Blog Archives
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Syndication
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October 14, 2011
Win Pro Bono IT Services and Solutions from New Signature!
By New SignatureTransform your nonprofit organization’s IT department with free services from New Signature, free cloud solutions from Microsoft, and inspiration from top IT experts — good toward practically any IT or online initiative! New Signature invites you to enter your organization in our 2011 Cloud Accelerate Giveaway, open to 501(c)(3) charitable organizations located in the United States and its territories, possessions and commonwealths.
The organization that wins the Grand Prize will receive 100 hours of pro bono IT services from New Signature, plus up to 25 licenses of Microsoft Windows Intune. One organization selected as the runner-up will receive 50 hours of pro bono IT services from us plus up to 10 licenses of Microsoft Windows Intune. And all entrants will have the opportunity to receive a free 25-license trial to Windows Intune and one hour of pro bono advisory Windows Intune support on how to leverage this powerful Microsoft Cloud solution.
Beginning at 9:00 a.m. ET on October 13th, 2011 until 5:00 p.m. ET on November 4, 2011, you may enter your organization in the 2011 Cloud Accelerate Giveaway by visiting our contest website and completing the online entry form (there’s a limit of one online entry, per valid email address, per eligible organization, per day). Please see the contest website for complete, official rules.
Windows Intune is a cloud-based service for Windows PC management and security, and includes a subscription license to Windows 7 Enterprise (and future versions of Windows). The Windows Intune cloud service centrally manages and secures PCs – whether in the main office, at a branch office, or on the road. A recent IDC study found that firms who deployed Windows Intune achieved a total savings of $702 per PC per year.
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October 11, 2011
Back to School Means Back to Business For D.C. Region Youth Entrepreneurs
By New SignatureStudents from several local high schools will take the stage tonight (Tuesday, October 11th) for the inaugural “Back to School Back to Busine$$” elevator pitch competition presented by the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE). The event will be hosted by Capital One Bank at their Tysons Corner headquarters, located at 1680 Capital One Drive, McLean, VA.
Participating students are enrolled in NFTE classes at public and charter schools in Washington, DC, Maryland and Virginia. Using the award-winning NFTE curriculum, students create and run their own business over the course of the school year. The elevator pitch competition is the first of several opportunities to compete for seed capital and other awards. Each student will have 60 seconds to “pitch” the judges and explain how they plan to turn their idea into profits.
Christopher Hertz, founder and CEO of New Signature, will be one of the volunteer judges evaluating the pitches. The panel of judges includes more than 20 local business leaders, many of whom already volunteer in NFTE classrooms as part of the organization’s Adopt-a-Class sponsorship program. “NFTE’s adopters are on the front lines in our classrooms on a weekly basis, coaching and mentoring our future business leaders,” says John Hasenberg of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, Chair of NFTE’s Board of Advisors. “They bring real life perspective to our kids at a time when school needs to be relevant to their economic future,” says Hasenberg.
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September 25, 2011
Privacy and Big Data
By Reed WiedowerAs the internet and mobile technologies have grown more prevalent, concerns about privacy and how data is collected and used have come to the forefront. Here at New Signature, we’re always looking to help our clients educate themselves about the risks and opportunities of sharing data in this increasingly connected world.In “Privacy and Big Data” by Terence Craig and Mary E. Ludloff, the authors come at privacy concerns from two different angles, meshed together in a quick, easy to read series of chapters. The overall thrust of the book is summarized in the final chapter with a quote from RFK that we live in “interesting times” with a myriad of concerns and opportunities. To their credit, the authors sketch out succinctly the different players in the privacy debate, from ordinary people to data-driven internet savvy companies, data markets that serve all parties and government entities. By the conclusion of the book, you’ll be well-versed in both the legal ramifications of data collection in Europe, the United States and beyond. Even the fundamental question of whether privacy is a “right” or a “commodity” is fully explored.Although the book is exhaustively researched, it does tend to pose more questions than it answers, frequently devolving into a series of personal privacy preference options, rather than providing proscriptive guidance for individuals looking to protect their privacy. It also often hints at dangers rather than spelling them outright: “privacy” is often setup in opposition to ”safety and security” even though that’s a false dichotomy when it comes to many of the laws in the U.S. It’s also unclear at the conclusion whether there is any link between shared data and government control: the examples given of authoritarian regimes using “big data” seem too heavy-handed and poorly executed (e.g. shutting off the internet to prevent twitter, rather than mining the data to find rebellious citizens) to inspire fear.While use of personal information online is a hot topic and one that deserves study and education, the book ends up spreading more fear, uncertainty and doubt than it clarifies. One of the authors in the appendix notes that she never shares photos online or ever uses a social networking site. It’s a sentiment that many people in the United States would find abnormal, and it marginalized the content in the book for me.
