Speakers
 |
Mike Volpe - VP of Marketing Mike Volpe is VP Marketing at HubSpot, a Cambridge-based startup that develops Internet marketing software. He has over a decade of Internet marketing experience, previously serving as Director of Marketing Operations at SolidWorks Corp, an engineering software company, and holding marketing and business development positions at enterprise software and consumer Internet startup companies in the San Francisco Bay Area.
|
|
 |
Kent Lewis – Anvil Media, Inc. As President of Anvil Media, Inc., Kent Lewis is responsible for managing operations, marketing and business development to achieve the company's mission: to build Anvil into the one of the most respected search engine marketing (SEM) agencies in the world. Current Anvil clients include ExpressJet, Lucy.com, Oregon State University, Provenance Hotels and Yesmail. He is currently President and co-founder of SEMpdx, an SEM professional trade organization based in Portland, Oregon. In 2001, Lewis created pdxMindShare to build businesses and careers through networking and weekly emails featuring jobs and industry events. He is also an adjunct professor at Portland State University, where he teaches eMarketing and SEM workshops. He is also a member of EO, a global organization for entrepreneurs, and is a recipient of Portland Business Journal's Top 40 Under 40 Award.
|
|
 |
Mark Dobosz – The SCORE Foundation Mark Dobosz currently serves as the first Executive Director of The SCORE Foundation and Vice President, Development for SCORE – Counselors to America’s Small Business. SCORE is a national nonprofit organization with a public service mission. SCORE’s 11,000 volunteers provide small business counseling and training through a network of 389 chapters, 800 branches and its Web site www.score.org. SCORE has served 8.0 million entrepreneurs since 1964. In fiscal year 2007, SCORE volunteers spent 1 million+ hours helping strengthen communities across America. Mark has spent more than 25 years working in a variety of leadership roles and areas for not for profit organizations including development, marketing, public relations, community and government relations, operations and teaching . He has served in organizations that address community needs in the areas of education, health care, disabilities, children’s services and community development. Some of these include the Mercy Health Care System, Easter Seals, Friends School in Detroit and other independent and religious schools. In the area of fundraising, Mark has been responsible for muli-million dollar campaigns, developing new fundraising programs as well as expanding several annual giving, planned giving and special events programs. Mare has helped raise more than $25 millon for the organizations he has served. Mark has spoken extensively throughout his career at various local, regional and national conferences and is a member of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. He has served on the boards of several professional and non-profit organizations. He has been one of the the recipients of the CASE (Council for the Advancement and Support of Education) Circle of Excellence in Fundraising Award – the Council’s highest award. Mark is a graduate of St. Mary’s College in Orchard Lake, Michigan and resides with his wife, Stephany and three children, Peter, Katie and Tim in Sarasota, Florida.
|
|
 |
Todd Friesen - Visible Technology Todd Friesen is Vice President of Search Strategies and oversees Visible Technology's TruView and Search departments. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Calgary and is considered to be an SEO pioneer. He entered the SEO world in 1998 and has since worked with top-name clients like Sharper Image, Nike, Neiman Marcus, and Accor Hotels North America on natural search optimization. Prior to joining Visible Technologies, Todd was the Director of SEO for Range Online Media where he managed SEO campaigns for large B2C online retailers such as Macys.com and CompUSA. He is an expert in search engine marketing, a former administrator at Webmasterworld.com, and a former moderator for Search Engine Watch Forums. He is co-host of the popular SEO Rockstars show on WebmasterRadio.FM, as well as a regular speaker at Search Engine Strategies, WebmasterWorld Pubcon, SMX and other conferences. He also participates on WebmasterWorld's conference advisory board.
|
|
 |
Ben Finklea, CEO
Ben entered the world of online marketing in 1995 when he founded a web design company from his dorm room at Texas A&M University. Since then, he has worked in various capacities in sales and marketing from tiny startups to Apple Computer. In 2001, he founded Sprysoft—an ecommerce store that successfully sold over $5M in software online to students, teachers and schools. Ben formed SpryDev Online Marketing in 2005 to use the techniques and processes learned at Sprysoft to help other businesses sell online. SpryDev grew quickly and in 2008 changed names to Volacci. In his capacity as CEO, Ben and the 30-person Volacci team provide Search Engine Optimization, Paid Search, and Conversions Consulting to a varied client base ranging from local real estate agents to Fortune 500 companies. Volacci provides services for a wide variety of platforms but most recently has developed SEO tools and techniques for Drupal and Joomla. You can hear the Volacci SEO podcast (almost) weekly at www.Volacci.com/podcast and read Ben's blog at www.Volacci.com/bensblog.
