Bridging the old and the new in the DC tech community

Last week I attended two very different programs on the same day, further illustrating the bi-polar realities of the Washington, DC-region within the technology sector. What a differing set of topics, conversations and attendees! It’s the premise that helped spawn Twin Tech, a meeting of the “old-school and new-school” communities in DC/NoVa.

Breakfast
In the morning, I attended a SECAF (Small and Emerging Contractors Advisory Forum) event at Tysons Corner’s Tower Club, featuring Charles Armstrong, CIO of Customs and Border Protection / Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and Alan Sage, Nuclear Regulatory Commission's (NRC) Lead for the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA). The gist of the discussion was around the growing competition among contractors to support our national priorities and how much of a continued focus cyber and physical security is for our country.

Charles Armstrong and Alan Sage discussed how budget appropriations were often times a moving target for programs, since priorities often change even within a government fiscal year. What is deemed protected are the commitments to FISMA and border security, ala building the fence along the Mexican/United States border. Sage showcased the ever-ominous “report card” issued every year to each agency and on public display, outlining agencies that were failing or exceeding to do their part in ensuring compliance. The speakers were able to talk specifically about the things that contractors can do to contribute their talents and skills, and government continues to be reliant on industry.

Lunch
During lunch, in the same venue but sponsored by an altogether different organization, was a speaker who shared best practices for new media: David Meerman Scott, author of The New Rules of Marketing and PR. Scott spoke during the Fall Technology Marketing Alliance (TMA) meeting, and his remarks were centered on how to compete in an ever-changing online communications landscape.

In his remarks, Scott touted what might be considered obvious in terms of communication best practices, but the reality is that very few companies (except very big companies) were holistically embracing new media as a tactic for engaging customers and building communities.

Some great takeaways (not at all exhaustive):

Identify Your Buyers’ Persona
How do YOU get your information? He asked us to think about how each of us gathered information before making any kind of a purchase. No surprise here: Google searches and third-party perspective for the most part.

He suggests the following: create a Buyer Persona for your business. Draw a picture. Create a profile. Describe how he or she lives, breathes, works, and learns. Then match every outreach and marketing tactic to that persona. Don’t be overly funny if they have no sense of humor, don’t be stuffy if your persona is a person ready to break free.

Be “Creative”
We talk a lot about creativity in our business, but what does that really look like? How risky are you? Scott suggests that you develop up to 20 creative ideas, and look to get one of them to stick and become viral and so relevant, that you end up on a very different playing field. Of course, you have to have the stomach for 19 possible failures. But if that big one hits, it’s better than winning the lottery.

Scott showcased local firm Approva, who demonstrated that by bucking the status quo, an “enterprise-class” software company could stand out among giant competitors. Type Sarbanes-Oxley into YouTube, and the top hit appears:



Rather than spout speeds, feeds and the like, they get clever and throw a birthday party for the fifth anniversary of the Sarbanes-Oxley legislation. Awesome. No wonder I keep seeing Approva show up on fastest growth awards.

Get Rid of Gobbledygook
How many of us can say that we provide “flexible, scalable solutions for enhancing business processes?” How many people really know what that means? Do you want your customers to walk away thinking, “what a great flexible, scalable solution for my business” or do you want them to think you solve their problem? With personality? Knowledge? Candor? The point is made: keep it real.

Scott kept some 50 senior-level technology marketers on the edge of their seat, and no doubt, inspired some creative ideas and thoughts.

When comparing the morning to the lunch session, I reflect that both were very valuable to my business, both provided equally compelling ideas on successfully building a company, and yet both were dramatically different in audience, topics and tenor.

While there may be efforts to unite the two “tech” communities, it still doesn’t mean folks are still hanging out in their corner... while many of us continue to straddle the fence!

- Elizabeth Shea