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August 29, 2011
New Signature Is Moving One Block North to 1101 New York Avenue NW!
By New Signature
New Signature will be moving one block north to 1101 New York Avenue NW, Suite 675 Washington, DC 20005 on Friday, September 2nd. New Signature has leased 14,000 sq ft in the Gold LEED Certified office building. The new office will ensure comfort and productivity for New Signature’s staff and visitors, and accommodate future growth. New Signature will be joining a well-respected group of neighbors including Ernst & Young, Google, Dewey & LeBoeuf and The Albright Group.1101 New York Avenue was built in 2007 and the structure rises to 160 ft, containing 12 floors. It was designed by Kevin Roche to meet the highest standards of quality, efficiency and aesthetics. The building is a wonder of modern architecture with clear glass facade, dark granite base, glass canopy and unique structural system that results in no perimeter columns on three sides. The entrance lobby is distinguished by elegant materials and finishes, including granite, marble, anigré wood and zinc alloy trim.
New Signature’s office will continue to be easily accessible via public transportation or car. There are three Metro stations within three blocks of 1101 New York Avenue with connections to all five Metrorail lines that link much of the city and suburbs of Virginia and Maryland.
The office is in close proximity to the White House, Washington Convention Center, Verizon Center, Ford’s Theatre, the National Portrait Gallery, the Shakespeare Theater, the Building Museum and the National Museum of Women in the Arts.
There are three Metro stations within three
blocks of 1101 New York Avenue with connections
to all five Metrorail lines that link much of
the city and suburbs of Virginia and Maryland.
Union Station is nearby. In addition to Amtrak
trains that run along the Northeast Corridor, the
station is also served by Virginia and Maryland
commuter train service. -
July 14, 2011
Brazen Careerist Taps CEO Christopher Hertz for Advice on How to Manage the Stress of Early Success and Task-Overload
By New SignatureWhitney Parker of Brazen Careerist recently went on a quest to learn from those who have managed stressful jobs at an early age. Her goal was to ask people who have been there and done that to share tips for coping with the ever-increasing responsibilities and stress that they encounter as they climb the career ladder.
New Signature’s CEO Christopher Hertz was one of the executives that Whitney interviewed, “Chris Hertz, CEO of New Signature, an IT and creative company based in Washington, D.C., says you have to know when you need support. ‘My philosophy has always been to know when to ask for help, trust the people I work with, treat everyone (clients, colleagues, vendors, partners and the community) the way I would want to be treated, and act honestly and ethically. I believe this approach can greatly reduce the amount of stress that one experiences at work.’”
You can read the full post here.
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July 11, 2011
Introducing New Signature West
By New SignatureNew Signature is pleased to publicly announce New Signature West–the firm’s branch office located in scenic Albuquerque, New Mexico. New Signature has been rapidly expanding its presence in Albuquerque with fantastic office space located in downtown at 400 Gold Ave SW Albuquerque, NM 87102.
Opening a branch office in Albuquerque, NM provides New Signature with access to top-level talent, a world class education system, a modern and efficient transportation network, and a community where businesses can grow and prosper and where people want to raise their families. The New Signature West team allows the firm to continue to improve the services we offer to both our Washington-DC metro area and national clients.
