red Pin Marketing. Red Pin Marketing is powered by the great team at New Marketing Labs and backed by CrossTech Ventures. Our goal is simple: to help small businesses with their social media and digital marketing efforts. We want to help you leverage these tools to level the playing field, increase sales and grow your business.

Before you start hyperventilating, don’t worry, New Marketing Labs isn’t going anywhere. We’re still busy helping our amazing clients, working with fantastic partners and working on the Inbound Marketing Summit 2011. I’ll still be around adding my assistance as the team needs it but I will be donning a new hat as the Executive Director of Red Pin Marketing. Chris Brogan will lend his advice, guidance and mentorship to Red Pin Marketing as an Entrepreneur In Residence advisor. There are a few other changes over at NML that you Chris talks about in this post.

There is so much more to come in the days and weeks ahead that we’re really excited to begin sharing with you (including our website!). But, since I’m like a 2 year old on Christmas morning, I couldn’t keep it a secret any longer and just had to share it with you.

If you’re the owner of or work in a small to medium business, I’d like to invite you to sign up for our free small business newsletter. We have some special projects and info that we’ll be sharing that won’t be available anywhere else except in the newsletters, including one that we’ll be launching in the next few days. Make sure you don’t miss out by signing up today.

It’s an exciting time around New Marketing Labs, Red Pin Marketing and The Pulse Network.

As always, thanks for your support and all that you do. My goal is to continually be helpful to you and hopefully this is another way that I can fulfill that goal.

Did I ask you yet to sign up for the new small business newsletter?

Moderation: Protecting Your Brand in a Social World

Have you been curious, and even possibly confused, by moderation? Not sure whether you should be implementing a moderation strategy? Do you even know what online moderation is?

Not to fear, on Thursday, November 18th at 2:00p EST (check your local time), I will be hosting a free webinar with Isaac Hazard from Mzinga to discuss moderation and how it can help you to protect your brand.  Heard enough? You can register now!

If you need a little more convincing, read on for the webinar description from the New Marketing Labs website.

Every day, more and more brands are engaging people in online conversations-conversations that often make them smarter, more relatable, and ultimately more effective in how they go to market. But with this newfound transparency, you can also encounter unexpected risks and liabilities. To be safe, you should be as proactive about moderating and monitoring those conversations as you are about fostering them. This upcoming webinar will help you get started and will outline how online moderation will help your company maximize-and safeguard-your social marketing investments without hampering your style.

During the webinar we will cover:

  1. Defining your overall moderation strategy
  2. Establishing your Terms of Service and Code of Conduct
  3. Determining your moderation technology options
  4. Understanding the key roles and responsibilities of a moderator

I hope you’ll be able to stop by on Thursday at 2:00p EST to join our webinar. Even if you’re not going to be able to make it, do register so that you’ll get an email when the webinar archive is ready.

Register Now!

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Now Running on the Genesis Theme Framework

If you visit this blog via a browser, then you probably noticed that I have been making some changes ’round these parts over the past week or so. If you haven’t stopped by lately, come on over and see how the scenery has changed.

JustinRLevy.com on Genesis Theme Framework, by Justin Levy

Late last week, I switched to the Genesis Theme Framework for WordPress (affiliate link). I then decided to install the Prose child theme when it launched to help extend the backend feature set. That’s one the best parts of Genesis, it has child themes that allow you to retain the Genesis framework but easily swap out to different designs and backend options. With the Prose child theme installed I am able to tweak nearly every aspect of my website. Externally it provided a simple canvas to start from, which you’ll find similar to Thesis when it is first installed. But, if that design isn’t right for you, there are a dozen more that you can choose from, install and get up and running within a few minutes.

Genesis Framework for WordPress

What I like the most about it is that the theme focuses on SEO. While focusing on content is one of the best SEO strategies you can employ, Genesis makes it super simple to optimize every page and post (if you wanted to get that granular) of your website.

The reason I decided to change was not because I was unhappy with my two previous themes: Headway and Thesis. It was that Brian Clark is a friend of mine and several of my friends have gotten behind the theme over the past couple months. Since these are all people that I trust, I wanted to test out Genesis myself. In fact, I plan on continuing to use Headway and Thesis in other projects that I will be launching.

If you’re considering switching things up around your website or blog, I’d highly consider grabbing Genesis and trying it out for yourself.

Genesis Framework for WordPress