Olivieri and fellow DAPS dude Tavis Delahunt (full disclosure: We have misspelled this guy’s name so many times in print; we’re lucky he has the patience of a saint) partnered to create NB Technologies, incorporating their own expertise and experience to help other Staten Island businesses establish a much-needed, competitive web presence. “We ended up being a consultant for the Dugout, and we’ve built stuff for Chez Vous and Dock Street,” Olivieri says. “NB covers everything from building a website, to, ‘How do you do Twitter?’ It’s blossomed into a professional website-building and consulting company.”

We’d like to thank Rob and the Advance helping spread the word about our work.

Read the full story, here.

The post NBT In The Staten Island Advance’s AWE Magazine appeared first on NB Technologies.

The answer is clear: A custom website is much more beneficial to your company than a website template.

Here’s why:

An obvious benefit of out-of-box web solutions such as Posterous or Active Rain is its price: cheap or free. This may be a valid argument for those thinking of short-term goals only- but in the long run, how much will it affect the growth, or lack thereof, of your business? While web templates are easy to use, it will not be your own website. The host website will have final say over your webpage, no questions asked. Just ask this guy, who started his free Active Rain account in 2006 before his “free membership for life” expired without warning in 2010.

Having control over your own website is important for reasons other than being managed by a big, scary host site. The fact is, there are hundreds of small businesses on the web trying to make it big. A business’s website is critical to get its name out in cyberspace, and a personalized and professional website is crucial for potential customers to take a company seriously. Complete control over your own website is key to having a successful internet presence.

Essentially, a custom website is an investment. Not only is custom web design more pliable to the needs of a company, but it’s also inexpensive in the long run. While you may have to pay now to present yourself to the world, one must think of how much money will be made back in the years to come.

This is not to say you should delete your Posterous account. It’s never harmful to have multiple sources of internet presence. Still, all sources should lead back to a main website that is tailored to the needs of an individual business. A free web template is nice to have (after all, why not?) but a custom website is important to have.

A tailored website greets its customers personally and allows a company to actively use the site as an extension of their headquarters. For example, if your business is a dry cleaner, its website can tell customers when their clothes are ready to pick up. Out-of-box web solutions won’t allow for such essential customer-to-business interaction.

Here’s a final suggestion: keep your free web template, and invest in a much-needed custom website. An independent website can make all the difference in the success of your business through building brand recognition, gaining revenue, and most importantly, increasing customer satisfaction.

The post Why You Need a Custom Website (Versus Out-Of-Box Web Solutions.) appeared first on NB Technologies.

See for yourself:

This type of creative user engagement is a breath of fresh air. It’s an original idea that’s well-written and leaves the viewer/user feeling a warm, humorous reaction. In this day and age, a positive reaction that will get people talking is a rare commodity. One usually reserved for negative actions such as laughing at and sharing videos of people falling down or bad singing.

In our Web 2.0 age, to get a piece of content to go viral doesn’t just mean that a single video has a large amount of hits, but that social media metrics are in play; that the content is passed around on sites like Facebook and Twitter. This is usually accomplished by a team of social media managers behind the scenes savvy-enough to know how to get potentially-viral content like these Skittles ads seen.

While Skittles has always maintained catchy advertising via it’s “Taste The Rainbow” marketing slogan and commercials, this is the point where Skittles asserts itself as a presence on the web and we hope that they will continue to take this ball and run with these user engagement videos all the way to the end of the rainbow.

To learn more about these Skittles ads, head on over to their Youtube page.

The post User Engagement Key To Success For Skittles appeared first on NB Technologies.

It’s no secret that Twitter has become a major platform for anyone and everyone with a unique and interesting voice. But not everyone can tweet with the best of them. Especially in Hollywood, where egos can run rampant and many celebs can feel as if their word is the most-important when they have nothing of importance to say at all, there is something to be said for the famous folks that can do it right. By adding value to their tweets by dispatching advice, jokes, information, and even interact with fans.

Here are 10 celebs, in no particular order, that know how to tweet with the best of them.

Founding member of The Roots and Late Night With Jimmy Fallon music-man Questlove is one of the most-active musicians on Twitter. He hits every note on point; he TwitPics wherever he goes, holds conversations with famous friends and fans alike, gives backstage info on working at Late Night, and isn’t afraid to follow fans he finds entertaining. Questlove is known for being one of the more-versatile drummers in music today, but his prowess on Twitter appears to be just as versatile.

