News Update for Ken Rutkowski & METal :

"Navy SEALs" at Saturday METal Breakfast 05/21/2011

Conducting clandestine missions behind enemy lines. Capturing enemy targets and intelligence against impossible odds. Bringing a threatening act of sea piracy to resolution in the blink of an eye. When they say “The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday,” it’s a motto backed by legendary achievements.

Navy’s Sea, Air and Land Forces – commonly known as SEALs in the Naval Special Warfare/Naval Special Operations (NSW/NSO) community, you must first go through what is widely considered to be the most physically and mentally demanding military training in existence. Then comes the tough part: the job of essentially taking on any situation or foe that the world has to offer.

Direct action warfare. Special reconnaissance. Counterterrorism. Foreign internal defense. When there’s nowhere else to turn, Navy SEALs are in their element. Achieving the impossible by way of conditioned response, sheer willpower and absolute dedication to their training, their missions and their fellow spec ops team members.

Our Featured Guest Speaker Rob Roy is an award winning 26-year veteran of the US Navy with 20 years as an active member and leader in the Navy SEALs. While in the SEALs, Rob served in the U.S military's most elite SEAL Team, SEAL Team Six, an antiterrorism and maritime interdiction SEAL team that serves as one of the U.S. government’s key devices in the Global War on Terror (GWOT). Rob has toured with many operational units, including US Army Special Forces, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and U.S. Customs. He also served as a Leading Chief Petty Officer for the Naval Special Warfare (NSW) Motivators.

More information and RSVP for this Saturday's METal Breakfast ask Ken...

METal Breakfast Video archives:

"Peter Diamandis" at Saturday METal Breakfast 05/21/2011

Peter Diamandis is the founder of the X Prize Foundation, whose mission is simply "to bring about radical breakthroughs for the benefit of humanity." By offering a big cash prize for a specific accomplishment, the X Prize stimulates competition and excitement around some of the planet's most important goals.

Diamandis' background is in space exploration -- before the X Prize, he ran a company that studied low-cost launching technologies and another company that took civilians on rides into the upper atmosphere. But though the X Prize's first $10 million went to a space-themed challenge, Diamandas' goal now is to extend the prize into health care, social policy, education and many other fields that could use a dose of competitive innovation.

There are several X Prize competitions in progress, such as the $30 million Google Lunar X Prize which will reward anyone who can send a robot to the Moon that travels at least 500 meters and transmits video, images, and data back to the Earth. The Wendy Schmidt Oil Cleanup X Challenge is offering $1.4 million to anyone who can speed the pace of cleaning up seawater surface oil resulting from spillage from ocean platforms, tankers, and other sources. And the Archon Genomics X Prize is offering $10 million for a device that dramatically reduces the time and cost of sequencing the human genome.

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"Ishan Shapiro" at Saturday METal Breakfast 05/14/2011

Agile data, ubiquitous computing, and new interfaces will change the world. - Alistair Croll

Understanding data - intelligence - is the computation of complexity and context. Intelligence is the fundamental driver of decisions in business innovation, marketplace opportunity and entrepreneurial initiatives. This intelligence is being utilized to explore how people interact, share and communicate. The intelligence that we can gather from data is transformative.

New interfaces are changing the media landscape, social media, and each successive micro-generation is growing up with a very different paradigm of how they interact with media and live experiences of the world around them.

Interfaces are how we experience the world around us and compute its complexity - governing how we access and apply the intelligence and insights resident within data. Not only that - interfaces are extending our sensory perception into cyberspace and augmenting our own intelligence. What will happen as we grow into a much deeper, symbiotic feedback loop between human intution and experience and machine processes?

In this talk, Ishan Shapiro will discuss new interfaces, the conceptual basis and design behind them, their applications in both a business and personal context, how they relate to the current trends and application to transmedia storytelling, and the trajectory of social media, interfaces & collective intelligence and their impact on business, society and personal experience.

Ishan Shapiro is a hybrid storyteller, digital cartographer, pixel (re)searcher, philosopher and pragmatist working at the intersection of narrative and technology. He is the co-founder of ThinkState, a digital innovation company taking the best of people, technology and culture to redefine what “digital” means in today’s world. He is also resident technographer at Rapp Collins Worldwide and sits on the advisory board of the non-profits Immersive Tech and the Institute for Collective Intelligence

"Stan Lee" at Saturday METal Breakfast 05/07/2011

Stan Lee's singular co-creations include Spider-Man, Thor, The Incredible Hulk, X-Men, The Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Daredevil, The Avengers, Silver Surfer, and Dr. Strange among many others. Lee, known to millions as the man whose superheroes propelled Marvel Comics to its preeminent position in the comic book industry, first became publisher of Marvel Comics in 1972 and until recently was the Chairman Emeritus of Marvel Enterprises, Inc. In 1977, he introduced Spider-Man as a syndicated newspaper strip that went on the become the most successful of all syndicated adventure strips. Spider-Man now appears in more than 500 newspapers worldwide, still written by Lee -- making it the longest running of all superhero strips.

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"Tim Sanders" at Saturday METal Breakfast 04/23/2011

Rise Up From the Ashes Like The Phoenix

Former Yahoo Chief Solutions Officer Tim Sanders will rock METal as part of his national book tour for Today We Are Rich: Harnessing The Power Of Total Confidence.

His talk will focus on a unique opportunity for all METal members: Seize the opportunity to leap over competitors or startup companies under the radar. His research indicates in every recession since 1901, companies led with Total Confidence pass their competitors, many times jumping from last to first. How do they do it? They have a superior Mind Diet, Strong Cultures and the willingness to Give their way out of fear and uncertainty. Read: (link)

He should know. He assisted Mark Cuban during the dotcom runup, then worked side by side with Terry Semel at Yahoo after the crash in 2000. He saw some companies shut their doors, others lock in also-ran status and some rise up from the ashes like the Phoenix. In the last months, he’s been brought in to talks about this for Adobe, AMD, Lockheed and PepsiCo. He’ll offer up an explanation as to why Google, Apple and Hyndai all made their great leaps during recessions and became the Phoenix instead of the fodder.
Sanders is the author of New York Times best seller, Love Is the Killer App: How To Win Business & Influence Friends. He’s one of the top rated speakers on the corporate lecture circuit and featured in publications like Fast Company, the Wall Street Journal and Investors Business Daily. He’s a top consultant to Fortune 50 brands on marketing, talent development and branding.

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"FUTURETAINMENT By Mike Walsh" at Saturday METal Breakfast 04/16/2011

FUTURETAINMENT

Welcome to the Revolution. From the wild copyright warzones of Asia to the newly colliding forces of Silicon Valley and Hollywood, there is a new generation of young consumers challenging what it means to live in a digital world. Smart, connected, and mobile – the 'Naturals' have never known a world without the Web. The big idea at the heart of FUTURETAINMENT is that we have moved from an era of broadcast networks to audience networks, through which consumers have now taken charge of how brands are discovered,

shared and popularized. Forget technology - the future of your business will be being shaped by anthropology. For marketers and business leaders alike, understanding the new patterns of online consumer behavior will be essential for both success and survival.

At this week's METal Breakfast we will drive deep into:

- Discover the top five consumer shifts with the potential to transform your industry

- Rethink your core business strategies and HR policies to both engage the next generation of consumers and manage the Naturals in your business

- Leverage radical new thinking and digital business models from the emerging world

- Go beyond conventional social media tactics to harnessing the true power of 'audience networks'

- Gain insights into the power of content driven, transmedia brand platforms to activate the stories beyond your brands.

Special Guest Speaker - Mike Walsh, best selling author of FUTURETAINMENT and CEO of innovation research lab Tomorrow, is a leading authority on the digital future. Mike's expertise is explaining new patterns of consumer behavior and disruptive technologies in emerging markets. His advisory work and keynote presentations provide unique insights into the growing influence of new markets on breakthrough innovation and business transformation.

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"Adam Sadowsky, Eric Gradman and Brent Bushnell are the founders of Syyn Labs" at Saturday METal Breakfast 04/02/2011

The U.S. graduates only 70,000 engineers a year, and enrollment in engineering schools is declining fast. India, meanwhile, turns out 350,000 engineers annually, while Chinese universities produce 600,000. Doomsayers might ask why any intelligent young American would pursue engineering.

Special guest speakers Adam Sadowsky, Eric Gradman and Brent Bushnell are the founders of Syyn Labs.

Syyn Labs was formed in 2008 by an eclectic group of designers, builders, scientists, and engineers who twist together art and technology. They are an awarding winning creative production team that designs and constructs unique experiences for a range of clients including Disney, Google, Sears and others.

At this week's METal Breakfast, we will discuss the evolution of maker culture and how it has grown beyond the garages and basements of nerds to the center stage of media campaigns and product launches. The tools of innovation are widely available to the masses making it a great time to be a geek.

Adam Sadowsky is an entrepreneur with experience with early stage companies in various industries including software, product design, video games, genetics research, and online sales. A software engineer by education, he appreciates great design, especially functional design. He's pondered having a bluetooth headset implanted in his skull.

Eric Gradman is a roboticist with 15 years experience designing and building diverse tech including 3d-touch displays, virtual reality systems, satellite control systems, intelligent robots, and concept cars. He's also a performer in the circus and the world's 7th highest ranked whistler.

Brent Bushnell is an engineer and an entrepreneur building companies focused on games and entertainment. He is currently the CEO of Doppelgames, a developer of mobile social games. Previously he was a founder of Tapcode providing self-service and entertainment to the hospitality industry. He was also a founder of Anti-Aging Games a company creating casual games that reduce the risk of early memory loss. He likes Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, artistic graffiti and will one day have a circus.