By locating in downtown Albuquerque, we’ve made it possible for many of our staff in the West office to walk or bike to work, and are contributing to Albuquerque’s efforts to revitalize its urban core — exactly the sort of conservation and community-building New Signature has always supported. New Signature looks forward to helping build an Albuquerque that is a sustainable and vital community for generations to come through innovative business practices and community involvement.
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May 28, 2011
Join Us at Cafe Saint Ex’s Memorial Day Chili Cook Off on Monday, May 30th from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m.
By New Signature
New Signature is proud to be the title sponsor of Café Saint-Ex’s 3rd Annual Memorial Day Chili Cook-Off on Monday, May 30, 2011 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The New Signature event management team has helped plan and execute the cook-off so we can promise it is going to be great!The Chili Cook-Off promises great food, lots of fun and all proceeds will be donated to Garrison Elementary School (DCPS). What could be better?
Full event details are below.
- Event date: Monday, May 30, 2011
- Time: 11 a.m. until 5 p.m.
- Location: 1300 block of T Street, NW (We will be closing T Street between 13th – 14th Streets)
- Expected attendance: 1000+ people
- Featured event: Chili Smack Down competition featuring 14th Streets best chefs. Chefs will present unique chili recipes for a panel of judges including Amanda McClements of Metrocurean and Alejandra Owens of Borderstan
2011 - Beneficiary: All event proceeds will be donated to Garrison Elementary School (DCPS)
- Other activities: Chili tastings, chili dog eating contest, outdoor grills serving hot dogs and burgers, flowing brews from an on-site Peroni truck, lemonade stands, cotton candy machine, dunk tank, and a family-friendly interactive Kids Zone
- Entertainment: Live music from local bands and DJ
Come join New Signature for great food, a good time and help make a difference for the students at Garrison Elementary School.
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February 10, 2010
New Signature Core Values: Sustainability (a.k.a., Being Green)
By New Signature
New Signature’s core values shape the way we do business. One of these core values is to, “Help create a better community through our actions.” One way that we help create a better community is through our efforts to ensure that we limit our (and our clients’) impact on the environment. New Signature’s goal is to be green like Kermit the Frog. As such, New Signature places a strong emphasis on reducing our impact on the environment. We have take a number of steps to do this, including the following:Transportation. New Signature participates in WMATA’s SmartBenefits program and provides each employee with a corporate ZipCar membership. Participation in WMATA’s SmartBenefits program encourages New Signature employees to use public transportation for commuting as it reduces the cost by making it pre-tax. While New Signature encourages employees to use public transportation, especially the Metro, to visit clients there are some instances that require they drive. In these instances, the ZipCar membership enables our staff not to have to bring cars to work–instead they can simply use a ZipCar on an hourly basis. (more…)
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July 27, 2009
New Signature’s CEO Guest Blogs on getpickd
By New Signature
New Signature’s CEO, Christopher Hertz, contributed as a guest columnist on the getpickd blog with his post “Common mistakes. Easy fixes. (part two) — Warning: Arriving early to an interview may adversely affect your chances of being hired. “ The blog post has been picked up by the popular blogs: Consumerist and Liferhacker.The blog entry begins, “It is important to show up on time for an interview. This is a rule of thumb that won’t come as a surprise for most readers of this post. Incorrectly, most job applicants believe it is important to simply not arrive late to an interview. However, it is nearly as important to not show up more than five minutes early either. With many employers, arriving too early for an interview is only a slightly lesser offense than arriving late.” To read the rest of the post, visit the getpickd blog. (more…)
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July 4, 2009
Happy Independence Day!
By New Signature
Happy Independence Day to everyone!We hope you get to enjoy the fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, picnics, concerts, baseball games, and other various events being held to celebrate the history, government, and traditions of these great United States.
If you will be in the Washington, DC area on July 4th, check out the Washington Post’s Fourth of July 2009 Guide.
