Nine Lives Media Inc. Launches Talkin’ Cloud

Nine Lives Media Inc., the most innovative media company serving today’s IT channel, today unveiled Talkin’ Cloud (www.TalkinCloud.com), the first video blog, forum and online community for VARs and MSPs sorting out their cloud computing strategies.

“Hot. Hype. Opportunity. Panic. Everybody in the IT channel is talking about the cloud and its business implications,” said Amy Katz, CEO of Nine Lives Media Inc. “Now there’s finally a single, online destination for the channel cloud conversation: TalkinCloud.com. We look forward to engaging our readers and site visitors immediately, and we thank our launch sponsors Asigra Inc., Autotask Corp., ConnectWise, Doyenz Inc., Google Inc. and Rackspace Hosting Inc. for their support.”

Talkin’ Cloud (www.TalkinCloud.com) is Nine Lives Media Inc.’s third major IT channel community, joining MSPmentor (www.MSPmentor.net) and The VAR Guy (www.TheVARguy.com), the two leading blogs in the IT channel.

“TalkinCloud.com is a natural extension to The VAR Guy and MSPmentor,” said Joe Panettieri, executive VP and editorial director of Nine Lives Media Inc. “We’ve defined and developed the market for IT channel blogs. Now, we’re set to break some more media rules with TalkinCloud.com, while continuing to invest in each of our growing brands.”

Who’s Talkin’ Cloud Right Now?

Talkin’ Cloud includes a daily video blog hosted by Panettieri. The video blog is attracting the IT channel’s top cloud computing experts. Confirmed launch week guests include:

• Sandy Carter, Vice President, IBM Software Group Business Partners and Midmarket, IBM Corp.
• Stephen Cho, Director, Google Apps Channels, Google Inc.
• Jenni Flinders, Vice President, U.S. Partner Strategy & Programs, Microsoft Corp.
• Doug Smith, Senior Director, Global Channels, VMware Inc.

More than 20 other cloud computing leaders and channel executives — representing GoGrid, Red Hat Inc., McAfee Inc., SoftLayer, SAP AG, and more — are confirmed to appear on the Talkin’ Cloud daily video blog in December 2010.

The Cloud. The Channel. The Chatter

Today’s Talkin’ Cloud launch includes editorial and sponsored components:

Editorial Components

• The TalkinCloud Video Blog
• News, Business and Technology Blogging, featuring multiple daily reports from Nine Lives Media Inc.’s editorial contributors.
• TalkinCloud Forum, for VARs, MSPs and vendors to discuss and share cloud strategies and best practices.
• TalkinCloud Mobile, optimized for smartphones and handheld devices.
• TalkinCloud Weekly eNewsletter, launching in January 2011.
• TalkinCloud 50, a global research report tracking VARs, MSPs, cloud services providers and solutions providers that generate the most cloud computing revenues.
• TalkinCloud PR, a free press release distribution service that’s search engine optimized for technology companies.
• Social media destinations including:
  • Twitter: www.twitter.com/talkin_cloud
  • Facebook: www.facebook.com/talkincloud
  • YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/talkincloud

Sponsored Components

• TalkinCloud’s launch sponsors include Asigra Inc., Autotask Corp., ConnectWise, Doyenz Inc., Google Inc. and Rackspace Hosting Inc. A limited number of 2011 sponsorships are still available.
• Sponsors leverage traditional advertising, guest blogging, and content sharing opportunities to engage and educate TalkinCloud’s audience.
• TalkingCloud FastChat Videos, which promote vendor messaging across TalkinCloud and third-party video sites such as YouTube.
• TalkinCloud Webcasts, sponsored events hosted by Nine Lives Media Inc., featuring MSPs and VARs that are profiting in the cloud.

Track Record for Success: MSPmentor and The VAR Guy

Founded in 2008, Nine Lives Media Inc. has a strong track record for innovation. The company’s market-leading IT channel blogs include:

• MSPmentor (www.MSPmentor.net), the ultimate guide to managed services and the top blog serving MSPs. MSPmentor’s web traffic has grown 51% year-to-date 2010 vs. the same period in 2009.
• The VAR Guy (www.TheVARguy.com), the top blog tracking what’s next in the IT channel. The VAR Guy’s web traffic has grown 64% year-to-date 2010 vs. the same period in 2009.

Nine Lives Media Inc. continues to make editorial, sales and management investments in both MSPmentor and The VAR Guy, each of which generated double-digit revenue growth in 2010.

Editorial and Sponsor Opportunities

• For sponsorship information, contact Nine Lives Media Inc. CEO Amy Katz (amy@NineLivesMediaInc.com).
• For editorial and content inquiries, contact Editorial Director Joe Panettieri (joe@NineLivesMediaInc.com).

About Nine Lives Media Inc.

Nine Lives Media Inc. defines emerging IT media markets and disrupts established IT media markets. Founded in 2008, Nine Lives Media has generated profitable, debt-free growth since its inception. The company’s market leading blogs and online destinations include MSPmentor (www.MSPmentor.net), The VAR Guy (www.TheVARguy.com), Talkin’ Cloud (www.TalkinCloud.com), VARtweet (www.VARtweet.com) and MSPtweet (www.MSPtweet.com). For more information, visit www.NineLivesMediaInc.com.