|
|
 |
Mathew Parente - Aperio Marketing For over 7 years Matthew Parente has managed web sites and Google AdWords campaigns for small businesses with the belief that marketing, especially for small- and medium-sized organizations, should be results oriented, measurable, and fully tracked. Nothing works better in this regard than Internet marketing. Noted for his pragmatic approach in creating and implementing Internet marketing strategies and processes, Matthew shares his knowledge frequently by speaking at industry events, educational seminars, through his blog The Illusion of Communication, and contributing articles to various publications. |
|
 |
Johan Janssens Johan is one of the original Joomla! Founders. He was project manager for 2 years (2006/2007) and held a position on the Board of Directors of Open Source Matters, Inc. Technology is a natural fit for Johan, something he has enjoyed for many years. At the young age of 10, he began programming simple games on his Commodore 64. He continued creating games on his first x86, a few years later. He taught himself how to program in C/C++, Java and PHP. His interest in electronics and programming led him to a obtain a Masters Degree in computer science specializing in game development and interactive media from GroepT University, Belgium. Initially, Johan planned a career in game development. But, he discovered open source and realized working with free software was something he wanted to do. Johan has invested many years contributing to the open source community. He joined Mambo in 2004, participating as a developer and core team member, and moved with the entire core team to help found Joomla!. Today, Johan has over 3,000 commits helping to create Joomla! v 1.5, a refactored MVC application architecture. He is hopeful and confident that with Joomla!'s strong and growing community, Joomla! will continue to help more and more people all over the world connect with others.
|
|
 |
Brian Rutledge – Managing Partner Brian Rutledge is Managing Partner at Search Marketing firm Get Page One, LLC., which he founded in 1998. Get Page One specializes in helping small to medium sized business grow and manage their online presence through organic search engine optimization, social media optimization and paid search marketing campaigns. Based in Austin, Texas, Get Page One helps clients worldwide with holistic internet marketing campaigns focused on sales, brand awareness and reputation managment.
|
|
 |
Tina Schweiger – President & Creative Director
Tina Schweiger has been consulting with businesses on their brand identity for the past decade. She currently acts as President and Creative Director for Spoonbend, a branding and design agency she founded in 2002. Tina brings an unusual and valuable perspective to businesses looking for an identity—her understanding of both business operations and visual symantics allows her to tie the creative assets of a business with their financial and growth goals.
|
|
 |
Connie Reece - Social Media Marketing For more than 30 years Connie Reece has been writing for publication and consulting with companies and nonprofits on their marketing and communication needs. Connie is co-founder of the Social Media Club, a global community for the users and creators of emerging media, and is the founder of EveryDotConnects , a consortium of independent media practitioners who are passionate about using new technologies to build bridges between people and ideas and causes. When a friend was diagnosed with breast cancer in late 2007, Connie created the Frozen Pea Fund, now incorporated as a nonprofit organization with the mission of funding breast cancer research, education and programs.
|
|
 |
Jason Flenniken — Owner and Founder Jason has over 15 years in the technology field and over 8 years in web design, development, and systems management. Prior to Cadence Interactive, he spent 6 years at Vignette Corporation, where he managed multimedia and creative services for the company. Jason built out and managed a full video studio, provided global webcasting services, as well as numerous web and flash design projects. Beginning in 1999, Jason began developing web properties for numerous clients in the Austin area, soon expanding to flash, programming, and database development. He has built successful solutions for major clients such as Lombardi Sofware, HyPerformix, Avocent, and Powered.
|
|
 |
Matt Brooks- Internet Marketing, SEM Specialist SARBRO Solutions Internet Entrepeneur, Matt Brooks has over 12 years of in-depth experience in the internet industry and has created over 300+ web sites in his tenure. Mr. Brooks is familiar with all aspects of business automation, systems development, search engine marketing, web design and programming. Matt has worked with hundreds of companies in different industries, from small startups to Fortune 500 corporations developing successful internet marketing and search marketing campaigns. A great communicator and business leader, Matt is ready to apply his valuable knowledge to viable internet ventures. Matt currently owns and resides on the board of directors for the following Internet based businesses: Post.net, NetFame.com, LiveInternetMarketing.com, ZeropointLending.com, PreferredRemodelingService.com, HandcraftedModelShips.com, FindaMuralist.com and OneSunlight.com. Businesses seek Mr. Brooks as an outside consultant to help direct the companies Internet initiatives and overall branding efforts. Mr. Brooks is involved with several movers and shakers in the Web 2.0 Internet evolution of websites and businesses that operate in the course of individual’s daily life. Mr. Brooks continues to expand his knowledge and resources by researching the latest trends and technologies that will become the forefront of the Internet. Matt is a member of numerous programming and search engine forums and associations.
