The May Report: 12/6/2010: Melzinie muses on who might be the next Groupon; and many other things….including what Judy Tullman told a source of mine about Rahm….

Editor and publisher: ron@themayreport.com, ronaldmay@aol.com, www.themayreport.com , 773-525-3944.

Assistant editor: Melanie Adcock, iPHONE: 312-259-0610, melanie_adcock@msn.com

If you missed an article, go here: www.tmronline.com/A55951/tmrarticles.nsf/vwFullNewsletter
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

The Scoop section:

– Editor’s note, by Ron May
– Sandra Guy’s article from December 1st in the Chicago Sun-Times on Groupon
– Reader had LOL experience upon reading the Humenansky rumor
– LES Chicago Chapter: Holiday networking event, Tuesday, December 7
– Don Samuelson: Suggestion for TMR
– Groupon rejects Google’s $5 billion offer Chicago coupon site to remain independent for now By Melissa Harris and Wailin Wong, Tribune reporters
– Michael Quintos: Comments on Facebook
– Hannah Bagshawet: mergermarket scoop: Nicor deal imminent
– Who will be the next Groupon? Musings, by Melanie Adcock
– Jim Frey: Comments on Melanie’s article about networking with developers
– Wednesday, December 8: The Chicago Chapter of the ACM has meeting
– WAW (Web Analytics Wednesday) January: Talk Analytics to Execs and Advanced Web Metrics
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Death notice: The Midwest Entrepreneur’s Forum (MEF): December 6, 2010

After a long, protracted and brave battle against old age, decrepitude, really bad hearing, even worse listening skills and worst of all, a non-existent sense of humor about itself, the MEF finally succumbed to its illness, dying peacefully in its sleep.

A wake will be held tonight at The Union League Club at 65 West Jackson Blvd., 2nd floor. Survivors include (the people we can count on not seeing there, not in all cases because of problems with JRM, but in many cases people who have decided to go elsewhere or nowhere these days):

Bruce Hanson*, Mike Nikolich*, Gary Slack*, Hazel Wagner*, Richard Landman*, Doug Newkirk*, John Moran, Elliott Black*, JoAnne Gucwa, Katie Spaniak*, Craig McCrohon*, Jason Jacobsohn, Cy Griffith, SuAnne Goldman, Nik Rokop, Scott Glickson, Sean Murdock, Jeff Coney, Bret Johnson, Sonny Cohen, Todd Allen, Brad Spirrison, Neil Kane, Mary Bober, Ellen Carnahan, Darcy Evon, Bob Brill, Linda Darragh, Terry Doheny, Ada Nielson, Robert Sansome, Robert Harney, Spencer Maus, Steve Miller, Ron Kirschner, Bob Geras, David Gulley, Bruce Montgomery, Raman Chadha, Tom Figel, Dan Limbach, Michele Beaulieux, Dick Reck, Candy Renwall, Tom Churchwell, Lynne Baker, Paul Tedesco, Jeff Gilbert, Scott Sargis, David Baker, Matt McCall, Wally Cornett, Nancy Sullivan, Greg Rudin, Bruce Montgomery, Alan Warms, Michael Pope, Josh Singer, Harold Welsch, Avery Cohen, Michael Gray, Tom Gorman, Lou Calamaras, Jack Philbin, Robert Jacobi, Daliah Saper, Tim Lavengood, David Carman, Len Bland, Stephen Meade**, Mary Spaeth**, Phil McGuigan**, Tom Thornton**, Chris Sorensen**, Shannon Clark**, Mike Freud**, Cary Nourie**

* Indicates former MEF board member who quit or was thrown out by JRM
** Indicates has left Chicagoland for other places

Pall bearers for the funeral will include: (people who will be there or could very well be there with some people getting three asterisks *** for a slim chance of being there)

Mike Hettwer***, Fred Otto, Sheldon Rosenfield, Art Brown, Chris Galvin, Scott McGowan, Bill Miller, Bill Price, A. J. Singh, Charles Wu, Penny Edecker, Richard Kennedy, Jack Curley, Dick Pilcher, Barb Kremer, Jim Eiden, Dave Culver, Michele Honomichl, Barbara Rapchak***, Mark Achler***, Ron May, Peter Sturdivant, Lanny Feder, Scott Kane, Jon Paul, Adarsh Arora***, Anup Manchanda, Patrick Hughes, Dave Dieter, Alex Bratton, Doug Hart, Chuck Cone, Karan Goel, Irv Jarett, Beverly Conner, Don Samuelson, Jim Charney, Scott Harris, Rich Kooy, Ray Genellie, Sid Bennett, Ed Cooper, Stefania Aulicino***, Judith Turk, Tanya Sienko, Gary Shorter, Doug Seville, Neil Gorman, Chuck Weinles, Mark Menarik, Mark Baldridge, Maureen Wagner, Jim Peters***, Pam McDonough***, Harvey Lyon***, John Schoeph, Bill Anthony.

