EchoDitto - In The News

Crain's NY Business: Making Politics Pay Off - posted by Madeleine Perry

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 09:14:27 -0700

Crain's New York Business featured EchoDitto founders Harish Rao and Nicco Mele in an article about the emergence of internet consulting firms from intense political campaigns.

"After Howard Dean dropped out of the 2004 presidential primary race, Harish Rao and Nicco Mele, the team that led his campaign online, started a political consulting firm specializing in Internet strategies."

Rao said, "Clients come to us because it's an election year and they want to influence change ... People now understand that the Internet is not a fad; it's a necessity."

To read the full article, click here.

PR Week: Cost-cutting eliminates TV news icons - posted by Madeleine Perry

Wed, 09 Apr 2008 14:23:34 -0700

In a recent article in PR week, EchoDitto Principal Brian Reich was quoted regarding the decline in "well-regarded veteran newscasters" and upswing in hiring younger and less-recognizable reporters.

Specifically, Reich addressed this change and the impact it may have online. "News organizations will make more money in the business by producing more and better content," Reich said. "Stripping out the experience and context of the people who have been in the news operation a long time will only undermine that."

To read the full article, click here.

Entrepreneur Magazine: Do You See What I See? - posted by Madeleine Perry

Wed, 10 Oct 2007 12:49:12 -0700

Entrepreneur Magazine recently wrote an article regarding the impact customers can have on a company's website. The article asks, "Why not let [the customers] customize what they see on your site?"

EchoDitto co-founder and CEO Harish Rao is featured in the article and argues that the worst thing an entrepreneur can do is ignore its customers and their input. "You have to listen to those conversations," Rao says. "Then you have to decide: You can participate, or you can host the conversations yourself."

To read the full article, click here

EchoDitto on the BBC: The Benefits of Online Gaming - posted by Madeleine Perry

Wed, 26 Sep 2007 10:31:52 -0700

Echoditto co-founder Nicco Mele was recently featured in a BCC report on the uses of online gaming in businesses today. Mele shows EchoDitto Island on Second Life, "people in our company built this island..." Mele continues, "I think for a technology company like ours to spend time as a team getting to understand and use an emerging technology together, that's absolutely a good use of time."

To see the full video, click here.

Nicco Mele interviewed on MotherJones - posted by Madeleine Perry

Fri, 29 Jun 2007 14:17:09 -0700

EchoDitto co-founder and President Nicco Mele was recently interviewed on MotherJones, regarding the changing political landscape, and whether websites will play as central a role in the upcoming elections as they did for Howard Dean in 2004.

Mele, former webmaster for Howard Dean, attested that websites will play an even more central role now than they did five years ago. "Who would have thought five years ago that Hillary Clinton would announce her candidacy for the presidency on the Internet. That would have sounded like a crazy pipe dream from nerds five years ago."

Mele continues, "...one of the most important things that the Internet does is that it levels the playing field in all kinds of dramatic ways. The difference between a $1,000 website and a $100,000 website can be pretty minimal if you have smart people working on the $1,000 website."

To read the entire interview, click here.

MotherJones: Meet the New Bosses - posted by Madeleine Perry

Fri, 29 Jun 2007 14:07:43 -0700

In a recent article on MotherJones EchoDitto's Nicco Mele, Harish Rao, Michael Silberman, and Justin Pinder were mentioned in the segment, "10,000 Deaniacs: Where Are They Now?"

"Three years after Howard Dean's campaign put online outreach on the map, its alumni—and the netroots consulting firms they've helped spawn—are a fast-growing part of the political power structure."

To read the full article, click here

Entrepreneur Magazine: Safety First - posted by Madeleine Perry

Wed, 13 Jun 2007 14:16:01 -0700

Harish Rao, EchoDitto CEO, was recently quoted in an article in Entrepreneur Magazine that addresses the risk of identity theft online.

Rao says, "It's not so much about physical property anymore, it's about information." The article also speaks to EchoDitto's role in securing client websites that accept payments and donations.

To read the full article, click here.

