After a bit of a hiatus, we have returned to Cloud Control to get you up to speed on some nerdy and local happenings.

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Nerd Front

Groupon.com – A Groupon is basically a coupon that offers an extremely discounted offer at a local store or restaurant. Each Groupon is only activated when a predetermined number of purchase the discount. Groupon is in the process of building an audience in Sioux Falls and we should see some deals launching soon. So tell your friends!

FourSquare Analytics - Earlier this week, FourSquare announced that they will be offering tools for companies on FourSquare. These analytics make FourSquare much more than a game for people that want to use it as a business tool. There are some cool possibilities, and we’ll see soon where it can go.

Local Front

Sioux Falls Addy Awards - It seemed like this year was the year of the small company at the Addy Awards. Creativity was awarded at smaller agencies and we see it as an indication that specialization is growing.

Amy Colgan – Amy is our new(ish) Account Manager/Design Lead at 9 Clouds. She’s a senior at SDSU with majors in Advertising and Graphic Design – she also won Best in Class (student category) at the Sioux Falls Addy Awards. We’re happy to have her on our team.

What’ On Your Mind?

ScottDavidMeyer.com is Scott’s new blog focusing on the intersection of tech, politics, and social change. Why is it a good time to start a blog? Because Google is now messing around with “Public Data Explorer” and using public data to create visual graphics.

You can also check out Ted.com for some really interesting presentations (Ted Talks). You can spend 5 minutes watching one video or you can accidentally sink hours into intriguing topics…seriously, there’s a good chance you will become entranced.

One of the biggest interactive networking events has arrived – SxSWi. Both John and Scott will be representing 9 Clouds and the Cloud Control, so if you’re in Austin head over and give them a high-five.

Update

due to some technical difficulties, this episode of Cloud Control is going up a bit later than expected – I hope you all had a great time in Austin if you went. We’re gearing up for the OTA Sessions this week, so we’ll except any and all high-fives you may have missed during SxSWi.