BAIAblog

An Interview with Roberto Bonzio, Reuters Journalist

A couple of months ago I received an e-mail from Roberto Bonzio, asking for an interview. Roberto told me he was here in Silicon Valley for a few months on a project about Italians. After a few e-mails, we set up an appointment and a few days later we met at my office. We spoke for a couple of hours about my experiences here in the US and my company, Novedge. A couple of days later Roberto published the interview on his blog, Italiani di Frontiera. I read the interview and was amazed to discover how much Roberto was able to capture from our talk. Despite taking few notes during the interview, he understood all the details about our online system and strategies, as well as our company strengths and weaknesses. Impressed by Roberto's professional capabilities, I've become an avid reader of his blog and discovered a mine of interesting articles, stories, and people. Despite not being a journalist myself, I wanted to return Roberto's favor and so invited him to be interviewed for the BAIA blog. Here are my questions and his responses.

Roberto, can you tell us a bit about yourself and your professional activities?

I was born in Mestre Venezia, start working as a reporter in Venice newspaper Il Gazzettino, as my grandfather Roberto, my father Giovanni "Gibo" and today my brother Giampaolo. I moved to Milan in 1986 at national newspaper Il Giorno, joining Reuters Italian service in 2001, now in a 6 months leave of absence here in California. Be pro-positive and nonconformist have been often not helpful, working in Italy, in media too. I got some more opportunities in reportages around the world for magazines. Then I found in Reuters a fantastic chance for good journalism and international perspectives. And in the web the ideal environment for my unordered curiosity. That goes from movies (I graduated at Venice University in History of Cinema, dissertation about Harpo Marx), to music (I play a lot of instruments, you wouldn't believe how many and how badly), rugby. And new media.

What is your project "Italiani di Frontiera," and how you come up with this idea?

Less than a year ago, I was just trying to figure out how "to survive" to come as a freelance journalist in leave of absence in USA, with wife Pola Science teacher and kids (Alessandro 18, Francesca 16, now happy students at Gunn High School in Palo Alto). I knew few about Italians in the Bay. Three e-mails changed my mind (and hopefully my life): from Matteo Daste (BAIA) Jeff Capaccio (SVIEC) and Palo Marenco (Silicon Valley Italian Study Tour). I understood from their committed answers there was a big story waiting to be told. And this was the right moment (not only for Super-Euro), in a blooming of activities (Baia, Sviec, Mind the Bridge...), and commitment of US Embassy too. In Italiani di Frontiera I am interviewing entrepreneurs, researchers, engineers. Some young newcomers, some veterans with outstanding records, as Federico Faggin, Roberto Crea, Enzo Torresi. They are a mine of gold of memories, enterprises, challenges. Still more precious are their thoughts and critical comments about Italy, its qualities and its faults. Now a blog, then an interactive web site with videos, Italiani di Frontiera will be a book in Italy, sponsored by Centro Formazione Management del Terziario for FrancoAngeli Publisher. And more is still in my mind...

After spending some time in the Silicon Valley, how has your opinion of America and the American way of life changed?

I first came in USA 30 years ago as a young hitchhiker At that time this was an other world from Italy. Big cars and standardized behaviors impressed me more. Today cars are a bit smaller, I'm still impressed by standardization and predictability in daily life. Sometimes I find it funny or boring. But I realize these strict rules are fundamental ground for a multicultural and multi ethnic country. Meanwhile, Italy and Italians became more standardized and stereotyped, after years of flat consumerism and silly hedonism pumped by TV model over exposition. But they lack a ground standard of rules and civic commitment, quite strong here. We still have a sense of quality of life, in terms of friendship, food, beauty. While sometimes I had the feeling that a part of American way of life, in its pursuing of success, has still the goal to make money to show money and money symbols. And then... what else?

After interviewing so many "Italians," did you find some sort of common background or shared archetype?

Yes, absolutely. And much stronger than I expected. Perhaps we managed for centuries to survive with unpredictable as individuals. And our classic roots, deeper than we realize and remember, are the best background for an open mind. Italians graduated in averaged Italian Universities act wonderfully here. Many of them told me they feel to have a special capacity to solve problems out of the standard better than others. Somebody thinks too  you can recognize a software "made by Italians" for a particular touch of creativity an aesthetic...