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The Scoop section:
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Editor’s note, by Ron May

* This has to be fast. Time got away from me today.

1. A good source who has the info. first hand tells me that Judy Tullman, Howard’s wife, told him that they are not big fans of Rahm Emanuel and perhaps it was stated more strongly. Judy and Howard live in a mansion over on Drummond near Wrightwood and Racine.

2. The same source told me that they might end up voting for Rahm anyway. Recall that Howard has been a big supporter of the Clintons, in particular Hillary’s campaign in 2008. Hillary and Rahm are not BFFs as I understand it.

3. Gian Fulgoni, you won’t find this kind of info. in the comScore files. But here at TMR, we have great sources!

My info. is that Burberry’s at 633 N. Michigan opened the store early on Sunday for a personal shopper and a family with seven daughters to shop. The personal shopper is the key here since the family follows her wherever she goes and before the downtown store, she was with the Burberry Northbrook store and prior to that, she was with Louis Vuitton. Anyway, the store was theirs to roam and for good reason. They spent $37,000! The personal shopper has worked with this family for five years now.

Sunday overall the store downtown did $100K, but on Black Friday, they did $214K.

You know, nothing is cheap in that store. Boots will run you $800, a sweater can be $600, scarfs are $250 to $350, but one can buy a cashmere scarf for $500. Coats can run into the thousands. The typical customer drops $1,000 there but there are plenty of $5,000 customers as well.

4. Look, I have to get ready to go and I can’t find a bunch of stuff I wrote for you. It will have to wait til tomorrow.

5. Melanie did some real research and dug up some good info. on patents for her Musings article on who might be the next Groupon in Chicago. I have some thoughts too but no time today.
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Sandra Guy’s article from December 1st in the Chicago Sun-Times on Groupon

Subject: A Chicago Sun-Times article from: ed.longanecker@techamerica.org
Date: 12/6/2010 4:52:41 A.M. Central Standard Time
From: ed.longanecker@techamerica.org
To: ronaldmay@aol.com

The following article from the Chicago Sun-Times has been forwarded to you by ed.longanecker@techamerica.org

If you wish to stop receiving these articles, please contact the sender.

Comments from the sender:

To read the full story, click here:

www.suntimes.com/technology/2936242,groupon-CST-1201.article

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www.suntimes.com/technology/2936242,groupon-CST-1201.article

$6 billion Groupon sale would be Web deal record
Comments

December 1, 2010

BY SANDRA GUY sguy@suntimes.com
Andrew Mason and his Chicago brainchild, daily deal site Groupon, are at the center of a media frenzy, with reports that online search site Google will acquire Groupon in the largest Web transaction ever, valued at $6 billion.

If Groupon agrees to an acquisition – some reports say it is at the center of a bidding war – the Chicago technology community will finally hit the big time.

» Click to enlarge image

Andrew Mason is the founder of Groupon, which started a new way to make cash online.

(Scott Stewart/Sun-Times)

RELATED STORIES
Groupon founder started bagel delivery biz at age 15
No one at Groupon or Google has been available to comment for the past two days.

The deal for Groupon would be twice the size of Google’s $3.1 billion acquisition of DoubleClick in April 2007, and would dwarf Google’s $1.65 billion takeover of YouTube in October 2006.

What’s so hot about groups of people piling on to Groupon to pluck online daily deals?

Groupon invented a new way to make money on the Internet:

Enticing deal-seekers to sign up for a daily deal from a local merchant, which they receive only if a minimum number of people join in, said Matt McCall, a partner at New World Ventures, the Chicago-based venture capital firm founded by J.B. Pritzker.

Once the target number is reached, the customers pay upfront.

