While this combination may seem more like The Odd Couple than a modern-day marvel, the blending of cloud computing and modern medicine is a one that can benefit us all.  

A recent medGadget article highlighted a parternship between IBM and Aetna’s ActiveHealth Management to create a new product that brings together medical information in a cloud environment. Specifically, this new product (called the Collaborative Care Solution) will gather electronic medical records (EMRs), claims, and even lab data to make them available to medical professionals, nurse practitioners, therapists and pharmacists. 

For a monthly rate, healthcare organizations will gain access to all the information and services in one fell swoop.   This will enable clinicians to see when abnormalities show up in patient data, illustrate trends in patient response to drug therapies, or even eliminate the challenge of updating systems when new patient information becomes available.

With this new and practical integration of the cloud into the medical world, it seems as though we can all rest a little easier knowing that in the near future our medical treatment will be intricately monitored and shared by dozens of qualified healthcare professionals.  This should result in safer patients and higher quality medical care.

While some people worry about having their information “out there” in the cloud, I for one am looking forward to the progress that such advances might bring to all medical care, including my own

On school days, I make lunches. It’s what I do. This morning I made four and everything changed. My baby girl is heading onto the bus for full-day kindergarden. And my wife is doing the dance of joy!

Concurrently, I realized this morning, that HB has a birthday today. At 11 years old, it too is growing up. Our capabilities have never been stronger, our experience never more valuable and our people never more talented. In 11 years we’ve met those who impressed and inspired us, taught us new skills and shared life lessons. We’ve  also  been threatened with uncertainty and instability brought on by forces beyond our control. Through it all, we’ve kept our cool, saved our pennies, searched out the best and brightest clients, partners and employees and above all, aspired to provide the greatest strategic council and client service.

As we look forward, I am confident that we will continue to grow and improve  in every way possible. And  that makes me do the dance of joy.

Does your basement look like a high-tech salvage shop? The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that as much as three-quarters of the computers sold in the US are piled in garages and closets.

So, how do you dispose of your old computer properly? And, where does your computer go when you recycle it? Watch out! Your computer might show up on a Best Buy billboard.

Best Buy has begun a creative marketing campaign to announce its new recycling initiative. The company’s goal is to collect one billion pounds of e-waste over the next five years. The program will allow individuals to bring electronics, regardless of where they were purchased, to Best Buy stores. Consumers that trade-in their electronics can receive gift cards for future purchases. As a way to announce its easy recycling program, Best Buy has plastered a giant billboard in Times Square with old electronics.

According to the US EPA, about 1.9 million tons of hazardous e-waste ended up in US landfills in 2005, but most e-waste sadly ends up in Africa and Asia. Only 345,000 to 379,000 tons were recycled. Best Buy hopes that consumers will see it as a responsible retailer and therefore will prefer to shop in its stores. Frankly, it’s not just the retailers and manufacturers that need to be more responsible – it is all about consumers.

What’s the point of having a great idea or product if it doesn’t reach the right people?  Recently, I had the opportunity to sit in on a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for Your Press Release Webinar. In this webinar, the SEO experts at Business Wire shared insights on how (and why) to apply SEO to a press release using proven techniques, tips, and tools.

Starting with free industry tools such as Google AdWords and Compete.com, Business Wire walked me through optimizing a press release’s content for search engines.  Consider the following takeaways when you draft your next release:

• Keep headlines between 2 and 27 words.  If you include less or more, Google News may reject it.
• Avoid using special characters in headlines such as ™ (trademark) and © (copyright) symbols as they can affect how your press release is indexed. If a search engine does not recognize a particular symbol, it will not recognize the headline.
• The first paragraph should be at least two sentences in length – three is better.
• Include bullets and bolding as they highlight key points.
• Multimedia should be incorporated when possible as images stay with your release and are attention grabbing (ex: in a release about a new company CEO, include a picture of him or her).

These SEO tips and tools help our clients (and HB) stay ahead of competitors on a targeted search list and ensure great ideas and great products do reach the right people.