|
|
 |
Brian Massey Brian Massey calls himself a Conversion Scientist and he has the lab coat to prove it. “Conversion” is the process of converting Web traffic to leads and sales, and his practice, Conversion Sciences, brings this discipline to businesses of all sizes. Brian graduated from Texas A&M with a degree Computer Science and Management, and within five years co-founded Soft Reality, Inc. The company pioneered technologies that deliver detailed images and maps across the Internet. Since 2001, Brian has built the marketing strategy and infrastructure for a series of technology companies. In 2006 he began championing conversion as the key to online marketing success. Like Dr. Frankenstein, he has assembled personas for dozens of small and medium-sized businesses, helping them craft online strategies to engage their most valuable visitors. Brian is the author of the Customer Chaos blog (www.CustomerChaos.com) and manages the BookLobby application on Facebook.
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
Kimi Helton- Yahoo! Search Marketing Account Executive Kimi Helton is an Account Executive in Yahoo!'s Global Partner Solutions Group. She has been with Yahoo! for 5 years, working strategically with a variety of advertisers, from small business owners to Fortune 500 companies and their digital agencies. She is currently responsible for developing key partnerships with top search engine marketing and traditional advertising agencies to help integrate and maximize search into their broader marketing campaigns. In this role, she drives shared initiatives from innovation to digital education, and spearheads integration across Yahoo! search and display advertising.
|
|
 |
Darby Tober – Apogee Search Darby Tober leads one of Apogee Search’s natural search teams, overseeing the day-to-day mai ntenance of campaigns and devising strategies for the growth of each client’s campaign. She is the team’s e-commerce specialist and manages a variety of B2B, B2C, and non-profit clients. Darby is also the Natural Search Training Manager, teaching new natural search specialists the fundamentals of search engine optimization and preparing them to manage clients’ campaigns. As a former research librarian, Darby loves investigating the unique challenges presented by each campaign. She received her Master of Science in Information Studies degree from the University of Texas at Austin, and her studies have helped her to better understand online user behavior and the inner workings of search engines. She also enjoys building websites and is proficient in XHTML, CSS, PHP, and MySQL.
|
|
 |
Miles Olsen - Apogee Search Over the last 15 years Miles Olson has been involved in the development, marketing, and overall business management of a number of online marketing technologies and services. Currently, Miles serves as the GM of the Performance Marketing division of Apogee Search, one of the top 20 search marketing agencies in the U.S. Prior to Apogee Search, He served as General Manager of UnsubCentral. After being hired as the first UnsubCentral employee in 2003, Miles led the company to profitability in the first twelve months of operation with a long list of marquis clients that secured the company as the undisputed leader in email suppression management services.
|
|
 |
Paul Terry
Paul Terry Walhus has been in the Austin tech world since 1977 when he worked for BPI Systems, the first software company to go public. He managed PC support at Sematech and installed the first network of 700 systems at that semiconductor consortium. Since then he has worked as a system administrator, web developer and SEO strategist for companies as diverse as IBM, Tivoli, Haystack Labs, notHarvard, joscoffee.com, sanjosehotel.com, Wholetech.com LLC, and a host of dot com startups. He started "The Spring" at http://spring.net a seminal online conference. Paul is active in many social networks and is approaching 5,000 twitter followers at present. His http://austincast.com/blog features video interviews with many of todays top podcasters and videobloggers such as Cali Lewis (geekbrief.tv), Lindsay Campbell (mobilogic.tv), Zadi Diaz (epicfu.com), Matt Mulenwegg (wordpress), Leah Culver (pownce), Justine Ezarik, and Veronica Belmont.
|
|
 |
Jon Lebkowsky Jon Lebkowsky is an author and web strategist who went digital when he saw the social potential of connected computers. That was in the late 1980s. Since then he's been involved in online community and social network development, net.activism, web development, and web strategy. He is co-founder of Social Web Strategies, a consultancy based in Austin, Texas. He blogs at http://weblogsky.com |
|
 |
Mark Lassoff- NLI Media Group
Mark Lassoff is the director of the NLI Media Group (nlimediagroup.com) one of central Texas’ leading web development and online media firms. His current and past clients have included Northrop Grumman, The Department of the Interior, ADP and Keller Williams Realty. Mark and his team develop web sites, podcasts, online infomercials and other types of internet communication for client companies. The focus of NLI Media Group is on using “Creating Premium Brand Experiences.” Mark lives in Austin, Texas where spends much of his time redecorating his condo.
|