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"Richard 'Skip' Bronson" at Saturday METal Breakfast 04/02/2011

The U.S. is the largest unregulated, untaxed online gaming market in the world. (US Illegal Online Wagering $5.4 Billion per Year)

Each year states lose billions to illegal, offshore companies doing business without regulation or taxation.

Special Guest Speaker Richard “Skip” Bronson - Chairman, US Digital Gaming, Inc.

At this week's METal Breakfast, we will discuss the evolution of the gambling business and how it has spread from Las Vegas to states throughout the country, to Macau, Singapore etc. and now to the internet. Skip will explain how and why the government is being “ripped off” and what can be done about it as well as the role technology has and will play in this booming industry.

Skip Bronson, has been involved in the development of more than 100 shopping centers, office buildings and casino/hotels throughout the nation.
Mr. Bronson served with Steve Wynn as one of two inside directors of Mirage Resorts and was President of New City Development, an affiliate of
Mirage, where he oversaw many of the company's new business initiatives and activities outside Nevada.
He is personally licensed to operate gaming ventures in multiple jurisdictions within the United States.
Mr. Bronson has served on the boards of trustees of numerous organizations including the Board of the Neurosurgery Division at UCLA Medical Center and he is a past Chairman of the Board of the Archer School for Girls in Los Angeles.
Additionally he serves on the Board of Directors of Starwood Property Trust. In 2009 Starwood’s Initial Public Offering was one of the two largest IPO’s in the U.S.

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"Scott Painter" at Saturday METal Breakfast 03/26/2011

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Opinion from William Quigley, Managing Director of Clearstone Venture Partners at METal Breakfast 03/26/2011

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"Larry King" at Saturday METal Breakfast 03/26/2011

For the last 25 years Larry King has been the face of CNN Talk, interviewing presidents, movie stars and regular folks on CNN’s signature talk show, Larry King. Hosting over 7,000 episodes of Larry King Live.

King’s array of political guests have included Nelson Mandela, Vladimir Putin and each president since Nixon, while celebrities run the gamut from Barbra Streisand to Lady Gaga.

Larry brought a long radio-talk tradition to TV, shaping the medium of cable news.

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George Noory at Saturday METal Breakfast 03/12/2011

George Noory hosts the nation's number one rated overnight radio talk show in the WORLD....and is on 542 radio stations (2nd only to Rush Limbaugh) XM satellite, streams via the internet worldwide....has won three emmy awards for TV production, been on numberous Tv shows including Larry King on CNN, Ancient Aliens on history Channel, and numerous SYFY shows.

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Peter Hirshberg at Saturday METal Breakfast 03/05/2011

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"Johnny Strange" at Saturday METal Breakfast 03/05/2011

Extreme Adventure

Johnny Strange began breaking records at age 12, at 17 he became the youngest to climb the world’s seven tallest summits including Everest. Now 19 he continues to break records and challenge himself for Parkinson’s Disease and Genocide
awareness.

In Janurary he got naked at the South Pole and in April when he touches the North Pole he will become the youngest to complete the Explorers Grand Slam. His goal now is to travel the world achieving new records, inspiring young people and create a global brand. For johnny its about how do you market these accomplishments in the the new world media but keep your integrity?

Find out what’s next for this world class adventure athlete.

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"Roger Love" at Saturday METal Breakfast 03/05/2011

Take a moment and listen to your own voice. Say something aloud, or better yet, listen to the greeting on your voice mail. Do you like what you hear? Many people don't, and yet that's the voice everyone is hearing and judging you by. You might not realize it, but your professional success, personal happiness, and satisfaction in life is directly linked to your ability to communicate.

Roger Love is a voice coach who specializes in teaching both speakers and singers. His students range from John Mayer and Eminem to Anthony Robbins and Glenn Beck.

Roger Love is a voice coach who specializes in teaching both speakers and singers. His students range from John Mayer and Eminem to Anthony Robbins and Glenn Beck. Roger says that the words you speak only count for about 7% of a successful conversation, and that the TONALITY of your voice - the sounds you make aside from the words - counts for about 38%. He has spent over 25 years perfecting a system to understand, operate, and teach the hidden secrets of TONALITY to thousands of the most successful people on the planet. He believes that by changing the way you sound, you can effectively control other's perceptions of you, and drastically improve your personal and business life by influencing others. Roger has vocal coached more than 150 million CD sales worldwide, taught Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix how to sing for the movie Walk The Line, as well as Jeff bridges and Colin Farrell for the movie Crazy Heart. He is currently the voice coach for the number one singing show on the planet - GLEE. He has written three top-selling books, been in three major network television shows, shared countless Grammy Awards, and created an unprecedented amount of products for the singing and speaking markets. He is currently in development with 20th Century Fox Television to star in his own musical prime time reality show.