At HB, we find more and more of our work includes an interactive or web-based element. Because of this, we need to remain current with the ever-changing web landscape, one that constantly offers new technologies, enhancements, tools, and standards.

One of the biggest “changes” in current web design is the implementation of HTML5. Over time, proper coding and standards compliance have become more and more essential as users are viewing websites on mechanisms other than the standard desktop computer. Lately, we’ve found solace in Jeremy Keith’s HTML5 for Web Designers, the first of many books to come from A Book Apart. We’ve also learned much from the folks at SitePoint, including their current HTML5 Live online class. These resources help us to develop our skills and ensure our clients’ brands can be enjoyed regardless of a web browser, device, or screen size.

Web design certainly isn’t an exact science, but with hard work and strategic goals, we strive to make a user’s web-based experience as consistent as possible in message and aesthetics. What are your web-based solutions?

Years ago, I would visit art museums, knowing details about famous artists’ masterpieces… how quickly our lifestyle changed when we settled down and had a family.

Last week, we returned from our first vacation since having children. We spent time camping, crabbing, boating and eating our way through Mount Desert Island. Fortunately, the President’s visit didn’t impact our trip.

We then ventured to Rockland, home of the Farnsworth Art Museum – we walked through town, viewed sculptures by local artists, and poked our heads into galleries. The sculpture that most caught my attention was Robert Indiana’s famous LOVE pop icon on the corner of Main and Park Street. A long-time resident of Maine, Indiana originally designed the ubiquitous icon for holiday cards. This summer, The Farnsworth Art Museum is showcasing his new work as well as variations of his long-familiar themes. Indiana’s show, “Robert Indiana and the Star of Hope Lodge,” is his first public exhibition in five years, and includes a documentary film on Indiana by filmmaker Dale Schierholt.

In need for a relaxing vacation? I have just the place! A week ago, I returned from a trip of rest and relaxation in Sonoma Valley, Napa Valley and San Francisco. My time at the vineyards was spent sipping wine and picnicking with delicious warm pesto bread, rosemary cheese, a creamy sheep cheese, fresh apricots and of course, chocolate.

While driving with the windows down over rolling hills of grape vines, I began to take note of the advancements in science and technology that the vineyards have incorporated.

One particular vineyard I visited, Grgich Hills Cellar, has an impressive commitment to sustainability and biodynamic farming. Installed on the rooftop are waterproof solar panels that generate 150kw of clean energy on a daily basis. The winery only needs 120kw, so the winery receives rebates for the additional energy generated. The winery saves about $70,000 a year!

The biodynamic farming technique at Grgich relies on natural cycles of the earth and cosmos, as well as natural farming techniques over artificial fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides. The winery uses a mixture of dried horsetails and chamomile as an alternative to harmful sprays. The difference between biodynamic and organic farming is that biodynamic recognizes cosmic forces and uses them to enhance and balance the vine growth. Biodynamic farming treats the Earth as a living organism.

The outcome is a winery that acts as a large, pulsing, self-contained, self-sustaining eco-system.

If you have the opportunity, make a trip to Grgich and taste the highly praised Chardonnay with a buttery and subtle oak flavor. Or, as founder Mike Grgich describes the oak taste, “layers of  bouquet, complexity, and a little bit of extra joy to the finished product.”

If you have been to the area and have some preferred spots – or noticed your own use of sustainable agriculture or energy usage, please feel free to comment and tell us about it.

You’re having a nice night out, enjoying the respite from the heat and humidity of the day, quietly sipping your chardonnay, making small talk with your companions… and then the slapping begins.

I can deal with spiders, I can deal with bees, I can even deal with ticks. But, I cannot stand mosquitoes. If I talked to a psychiatrist, she would probably associate my disdain for these flighted creatures from my early childhood of dealing with Manitoban Nuclear ‘skeeters. My parents would buy rubber rain slickers and coat them with 100% deet for my brothers and I to wear outside. 100%! Even that couldn’t keep them away. One year, I had mosquito bites on top of mosquito bites.

Did I mention that I hate mosquitoes?