Speaking of Late Night With Jimmy Fallon… It’s Jimmy Fallon! The prince of NBC Late Night first used Twitter leading up to the start of his show back in 2009 and used the, then-new, medium to interact with fans and bring them behind the scenes and even read fan tweets over the air. While Fallon has slowed down with replying to fans in recent months, he still adds a ton of value to his tweets by documenting his various media events and endeavors (Like when he live-tweeted from his hosting gig at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade) with his casual wit for fans.

While we’re on the subject of comedy, Steve Martin is one of the more active comics on Twitter. Surprisingly though, while he is very-active, he ALMOST loses points for not being funny enough. I say ‘almost’ because he spends way more time replying to people. Less jokes than most comics on Twitter, but they’re funny when they are there, coupled with a comic legend willing to mix it up with his fans? Sounds like a winning formula for this wild and crazy guy!

The Shaun Of The Dead and Scott Pilgrim director nails every mark by not only adding extra value by frequently updating and interacting with fans, but by even posting exclusive, rare content for fans. A great example of this is a recent tweet linking out to a couple of mash-up videos the director did when he was only 19.

While we’re on the topic of lovable nerds, Wil Wheaton has used social media, and the internet at large, to carve out a career trajectory of being a young Wesley Crusher on Star Trek: The Next Generation to being an internet blogger/personality. Might not seem like a huge deal to you, but you try remembering the last time a child star on a sci-fi show was able to crawl out of that position, engage with the public, Tweet-document all things nerdy and garner over 1,700,000 followers. Case. Closed.

Now for something completely different, besides being one of the biggest pop stars going today, Justin Bieber is also one of the biggest tour de forces on Twitter. It’s no wonder he has over eight million followers once you get a glimpse at how Twitter-savvy the young star is. He replies to fans, let’s followers into his world, and, from a marketing perspective, keeps ties with all of his various fan-group accounts via Twitter; securing wholesale the personal lock on every corner of his fan community.

On the female end of the Pop spectrum is Katy Perry. The princess of modern pop uses Twitter to dish about gossip, interact with fans, as well as to keep tabs on her husband, comedic actor Russell Brand. Not to mention, with the recent introduction of her cat ‘Kitty Purry,’ you’ll be sure to get tons of adorable kitten pics with your commentary. Who doesn’t love cute animals? Cute animals make up at least 60% of the internet.

Political funnyman Bill Maher is one of the few straight-political Twitter accounts doing it right. While other accounts like Anderson Cooper’s are good at dispatching information and The Onion good at news-parody, Maher’s is one of the few that has a good mix of satire, hard news linkouts, and just the right amount of self-promotion.

Actress Alyssa Milano livens up her Twitter by being very help-minded; frequently tweeting with fans and dispatching information about various charities and animal rescue links. Besides her active and helpful Twitter persona, she also owns the domain ALYSSA.COM! Take a minute to think about how amazing that is. Yeah.

Director Kevin Smith has always been a cult favorite to millions of people by way of his quick-witted scripts and genial, humble nature. Him on Twitter is no different. Except now he has an on-the-go platform to promote behind the scenes footage from his films as well as keep fans updated and in the loop on upcoming projects and content from his SModcast network of popular podcasts.

Now that you’ve seen how effective social media can be for celebrities, you are probably thinking about how helpful it would be to have an active Twitter of your own or for your business. BUT we realize that not everyone has the time to commit to running their social media accounts. This is why NB Technologies offers our Social Gofr service; a social media management / consultation service in which we create a customized online marketing strategy, update your business’ social media profiles 3-4 times per day, regularly adds friends and followers, and allow you to receive the maximum amount of exposure on the web.

Learn more about our services.

The post 10 Celebrities Using Twitter Effectively appeared first on NB Technologies.

Here are the details…

Social Media: Marketing and Fundraising Strategies

What strategies will be game changers in 2011? Ones that include social media! Learn appropriate and effective ways to reach your audience and raise money.

Presented by Chris Olivieri, co-founder of NB Technologies, active blogger and freelancer.

To RSVP for COAHSI workshops or for more information, please contact Monica Valenzuela, Director of Development and Community Programming at: 718.447.3329×1004 or email mvalenzuela@statenislandarts.org

Funding for all professional development seminars provided by NYC Dept of Cultural Affairs and NYSCA

The post Social Media Talk Tomorrow in Staten Island appeared first on NB Technologies.