At this week's METal Breakfast Roger will:
1. Show everyone how to find their secret Middle voice and use it.
2. Help you diagnose your own vocal flaws and exchange them for strengths.
3. Explain how to never lose your voice again.
4. Find your "Perfect" voice.

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Brett King at Saturday METal Breakfast 02/26/2011

The Death of Banking

The adoption of technology is starting to bite the financial services space hard. Today, banks are still stuck in a physical world with checks, cash, branches, and advisors, but consumers are already rapidly shifting to a model where such legacy thinking is a massive impediment. By 2015 the mobile phone, IP-based screens (TV, Tablet, PC) will dominate day to day financial transactions. So what happens to branches? How long will it take for cash and checks to disappear in the west?

Special guest speaker, Brett King is the bestselling author of BANK 2.0. He divides his time between traveling the world and speaking about the transformation of banking and money, writing and consulting with the likes of HSBC, RBS, Citi, TD, BMO, ING, Lloyds, and others. He's also involved in a number of startups in the financial services space.

In this METal talk, Brett will discuss how changing consumer behavior, driven by technology adoption, is massively disruptive to the traditional banking system and how over the next 5 years a new vision of consumer banking will emerge. Bankers should be terrified by his message.

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Digital Medicine at the METal Breakfast 02/12/2010

The technology world continues to advance at an exponential rate. Convergent rapidly developing technologies, despite regulatory and reimbursement barriers, are changing the cutting edge present and future of wellness, medicine and the healthcare system: Ranging from ever cheaper personalized genomics (and the coming $100 genome), to the digital age of medicine with dramatically more powerful imaging technologies, mobile health and 24/7 wearable health monitors, telemedicine visits, social media and the game-ification of health, robotic limbs and exoskeletons, brain computer interfaces, nanomedicine, and stem cell based regenerative technologies.

Specia lguest speaker, Daniel Kraft, MD is a Stanford and Harvard trained physician-scientist, inventor and innovator, who in addition to faculty positions at Stanford and USCF leads the Medicine & Neuroscience track for Singularity University. He has spoken at TED and TEDMED.

In this METal talk, Dr. Kraft will highlight several exponential trends, and cover how convergent rapidly developing technologies are likely to impact our longevity, quality of life, diagnosis and treatment and generate opportunity for new innovations, paradigms, products and companies.

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Social Media Unrest at the METal Breakfast 02/05/2010

Does Social Media Make the World More Unstable?

From China to Yemen to Tunisia to Egypt social media has given ordinary citizens extraordinary ways to organize themselves and be heard. This has destabilized 'politics as usual' bringing volatility to an already unstable world.

Critical to both business and politics is an understanding of how such connective technology is empowering consumers and citizens to find and express their voices. As more people share in the shaping of the present and the storytelling of the future, the needs and wants of more people are being reflected. This week a panel of experts will discuss what social media means for business, politics and our future.

METal's Simon Mainwaring will lead the conversation with several special guests:

- Mohamed Nanabhay, Head of Interactive for Al Jazeera (based in Doha Qatar)

- Imam Jihad Turk is the Director of Religious Affairs at the Islamic Center of Southern California

- Philip Seib is Professor of Journalism and Public Diplomacy and Professor of International Relations at the University of Southern California, and is director of the USC Center on Public Diplomacy.

- Amr Zaki, Cairo based senior partner at Abdel Motaal, Moharram and Heiza (founded in Cairo, Egypt in 1926) and he acts as counsel and legal advisor to both Egyptian and international private and public entities.

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Tim Kring Speaks at the METal Breakfast 01/15/2010

Sci-fi TV maven Tim Kring announced a new product at last years Comic-Con: a book. The first volume of a trilogy. In print. Could the creator of Heroes -- which swept beyond the TV screen into magazines, games, mobile Webisodes, graphic novels, and e-comics -- be retreating to old media?

It's all about "Transmedia", simple concept: telling stories across multiple platforms. Having the ability to be online all the time, whether that's on a laptop, or mobile phone, or desktop, or Internet-connected television.

One of many projects Tim is involved with is "Conspiracy for Good", part alternate-reality game and part participation drama. Using storytelling to create positive change in the world -- to go where people are connected and harness the power of that interconnectivity to do something positive.

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Tim Ferriss Speaks at the METal Breakfast 01/15/2010

Tim Ferriss is starting his own army. It’s an army that’s marching to good health and longevity. He’s devoted his life and career so far, at age 33, to traveling the world searching for the secrets to longevity and living life to the fullest. Tim is an angel investor in start-ups like Twitter, StumbleUpon, Evernote, and other Silicon Valley success stories, but he’s best known for his #1 New York Times bestselling book, “The 4-Hour Workweek.” It’s been translated into 35 languages and has been on the lists for more than three years. His life-long pursuit to teach people how to live longer, healthier lives has now culminated into what could be a huge turning point for his career and for society. The new book “The 4-Hour Body” is about intelligent self-experimentation, at the cusp of a revolution in medical discoveries related to self-tracking. A revolution, you might ask? Imagine people around the world taking health into their own hands, tracking their own health, their physical activity, their diets, and their medicine. And crowdsourcing that data to help find new medical discoveries cheaper and faster than ever. The 4-Hour Body hit #1 on The New York Times its first week out this December.

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Samy Kamkar Speaks at the METal Breakfast 01/08/2010

Is Privacy Dead?
Social networks are among the most highly trafficked sites in the world. Their millions of users are rarely aware of the surreptitious technologies employed to track their identity, taste in clothes, or favorite porn sites. Even if you've never planted a crop in Farmville, "liked" something on Facebook, or checked in to foursquare--if you simply use the Web for non-social means--advertisers can still detect where you are and what you like.

What can advertisers really find out about you, what else will they soon be able to learn as vendors quietly release new tracking features into browsers, and can it be stopped?

Special Guest Speaker - Samy Kamkar has lectured on computer security issues in over a dozen countries, and his work has been featured on the front page of the New York Times. As a grey hat hacker, he makes and breaks computer security for tech companies. In addition to his independent security research, he co-founded Fonality, an IP PBX company.

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Craig Allen & Keith Boesky Speaks at the METal Breakfast 12/18/2010

In the past year a game became the largest single day event in entertainment history, games became 2010's top five apps for iOS, and World of Warcraft has an ambassadorial presence in more countries than the US State Department.

The benefits extend far beyond games. Games drove the adoption of everything from iPad to Facebook and smart phones to set top boxes. They are even creating ad inventory and stealing dollars from other media. But on the 40th anniversary of the launch of the Magnavox Odyssey home console, the industry remains in perpetual start up mode. A company that did not exist four years ago has a higher market value than the market leader at the time of its launch.

Find out where the opportunities lie in games and how games can benefit your business.

This week's special guest speakers are Craig Allen & Keith Boesky

Craig Allen CEO of Spark Unlimited, which is a video game developer founded by former developers from the Medal of Honor PC and console franchise. They are most known for the Call of Duty: Finest Hour console game. The studio finished working on the first-person shooter Legendary using the Unreal Engine 3.0 for Gamecock Media Group.

Keith Boesky has been involved in the game business for a very long time. His tenure includes, attorney, president of a publisher, agent and general advisor. His company, Boesky & Company is responsible for selling more intellectual property and developers into the game business than any other company in the world.

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Ian Rogers Speaks at the METal Breakfast 12/11/2010

Conventional wisdom tells us the music industry is dead. Ian Rogers believe the CD business is dead and the music business is poised to live again.

He is looking forward to having a conversation with the Metal crew about the size and shape of tomorrows music business and what it tells us about other forms of media.

Ian will talk about strategies which embrace consumer choice instead deny it and offer practical solutions (where possible) how to reach consumers in the new media landscape

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Ken Ziffren speaks at the METal Breakfast 12/04/2010

Last year, the MPAA total on demand/electronic-sell-through worldwide revenue for motion picture product was less than $1.3 billion, or around 20% of the acknowledged total for motion picture piracy. Yet Wall Street, the media and other cheerleaders think digital rights for films are the voice of the future. What goes?

Ken Ziffren is one of the leading entertainment lawyers in the nation. He teaches two seminars, Network Television and Motion Picture Distribution. He is Co-Chairman of the UCLA School of Law Board of Advisors, Chairman of the Entertainment & Media Law Program, and a member of the UCLA Campaign Cabinet. In addition to his courses and legal articles on entertainment law, Professor Ziffren has lectured at the UCLA and USC entertainment law symposia.

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Paul Maritz at METal Breakfast 11/20/2010

Computing is finally transitioning from a long-in-the-tooth, client-server paradigm to a network-centric one, and in the process opening up opportunities for companies that want to duke it out with incumbents such as Microsoft and Oracle. Among them is VMware, which has made a fortune selling virtualization products under the leadership of CEO Paul Maritz. In addition to hearing about his vision for the cloud, we’re going to discuss his company’s competitors, including Amazon and the disruptive impact of its model, and most importantly, his strategy to beat all of them.

Paul Maritz considered the long time #3 (or #2) at Microsoft (Bill; Ballmer head of marketing; Paul everything else).. Paul now currently is the CEO of VMWare and the Chair, Grameen Foundation.

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charity:water by Scott Harrison at METal Breakfast 11/13/2010

Over the last several years, we've seen a lot of young, ambitious non-profit startups step up to lead and innovate in what many consider a stagnant sector. Technology has opened wide the doors for peer-to-peer fundraising and donor engagement, and has presented challenges to the old-guard charities that are now faced with steering a big ship through uncertain waters.