What makes mosquitoes even worse are the chemicals (citronella, deet, etc.) that we use dispelling the disgusting insects – who knows what kind of health effects those are having.

However, did you know that mosquitoes can be repelled using a fan? Yes, one of those whirly thingamabobs that sell for $2000 during heat waves, and $20 the rest of the year (Did I mention that I hate price gouging? That’s a long story for a different day). According to a recent New York Times blog post, a house fan prevents mosquitoes in three ways:

• The most obvious way: those pesky blighters can’t land on you if they are being buffeted by what is, to them, a tornado of wind.
• The not-so obvious way: apparently, sweat, body heat and lactic acid attract mosquitoes. If you use a fan, you’re not as sweaty or hot.
• The I-had-no-idea way: Carbon dioxide is one of the major chemicals that attract mosquitoes. A fan dilutes and disperses the carbon dioxide you exhale, decreasing your attractiveness to mosquitoes.

So, my chemical-free friends, go out and get yourself a nice old fan to shoo away those suckers. Added benefit: you get a nice breeze as well. Get outta here, ‘skeeters!

At HB, we humbly earn awards from time to time. Thanks to strong partnerships with our clients, here are some of the awards we’ve garnered over the past several months:

Bellringers

• Bronze Bell for 15-40 Connection Web site
• Bronze Bell for Terraclime Geothermal Branding

Telly Awards

• Bronze Award for EMC Ionix Overview Video
• Bronze Award for The Claremont Colleges Recruitment Video

Davey Award

• Gold Winner for Northeastern University Online Mailer
• Silver Winner for Northeastern University MBTA Campaign

Communicator Awards

• Award of Excellence for Harvard University Nieman Foundation Annual Report
• Award of Excellence for EMC CLARiiON CX4 Sales Kit
• Award of Excellence for Northeastern University Online Mailer
• Award of Excellence for Harvard University Rethink Poster

We can’t thank our clients enough for their hard work in partnering with us to earn these awards.

Andy Tarsy, Executive Director of the Progressive Business Leaders Network (PBLN), says, “We define being progressive as supporting good ideas supported by data that run against or ahead of conventional wisdom.” Among such good ideas, Cape Wind stands to become America’s gateway into off-shore clean energy generation, and it has captured the hearts and minds of proponents and opponents across the country (and around the world).

Earlier this week, I had the privilege of meeting Cape Wind CEO Jim Gordon at a PBLN event and hearing about the nine-year-battle that he has waged, including skirmishes he expected and fights that came as a complete surprise. He spoke alongside National Grid Senior Vice President Richard Rapp, who helped architect the deal National Grid is making for a portion of Cape Wind’s expected power output. National Grid may be more aware of the benefits of wind generation than other providers, such as NSTAR (which has not yet voiced any interest in Cape Wind’s power), as National Grid is headquartered in the UK, which may well become a net energy exporter given its massive investments in offshore wind and wave energy.

The group of business leaders assembled to hear Mr. Gordon and Mr. Rapp included some of Boston’s most forward-looking CEOs, all of whom understood the kind of perseverance it took Jim Gordon to stand up to forces united against him — month after month, year after year, law suit after law suit (12 suits in nine years) and through tens of thousands of pages of review. (Gordon compared the thousands of pages of studies and review required for Cape Wind to the 13 pages that BP‘s Deepwater Horizon oil drilling platform required).

Mass High Tech and others have reported on  yesterday’s PBLN meeting, and every story has its own angle. My angle is simple: thank goodness for  PBLN — after several meetings, I have heard several of its C-level executive members quip that in their business roles, it can be impolitic or even dangerous to identify themselves as “progressive.” PBLN provides a forum in which to define that word and wage our own good fight, helping to show a cautious, skeptical and often fearful business and political world that great ideas can lead to better lives, local jobs, a cleaner environment and strong, domestically-created profits. Cape Wind is just such an idea, and I encourage anyone to look into PBLN to discover an astonishing number of additional ideas and the men and women who are turning them into viable businesses.