After blogging for a while, one can quickly lose sight of the fact that many people do not understand why blogging is beneficial in the context of both personal life and business. That could not have been more evident than at a recent conference I attended where I led some roundtable discussions on blogging.

Simultaneously, a cool new local magazine here in Reno called, RLife asked us to do an article on blogging to help clear some of the confusion about it. Instead of writing in the usual article format, David LaPlante and I made into more of a conversation because isn’t that a large part of what blogging is all about?

The hope is that we shift the mindset of readers from the historical perspective that blogs are places where weird people post their thoughts, to an understanding that blogs are powerful channels of communication offering valuable information and the chance for collaboration. I’ll take the liberty of posting it in its entirety here. Obviously, we had fun with it.

What’s all the Blog About?

“I’m constantly learning and growing through the exchange.”

Blogging has been around for a number of years, but it seems like there’s been an explosion of blogs dedicated to Reno and Nevada lately. The reason? It has gotten easier. That, and there’s a lot to do and talk about regarding the Northern Nevada region. In order to explore this phenomenon further, we decided to ask local bloggers Robert Payne and David LaPlante what the fuss is all about. David is the CEO of Twelve Horses and was named Marketer of the Year by Nevada’s American Marketing Association in 2004. Robert is responsible for brand building and global positioning of Twelve Horses. They must be doing something right, since EDAWN recognized Twelve Horses as its 2005 Business of the Year. Both David and Robert are certified technophiles and blog addicts, so who better to help us navigate the sometimes complicated world of blogging?

Robert Payne: There’s so much to write about regarding blogs, where should we start?

David LaPlante: Well, for those who haven’t yet discovered the joys of blogging, why don’t we give them a (very) brief tutorial on blogging 101?

Payne: Sounds good. I’ll start from the beginning. The “Blog,” which is short for Web log, originally started as a “log” of diary-like entries published on a Web site in reverse chronological order. Avid bloggers were primarily made up of a select few of internet savvy individuals who either had strong opinions or useful information they wanted to share online. While some of that still holds true, a lot has changed in the blogosphere.

LaPlante: Agreed. The software and tools surrounding what constitutes a blog has evolved considerably. Many blogs for all intensive purposes look just like well-designed websites with interactive features and rich media. While it’s still a way for people to publish their thoughts for everyone to read, blogs can also serve as an extension of an individual or company’s brand.

Payne: Exactly. If someone Googles, “Robert Payne” they will find www.robertpayne.net; likewise, if they search “David LaPlante” they will find www.davidlaplante.com. Other search terms might even lead people to things we have posted about on our blogs. It is not only a means of getting to know us better but also an extension of ourselves and a means of forming new relationships.

LaPlante: Yeah. We’re cool. Totally A-List all the way. If you don’t have a blog, then you’re a loser <grin> - just joking. Actually, we’re two of perhaps a couple hundred super-active online bloggers who live in Reno. Why do you think they are blogging?

Payne: Because they have the opportunity to share their personal experiences and perspectives online, interact with the online community both here in Reno and throughout the world, and quite possibly, bring about social change. Personally, I’m constantly learning and growing through the exchange. What about you?

LaPlante: I enjoy participating in the online conversation, and creating an archive about my life and interactions with people for my kids to read someday. And I really like interacting with other Nevada bloggers online.

Payne: Who are some of your favorite Nevada bloggers?

LaPlante: Well I guess you’d have to start with Myrna the Minx (www.renodiscontent.com). Love her. Hate her. She’s got a huge following. Business is always good for political bloggers. She’s filled a huge hole in the local conversation that mainstream media just doesn’t delve into. She’s very direct and funny as hell. Too bad she’s anonymous, I’d love to buy her a XXX Blonde at the Silver Peak.

Payne: It’s certainly one of the more well known blogs in town. She gets a lot of different comments from both sides of the fence. I also really like the downtown makeover blog, (www.downtownmakeover.com) simply because it highlights so many of the awesome things happening in downtown Reno, from the many construction projects (with updates) to the cool events and when they’re happening.

LaPlante: Love the DMO blog. It’s cool and positive. Unfortunately, blogging can also skew in favor of the whiny. It can seem like an unmediated City Council meting that NEVER ENDS at times. So when I get tired of politics and current events, I wander over to (www.thebaconstrip.wordpress.com), (www.renobikeproject.blogspot.com), or (www.reno-rambler.blogspot.com) for some bike blogging.

Payne: Politics. Redevelopment. Biking. There’s certainly no shortage of topics people are blogging about. The last time I checked, www.Technorati.com (the blog search engine) was tracking more than 700 blogs about Nevada and something like 70 million different blogs in total. A lot of local businesses are picking up on it, too. But I often hear from non-bloggers, asking how we have time to visit all those blogs?