Groupon combined the innovative deal marketing with old-fashioned sales techniques by hiring call-center workers to solicit retailers, restaurants and service providers to offer deals, with Groupon taking about 50 percent of the amount collected, said Stuart Wall, CEO of Signpost.com, a merchant-driven deals site.

If a service normally sells for $80, and is offered for $40 as a daily deal, Groupon generally keeps $20 and gives $20 to the merchant, he said.

Matt Moog, CEO of Viewpoints Network and formerly of CoolSavings in Chicago, said he wouldn’t be surprised if 75 percent to 80 percent of Groupon’s 5,000 employees are salespeople. Groupon also hires writers to whip up copy to describe the merchants’ deals.

The model is easily copied, with Facebook launching its own deals service and Google starting a Google Places to help Web surfers find local businesses.

Chicago tech leaders predict that Groupon alumni will produce new and successful companies here, as happened with Orbitz alum Steve Hafner starting Kayak; FeedBurner’s co-founder and chief technology officer Eric Lunt transitioning to data-rights startup BrightTag, and Stuart Frankel, formerly a senior vice president of Performix, leading Evanston-based Narrative Science.

“A Groupon acquisition by Google will generate significant returns and wealth for investors and entrepreneurs,” said Ed Longanecker of TechAmerica’s Midwest office, which will drive more investment, create new jobs, new companies and significant growth for the Illinois technology industry.”

Said Moog, “It shatters the myth that technology companies cannot be built and scaled here in Chicago.”
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Reader had LOL experience upon reading the Humenansky rumor

From: Refco35@aol.com
Subject: You have got to be kidding
Date: Mon, 6 Dec 2010 13:04:22 -0500 (EST)
To: ron@themayreport.com

From: Mike Stevens
Subject: Former COO of Divine Arrested – Paul Humenansky
Date: Fri, 3 Dec 2010 18:04:05 -0800 (PST)
To: VeronicaFilipowski@gmail.com
Cc: Ron@TheMayReport.com

Veronica,

Humenansky has been arrested on porn charges! I’ll keep you posted.

Michael.
^^^^^^^ When I read this I laughed. Where is the link to this so called arrest. Not sure who this Stevens is, but he must have a strong desire to impress some woman called Veronica. Wonder what his motivation is, and why he cares. Is this pertinent news? PH should initiate immediate legal action against both of you. What a rag. You really should consider shutting this report down once and for all. Oh wait, now I remember. Anything concerning Filipowski gets you overly excited,.
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LES Chicago Chapter: Holiday networking event, Tuesday, December 7

From: “LES Chicago Chapter”
Sender: “LES Chicago Chapter”
Subject: 12/7 LES Chicago Chapter Holiday Event: Online Registration Ends Today
Date: Mon, 6 Dec 2010 10:47:55 -0500
To: “Ron”

LES (USA & Canada) Chicago Chapter

LES Chicago Chapter Event
DATE & TIME
Tuesday, December 7
11:45 AM

TITLE
Holiday Networking and Sharing Event

LES prides itself on networking and will be the theme for the December 7 Holiday Lunch. Attendees will have the opportunity to introduce him/herself and talk about what they do and what their licensing interests are. Each table will have a facilitator to encourage networking and there will be time before, during, and after lunch to talk with others that share your interests and/or help you in your work. In addition, there will be an open mic for people to share their licensing stories and experiences.

So come and join in the holiday spirit of fellowship and good cheer, and use this opportunity to meet and reach out to your fellow members of the Chicago Licensing community.

LOCATION
Maggiano’s Little Italy
(Banquet Facilities)
111 W. Grand Avenue
Chicago, Illinois
(312) 644-7700

Click here for detailed information and online registration
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Don Samuelson: Suggestion for TMR

From: DSSA310@aol.com
Subject: TMR
Date: Mon, 6 Dec 2010 09:37:46 EST
To: ron@themayreport.com
Cc: melanie_adcock@msn.com

Ron:

Perhaps worth while to do something building out of the Tribune stories on Sunday re: Groupon and its leaders. You would be able to assemble a significant group of commentators – way beyond what the Tribune had – with far more incisive commentary.

Would provide significant exposure to the May Report in the general business community – not a bad thng.

TMR is getting increasingly readable. Kudos.