Social media, brand-excellence, and storytelling are staples of the marketing world for big companies selling computers, soda, fast food, and toys. Charities have historically had a hard time competing. Nicholas Kristof recently wrote in the New York Times, "Any brand of toothpaste is peddled with far more sophistication than the life-saving work of aid groups." In 2010, this is unacceptable.

However, some NGO's have broken through the cluttered do-gooder space of good intentions to stake their claim in what is sure to become a major cultural shift for generations to come.

Leading the pack is an organization called charity: water
(www.charitywater.org). Created to bring clean drinking water to the billion people on the planet currently living without it, founder and CEO Scott Harrison saw an opportunity to regain the lost trust in charity from a growingly skeptical population.

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Goodbye To Gutenberg by Robert Tercek at METal Breakfast 11/06/2010

More than any other technology, the printing press has shaped our understanding of the world.  The impact of the printed word is much bigger than we realize.    For the past 500 years, human culture has been dominated by a print metaphor that began with Gutenberg's invention of the printing press, a metaphor that is encoded in nearly every modern human invention, from the assembly line to packaged goods to mass media and entertainment.   Our tools, our politics, our health care and education systems, and our consumer products and mass marketing are the artifacts of the Gutenberg revolution.   And all of these are now undergoing a process of radical transformation, all at once.

The end of the Gutenberg era is at hand.   Today's chaos and cultural turbulence signal the transition to a new era.  This era will be shaped by two-way media, dynamic feedback loops, collaborative knowledge-sharing, virtualization, and ultra-flexible production.  Our future will be determined by the way we manage and exploit the explosive increase in information.

Today, as the print era comes to a close, we can get a glimpse of the way our world is being shaped by new communications technology.  This METal talk, by a veteran of digital media, provides vivid illustrations and metaphors to reveal the hidden power of the technology platforms that define the scope of innovation and social progress.  This change is way bigger than the end of TV or 500 million Facebook friends.

This Week's Guest Speaker
Robert Tercek is a prolific creator of interactive media.   He has worked throughout Asia, Europe and the Americas, supervising the launch of hundreds of new programs on every digital platform introduced in the past 15 years.  His credits include television shows and cable TV networks, computer games, educational software, mobile entertainment and social software.  He has served in executive leadership roles at OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network, Sony Pictures Entertainment, and MTV: Music Television.  He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts and a member of the Board of Directors of the Creative Visions Foundation.

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Finding the Funding by Scott Painter at METal Breakfast 10/23/2010

A serial entrepreneur, Scott Painter is founder and former CEO of CarsDirect.com and founder and chairman of Build-To-Order. A proven innovator, Scott pioneered the fledgling online car-buying (not merely shopping) sector seven years ago with the launch of CarsDirect.com. He is also credited with introducing up-front pricing online which has transformed automotive retailing. Painter’s extensive track record in the space provides a critical understanding of current market forces and trends necessary to meet consumer needs and expectations.

Currently he is founder and CEO of Zag, co-founder of Pricelock, and co-founder and board member of BrightHouse.

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Owning the Location by Rahul Sonnad at METal Breakfast 10/16/2010

From Websites to “On-sites”: How the internet on your phone will transform the way brands and consumers interact on location.

As we enter 2011 and move to a world with high-speed mobile Broadband (4G/LTE) and low cost smart phones the world wide web will expand to cover every commercial location.

The battle for mobile consumer attention and engagement at every major destination venue - hotels, airports, museums and theaters - will be fought by a wide range of players including the venue owners, product creators, and vertical service providers. Leading edge brands will all start to adopt a tool-set of rich content, loyalty benefits, social network integration, financial offers, and gaming mechanics in an effort to steer consumer spending.

At the same time carriers and device makers will need to determine how to add high margin value to the consumer on top of their networks and devices, lest they become relegated to increasingly commoditized offerings.

Rahul Sonnad is not your typical undergrad garage startup dude as he has sold his previous startup “thePlatform” to Comcast and Geodelic has raised more than US$10 million funding from Clearstone Ventures, Shasta Ventures, MK Capital, and just completed their Series B round from Verizon Communications Inc.’s Verizon Ventures group. Geodelic already has existing relationships with Korea Telecom so South East Asia is not far from their reach.

He previously worked at Adobe and Microsoft, did his masters degree in computer science and Japanese, and dropped out of Harvard Business School, before it was trendy to do so.

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How to Create a Hero by Jim Krueger at METal Breakfast 08/14/2010

In an age where our story is what determines our financial, political, social and even future possibility, the story we lead with makes all the difference in the world. Whether through advertising, entertainment or even just social networking, who we are and where we are in our story can determine where we go.

Our stories need to be epic for people to want to follow them and join them. There’s a problem with being bullet-proof. And it’s not just for the guy standing next to the ricocheting Superman. Chicks may love scars. But not because of the scars, because of the story behind them.