Once you are back in Italy, do you think you will be able to communicate and share your experience?

If I'll fail, I'll be the only one to blame. Because I think contents and thoughts from Italiani di Frontiera are of extraordinary value, for what in my view is today Italy. So many outstanding goals achieved thank to Italians to remember, while the country dramatically lacks memory. And so many examples to study and pursue, in hard work, creativity, courage, challenge on a global competition, both in entrepreneurs and in corporations. Mainly  ignored in a country dulled by local argues and silly gossip. A country of emigrants, now pretending to isolate and protect itself, than better widely exploit its talents. Let's open doors and windows in Italy, to fresh air! More web, more English speaking. More good models for young people. More chances for inspired ideas. And more sights from abroad, from Italians in the Bay too!

The Italian community in California is very fragmented. Only now are Italians becoming aware of being part of a community and gaining a benefit from that. What can associations like BAIA and Italian institutions such as the Italian Consulate do in this direction?

They can act stronger, in building a powerful community here. But I really think that in this, meetings and networking must be supported by a strong cultural effort. This means first to know what other Italians are doing here around. Then be aware how strong can be their contribution and example non only each other but for their country. Business opportunities are not enough, we need a careful consideration. About qualities that let Italians here acting fantastically: open mind, improvisation, aesthetic taste etc. And a critical reflection on what obstacles the emerging of the same qualities in Italy in entrepreneurship. It is a cultural effort because from my work it emerges that bad habits, distorted traditions (for example family extensions in corporation management) are for Italy heavier chains than old infrastructure and lack of financing.

Will you come back to California with a new project?

Telling the truth, I'm just ready to stay... Kidding (not too much). At the end of July I have to go back to Reuters in Milan and finish my work on the project. For me and my family it would be a dream to come back to stay. There are a lot of subjects and links to work on, in media between Italy and the Bay. I could have ten more "start up" projects in my head, as a web radio, needing a venture capitalist I am afraid... because this adventure 'til now has been hardly self-financed. Good investment for me, my wife and mainly for my teen son and daughter, in their international open mind experience at Gunn High School (while Ale, soccer striker, scored 18 gols in 7 match with Stanford Earthquakes...). One new project is already a part of Italiani di Frontiera. I called "Italindiani" some outstanding Italians in the West, discovered by my friend Cesare Marino, anthropologist at Smithsonian Institution and one of most prominent experts of Native Americans. Nearly unknown both here and in Italy, they deserve a book for themselves, having in past centuries the same bold spirit of Italiani di Frontiera we all need to challenge the new 21th Century Global Fronter.

I would like to thank the Roberto Bonzio for taking the time for this interview and for the incredible work he has done in such a short time exploring the local Italian community and exposing the  unexpectedly long list of entrepreneurs, researchers, and influential people. If you have a question for Roberto or for BAIA please do not hesitate to contact us or to leave a comment below. Roberto is also a member of our online community BAIA Link where he can also be reached.

Franco Folini

An Interview with Gaetano Pellicano on Venture-Capital Reform in Italy

On February 19, 2008 I had the pleasure to be invited to speak at the Italian Parliament for an event on Venture Capital reform organized by Gaetano Pellicano, the President of BAIA Italy. Since the inception of BAIA Italy last year, Gaetano has been working on connecting the business communities gathered by BAIA in Italy and California, leveraging his experience to promote the exchange of knowledge, especially in the venture capital area.

Gaetano, can you tell us a bit about yourself and your professional activities?

Since 2001 I have been a political advisor of the U.S. State Department at the U.S. Embassy in Rome. I work with American companies and institutions in Italy and advise the U.S. government with respect to policies in Italy and the EU. I focus also on job creation policies and have taught public administration at the Scuola Superiore della Pubblica Amministrazione. After meeting BAIA founders Matteo Daste and Giorgio Ghersi in San Francisco and seeing what BAIA is doing, I espoused the idea and in 2007 I promoted the launch of a BAIA Rome Chapter, that I am currently presiding.

How relevant of a topic is promoting venture capital investment in Italy today?