Don Samuelson

In a message dated 12/6/2010 12:00:34 A.M. Central Standard Time, ron@themayreport.com writes:
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Ron May here. Don, is this the article you’re referring to?
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Groupon rejects Google’s $5 billion offer Chicago coupon site to remain independent for now By Melissa Harris and Wailin Wong, Tribune reporters

Sources: Groupon rejects Google’s $5 billion offer
Chicago coupon site to remain independent for now
Groupon CEO Andrew Mason. (Brian Cassella/Tribune)
209

By Melissa Harris and Wailin Wong, Tribune reporters

December 4, 2010
E-mail Print Share Text Size ct-biz-1204-groupon–20101204
The deal didn’t tip after all.

Chicago-based Groupon Inc. has turned down an acquisition offer from Google Inc. and is staying independent, two sources with direct knowledge of the situation said Friday.

The two companies had been engaged in talks, with speculation about the marriage reaching a fever pitch over the last week. Mountain View, Calif.-based Google reportedly had offered between $5 billion and $6 billion for the daily deal startup.

Groupon still may choose to pursue an initial public offering but will not make a decision about going public until 2011, a source said.

A Google spokesman said the company does not comment on rumor or speculation. A Groupon spokeswoman could not be reached for comment. Groupon is not expected to acknowledge the news until Monday.

The rejection of the Google offer is a milestone in Groupon’s dizzying journey, which in two years has taken the company from a struggling Web site to a tech star with more than 3,000 employees worldwide, a presence in 35 countries and expected annual revenues of at least $500 million this year. The company was profitable within eight months.

Groupon’s financial backers include local investors Eric Lefkofsky and Brad Keywell, venture capital firms such as New Enterprise Associates and Accel Partners, and Russian firm Mail.ru Group, formerly Digital Sky Technologies.

Google, which is pushing into local search advertising, had been hoping to tap into Groupon’s massive human network of sales employees and their relationships with small businesses across the country. The interest in Groupon, which also was reportedly courted by companies such as Yahoo, underscores the startup’s meteoric growth – its valuation was $1.3 billion in April – and the industry’s belief that the company’s business model is a sustainable one.

Groupon offers consumers steep discounts online for local businesses such as restaurants and salons, with the deal tipping for everyone if a minimum number of its subscribers sign up for the offer. Groupon takes a cut, typically 50 percent, of the revenue from each deal it runs.

Under Lefkofsky’s auspices, Groupon Chief Executive Andrew Mason initially created a site called The Point in 2007 that would organize collective action around social or charitable causes. When The Point failed to turn a profit, Mason retooled the site to focus on daily deals for local services. The new idea became Groupon, which launched two years ago.

Earlier this year, the company rolled out personalized deals, a feature that targets offers to users based on gender, ZIP code and purchasing history. This program enables Groupon to serve up multiple deals in each market, keeping any single business from being overwhelmed by thousands of new customers. The move also loosens up a crowded queue of local merchants eager to participate in a Groupon promotion; the company turns down seven businesses for every one that it features.

Activity in the industry Groupon pioneered is heating up, with Washington, D.C.-based rival LivingSocial announcing Thursday that it received a $175 million offer from Amazon.

Even amid the rumors of the last several weeks, Groupon continued to sign partnership agreements and make acquisitions. The company agreed to have its deals featured on eBay and joined a new Yahoo program that aggregates daily deals from multiple providers, including many of Groupon’s rivals. And just this week, Groupon acquired a trio of Asian daily deal sites and bought a California-based technology firm, expanding its presence in Silicon Valley.

Groupon said it also plans to expand its product team in Chicago. Earlier this year, the company received a $3.5 million incentive package from the state to create 250 additional jobs.

mmharris@tribune.com

wawong@tribune.com
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8 Comments

Michael Smith at 1:00 PM December 4, 2010
Not sure why they would want to sell for 5B when the company made 500m in its first year.. At that rate think holding onto the company is a smart choice
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0 0
JoMan7 at 8:45 AM December 4, 2010

I found confirmation that they turned down the deal straight from Andrew Mason. The source is his Twitter account where he links to a mock-company blog (it’s the company name spelled backwards), and writes a very funny post about the topic. The site in general and Andrew’s style are hilarious.

twitter.com/#!/andrewmason/status/10062911124803584

By the way, the Tribune web site needs to implement a better commenting system, this was far too complicated to post (signing up, an archaic interface…)

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0 0
Halloween_Jack at 8:45 AM December 4, 2010
Thank you for staying in Chicago. By staying here you will attract more advanced technology and service companies to the city. In Silicon Valley you would be gutted and sold for parts.
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0 0
hellllo at 1:39 AM December 4, 2010
I heard the Groupon Guys are a-holees
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1 0
markbenevides at 1:32 AM December 4, 2010
Lowball. Don’t swing.
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0 1
cogrep at 12:26 AM December 4, 2010

Groupon has made some good moves to pull away from the pack. There are hundreds of smaller competitors and they all operate in pretty much the same manner… but none with the reach that Groupon has. Still, to walk away from $6B! LocalDealSites.com lists over 130 Groupon-like daily deal websites and lets you filter by area.

