About Shashi Bellamkonda

Shashi Bellamkonda is the Social Media Swami (otherwise known as Sr. Director, Social Media) of Network Solutions/Web.com and Adjunct Marketing Professor at Georgetown University.  Shashi is passionate about helping startups and small business and has been recognized twice as one of the Top 100 Tech Titans by the Washingtonian and Top 100 Small Business Influencer Champion 2011 by Small Business Trends. Follow him on Twitter @shashib.

Recent Post by this Author

2013 Could be the Year of the Woman Entrepreneur

The State of Women-Owned Businesses survey, conducted jointly by NAWBO (National Association of Women Owned Business) and Web.com, found that 85 percent of women entrepreneurs surveyed believe that more women will venture to start their own businesses in 2013 than in 2012. Over 500 NAWBO members participated in the survey, and on average, they have been in business for over six years. Stats on women entrepreneurs according…

Safe Driving App Trapster Alerts You to Speed Traps and Other Hazards

Trapster is a California-based startup that was acquired by Nokia’s Navteq and has an app that “alerts you to police speed traps and other roadway hazards.” It’s available on iOS, Android, Blackberry, and a few other phones. I first learned about Trapster when they tweeted me, referring to my previous article here about Waze. In that…

SheerID: Microtargeting Your Customers Through Couponless Marketing

Startup SheerID is attempting to solve the problem of seamlessly providing customers with offers based on their verified segment. Perhaps you have heard of the oft-repeated marketing joke where a CMO says, “We know 50% of our marketing is working, but we do not know which 50%.” The advent of tools and technology that provide data…

Startup Stories Inherited Enables a Gift of a Lifetime

DC-based Stories Inherited is bringing together technology and traditional storytelling to create personal and corporate history through interactive books and iStories. If digital had existed centuries ago, how cool would it have been for us to listen to our great-grandparents and ancestors tell their story in their own words. Stories Inherited creates an interactive life history which includes a…

Navigation Startup Waze Never Ceases to Amaze

I own a Toyota with a navigation system but have hardly used it since I got a smartphone with Google Maps and Google Navigation. The problem with in-dash navigation is that the maps can only be updated by going to the dealer and paying a hefty fee and that they have to be updated annually….

Changing India: Meet Entrepreneurs and Startups in Bangalore

During this past spring’s SXSW conference in Austin, Bangalore came up in a conversation with Paul Singh of 500 Startups. At that time, Paul mentioned running an angel investor education series to get more investors into the Indian ecosystem; he also mentioned investing in some startups in India. I am in India right now, and…

Tips for Startup Success From the Latino2 Conference in NYC

The Latinos in Tech Innovation and Social Media (LATISM) held their 3rd Annual Latino2 Tech Startup conference at the Google offices in New York City on Thursday, June 7th. Ana Roca Castro, Founder and Chairwoman, Latinos in Tech Innovation and Social Media (#LATISM), organized the conference that had over 100 attendees. Attendees included students of…

Don’t Just Bookmark a Website, High Five it Using Markerly

With the huge amount of articles we share with our friends and colleagues every day, a way to highlight the main points would make the reading experience much more efficient for everyone. I have been using a browser app from a startup called Markerly for the past few days that let’s you do just that…

Google Acquires KikScore’s Confidence Badge and Online Trust Score Platform

DC-based startup KikScore announced today on their blog that the “KikScore service, platform, technology and certain assets have been acquired by Google.” KikScore created a patent-pending Confidence Badge and online trust score platform that enables small online businesses and non-profits to demonstrate trustworthiness through data and information. As part of the acquisition, KikScore will no…

IPhone App OurCast Lets You Socially Share Weather

In a November 2011 study, Pew Internet found that over half of the adult cell phone owners downloaded apps on their phone. Of these, over 74% downloaded apps that provide regular updates on news, weather, sports or stocks. I am a fan of weather apps. I have learned from experience that it is important to…

Developers, Small Business and Consumers Benefit from Mobile Geo-Targeted Advertising

A new Small Business Mobile Survey from Web.com found that 69% of small businesses say mobile marketing will be crucial to their growth in the next five years, while 64% plan to increase their investment in mobile marketing this year. Another survey by the Pew Internet Research found that 74% of smartphone owners use their…

Facebook’s Timeline removes the all-important Landing Page: What should businesses do now?

Facebook recently introduced the Timeline format for personal accounts, which organized users’ activity according to the time it took place. A similar format was then rolled out for business pages. The new Timeline can have a big impact on the way businesses manage their Facebook account. On March 30th, 2012, Timeline will be rolled out to all business pages…

KikScore Online Trust Survey Finds information Sharing Leads to Trust

DC-based startup KikScore created a patent-pending Confidence Badge and online trust score platform that enables small online businesses and non-profits to demonstrate trustworthiness through data and information. Last month, they released the findings of the first KikScore Online Trust Survey. Kikscore co-founder Raj Malik, a lawyer-turned-entrepreneur, said, “The main takeaway from the survey is that website…

A Phone That Is Almost a Tablet – The Samsung Galaxy S II

A few weeks ago, Samsung gave me a Galaxy S II SGH-T989 phone from T-Mobile to test out. I have been an Android fan for a while. My previous phone was a Google Nexus One (made by HTC), which I liked except that the space for apps is limited. Here are my first impressions of…

Filter and Organize Your Facebook Updates With Wisdom

Microstrategy has introduced a free Facebook app called Wisdom to help you organize your Facebook news updates. I have been testing this app for a few months, and here are some of my observations: Wisdom gives you a way to sort and see the most popular posts on your stream by number of likes or…

Organize Your SMS Texts With Uppidy

Ever try to search for a phone number, link, or coupon that was received by text? Until now, it was a lengthy, and frustrating, task. Uppidy, a Reston, VA-based startup, offers an app that organizes your texts for you. Just install the Uppidy app on your Android or Blackberry, and all SMS text conversations are safely stored in the cloud, where they…