Low level of investment by risk capitals hinders the capability of boosting an ecosystem which favors innovation. Either big corporations or the research sector call for a stronger network between different actors, including venture funds, in order to improve their competitiveness, to establish cooperation with international players, and to bring new ideas, products and service to the market.

How did BAIA Italy play a role in organizing the February 19 event?

BAIA had been working in close cooperation with the Partnership for Growth of the U.S. Embassy in Rome that promoted a network between serial entrepreneurs, business angels and venture capitals. We proposed to work with this group of players to strengthen the links with Californian counterparts and to consolidate a package of proposals of improvements of the legal system along with most interested policy makers. Decidere.net and Competere appreciated our initiative and decided to cosponsor it.

What possible benefits could come out of these activities for Italy?

Our aims are to improve the ecosystem, to increase its dynamism and to help Italian innovators willing to establish joint ventures and other forms of cooperation with American colleagues. We will submit the package to the new parliament and the new government by September.

What's the outlook for BAIA Italy?

We are structuring our organization concentrating our energies on few events which might allow us to involve new members. Volunteerism is less common in Italy than in the States, but with a strategic vision we hope to stimulate the participation of a significant group of innovators interested in our unique initiative.

I would like to thank again Gaetano for his contribution. It is hoped that initiatives like the one promoted by BAIA Italy will be a welcome addition to the Italian economic panorama and will not only contribute to promoting knowledge of California models in Italy, but will also give a fresh  perspective on venture capital to leaders and entrepreneurs in Italy.

Matteo Daste

Habemus Videos "Blogs and Marketing"

Paraphrasing a recent Mauro Lupi blog post (Habemus iPod) and the traditional announcement of the Catholic Church after each pope election (Habemus Papam), finally we can say: "Habemus Videos!".

About one month after the successuful BAIA event "Blogs and Marketing", thanks to Michele Ursino, now we can finally offer the video recording of the February 8 event. The two videos have been uploaded on Google Video and should accessible from any Internet connection.

Part 1: Mauro Lupi Introduction (Total length 26:43)

Part 2: Panel Discussion (Total length 34:13)

Enjoy!

Franco Folini

Blogs Versus Wikis: a Matter of Balance (Part III)

At BAIA’s event on Blogs & Marketing Six Apart presented the case study of another fascinating application of blogs: one from Boeing’s Flight Test Journal. What an enticing, far-reaching perspective! A gift to many who may never be able to afford such a journey and a generous way of sharing observations and data.

So, if blogs can also make up a common knowledge base, how do they differ from Wikis, object of BAIA’s previous event? Peter Thoeny’s input, corroborated by the other presenters on “Blogs & Marketing”, was once again sharply insightful: Wikis are editable, constantly changing (“morphing”), dynamic through time, often summarize a compendium of entries from multiple contributors and follow an encyclopedia-style format, much like the popular Wikipedia. Whereas blogs bear a set time stamp, (so do Wikis, but behind the scenes), are static, individually-generated, sequential, written as diary notes.

The distinction between blogs and Wikis is important but it carries no bias for either tool, as each is suited to perform best in the proper setting.

This session on Blogs & Marketing was extremely rich in content, powered by speakers who are both experts in, and passionate about, their field and fueled by the participation of attendees eager to learn more about how to implement, improve and advance the use of blogs for their organizations. All for a topic which is not short of coverage, considering there were concomitant events on the same subject, on that very evening.

Need a proof of my words? See the flattering endorsement from Novell’s Bruce Lowry in his Novell’s PR blog.

At the end of the Q&A when attendees were prompted for “one last question” hands across the room shot to the ceiling, clearly betraying an overflow of thoughts and opportunity for further discussion. The swift upper-body movements were followed by an accomplice chorus of laughs and the obvious understanding that the story will continue. “Alla prossima puntata” as we say in Italian, or “’til the next episode”.

Don’t miss next BAIA event, it promises to be simply… electrifying!

Lucia Panini

The Case for Business Blogs: Beyond the Buzz and in the Beef (Part II)

The convincing arguments brought forward by the panelists at BAIA’s event on Blogs & Marketing, proved the case for the use of blogs in business because blogs – if properly groomed – impact directly the bottom line, by increasing revenues and lowering costs. How? By intelligently piecing together the tesserae of the marketing mosaic.

