Monthly Archives: July 2009

Internet Entrepreneurship in 2009: Where's the Opportunity? [Presentation]



Back in February 2008 (Feb 3rd and Feb 12th), I have two talks at Northwestern University entitled “Internet Entrepreneurship in 2009: Where’s the Opportunity?”. One was at the Kellogg School of Business (I even wrote a blog post on making engaging slides based off the Kellogg slides).

The other, the one you see in the video above, was for Northwestern’s Business Institutions Program (BIP), which is actually my minor. I discuss a brief history of web innovation, the effects of the market crash on web entrepreneurship, and most of all, the upcoming trends in web business and how you can capitalize on them.

While the speech was back in February, the points in it are still relevant. Bootstrapping is still a pragmatic way to get a business off the ground. Mobile is still a hot platform. And most of all, you still can’t run a business by ignoring .

I’m sorry it took this long to get the presentation up, but I hope you thoroughly enjoy it. I’ve also embedded the slideset from this presentation below (it’s actually the Kellogg slideset, but they’re essentially the same).

P.S. – This is my style of presentation. No notes, minimalist slides, lots of interactivity. Oh, and I love presenting. So if you like it, and you think I should come speak your event or conference, you should definitely email me (ben [at] benparr [dot] com).


Using Social Media for Small Business and Nonprofits [Video]


I know, more video on BenParr.com! How did I find myself in front of all these cameras, anyway?

Last month, I was honored to be part of a panel for The Commonwealth Club. The subject was how to utilize social media for small business and non-profits. The hour-long panel included myself and some other great new friends: Adam Lasnik of Google, Jeremey Toeman of Stage 2 Consulting, Chris Lindland of Cordarounds, and of course our wonderful moderator, Sarah Lacy (yeah…you might want to buy her book: Once You’re Lucky, Twice You’re Good).

We discussed specific social media tools, absolute no-nos, shared some of our personal experiences, and answered questions from the audience. Like I warned before, it’s an hour-long video, but it’s an hour filled with awesome sauce. Yeah, I said it. Enjoy.

Discussing Google Chrome OS and Microsoft Bing on CNN Live

I was on CNN Live once again last week (it was a huge bonus to be on with the talented and insanely engergetic Chris Pirillo. Seriously, I thought I was off-the-wall!). The topic of discussion: Google vs. Microsoft, specifically the announcement of Google Chrome OS and the war brewing between Google and Microsoft’s new search engine, Bing.

Also on with us: Nick Thompson of Wired. I shall let the video tell the rest:


Interview: Greg Grunberg of Heroes

Last week, I had the great pleasure of interviewing a tech entrepreneur and actor, Greg Grunberg, for a piece on Mashable: How Heroes Star Greg Grunberg Dominates Social Media.

The half-hour interview includes crazy hand motions, discussion about his iPhone app Yowza, and what’s coming up in the next season of Heroes. So take a gander and give me your thoughts in the comments: