yes, u 2 can get ur foot in the door at IBM innov center

Been too busy to post for awhile but when I got this invitation from one of my best former students, Nic Morales, now of the IBM Innovation Center, I had to drop other stuff and get it out there.

If you're paying attention at all, you have to know that Big Data is a super-hot area right now. With everybody carrying around data-generating devices and so plugged into social media, there's a mass of data piling up, brimming with fascinating and valuable insights but you have to have the resources and the know-how to sift out the noise and reveal the hidden secrets.

Well, IBM is into Big Data, big time. You may recall my post here from last fall about going to a Big Data Hack-a-thon they put on where I learned a ton (and ran into Nic). Well, now Nic is inviting SJSU students and faculty to another (free) Big Data event there where you can learn a ton, too. It's all day on 3/1 - he says the morning will consist of a Big Data intro talk by their VP of Big Data, followed by demos on social media, machine data and real-time analytics, while the afternoon is dedicated to hands on labs where attendees will get a chance to dabble in the different Big Data technologies. (Read that last part again--I made it red for a reason--and consider the value of that learning opportunity.)

You have to register here and Nic suggests joining what they call their "meetup" for Big Data Developers in advance or even if you can't attend. (It's an online community for BD geeks.)

Nic also says that this event typically sells out so if for any reason you run into issues registering, you can contact him directly and he'll try to fit you in.

He also says they're in the process of identifying interns/co-ops for the spring/summer so if you're interested in working in Big Data (and you should be), this would be a good opportunity to make the contacts for that. Of course, to work with these guys you need to be sharp. They're looking for people with business acumen + a technical skill set. But that's YOU...IF you're an MIS student who has been paying attention and working hard in your classes, etc.

Big Data's a big deal. Worth making an extra effort to be there for this if you possibly can.

24-hr NFC hackathon+bizplan competition @sjsu

MIS students, especially, should take advantage of this, the first ever SJSU NFC Hackathon, because it combines technology + business. (That's MIS!)

You get food, t-shirts, and they're giving Motorola smart phones as prizes to the top teams to come up with NFC (Near Field Communication) apps with business plans. Big shot industry execs who are MIS alums will be there coaching & judging, along with SJSU President Qayoumi, Dean Steele (from Business) and Dean Parrish (from Science). It's a big deal.

The engineering/CS students NEED you on their team to help with this. You may or may not need engineering/CS students on your team, depending on how technically oriented you are. You have to have one person on the team that can code NFC for Android (Android SDK & Phonegap) OR for Windows Phone 8 (VB, C#, .NET for Windows Phone 8, see this and this) OR Blackberry (sdk info). (Note: They will provide Android devices but you have to bring your own if you're doing Windows or Blackberry.)

You bring sleeping bags, etc. and hack all night to come up with a working prototype of something cool that could launch a startup you could really launch. Hey, it's Silicon Valley, people. Do the SV thing. This is your chance.

Below is something to get your mind working: a cool pic from Wikipedia showing an NFC-enabled phone interacting with a "smart poster". Crank up your creative and entrepreneurial juices. Get a team together and register at the NFC Hackathon web site. We need an MIS win in this. C'mon!

faculty in the field (again) - adobe HQ & sweet suites

profs Aggarwal, Venkat & me

This one was part of the new partnership between SJSU and Adobe. Faculty are getting training and access to the tools from their Creative Suite and Master Suite, even. They invited us over to spend half a day learning about innovative ways to use the tools in the curriculum. Cool place. Cool stuff. And cool ideas for using it with students.

Actually, you SJSU students can get the tools too for free. Yeah, that's right. This stuff costs a fortune to buy at retail. And knowing how to use it is a valuable & marketable skill. The only catch is your instructor has to have listed your course as one that would benefit from the tools. I'm pretty sure Professor V has done that already. Some others here may have too. Anyway, here is all the info about the program at SJSU with download instructions and links. A suite deal--go for it.

more faculty in the field - dr albert visits yahoo HQ...

...in her matching purple sunglasses, no less.

Not content to teach InfoSec Management purely out of a book, Professor Albert infiltrated a gathering of big shot CISOs (Chief Information Security Officers) from a bunch of the Silicon Valley techs a couple of weeks ago to get the lowdown from the "real world." (They let me tag along, too.)

We got to ask them about their latest challenges as they navigate that inevitable tension companies struggle with--balancing how safe they want/need/can afford to be against other competing organizational goals and how to commit the needed resources to get there if they have to be diverted from the company's other purposes, especially revenue-generating ones. Ouch! How do you put a price tag on avoiding the potential hit to reputation from a massive customer personal data leak? And how does that rank against getting a new product to market faster than your competitor when it comes down to budget priorities? Did you know commercial insurance companies are offering cyber-attack policies now? How do you price something like that, assessing the threats accurately enough to balance the risks across your client pool and still turn a profit?