Blogs affect sales directly: they can produce revenue via ads, they help drive higher traffic to a web site, (translating into stronger eCommerce sales, heightened interest for products and services, more click troughs to distributors’ sites, cross selling and upselling opportunities); they enhance dramatically the positioning with a search engine, adding momentum to a well-conceived SEO strategy.

Indirectly, blogs help better understand the customer base; by “listening” to blogs, a company can quickly find out what users like or dislike, even how they “call” a product. Mauro Lupi of Ad Maiora hinted to this point, mentioning the lingo used by cell phone users to refer to their devices in Italy, varies (cellulare, telefonino, etc).

To match the nomenclature used in marketing literature with the terms which resonate with the target user base, yields an immediate competitive advantage. To speak the same language of existing and prospective customers allows crafting an advertising message which will instantly establish a direct association with a product or service.

Revenues of course also originate from the roll out of new products and blogs are a clever method of discovering what costumers may be seeking but is not yet available, or not with the desired package, flavor, or features. Mauro Lupi offered the case study of Mulino Bianco, (Barilla brand), whose team created a new product based on the input collected from its blog.

On the other side of the profit equation, blogs represent an immense source of market research data at a fraction of the cost of traditional market research instruments (such as focus groups and custom surveys).

Blogs can also prevent significant dilution of resources. Business misshapes happen to the best companies, and can be dangerously costly if not corrected proactively. It may take infinite efforts and time to dissolve the damaging effects of a harmful PR spill. Rather than learning from distant sources that customers are unhappy with a product, it is far more helpful to know from a business’ own blog, and within a limited time lapse, what caused a problem, so that immediate measures can be enacted to bring it under control.

Blogs however imply that time be devoted to them and that businesses care about what is posted, not to mention devising action plans in accordance with the feedback received (hence the need for grooming).

So the question arises: “How can a business with limited resources capitalize on the wealth of information that pours in from a blog and put it to use before it becomes obsolete? Is it possible to mine/text-mine the entirety of entries for a given time period, to capture the most salient keywords and messages?”

Lucia Panini

Blogs Beyond Business: Life-critical Applications (Part I)

BAIA is continuing to deliver a vibrant series of business events, where eloquent speakers and stimulating attendees gather enthusiastically, providing a fertile ground for ongoing discussions, partnerships and in-depth development of the featured topics.

The panel, at “Blogs & Marketing” was composed of four experts: Mauro Lupi, of Ad Maiora, Marissa Levinson of Six Apart (also sponsor), Mary Trigiani of Spada, Inc, and Peter Thoeny, of StructuredWikis. Each of them engaged the audience from different angles, offering a synergic, harmonious all-around presentation.

In a nutshell, blogs (Web logs), are on-line journals. They can be used whenever individuals wish to contribute their thoughts to a forum about a matter relevant to their community.
I see blogs as a natural evolution of Internet communication, and an even deeper “democratization” of the Internet, already a platform which – despite the yet unfilled gaps of the digital divide and occasional political censorships – has opened the reign of knowledge and access to information to masses of people around the planet.

In the business world, blogs demystify the top-down, formal approach from corporate to consumer; as Mary Trigiani of Spada emphasized, the target is perceived no longer as a passive “audience” but rather as active “stakeholders”.

As Six Apart pointed out, blogs also ensure inclusiveness, overcoming glitches such as accidentally dropping an e-mail address from a large distribution list.
Blogs leverage on current technology, (visit Six Apart website for a comprehensive suite of tools), to satisfy the ancestral human need to voice one’s opinions, bringing along the corollary right to freedom of expression. We once drew signs on the walls of a cave, now we post via a mouse click; the urge to communicate hasn’t changed. Blogs enable members of a society to discuss, interactively, topics of interest, whether from a personal or business standpoint.

But beyond the confines of a balance sheet, there are compelling reasons to embrace blogs and to understand their scope. Often in Silicon Valley we have a thirst for innovation which resembles pure play! However, many innovations are born of, or will serve, the broader, higher, longer-range goal of improving human life and of providing solutions to impending needs.

