The PingGadget Startup Blog

PingGadget welcomes Steve Tri Nguyen.  Steve owns development and overall technical strategy for PingGadget.

About Steve

Steve Tri Nguyen is a passionate, creative, and hard-working entrepreneur.  Steve has extensive knowledge in information technology, software development, operations, international business, and entrepreneurship.  In 2005, Steve founded Viet Tech Corporation, a premier Vietnamese software development and outsourcing destination.  Since its establishment, Steve serves as President & CEO of the company.  He oversees strategic planning and leads the company to achieve phenomenal growth year after year.  Viet Tech has been featured in many worldwide and local publications for its exceptional customer services, quality, and innovation.

In 2006, Steve founded Virtualosity Solutions, LLC, which is an Information Technology (IT) provider and software development company specializing in technology services, business solutions, contract programming, and custom applications development for Fortune 1000.  Steve serves as President & CEO of Virtualosity Solutions, LLC and is responsible for managing the company, formulating and executing long-term strategies and for all interactions with clients, partners, and employees.  In 2007, Steve launched MyWorld, the leading social and educational networking destination for high school students as well as college students, and young professionals in Vietnam.  In 2009, he co-founded and has served as Chairman of Viet Power Corporation, which focuses on digital marketing, online employment solution, trading, and investment.    

BusinessWeek.com selected Steve as Asia’s Best Young Entrepreneur for 2007.  In 2007, Steve also received the prestigious Golden Globe and Innovation award from the Vietnamese government for his excellence and contributions toward Vietnam Information Communication Technology (ICT) sector.  In 2009, Steve received honor as one of the “the 75^th Significant Alumni” from the University of Portland.  Steve has been recognized by many newspapers, broadcasting channels, and online media including: BusinessWeek, Oregon Live, Portland Business Journal, VNExpress, Tuoi Tre, VietnamNet, VTV, HTV, SBTN…

Prior to his entrepreneurship path, Steve served in a variety of technical and management roles at Serena Software, Inc.  Steve received his Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering and minor in Entrepreneurship from the University of Portland, where he was an E-Scholar (Entrepreneur Scholar).  Steve is an active member of Oregon Entrepreneur Forum (OEF), American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam, Asian Pacific American Chamber of Commerce (APACC), and Vietnam Software Association (VINASA).  Steve is passionate about Vietnam and helping those who want to learn, succeed and get ahead.

PingGadget is a next generation microblogging service that allows users to Converse & Connect in Real-Time with friends and the things they care about. 

To spread the word about some of the cool things PingGadget can do, we are asking people across the nation to “Ping Your Thing” by submitting videos of things they care about for a chance to win cash prizes and to be featured in the PingGadget launch.  The contest starts November 30th, 2009 and ends January 31st, 2010.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BOULDER, CO. – November 6, 2009 - PingGadget today announced that it has joined the Entrepreneurs Foundation of Colorado (EFCO) to support philanthropic efforts throughout the community. EFCO allows startup companies to donate a fraction of their equity to Boulder’s Community Foundation during initial stages of liquidity.

While they may want to directly support charities, most startups are not in a financial position to do so. Through EFCO, entrepreneurs can focus on building their business while meeting their philanthropic goals. 

“Boulder is a thriving space for social media technology and we are thrilled to be a part of this supportive community.  Through EFCO we are able to establish a culture of giving back and allowing the community to share in our success,” said Dennis Moulton, co-founder of PingGadget.  “EFCO is dedicated to the long term health and sustainability of Colorado and we want to lend support to that goal.” 

Donations from EFCO to the Community Foundation are channeled to various non-profit organizations throughout Colorado, allowing EFCO to focus on working with entrepreneurs to help them meet their philanthropic objectives. Contributing companies simply select a cause, and the Community Foundation takes care of the rest. EFCO is aligned with the Entrepreneurs Foundation, an organization formed in 1988 with affiliates in Silicon Valley, Austin, Southern California, New England, Dallas, Portland, Atlanta, Hawaii and Israel. 

“Working with various local initiatives through the Community Foundation, EFCO allows entrepreneurs to support a range of causes from education to the environment,” said Tom Keller, one of the founding trustees of EFCO. “PingGadget’s support helps us to achieve the critical mass of equity donations we need to truly make a difference in our community.”

For additional information about PingGadget, contact Dennis Moulton at dennis@pinggadget.com or visit www.pinggadget.com. For additional information about EFCO visit www.efcolorado.org.

About PingGadget

PingGadget is a next generation microblogging service.  The web-based service allows users to connect and converse in real-time with people and the things they care about.  The PingGadget service will be available in early 2010.  Go to www.pinggadget.com to pre-register.

Las Vegas, Nevada- The Social Media elite, influencers, and early adopters were on hand to discuss the state of the industry and predictions for how the space will continue to evolve. Surprisingly, the major platform players, whom should be thankful to, if anyone, this crowd, were nowhere to be seen. Facebook and Twitter, the social media platform topic kings of the show, had no physical presence.

An interesting question came up in one of the panels I attended.  While the question was worded perfectly, a direct answer wasn’t given. @yvetteferry asked “So there are two worlds of social media, this conference and then everyone else…..How do you (panelists) feel this will play a role in how social media evolves?”  Can’t we expect microblogging as one component of the social media spectrum to evolve?

The average Twitter follower count & reader subscriber base of most of the panelists on the discussion breakouts was north of 10k and for this reason the question may be hard to understand.  They have small armies of followers who “get it.”  In reality social media has accomplished much already for them via broadcast exposure and additional tools by which to better connect and communicate with each other and their audiences. Celebrities, large brands, and enterprise organizations also benefit from the predominant social media tools in place. The question, however, was about everyone else who doesn’t “get it”, and perhaps also for those that do, but how will it all evolve as we begin the age of communities.  This is really what PingGadget is all about.  There is beauty and purpose in the simplicity of current form microblogging but it is capable of so much more. 

I would argue that there are two distinct opportunity ecosystems taking shape.  One that focuses on account management, response, integration, social personalization, social framing, and connectivity for the space.  I call this the enterprise side.  It has little to do with helping the average user gain, at least what I would consider, additional value out of systems and tools.  The other opportunity is focused on where we go next and it’s all about innovation for everyone else.  Both are big business but the latter certainly seems to be the most challenging to solve.

Social tech is ubiquitous.  But in looking at all of the time I have invested in building these networks, what has actually been gained?  Depending on who you talk to you’ll most likely get a different answer.  I’m better connected to friends, associates, and select groupings of other communities which has tremendous value. I think, however, that much of the actionable potential remains pent-up.  While the space is new, I think much is left in the way of innovation on this side of the equation.  We can expect more of our services and what they will offer.  And yes, some of that may be in the form of even more entertainment value and better connectivity to my networks.  I’d like to think, however, that much more is at stake.