TechNet Unveils New Mobile App to Enhance Innovation and Tech Policy Advocacy

WASHINGTON, July 21, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- TechNet, the bipartisan policy and political network of technology CEOs that promotes the growth of technology and the innovation economy, today announced its entry into mobile communications and social networking with its "TechNet App."  

The TechNet app is free and was developed by TechNet member company match2blue. The app functions as a personalized newsreader and policy research tool for TechNet members and will be expanded for use by related interest groups. The newsreader function allows users to pre-select areas of interest, topics and locations for matching related news articles and allows them to be automatically sent to the reader in real-time.  

"We are thrilled to offer a new, useful tool to our members to help improve our advocacy and policy education efforts," said Rey Ramsey, President and CEO of TechNet.  "We appreciate the great generosity of our member company match2blue for developing this creative app for our entire membership.  Simply put, in order to make innovation come alive for policymakers and the need for strong policies in this area, we must use the state-of-the-art technologies to do so.  This powerful app and our partnership with match2blue mark a great example of the many ways we are using technology and applications to establish a more robust 21st Century policy advocacy."

The premise of the TechNet App is simple: The reader or user no longer has to search for information.  Instead, information will find the reader, anywhere and as it happens.  With this application, TechNet provides its members and followers with a state of the art solution for staying informed in a world of quickly changing and developing information.  The application will be available through the Apple store for the iPhone and iPad in addition to being available on the Blackberry platform in the coming weeks.  The TechNet App can be downloaded via the Apple App store www.apple.com/iphone/apps-for-iphone.  

"Our involvement in this project has been very rewarding," said John Finamore, CEO of match2blue. "Bringing the vision of TechNet's leadership for this application as a 21st Century management tool to a practical reality underscores the promise and potential of new technologies, as well as TechNet's role as an advocate for technology."  

TechNet Background
TechNet was founded in 1997 by the high-tech industry's leading CEOs to create a network of the nation's strongest voices in the industry to unite with both federal and state leaders in helping to shape the public policies that impact the technology industries. TechNet continues to actively promote policies that strengthen the nation's innovation-driven global competitiveness as well as create private sector initiatives that will ensure U.S. competitiveness and economic leadership.

TechNet members work together to identify key policy priorities and execute successful legislative strategies at both the federal and state levels to spur innovation in the United States. Working through the organization's working groups, these policy priorities include:

• ICT 2.0 -- Recent developments in information and communications technologies (ICT) have forever changed the way people work, play and interact with one another. Innovations in social media, cloud computing, mobile e-commerce and applications, and more all present ongoing challenges to policymakers. TechNet's ICT 2.0 Working Group focus on issues such as privacy, security, spectrum policy, intellectual property protection, telecom regulation, and others that the group identifies.
• Global Competitiveness -- Innovative companies rely more heavily than ever on overseas markets for their business.  Challenges to doing business overseas include protectionist trade policies, weak intellectual property protection, and lack of action domestically on free trade initiatives. This working group focuses on issues relating to tax policy, working capital, as well as other issues that affect the well-being of American innovation within the global economy.
• Clean Technology -- Clean energy can create new jobs, reduce rising energy costs, promote sustainable business practices, and enhance energy efficiency. This working group focuses on policy initiatives that enhance the deployment of clean energy technology such as: eliminating regulatory barriers to commercialization, fostering conditions for market entry and access to capital, research and development funding, and workforce development. The Clean Tech Working Group also provides input for the joint TechNet and Brookings Institution collaboration that includes clean energy topics.
• Human Capital -- An innovative economy relies on a talented and creative workforce in order to turn today's ideas into tomorrow's products. An adequate supply of workers with the right skills to sustain innovation is crucial to America's competitiveness. This group focuses on issues related to the talent that drives innovation, such as: STEM education, the talent pipeline, and high-skilled immigration reform.

About TechNet:
TechNet is the national, bipartisan network of CEOs that promotes the growth of technology industries and the economy by building long-term relationships between technology leaders and policymakers and by advocating a targeted policy agenda. TechNet's members represent more than one million employees in the fields of information technology, biotechnology, e-commerce and finance. TechNet has offices in Washington, D.C., Palo Alto, Sacramento, Seattle, Boston and Austin. Web address: www.technet.org. You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter at @technetupdate.

SOURCE TechNet