The World According to Wiki - posted by Madeleine Perry

Wed, 13 Jun 2007 14:09:13 -0700

EchoDitto CEO Harish Rao was recently featured in an article about the use of wiki's in the workplace. "For organizations considering a wiki, Rao advises they should not focus initially on its appearance." Rao says, "There’s no need to force a great design because it doesn’t matter to initial users...Encourage early adoption. Once you reach a critical mass then invest in the design."

To read the full article, and to learn how EchoDitto and its clients use wiki's, click here.

A high-tech way to skirt the laws on campaigning - posted by Madeleine Perry

Tue, 29 May 2007 08:55:01 -0700

In New Jersey's, The Star Ledger, EchoDitto CEO Harish Rao was interviewed concerning text messaging loopholes for campaigns. As the Ledger describes, "While most states have laws forbidding campaigning in close proximity to the voting booth, they don't address the potential that voters might receive messages on their mobile devices even if they are exercising their franchise at the time."

Rao comments, "I don't think electoral laws have kept up with technology, not by a long shot." To read the full article, click here.

EchoDitto CTO, Justin Pinder: "It's all about community" - posted by Jess Paar

Sun, 06 May 2007 15:28:28 -0700

In a recent interview posted on Linux.com, CTO Justin Pinder, talks about founding EchoDitto and the company's commitment to its clients and the open source community.

To read the full article, click here

Google Project will open Web search of Virginia databases - posted by Madeleine Perry

Wed, 02 May 2007 12:44:40 -0700

The Washington DC Examiner recently published an article, "Google Project will open Web search of Virginia databases," announcing Google's partnerships with Virginia, and three other states, to optimize public access to their state government Web sites.

In the article, EchoDitto's Tom Lee addresses search engine optimization, a feature many states have not yet invested in. Lee explains, “As a result, useful online services can be hard for citizens to find. For example, here in D.C., you can order a replacement recycling bin online, but you’d never know it from the first page of search results that ‘Washington D.C. replacement recycling bin’ turns up.”

To read the full article, click here

Director Michael Silberman: How Candidates are Using Web 2.0 to Win Votes in 2008 - posted by Madeleine Perry

Wed, 25 Apr 2007 08:14:17 -0700

In a recent Associated Press article, "Candidates Seek Votes in Cyberspace," director Michael Silberman addressed the changes in e-campaigns since his work with the Dean campaign in 2004. "Candidates are using technology to...enable a conversation with voters and get into a much more personal one-on-one dialogue with voters." For example, the proliferation of online video increases the public's access to a candidate. To read more, click here.

E-Commerce News: Is Your Corporate Intranet Out of Date? - posted by Madeleine Perry

Wed, 25 Apr 2007 07:58:57 -0700

In a recent interview by E-Commerce Times ("Is Your Corporate Intranet Out of Date?"), EchoDitto co-founder and President Nicco Mele discussed the way his company approaches designing an intranet. Mele prefers off-the-shelf, free products, like del.icio.us and other Web 2.0 tools. The "key is low cost, easy-to-use tools." To read the full article, click here.

How a Small Business Deals with Tragedy in the Workplace - posted by Madeleine Perry

Wed, 25 Apr 2007 07:45:02 -0700

The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) recently published an article, "Helping Employees Handle Grief." EchoDitto CEO, Harish Rao, spoke to his own experience in handling the death of an employee's father. Rao jumped in to action and called the team together to ask for their help in managing the workload during her absence. He explained, "The key is showing sensitivity, but paint it in the context of 'What can we do to get through this together?'...and I feel we came out stronger as a result." To read more, click here

CEO of EchoDitto, Harish Rao, featured in The Galveston County Daily News - posted by Madeleine Perry

Wed, 04 Apr 2007 08:22:06 -0700

The Galveston County Daily News recently featured EchoDitto's CEO Harish Rao in an article about companies using MySpace to build their customer base, promote other businesses and increase brand awareness. Rao says, "Successful businesses on MySpace are clear about why they’re there — to build a brand. They can be trusted, in a sense, because they’re not trying to hide anything. They’re just trying to be a part of the community." To read the full article, click here.