Jim Krueger, is an award-winning filmmaker, video game developer and comic book writer best known for his epic works for DC, Marvel Comics, Dark Horse and other companies featuring the ultimate fantasy franchises -- the X-Men, Spider-Man, Star Wars, Matrix, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Serenity, Justice League, Micronauts and others. Krueger also launched two new comic book formats, both which were later utilized by DC and Marvel.

HIGHLIGHTS:

• Runner is being developed for FOX Atomic as both a Graphic Novel and feature with Jim writing both.

• 2 time Addy Award winner.

• Wrote Earth X for Marvel – Best series of the year award from Wizard Magazine.

• Justice for DC – Most famous collaboration with Alex Ross.

Additionally, below Jim has developed these four original comic books that have brought new franchises to life.

• Foot Soldiers

• The Clock Maker

• Alphabet Supes

• Testament – voted as one of the top ten graphic novels of 2005 by Barnes & Noble – the old testament as told from the perspective of a bartender – painted by the greatest artists in the comic book industry.

• Writer on the Spectrum Award-winning videogame – Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks (Best Video Game of the year)

• They Might Be Dragons – wrote and directed the award-winning short film. Won a silver at Crested Butte. Won best Short Film at the New York Independent Film and Video Festival. The video is still used by NYU as the best example of what can be accomplished in their “director’s workshop”.

• Directed the guerilla short film musical “11”. Considered best of that year’s entries in the RIPFEST film festival.

• Frequent public speaker, having spoken on the necessity of the suffering of heroes – everywhere from being a keynote speaker at Cambridge to a guest lecturer at the White House.

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Keith Ferrazzi speaks at the METal Breakfast (08/07/2010)

The number of names in your address book can predict how much money you make for your company? That’s just one "wow" statistic from recent social networking research showing that relationships play a more profound role in individual financial success than previously recognized – except by Keith Ferrazzi, who has devoted himself to helping sales forces boost revenue through relationships since the publication of his bestseller Never Eat Alone. He is the world’s foremost expert on business relationship development and this weekend's METal talk will distills 20 years of research, experience, and teaching.

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Brock Pierce at METal Breakfast (07/10/2010)

The virtual goods market is estimated to over $1.5 billion this year with the explosion of social and mobile gaming, a paradigm shift is occurring as it relates to the monetization of game related entertainment. Game consumption has reached extraordinary levels on Facebook and Smart Phones and these games are often the Freemium model. However, publishers have discovered a new way to monetize games through virtual goods and this has opened up an entire new market in a very short period of time.

This week's Featured Guest Speaker, Brock Pierce will discuss the social/mobile gaming market and how virtual goods are increasingly becoming the primary monetization model for the publishers of these games. We will also explore how virtual goods are expanding beyond casual gaming and into major console platforms such as xBox and PlayStation and what this means for brands and the gaming industry as a whole.

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Freeform's Founder Jesse Dylan at METal Breakfast (07/10/2010)

Check out the June issue of Fast Company magazine for a list of the top 100 most creative people in business in 2010.  You'll find some names that you already know like singer Lady Gaga,(who's number one, btw) Tom Ford, fashion designer and filmmaker.

Within the Fast Company List is METal's Jesse Dylan (http://bit.ly/JesseDylan), Director, Form; Founder Freeform . Jesse Dylan's opening of his  6-minute short film on Large Hadron Collider, the massive particle accelerator designed to replicate the big bang and address the core questions of physics, attracted Google's Larry Page, Tesla's Elon Musk, and elite scientists in astro-particle physics, cosmology and dark matter.

Dylan who went to film school at New York University is the child of Bob Dylan and is cofounder of a commercial production company called Forum.  He's been doing award winning ads for American Express, Nike and Motorola, but lately his career is focused on doing short films as he says, "I want to work with people who want to change the world."


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Marco Tempest at METal Breakfast (06/26/2010)

For years, Marco Tempest's masterful blend of digital media and magic has enabled audiences to glimpse the future before technology gets there. For METal he will share his vision and strategies for a new brand of magic and new forms of interaction with audiences designed for a digital world.

Who is Marco Tempest ?

There’s no one quite like Marco Tempest. His imaginative combination of computer-generated imagery, video, music and stagecraft with his unique vision of future life is creatively unique and unequalled within the performing arts.

No one else combines the incredible technical savvy with the showmanship, the physical skills and the charisma of Tempest. With all that talent, it’s amazing that he seems to enjoy poking fun at himself, and all those marvelous toys! Marco gets a kick out of bending reality around the edges. Is that image in the screen, or just in front of it?

Marco Tempest is the winner of the 2009 World Magic Award for Best Contemporary Magic. Marco has been invited as a visionary presenter to the Seoul Digital Forum and the TEDxTokyo conference and presented his keynote to the xDays Leadership conference in Switzerland.

