Windows 7 adoption in the enterprise: Never underestimate the power of public opinion

By Scott Lechner
A recent ‘Windows 7 adoption in the enterprise’ survey commissioned by KACE showed that 75 percent of the 1,200 IT professionals polled would not make the move to upgrade to Windows 7 over the next year. Why is this? Turns out that an overwhelming number of respondents cited Windows Vista’s bad reputation as the number one reason they will not make the upgrade. Many of the 15 percent that do plan on upgrading to Windows 7 will choose the more complicated jump from XP to the new OS—completely bypassing the Vista version. An incremental upgrade from XP, to Vista to Windows 7 seems much easier, so it is interesting to see that IT pros are choosing a more complex deployment strategy rather than deal with Vista.

A ‘black cloud,’ such as the one looming over Vista, has the potential of overshadowing future product rollouts and launches, no matter how great the product promises to be. Never underestimate the power of public opinion!

A developer friend of mine said he has been running the Windows 7 beta for a couple months now and loves it. What do you think? Any one else have Windows 7 experience they would like to share?
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Enough with the Swine Flu Already...I'm going to Cabo!

By Kelly Indrieri
In the midst of a swine flu media frenzy, I booked a trip to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Why, might you ask? Because sometimes I just don't buy what the media is selling. Don’t get me wrong, I'm a PR person and can appreciate the value of the media because I work with reporters regularly. But do a Google news search for “swine flu” and there are over half a million articles and it’s only been a week since the story broke. It’s depressing and overdone. Even the happy stories get to me after a while—Susan Boyle anyone?

But I digress. I appreciate the warning, but I also like other news along with my episode of ‘Fear Factor.’ Yes there is an outbreak. Yes we need to know. But can someone give me a side dish of ‘citizen makes good’ or ‘business owner wins big’ along with my main course of Swine? National media, hear my plea—I can’t be the only one, can I? (And did I mention that we have a few clients you could cover?) Seriously though, I’m putting away the paper, turning off the news this week and I’m going to Cabo in two months—flu or no flu! Care to join me?
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RSA 2009

By Tanaya Cook
Last week IT security professionals made their way to San Francisco for the annual RSA Conference at Moscone Center. While attendance was clearly down (and we all know why...); there was no shortage of news on the show floor. Kulesa Faul clients were represented across the spectrum—from the launch of Mykonos, to Cymphonix revealing their latest secure Web gateway solution (Network Revealer), to CoreTrace debating the future of application whitelisting, and Cenzic continuing their fight for stronger Web application security.

All in all, RSA gave us a chance to catch up on the latest trends in security and meet face to face with people we work with every day, clients, press, and analysts. We even got to take in performances from notable figures in the world of music, including critically acclaimed Rock Jazz Pianist, Eric Lewis, at the Drake!

While the SWAG was not as impressive as in past years, we did manage to restock our supply of pens :). See you at RSA 2010!
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Dude, where’s my Twitter?

By Julie Tangen
Celebrity Ashton Kutcher leveraged Twitter for a publicity stunt this week, challenging CNN to a ‘popularity contest’ to see who can reach the 1 million followers mark first. If he wins, Kutcher says he will "ding-dong ditch" CNN founder Ted Turner's house. While its a pretty funny thought, I can't help but think gimmicks like this might ruin the Twitter experience in the long run. The technology presents us with a way to instantly communicate and listen to experts, influencers, and people who are making real contributions to society—in addition to fun stuff, or whatever is top of mind with friends. Twitter is part of something that has the potential to change the way we all keep in touch; let's hope it doesn't get so polluted with noise that its potential power gets diminished. And, fingers crossed that once Kutcher reaches his one million mark, he’ll have something important to say to everyone. “Dude.”
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Making Good with Gorilla PR

By Joanna Kulesa
We’ve taken our new president’s “call to arms” on volunteerism to heart, and signed on to represent perhaps the coolest animal on the planet—Koko. Koko is the world famous gorilla versed in American Sign Language with over 1,000 words in her vocabulary. Our agency is thrilled at the prospect of working with The Gorilla Foundation and Koko to spread the word about how critically endangered gorillas are—thousands are being destroyed in the wild each year by humans. By using our PR and social media skills, and Koko’s amazing ability to connect with humans, we hope to make a dramatic impact on raising awareness about the dangers gorillas face, what we can learn from them both scientifically and socially, and on helping the Foundation realize its dream of building a sanctuary and interspecies communication center on Maui for these amazing creatures. Learn more at koko.org and follow our progress here!
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New Beginnings!

By Joanna Kulesa
Today, Angelique Faul was named principal of the agency and we became Kulesa Faul. I’m so energized by my decision. Let’s face it; last year was tough, with a steadily declining economy. Regardless, we grew our business by 20%. This year is going to prove to be even more challenging, but I’m still interested in growing—never mind slipping into “survival mode”. That’s why I asked Angelique to become my business partner. She deserves it, and brings an energy and drive to our business that I find contagious. It’s going to take super-hero strength, drive and an especially positive attitude to come out on top this year. With Angelique and our talented and committed team at Kulesa Faul, I’m feeling like a bull in a bear market!
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The Best of the Best

By Cathy Wright
Were you among the 32 million viewers that tuned in for the recent Oscars awards ceremony? I was and wouldn’t miss it for the world. I was on the edge of my seat when Brad and Angelina walked the red carpet and also when it was announced the late Heath Ledger got the nod for best supporting actor for his role in Dark Knight.
    
For actors, it takes more than talent to win an Oscar. Dedication, hard work, along with a team of professionals are at the core of any successful win. While hairdressers and makeup artists may be considered less important than the actual performance, it's their work that helps to make sure the actor stands out in the eyes of the fans, critics, and the competition. The same sort of thing can be said for Kulesa PR’s work with its clients. While the end goal may be a keynote speaking opportunity rather than an Oscar, it takes the same sort of support, commitment, passion, and quality of product to put our clients on the ‘stage.’
 
Visit Kulesa PR’s successes page to view examples of recent work with our clients!