This was the poignant case in the immediate aftermath of hurricane Katrina, when – as Six Apart highlighted – blogging was often the only way for reporters to post information on the status of areas hit by the catastrophe, and to relay vital updates to dispersed families, friends and rescuers.
A critical need for first responders after major disasters strike is to maintain real-time communication across rescue teams and with the “outside” world, so that relief efforts can be optimized to save as many lives as possible.

So blogs can play a vital role, just like wireless mesh networks and other tools that prevent or mitigate isolation of the afflicted population. There exist not-just-mundane reasons to welcome the explosive growth of blogs (doubling each month every six months as quoted by Mauro Lupi), also because of how they can serve our communities.

Lucia Panini

Blogs, Marketing, and Risotto

Thursday was the big day. After a long preparation everything was ready for the new BAIA event: Blogs and Marketing. I was a bit worried that something could go wrong at the last minute, despite all our efforts.
Organizing an event it's like making a risotto: first, you need the best ingredients. For risotto the list is well known: Italian Arborio (pronounced ar-boh-ree-oh) rice, chicken stock, onions, Parmesan cheese, butter and obviously zafferano (saffron). As in every recipe, using best ingredients do not guarantee a good result. You need also time, skill, and passion, and mostly important, some magic.
We planned last Thursday event to be as good as an authentic risotto alla milanese. We had the privilege of having the best ingredients: four great panelists (each one with thier unique flavor), a cool topic and a perfect venue. Everybody involved invested their time, their skills, and joined in with sincere passion.
Thursday night, we witnessed something similar to what transforms good ingredients into a delicious, creamy, and tasty risotto. Our 4 great panelists, who barely knew each other before, were sitting in front of 30 people, talking about blogs and marketing when, like in a pot of risotto, the magic happened: almost everybody in the audience got involved in a dialog with the panel.
It really was a great, informative, and inspiring event. Indeed, as for risotto, the result was richer and tastier than the single ingredients.
If you are familiar with Italian culture you know that for an Italian comparing something or somebody to a risotto is the highest form of appreciation.

The focus of the event was on corporate blogs or, as Mauro Lupi suggested, business blogs. For a successful business blog, the panel recommends:

1. Blogging with passion for the subject
2. Talking to people, not to consumers
3. Being credible
4. Writing often
5. Linking, linking, linking

Please take a look at the pictures on BAIA pages on Flickr, and check out the brief report by Bruce Lowry on Novell Open PR blog. My personal, and BAIA team gratitude goes to our four panelists: Mauro Lupi (Ad Maiora), Mrissa Levinson (Six Apart), Mary Trigiani (Spada, Inc.), and Peter Thoeny (StructuredWikis, LLC).

Franco Folini

Reminder: Blogs and Marketing Event

I would like to remind everybody of the next interesting BAIA event: Blogs and Marketing. The event will take place here in San Francisco Thursday February 8, 6:00 pm, at Cooley Godward Kronish LLP on 101 California Street, 5th Floor.

The event sponsors are Cooley Godward Kronish, and Six Apart, the most popular blog platform. As described in a previous post on this blog and on a more recent post on Novedge blog, the event panel will feature four very interesting experts (alphabetical order):

Marissa Levinson, Six Apart (blog)

Marissa is the Director of Business Development & Sales at Six Apart. She works with Six Apart’s enterprise and business clients, coordinating partnership agreements and sales strategy. Prior to Six Apart, she worked for Bloomberg, L.P.

Mauro Lupi, Ad Maiora (blog)

One of the most influential Italian bloggers, Internet marketing and SEO expert. Mauro is the president of Ad Maiora, an international company.

Peter Thoeny, StructuredWikis, LLC (blog)

Wiki guru, and blogger. Peter is the founder and major author of tWiki, a open-source wiki for the corporate world. He is also one of the founder of StructuredWikis, LLC. Peter is now working on a new book, "Wiki for Dummies".

Mary Trigiani, Spada Inc. (blog)

Mary is a marketing expert, a writer, and a blogger. She works with senior executives to articulate their business strategies and speak and write about them in their own voices.

Program
The event will start at 6:00 pm. We will have about 30 minutes for registration, then Mauro Lupi will open the discussion with a 15 minutes presentation. Following Mauro presentation the panelist and all people attending the event will be involved in a discussion and exchange of experiences about blogs and marketing. At 7:30 pm we will close the discussion to leave some space for networking and to give everybody an opportunity to speak directly with our panelists and guests.

