start-up

2009, defined by the deep recession, forced consumer brands to do more with much less.  However, this stressful environment drove  marketers to try non-traditional and less expensive channels, fostering the development of some unique engagement programs in social media.  In this series of posts, I’ll revisit a few of the more interesting campaigns from the past year and explain how these programs can guide our 2010 engagement strategies.

On Tuesday, Daimler bought a nearly 10 percent stake in Tesla Motors for a "double-digit million sum." The two companies had already made a deal for Tesla to provide battery packs for Daimler's all-electric Smart EV, set for release in 2012, but this new partnership will expand that relationship, seeing both companies bringing expertise to the other.

Bill Watkins, the outspoken former chief executive of Seagate, wants to make a thinner iPod.

Watkins, a Silicon Valley veteran, has joined the board of Vertical Circuits, a start-up that has come up with a technique for cramming large amounts of flash memory into a tight space. By using technology from Vertical Circuits, device makers can fit lots of high-speed memory into their products and leave more room for bigger displays and larger batteries.

John Donahoe, the eBay chief executive, is doing nothing to dispel ongoing speculation that the company is planning to put Skype, the Internet calling service it bought four years ago for $3 billion, on the block.

When Donahoe took over as eBay's chief in January 2008, he said he wanted to take time to evaluate any synergies between Skype and eBay.

For years, software companies have provided ways to make free calls from cell phones, and most of them even work. The problem is getting the software onto your phone.

It's not that carriers want to make it hard to load Skype, Fring and other free-calling applications onto phones, although the networks obviously bristle at the idea of giving their customers a way to make free calls (also known as voice-over-Internet protocol,

A new fiber optic laser system can reduce wear and increase output from wind turbines by sensing wind gusts from 1,000 meters away. Catch The Wind, a Virginia start-up, developed the device that allows turbines to adapt to the strength and direction of gusts before they hit.

Data centers in the U.S. have created a carbon footprint that is larger than that of countries such as The Netherlands and Argentina. Internet companies such as Google are investing billions of dollars in setting up massive data centers and struggling to control soaring power usage. While Google may want its users to trawl thousands of terabytes of data and get their search results almost immediately, this activity gobbles up plenty of energy.

A small Cincinnati start-up called Advanced Mechanical Products (AMP) has developed, and is taking orders, for Saturn Sky Roadsters converted to run on all-electric power.
The converted cars will be powered by two electric motors and a powerful LI-Ion-Phosphate battery, enabling a top speed of 90mph and 0-60mph acceleration in less than 6 seconds, with a range of around 150 miles on a single charge.

As the signs of a recession increase, start-ups and their venture capital backers aren't panicking. But they've learned the harsh lessons of the great dot-com crash of 2001, and they're girding to endure some economic pain.

Look at World Golf Tour (www.worldgolftour.com), a 2-year-old San Francisco start-up that offers online golfing and photography-based animations of famed golf courses around the globe.