Reply
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1 1
haha1234 at 2:43 AM December 4, 2010
Obviously…they know something you don’t.
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0 1
KevinNorman at 11:06 PM December
___________________________________________
May here. I notice that Trib comments are far more favorable toward the Groupon decision than were the comments on Crain’s Friday night.
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Michael Quintos: Comments on Facebook

From: Michael Quintos
Subject: Re: The May Report: 12/5/2010: When Mercury is going into retrograde, things go haywire in technology which may explain why Comcast is out of commish for 2 million people tonight and why Facebook is changing its format in the morning; Augmented reality is hip these days; Advice for entrepreneurs on how to talk to developers; No idea if it is true, but rumor has it that Paul Humenansky has been arrested — hey, if Kara Swisher can rumor monger, so can I
Date: Sun, 5 Dec 2010 22:20:17 -0800 (PST)
To: The May Report

Ron,

Your friend list on your profile page is random, you don’t pick your “top cool friends”. The changes are part of a larger platform movement; changing how APP are developed, Facebook moving across the web (share/like on any site) and expanding into messaging (it’s not email).

The larger point; Facebook is just getting started… Think of them as a start-up still.

Anyone who looks at Facebook tomorrow will notice the same thing; 80% of users updated their missing profile information now that your brief bio is on the top of the page. Watch for the edit’s.. They will flood the stream.

Hope all is well,

Michael
________________________________
Hannah Bagshawet: mergermarket scoop: Nicor deal imminent

From: Hannah Bagshawe
Subject: mergermarket scoop: Nicor deal imminent
Date: Mon, 6 Dec 2010 12:34:23 -0500
To: Hannah Bagshawe

cid:image001.gif@01CA4844.668552F0

For immediate release

December 6th 2010

Nicor in advanced talks with two parties: AGL Resources flagged as likely buyer

Story: Nicor (NYSE:GAS), the Naperville, Illinois-based energy concern, is set to announce a deal to sell itself to Atlanta, Georgia-based AGL Resources (NYSE:AGL) and a transaction could be announced as early as today, said a source claiming knowledge of the matter.

A separate source close to the process said Nicor has been in advanced talks with an infrastructure fund and a strategic buyer for the past two to three weeks. The same source confirmed that despite market skepticism over the deal, providing the price expectation is met, the deal is likely to be announced shortly. Negotiations over the final terms of the deal and its timeline were expedited over the past few days, in light of several media reports of the ongoing sale of the company, this source said.

Please click on the attachment for the full story.

Source: mergermarket

Please do not hesitate to contact me for further information.

Kind regards

Hannah Bagshawe

Global Head of Public Relations

The Mergermarket Group

Tel: +1 646 378 3194

Fax: +1 212 220 2607

www.mergermarket.com

www.debtwire.com

www.dealreporter.com

www.pharmawire.com

____________________________________
Who will be the next Groupon?
Musings, by Melanie Adcock

Subject: Who will be the next Groupon?
Date: 12/6/2010 7:42:05 A.M. Central Standard Time
From: melanie_adcock@msn.com
To: ron@themayreport.com, ronaldmay@aol.com

Who will be the next Groupon?

Musings by Melanie Adcock

When posing the question who will be the next Groupon it can mean a lot of things. Which Midwestern tech company will be next to take us by surprise with runaway success? Who’s valuation will skyrocket keeping journalists glued to their cell phones all hours of the night? Which teeny start up in the heart of the nation will be next to rise to the status of corporate giant? It can be difficult to determine the next big thing because the next big thing is usually completely different form than the last big thing. Just as the next Michael Jordan will most likely not have the same sports record and the next mayor of Chicago isn’t going to be a carbon copy of the last one, the next Groupon will most likely come from a place we do not expect. While I do not pretend to know any more than anyone else on this subject I can give some insight based on local industry buzz, people I’ve spoken with and the events I’ve attended recently that can shed some light on this topic.