LaPlante: You don’t have to visit them, just subscribe to their RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feed. I subscribe to about 90 blog feeds, and about 30 of those are local feeds. I use Google Reader to manage most of them. I also subscribe to feeds on my Blackjack cell phone .

Payne: Google Reader rocks and RSS is revolutionizing the way people can consume content online. It’s like the TV Guide for the internet. I know exactly when people post new content to their blogs; but I digress. What do you think should be the biggest take-away for people reading our conversation about blogs?

LaPlante: That there’s room for a whole other RLife to be going down online. There’s a ton of very vocal, funny, pissy, smart, dumb, cute, ugly, typical and atypical local bloggers that are all about the Reno life. Get online and join in with all that’s out there.

Payne: Cool. Blog on!

tags: blogging, Reno, Nevada, RLife

This past Friday several of us here at Twelve Horses went out swinging with the folks at the Advertising Association of Northern Nevada (A2N2). Each year they hold a really fun golf tournament at the beautiful Lakeridge golf course.

Designed by Robert Trent Jones, Sr., Lakeridge features a world famous hole, number 15, which is situated high above Reno with beautiful views of the city and surrounding mountains. Set at a par 3, one must drive the ball perfectly off of a rocky outcropping, over water, and on to the island green. Of course, that is but one hole among many other great plays. The entire course is a real joy to play, and it is well worth your time if you find yourself in Reno.

Here is a little video I put together to give you an idea of the day we had.

We recently launched a new website on behalf of Nevada Humanities, which has been created to serve as a repository for everything that is uniquely Nevada. You can access the site at http://onlinenevada.org/

Nevada Magazine just published an article on the subject:

Beyond Reading
Interactive Web site tells Nevada’s stories
through its articles, images, and sounds.

Now, thanks to the Online Nevada Encyclopedia (ONE), Internet users can observe the Strip’s 50-year transformation behind the “Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas” sign in a matter of seconds, spend a day with a fourth-generation ranching family in Gardnerville, and order a drink at the Old Washoe Club in Virginia City. OK, the Web site’s not interactive to that degree, but the Media Gallery allows you to get so up close and personal with the inside of the historic bar that you can view the detail in the pictures on the wall.

The virtual Web site, which incorporates the latest technology in its articles, images, and audio to tell Nevada’s story, officially launched in April. “We wanted an experience that goes beyond reading,” says graphics editor Howard Golbaum, a professor at the Reynolds School of Journalism at University of Nevada, Reno. “It’s the next best thing to being there.”

ONE was featured at the recent Rural Roundup, the Nevada Commission on Tourism’s annual conference. “From a tourism standpoint, we’ve always promoted rural Nevada, but this is a way to show it,” says Edward Estipona, a board member of Nevada Humanities, a publicly funded non-profit organization that brought the project to life. “There’s a lot of great stuff in addition to Las Vegas and Reno.” The site’s purpose is to preserve the Silver State’s history and educate the general public, but Estipona sees a less tangible benefit. “We think it can help break down some of the cultural barriers that have been created in our state,” he says. “It’s always north versus south or town versus town.”

Designed by Twelve Horses, ONE differs from other information sites of its kind, such as Wikipedia, because all of the 300-plus stories are written and edited by professionals. Nevada is one of only six states to have an online encyclopedia, according to Estipona, who says about 10 new articles appear on ONE per week.

U.S. Senator John Ensign and state Senator Dina Titus were instrumental in funding the project. Ensign helped secure a $350,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education, and Titus worked with the State Finance Committee to match the federal contribution. Several other organizations offered financial assistance. “Budget is the only challenge we see right now,” Estipona says.

If you’re interested in contributing ideas or funds to ONE, contact Judith Winzeler, executive director of Nevada Humanities, at 775-784-6587 or winzeler@unr.nevada.edu.

The strategy was to create a searchable, indexed, and available repository for cultural and historical information pertaining to Nevada. By implementing such an online system, Nevada Humanities would demonstrate their significance as a resource to residents and visitors of Nevada, as well as assist the state in demonstrating all of the unique elements of its history and culture to the public at large.

The site takes advantage of a few key technologies:

• Custom Tag-based Content Management System
• All of the ONE’s articles are stored in a web database and accessed using a tag/keyword based system. All of the directories on the site are “virtual directories” meaning content can be stored and cross-referenced faster and more efficiently. Twelve Horses developed new technology called Mod-CMS specifically for this solution.
• Custom “Wiki” Back-End
• The ONE site administrators have full access to the content management system and can add/edit/delete/categorize all of the articles, authors, links, suggested readings and media from a fully relational web database.
• The design is based on Wikipedia, however ONE’s Editors needed a method to completely control the content and it’s availability to its readership, rather than often inaccurate visitor contributed content.
• Virtual File Directories
• Because content is only a directory away from root and the URL’s are clean, the Search Engine Optimization (SEO) of this site is boosted, along with search engine ranking.
• Virtual Reality Multimedia Gallery
• A media gallery was developed to store virtual reality (VR) movies, images, and is planned to also store historic audio files. The media gallery can be accessed from any site category and also from an article page.
• Full-Screen Virtual Reality
• Technology was developed to show the VR movies in their own window and can be expanded to a full-screen view.
• Flash and User-Interface
• A Flash header was incorporated and all major categories are color-coded for enhanced usability.
• Interactive Virtual Reality
• A Special Feature section was added to the homepage to exploit more feature-rich, highly interactive virtual reality movies. These movies can be controlled in their own windows with zoom, full-screen and 360 degree pan attributes.

David can be found on the April 2007 edition of the Nevada Business Journal. The feature article, “Power Poll 2007“, asks Nevada business owners and CEOs about the economic and political environment in the state.

David is quoted through the article giving excellent insight into some of the top Nevada issues.

“As for downtown revitalization in Reno, it’s not so much the projects, but the increase in cultural opportunities that has us excited. We’re bringing in the creative class – the 20- and 30-somethings who wouldn’t otherwise come to a sleepy, boring downtown. Now that they’re attracted to Reno, it bodes well for companies who are looking for that type of employee.” - David LaPlante in the April 2007 issue of the Nevada Business Journal.

Every now and then certain benefits of having clients like Heavenly Mountain Ski Resort arise, and employees of Twelve Horses have the chance to get out of the office and head out to the ski slopes.

Last week was the “TransWorld SNOWboarding Team Challenge” at Heavenly, so a few of use headed up from Reno to South Lake Tahoe to see some young men and women GO BIG in the terrain park.

It was an absolutely beautiful day and the snow conditions were spring-like. Several of the competing riders took the liberty of dressing up in costume, so you would often see Elvis, a Blues Brother, or a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle doing a fat rail grab many gravity defying feet above the ground.

Heavenly’s unique location affords some of the most incredible views of the surrounding mountains and Lake Tahoe that any other ski resort in the area can offer. After a day of riding and soaking up the scenery, it is off to town and into the many different restaurants, nightclubs, and casinos that make up South Lake.

I thought the ski season was pretty much over, but with more than a foot of new snow forecasted tonight it looks like there is still time to get in a few turns. 

Several team members from Twelve Horses attended the Reno-Tahoe Young Professional Network (YPN) Launch Party, which was held at 210 North in downtown Reno, Nevada on Thursday, April 5th.

Check out a little video of the event.

There were more than 500 people in attendance, and the party featured dancers, flame throwers, and a fashion show. The organizers and volunteers of the event did a great job, and a special shout out goes to the Board.

• Erin Kuo – President
• Nick Butler - Vice President
• Erin Lankowsky – Treasurer
• Dominic Brunetti – Secretary
• Malena Satre - Finance/Development Committee Chair
• Stephani Foust - Event Marketing Committee Chair
• Bryan Landaburu - Creative & Website Committee Chair
• John Sande IV - Member at large
• Jesse Jenkins - Member at large
• Stacey Crowley - Member at Large
• Michael Pennington - Chamber of Commerce Liaison
• Michael Thomas - EDAWN Liaison

Why is all of this important to Twelve Horses? We have done a few blog posts on the mission of YPN, which in short is, “to cultivate an informed and involved young professional community in the Truckee Meadows in order to retain and attract young and diverse talent.”

Reno is undergoing a fantastic renaissance in regards to redevelopment and repositioning as, not just the historical gaming town of old, but as a vibrant city offering a plethora of community events and cultural activities.

Of course, this is especially exciting for Twelve Horses because the evolution of Reno that is occurring attracts new people to the area and helps with our recruiting efforts for our corporate headquarters.

If Reno’s close proximity to Lake Tahoe and more than a dozen world-class ski resorts isn’t enough for you, then maybe you should come check out everything else that is going on. You will be pleasantly surprised.

This week I had the pleasure of reviewing one of the graduate business plans for the 3rd Annual Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup Business Plan Competition. The event is organized by the Nevada’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology (NCET), and it is Nevada’s only statewide collegiate awards program in which graduate and undergraduate students compete for cash awards in excess of $110,000.

