Posted on Thu, Jan 29, 2009
by Sully
It is a great week at Metis and for two of our esteemed technology clients, when not one, but two, “Products of the Year” awards have been bestowed upon us. It truly brings to light all of the time, effort and dedication that each company has put into product research, development, sales and version upgrades.
FalconStor NSS is a finalist in the Backup and Disaster Recovery category of Storage Magazine’s 2008 Products of the Year Awards, helping others to recognize the company’s strides to change the rules and perception of backup and disaster recovery in the industry. We look forward to seeing that Gold medal roll in next month.
Embotics, our friendly neighbors up North, have officially won the Bronze medal in the Systems and Performance Management category of SearchServerVirtualization.com’s 2008 Products of the Year. This is great recognition and further proof of the fast growth and success that the startup has seen in such a hot industry. Learn more about their victory here: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/01/prweb1927554.htm
Bravo!
Posted on Thu, Jan 22, 2009
by Sully
This week I was researching new targets and opportunities for a client of mine and discovered a righteous video to share with everyone. The Story of Stuff is a really simple video that shows the really complicated process in which STUFF is created. The fact that a co-worker thought I was watching Sesame Street is funny, but also a testament to the sheer genius/simplicity of the clip. Anyone watching it can understand and be aware of the connection between all of our human processes. The host, Annie Leonard, an expert in international sustainability and environmental health issues, describes in layman’s terms how STUFF is created - meaning, how we extract, produce, distribute, consume and dispose of STUFF.
A few facts about STUFF for your… consumption:
- The U.S. has 5% of the world’s population but consumes 30% of the world’s resources and creates 30% of the world’s waste, meaning, if the whole world consumed at U.S. rates, we would need 3 to 5 planets.
- Each person in the United States makes 4 1/2 pounds of garbage a day. That is twice what we each made thirty years ago.
- In the U.S., industry admits to releasing over 4 billion pounds of toxic chemicals a year.
- 80% of the planet’s original forests are gone.
Posted on Fri, Jan 16, 2009
by Sully
Let me tell you, having one of Boston’s favorite bars as a client is certainly a perk. J.J. Foley’s is a Beantown staple - been around for 100 years this year, and anyone who has ever bellied up to its bar has experienced the magic. In 2009 we set out on a monthly quest to expose new and more people to Foley’s by offering a night of free, live music from local musicians. Last night was our debut, and I think it’s safe to say that it was a huge success. We had a great turn out, despite the frigid temperatures. Even local paper the Weekly Dig blasted an email out to over 15,000 people alerting them to what a marvelous party we were throwing. As is always the case with our extended network, the evening was filled with lots of fun, laughter and amusement. Due to musician Mike Silvious and some guest appearances by a very active and engaged crowd, we had an entertaining set of good ol’ fashion party music. I mean, how can you not appreciate the spot-on cover of the ”FreeCreditReport.com” commercial jingle. Thanks, Mikey!
After you check out the pictures from last night, I’m not sure how you could avoid joining us on Thursday, February 26 for our next evening of Music and Merriment.
Posted on Mon, Jan 12, 2009
I slipped and slid my way into 2009. Really. I woke up early on Monday morning, sent a quick email to Cathy and headed out the door. A new year! I had been in Chicago for a wedding on New Year’s Eve and when I returned to Boston I had the whole weekend to do nothing but rest and regroup between the holiday festivities and the start of a new year.
Come Monday morning I had only one proverbial monkey left scratching my back. But it was a big one. That monkey was this blog. We were scheduled to go live with this new site upon our return and I needed to get it done.
What would I write about? Topics had flashed through my head for days, but none stuck. I could talk politics, PR or the Patriots. I could discuss the upcoming inauguration. I could welcome people to the site and talk about our plans for the ongoing comic novel. I could share how, when we first started conceptualizing the comic and working with Marc Cote (the genius artist responsible for the comic), it was months ago. As characters developed and the story evolved, we brainstormed names for our band of superheroes. We decided on the “Metis Mavericks” - Not just because it had a nice ring to it but because the book, Mavericks at Work: Why the Most Original Minds in Business Win by William C. Taylor and Polly G. Labarre, influenced Cathy and me early on as we were building the company. (Speaking of books, check out what we’re reading these days.)
This was before John McCain and Sarah Palin took the term “Maverick” and overused it to the point where it became a joke. As the election geared up we cringed each time it was overused or mocked, but we were too far in the illustration process with Marc - It was too late to turn back. So, we went with it. We know what it means to us, what it means to be a Metis Maverick.
(For the record, we did get a lot of laughs out of the overuse of “Maverick.” How could we not? In fact, our very own Sara Frain does a Sarah Palin/Tina Fey impersonation quite well. But, I digress.)
Point being, I could talk about anything in this blog. A blessing and a curse, right? Nothing was flowing. So there I was on Monday morning, heading out to hit the gym before work - On track for a new year, full of opportunity and…
When I stepped onto my deck I realized it was icy but I charged on. When I got to the top of the stairs - arms laden with a laptop bag, gym bag, coffee, etc - My feet went out from under me and I started sliding down the stairs. Since my hands were full, I didn’t / couldn’t try to stop the slide. I got to the first landing and had barely pulled myself up on the railing when my feet went out from under me and I slid down another flight of stairs. No joke. Though it is funny, what a way to begin 2009, right?
When I realized I wasn’t hurt at all, I started laughing out loud at myself, all alone on a cold, dark winter morning, just trying to start the year off right. At least it put things in perspective. As I was slipping and sliding down the stairs it all came together for me – I knew what the year would bring and I knew what we would blog about throughout it: The highs and lows of any day, week, month or year. The unexpected defeats and victories that we face each day - On personal and professional levels and on local and global stages.
On that note, here’s to the highs and lows of 2009 - Hopefully we can laugh and commiserate with each other through all of them. We hope you visit our site often. We plan to update the comic novel throughout the year, unveiling the origin of each character as we go. And, our entire team will be blogging. So, come back soon.
C.
Posted on Tue, Jan 06, 2009
Happy New Year! The Metis Mavericks are already hard at work in 2009, kicking off the new year with clients and partners. We look forward to sharing our adventures through blog posts and an ongoing comic book so make sure you visit us again soon. Until then...