Recently I attended a Lean Start Up Circle meet up group held at the ITA where Carl Ledbetter spoke about his career in Venture Capital with Pelion Venture Partners. pelionvp.com/CustomContentRetrieve.aspx?ID=2984880 If a Venture Capital company gets it right one third of the time in their selections on who to invest in they are doing a great job. If they do better than that they are outstanding. Every VC company has an anti-portfolio of companies they kick themselves for not investing in. His included eBay and Starbucks. At the time he said it was tough to predict the success those companies would have. He went on to say in all likelihood the next big thing will involve a technology that’s already been patented in the last 14.5 years and is right under our noses. I did some digging and found on the Patent Technology Monitoring Team (PTMT) site www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/ido/oeip/taf/asgstc/usa_ror.htm that in the last 4 years alone 1, 978 utility patents for new technology and inventions were issued to Motorola, 777 to Caterpillar, 296 to Abbott Laboratories. 240 to the University of Illinois, 121 to Northwestern, and 109 to the University of Chicago. So according to Ledbetter it’s highly likely one of these already patented ideas could be the next big thing.

At the 2010 Chicago Innovation Awards www.chicagoinnovationawards.com I noticed companies who received recognition were companies like USG www.chicagoinnovationawards.com/nominations/view/190 who have been around for a long time and improved on an existing product using innovative drywall technology. So let’s not leave out companies that have been in the Midwest for a long time as possible candidates to blow us away with tech innovations in the next decade. In a recent developer event at the Sync Tech Center www.synctechcenter.com/ put on by Uki Lucas www.linkedin.com/in/ukidlucas and Chicago Android chicagoandroid.com/ Uki spoke about the Android platform branching out from smart phones and into appliances like microwaves, washing machines, and even our car dashboards in the future. Sears Holding Corporation recently hired Uki Lucas as a Lead Android Architect. I see great things on the horizon there.

Finally, what about the start-ups who are out there zealously pitching their business model in forums like the midVenturesLAUNCH, the BNC Venture Capital Group, and the newly created Tech Pitch and Funding Feeding Frenzy events? It’s possible we might see a diamond in the rough at an event like this, however it is also possible that our next colossal success story will thrive without any type of funding. If the company focuses on solving a real need that people have and getting customers then they could take off without the support of Venture Capital. The SAVO Group, a past winner of the Chicago Innovation awards, was profitable and didn’t seek any funding until their seventh year in business. The next big tech splash in the Midwest could also follow the same pattern of proving it in the trenches first so the investors come to them instead.

I wonder what the CEO of the next big thing in Midwest tech is doing right now? They’re probably a teenager texting on their jailbroken smart phone in their parents’ basement pondering issues like why the iPhone platform doesn’t currently support Flash. If they’re out there reading this, I call first dibs on the exclusive interview.
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Jim Frey: Comments on Melanie’s article about networking with developers

From: Jim Frey
Subject: Re: Networking with Developers: Break the ice, get their info, and start a conversation!, by Melanie Adcock
Date: Mon, 6 Dec 2010 06:39:38 -0800 (PST)
To: The May Report

Melanie,

Have you played Gran Turismo 5 yet? It just came out last week, got it for the guys at my office the day it came out. They tried last year to qualify for that trip to the Indy 500 in the beta of it – they can’t stop playing with the steering wheel mounted to our conference table, at lunch, and ALL HOURS OF THE NIGHT! Ha.

My point, I’d pick something other than some programming language or geek opinion (/. flame bait) to break the ice. I don’t know many geeks who don’t play video games, especially in the winter. Personally, I don’t want to talk about CPAN or some RHEL thing after staring at code all day. — I’d suggest you put a PS3 on your Christmas list if you don’t already have one.