If you are in San Francisco or in the Bay Area, please join us! For registration please visit the BAIA registration page: the registration is $20 for guests and only $5 for BAIA members, just one more good reason to consider to become a BAIA member.

Franco Folini

From Wiki to Blog in 2 weeks with BAIA

After weeks of preparation, finally everything converged on Tuesday night, at DLA Piper in Palo Alto. It was the first BAIA (Business Association Italy America) event of 2007. Peter Thoeny, our guest, talked about Wiki Collaboration and Wiki Applications for Business (see Peter blog post on the event). Peter created a dialogue between him and the public, making the talk a truly interactive experience. He also skillfully mixed technical information with business perspective on the topic (the slides of the presentation are available here).

About 40 people attended the event. I received very positive feedback from everybody I spoke with. The event location was great also. Palo Alto is a convenient location for this type of event: it's within one hour drive of Silicon Valley and San Francisco. The conference room was kindly provided by Tom French, partner at DLA Piper, and it was perfect. People attending the event were able to access a wireless Internet connection and sip Italian coffee from the event sponsor, Caffe' del Doge. (My personal recommendation is to stop at Caffe' del Doge coffee shop at 419 University Avenue in downtown Palo Alto and ask for the "marocchino," a delicious mix of chocolate and coffee.)

In the next few days we will officially announce the next event to be be held in downtown San Francisco. The topic is very exciting: "Blogs and Marketing". We will host an incredible panel of experts:

• Mauro Lupi (Ad Maiora, blog) a popular Italian blogger and an Internet marketing expert
• Peter Thoeny (StructuredWikis, blog) a wiki guru and blogger
• Mary Trigiani (Spada Inc., blog) a marketing expert and blogger
• Marissa Levinson (Six Apart, blog) Director of Business Development and Sales at Six Apart, and blogger

If you are a blogger or you are interested in how to create a corporate blog and to promote your company and products with a blog, you can't miss this event. Come back for the latest news and check our main website for the official announcement and registration link.

Franco Folini

Business Blogging in San Francisco

It was a rainy day, yesterday in San Francisco. I walked just a few blocks from the Embarcadero BART station to “Le Meridien” hotel and I was soaked with water like a sponge. But the little discomfort was fully rewarded by the speakers of the “Business Blogging” seminar organized by Six Apart, the company the provides one of the most popular platforms for blogs and also hosts the BAIAblog.

The opening session was run by Anil Dash, the Chief Evangelist of Six Apart. Anis has two blogs, his personal blog and the business blog. Yesterday he did a really great job explaining the benefits and the features of a blog. Brilliant speaker, Anil is one of those few people that can describe a well known concept, like a permalink, with such a fresh and intelligent twist that makes you look at blogging with new eyes, new excitement, new energy, and deeper understanding. I guess this is the reason his title is “chief evangelist”.

He didn’t try to convince the attendee why starting business blog is a good idea, in a subtle way he shooted for a bigger goal: he explained why a blog is a powerful tool, and why blogging is here to stay. Smart and successful approach! As an avid reader of Chris Anderson’s Long Tail blog I learn from Anil that 61% of Long Tail blog visitors are attracted by the most recent posts, while 27% are coming from permalinks to older posts; the remaining 12% are visitors reaching the site by searches and similar tools. This means that overtime the archives of a blog become a sort of magnet that keep attracting visitors from search engines and other blogs.

Another aspect of Anil brilliant presentation I enjoyed is the way he looks at the basic parts of a blog like, for example, the date displayed at the bottom of each post in a blog. Anil calls the date a “social contract” between the author and the reader. I agree, this is a very important aspect of business blogging: every post comes with the name of the author and the posted date attached to it. From the business point of view, this really qualifies the blog as a better communication tool, when compared to a standard web site!

I would like to share more of what I learn and more of my thoughts, but I have to stop here. If you are interested in Business Blogging, I recommend looking at the slides of another great speaker of the seminar, Rohit Bhargava Vice President of Interactive Marketing for Ogilvy Public Relations. The slides are available on his blog.

Franco Folini