This whole landscape is scary-fascinating and scary-scary at the same time. Worth digging into when you get a chance. Lucky you have Professor Albert and others like her here who are plugged into the valley, getting out there and absorbing what's going on, digesting it and connecting you to it, too.

She was totally into it. Purple immersion. Couldn't convince her to do the yodel, tho. You might hear it someday if you give her a hard time but I ain't gonna try that. Noooo....

faculty in the field at IBMz innov center

Me, Nick Morales (IBM), Prof Kwan, Prof Shirani

As you can probably tell, I love to show off how connected the MIS faculty are in Silicon Valley. They really get out there into the companies that are driving the industry and get their hands dirty with the latest/greatest technologies and biz practices.

A couple of weeks ago, I posted here about a Big Data & Analytics Hackathon put on by IBM at their Innovation Center in Foster City. You should have gone!

It was an awesome chance to get your hands on IBM's cutting edge tools for analytics--we worked through an example that captured unstructured content from random tweets, blogs, etc. to run sentiment analysis, in this case, on what was the attitude out there on the net regarding IBM's Watson machine (the one that won Jeopardy! a couple of years back.) Walking through the process, step-by-step, you really learn a ton quickly and this stuff all starts to make sense. Seriously, you should have gone.

Professors Kwan and Shirani were there too. And who should I run into there but Nic Morales, one of my former students who graduated in MIS in 2005. Now he's a big shot at IBM working on their latest/greatest. So cool. Not that I would take any credit for having contributed to his success in some small way, but...great to see him thriving and in such a cool place.

So next time I recommend going somewhere for something--go somewhere for something. Expand your horizons while you have a chance. Oh...and yeah, there was free food. Always with the free food, you guys...sheesh.

job opp on campus: support cool tech in college of ed

Another one hot off the presses: The College of Education here on campus is trying to fill an emergency, 90-day hire (this could be YOU) in their desktop support position while they conduct a search for a permanent person. (This could also be YOU, assuming you do a good job for them! You would have to apply like everyone else but you'd have the advantage of having shown you can do the job well.)

Though the position is labelled "desktop support" there is more to this position than that - they have lots of interesting tech projects going on there (SmartBoards, iPad carts, media:scapes, etc.) and they are looking for someone who would be able to work independently and problem solve. So it's not just trouble-shooting Windows all day ("Have you tried turning it off and on again?" ala The IT Crowd, my  all-time favorite TV show.)

This is another ideal chance to get some experience and try out your skills for real. Plus it's convenient as heck, being here on campus. If you're interested (and you should be) then you would get in touch directly with one of my favorite people on this campus, Mary McVey, the Associate Dean of the College of Education (mary.mcvey@sjsu.edu).

Go for it. But, again, please remember we need you to represent us well and be a contributor to the strong positive image and reputation our program has out there, ok?

green web/data job for green analyst = golden opp

This just popped up and looks like a really interesting opp for a good MIS student. (With that last  part, I'm implying we want to keep strengthening the strong rep we have out there with employers so please represent us well, eg. show as professional, ethical, reliable, smart, capable & with a passion for tech, when you're out there interfacing with employers.)

Anyway, it came to us through a collegial contact at this tech startup EcoRebates.com. They provide outsourcing of green rebate programs for appliance companies, like Whirlpool, etc. to customers via mobile & web channels. From a PRWEb releases:

Ecorebates.com is a comprehensive information resource designed to help the consumers become more environmentally aware and make the best energy efficient appliance purchase decisions. The site provides up-to-date and relevant information on available incentives and rebates, program requirements, retail sources, and more.

This is a 12-14 week contract position, doesn't say it requires experience (you can be "green"), and it could turn permanent if you do a good job for them. And, it reports to one of our own SJSU MBA grads, so that's an added bonus. Note below that they will consider work-from-home and part-time, for strong candidates.

Here's the job description they sent:

Web/Data Management Analyst
Do you have a passion for both Clean Tech and the Internet?  Do you love the fast-paced innovation of rapidly growing start-ups?  If so we are hiring a Web/Data Management Analyst to join our team.  Ideal candidate will have:

• a technical undergraduate degree
• proven track record of accomplishment 
• highly detail-oriented yet with the ability to creatively solve problems with minimal oversight and guidance
• indomitable ability to get things done despite obstacles
• strong interest in gaining experience in B2B/B2C startup environment

Work assignments will be based on candidate’s background and interest but will focus on enhancing our industry leading local search and on-line incentive offering through web data collection, monitoring and analyses in support of our solution. Flexible work schedule options (ability to work from home periodically; part-time opportunities will be considered for the right candidate).

And here's the contact info to follow up:

Devi Mandala,

Product Manager, Rebate Programs

1-800-765-8093 x 705 (direct)

510 996 8566 (cell)

devi@ecorebates.com

As always with these things, early bird catches the worm! Not that the job is a worm--yuck, but...