I am glad that I only agreed to review one because it took a considerable amount of time to do so. I approached the judging process very seriously because I know how hard the students worked on them and what it could mean if they won. The plans were scored on many different components including:

• Their ability to provide a stand-alone overview of the plan
• Vision, History, Current Status, Strategy, Goals, Mission and Objectives for the business
• Features and Benefits and Competitive Advantages
• Marketing and Competitive Analysis
• Operating Strategies
• Critical Risks
• Cash Flow, Income Statement, and Balance Sheet
• Funds Required/Used
• Offering that clearly articulates the proposal/terms to investors

I was required to make comments on each category, and I did not my best to provide as much feedback as possible. Even for those students that did not make it to the finals, I think it is an invaluable process and one that should serve them well into the future. It is exciting to see an organization like NCET empowering the future entrepreneurs of Nevada.

New this year is the Lieutenant Governor Award, which is a $10,000 cash prize that is split between a graduate and undergraduate team that employs clean, renewable, or efficient energy technologies and services. Growing the renewable energy industry in Nevada means big dollars for the state, as well as a great means of weaning this country off of non-renewable resources.

The winners of the Donald W. Reynolds Governor’s Cup and the Lt. Governor’s Awards will be announced on April 26 at the Awards Gala at the Siena Hotel Spa Casino in Reno. The events begin at 5:30 p.m. with a cocktail reception, followed by dinner and the awards at 6:30 p.m.

Governor Jim Gibbons, the Gala’s Guest of Honor, will be joined by Lt. Governor Brian Krolicki, Master of Ceremonies, and Patty Wade, Event Chair.

RSVP for the event here.

tags: reno, nevada, center, for, entrepreneurship, and, technology, Donald, W., Reynolds, Governor’s, Cup, awards, competition

Since becoming a founding member of the Reno-Tahoe Young Professionals (YPN) and witnessing first-hand the growing base of regulars at the monthly events, I’ve been curious to peek in on the already established social networking group in Sin City. The Vegas Young Professionals (VYP) are in no way affiliated to the YPN, however there are definite synergies at play between the two networking groups.

The VYP is the young professionals’ connection to the Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce (LVCC) and membership in VYP includes direct access to all of the LVCC events including their monthly luncheons and all of their business-centric programs. I had a chance drop in on one of the VYP’s members only events, a Fusion Mixer touted as a chance to network in some of Vegas’ choicest venues. This mixer was held at The Verandah at the Vegas Four Seasons a couple of Wednesday’s ago on March 21st. And, as a guest of a member I was able to sneak my way in for a review.

The venue space was a little narrow at first glance, but the close quarters, hor’devours and wine served its purpose, as this was definitely a great place to meet and greet with ease. This attendee was pleasantly surprised with the welcome reception I received from everyone in attendance especially the coordinators and officers of the organization. With the overall variety of businesses in and around Vegas, opportunities to mingle and network with young professionals in those fields is a rare find.

Usually, networking groups are limited to an industry (American Marketing Association (AMA), Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), Mortgage Brokers, etc.), so the VYP is unique in its category. If you are a young professional in-town or in the area, the VYP group is a definite recommend. You can check out their future events at http://www.vegasyp.com.

Today, Robert and I had the pleasure of having lunch at La Pasta Bistro with Stoney deGeyter, owner and CEO of Pole Position Marketing. Pole Position is a search engine optimization company located in Reno, Nevada. As Robert and I are used to meeting with people for interviews, I hope Stoney didn’t walk away feeling like it was 20 questions.

Stoney is a blogger. His blog has been doing very well for him and he shared that he tries to do at least one post a day. Also of interest, he makes each of his 5 employees do one post a week.

We discussed the possibility of trying to organize a Reno Social Media Club or similar style group. If anyone else in the area would be interested, leave a comment below.

This morning, I had the pleasure of attending EDAWN’s Morning Business Buzz. Besides for the wonderful networking opportunity to catch those that usually get missed due to hectic schedules, I’m always amazed at the number of new faces that pop up at Reno events. This morning’s keynote speaker was Lt. Governor - and Horse Power podcast alum - Brian Krolicki.

Lt. Governor Krolicki discussed many items he’s excited about concerning Nevada including the possibility of getting the 2018 winter Olympics. Apparently, Northern Nevada has equal chances with Denver and the decision might be decided based off who gets the 2016 summer Olympics.

He also discussed Nevada’s opportunities to take advantage of clean energy initiatives and becoming the hub to the Pacific Rim. Nevada’s geographical position makes it ideal for businesses looking to break in to Western America. The crux of his presentation was around a public/private partnership that would see some state funds invested into private businesses with the goal of making money for the state in the long run. This money would not be from taxpayers, but I fear going to into detail as I don’t want to do injustice to the plan by getting facts wrong.

Technorati Tags: Brian Krolicki, EDAWN, Olympics