His work is constantly changing: as new technologies evolve, Marco Tempest finds captivating ways of turning those advances into compelling illusions.

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Ryan Kaltman at METal Breakfast (06/19/2010)

The pursuit of online riches through NEW technologies is an exciting dream, but often a bleak reality without a proven revenue model. We only hear about the billion dollar buyouts and not the thousands of startups that end before they can begin.

Early monetization is key and without it you're asking for trouble. Getting creative with revenue enhancement programs can make your young or mature company wildly more profitable.

10 year internet infomercial veteran, Ryan Kaltman (TheRichJerk.com), reveals how to 'speed to money' in every project you start as quickly and cheaply as possible.

Ryan Kaltman is an active angel investor, serial entrepreneur, and Founder & CEO of TheRichJerk.com (RichJerk.com), Brevity Inc., a 27 person online marketing powerhouse focused on designing online & offline direct response marketing funnels in the business opportunity, health & wellness, debt, mortgage, education, dating advice, sports, gambling, cosmetics, and investment verticals. As a ten year veteran of online advertising strategy, joint ventures, paid search, email marketing, and copywriting, Ryan regularly lectures on the arts of getting MASSIVE online traffic and data monetization.

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Josh Tickell & Algae
Written by Ken Rutkowski, on 07-06-2010 09:47

It got 150 miles per gallon," explains Fuel''s director Josh Tickell of the converted to plug-in Prius hybrid that he drove on a mix of battery power and algae fuel blended with conventional gasoline. Josh talks about the benefits of algae fuel to power the future car.

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Captain Paul Watson - Sea Shepherd Conservation Society - Speaks at METal

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Photojournalist and director of The Cove Louie Psihoyos Wins Oscar 2010 for 'The Cove -  Speaks at METal


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Thom Beers Speaks at METal

Thom Beers is a storyteller, and most of his tales are true. To find them, flip on your TV. At any given hour on any given day, something from Original Productions will be on. Ice Road Truckers, Deadliest Catch, Monster Garage, Verminators -- all are his creations. At one point, he had 12 shows on eight networks. His productions usually cost less than $500,000 an hour to produce -- a sixth of the price of a typical scripted network



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Ken Rutkowski Speaking at SANG Events - Speakers And Authors Networking Group
What an amazing list of generous celebrities we have joining us for 'I'm with the Band" to benefit Children's Hospital of Los Angeles! More information, click here

Ken Rutkowski Keynoting at The Radio Ink Convergence conference is set for May 18-19, 2011, at Microsoft's Silicon Valley Campus in Mountain View, CA. More information, click here

The Impact of Social Media on the Contact Centre

Tour Dates:

04/11/2011, 12:30pm - 2:00pm at Ansett Flight Training Centre in Melbourne.

04/12/2011, 12:30pm - 2:00pm at Rydges Hotel in Perth.

04/14/2011, 12:30pm - 2:00pm at Communications Australia in Sydney.

What's it all about?

Seventy percent of consumers want to interact by social media, while only 30 percent of companies are ready for it on terms of strategies, policies and processes.

Now is the time to begin integrating social media into enterprise communications strategies and solutions.

Any executives with pulse knows that social media is a force to reckon with.

The immediacy, influence and viral nature of tweets, blog posts, fan pages and other channels demand your attention and action. But how and where should you dip a toe in the water?

More information, please click here

Technology Growth Initiative (TGI) - Business Bootcamp Spring 2011

Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada, in conjunction with the Trade Commissioner Service, and its partners Miller Thomson and KPMG would like to cordially invite you to participate in the Technology Growth Initiative (TGI) Eastern Canada Business Boot Camps Spring 2011.

What is the Technology Growth Initiative and what makes it different from other invitations?

It is a unique 360° turnaround process allowing qualified emerging Canadian technology companies in the IT, Cleantech/Environmental Technology and Life sciences sectors access to dynamic U.S. markets in 4 phases:

Read more information and schedule, please click here

Spring 2011 Los Angeles, New Founder Application at http://www.founderinstitute.com/apply/los_angeles

The Founder Institute Announces Sessions and Mentors For Its Los Angeles Semester
Legendary Entrepreneurs Mentor Over 1,000 Companies Annually

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 23 /PRNewswire/ -- The Founder Institute (www.FounderInstitute.com), a four month executive training program for technology entrepreneurs, today announced the sessions and mentors for its Los Angeles semester. The Institute, which prepares startup founders to lead the next generation of world-class technology companies, operates in nine cities worldwide and is on pace for an annual graduation rate of over 1,000 companies. World-famous entrepreneurs, executives and investors including Peter Guber, Nolan Bushnell, Michael Robertson, Scott Painter, Sandy Climan and William Quigley are mentors for the Los Angeles semester. Full Article...