You’ll have to check out the new Christmas surprise I’ve got for the guys at the new bigger office we’re moving to – although good luck getting a turn at the controls

- Jim

— On Sun, 12/5/10, The May Report wrote:

From: The May Report
Subject: The May Report: 12/5/2010: When Mercury is going into retrograde, things go haywire in technology which may explain why Comcast is out of commish for 2 million people tonight and why Facebook is changing its format in the morning; Augmented reality is hip these days; Advice for entrepreneurs on how to talk to developers; No idea if it is true, but rumor has it that Paul Humenansky has been arrested — hey, if Kara Swisher can rumor monger, so can I
To: head_dunce@yahoo.com
Date: Sunday, December 5, 2010, 11:54 PM
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Wednesday, December 8: The Chicago Chapter of the ACM has meeting

Subject: FW: The Chicago Chapter of the ACM has meeting Dec. 8
Date: 12/6/2010 2:58:48 A.M. Central Standard Time
From: melanie_adcock@msn.com
To: ronaldmay@aol.com, ron@themayreport.com

Hello,

While this may not be directly related to group topics, here are several items that may be of interest to group members.

1.) (shortest first) The Chicago Chapter of the ACM is now on Facebook and Twitter. Join our Facebook Group (www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=59120137059) or follow us on Twitter (username: chicagoacm).

2.) Next ACM Meeting: December 8, 2010

A joint meeting with the Loyola University Computer Science Department

Speaker: Zdenek Vrbka

Topic: “Modern Methods of Computer Network Protection”

Wednesday, November 10, 2010, 6:30 pm
5:30 pm -6:30 pm (Social Hour)

Loyola University Water Tower Campus (Chicago/Michigan Area)
820 N Michigan, Chicago IL 60611
Beane Ballroom (13th Floor, Lewis Towers)

Campus map: www.luc.edu/about/pdfs/wtc_may09.pdf

Admission: Free (General Admission, No Reserved Seats)

Reservations:
To make a reservation, use this form:
(spreadsheets.google.com/a/chicagoacm.org/viewform?authkey=CI-D38YG&formkey=dHF4Y1RhNi1DNGtsaUxRLXRLRWpQSGc6MA#gid=0)
or send an e-mail to greg@neumarke.net.

About the Topic:

The speaker will present a network security and monitoring approach based on network behavior analysis. This approach uses NetFlow network statistics (L3 Network Layer) and can be used to analyze huge amounts of network traffic, even in encrypted form. The discussion will include techniques for revealing particular attacks/misuses, for example SSH attacks, illegal music sharing using peer-to-peer networks, and social engineering.

The presentation will also include lessons learned in the development of the commercial solution MyNetScope and bringing that product to market.

About the Speaker:

Zdenek Vrbka is a professor in the Faculty of Informatics, Masaryk University, Czech Republic, where he specializes in software quality and domain understanding and modeling. He holds his PhD degree in Informatics with a specialization in Information Science.

He is also member of the company AdvaICT, a spin-off from Masaryk University, which develops the network security and monitoring solution MyNetScope.

More details at: www.chicagoacm.org/

Thanks,

Jonathan Tonkin

Web: www.momochicago.org
MoMo on Twitter: twitter.com/MoMoChicago
MoMo on LinkedIn: linkd.in/momochi
MoMo on Facebook: bit.ly/10574H

Manage your subscription: groups.google.com/group/momochicago
Email the list: momochicago@googlegroups.com
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WAW (Web Analytics Wednesday) January: Talk Analytics to Execs and Advanced Web Metrics

Subject: WAW (Web Analytics Wednesday) January: Talk Analytics to Execs and Advanced Web Metrics
Date: 12/6/2010 3:24:15 A.M. Central Standard Time
From: melanie_adcock@msn.com
To: ron@themayreport.com, ronaldmay@aol.com

WAW (Web Analytics Wednesday) January: Talk Analytics to Execs and Advanced Web Metrics

Jan. 5, ’11
Wed 6:30 PM
Location
Bin 36
339 N Dearborn St
Chicago, IL 60657
312-755-WINE (9463)
Who’s coming?
17 Social Media Enthusiasts
Who’s hosting?
Aldo Deijkers and Kimberly Chulis

Hi All,

First meetup of the new year…please hold the date. January topics by members will include Meta Brown presenting her recent Smart Data Collective ‘Talk Analytics with Executives: 4 Things You Must Understand’ (link to this article at bit.ly/smartda... ) and a ‘How-to’ Guide for delivering Advanced Web Metrics with Google Analytics. Additional presenters and sponsors welcome. (Also still looking for a reliable projector!)

Hope to see you there! Here’s the official WAW sign up link

www.webanalyticsdemystified.com/wednesday/list.asp?event_id=3188

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END OF REPORT