Cook County Government, INXPO, Social Media Team Up for Big Data Week Success

An international digital marketing agency today rated Chicago the 5th most socially connected city during Big Data Week. Bloom Agency UK rated Cook County’s “CHGBigDataWeek” Twitter account the number one social media influencer of the event and “@ToniPreckwinkle” was rated number three in influence. During the recent Big Data Week, Cook County Government and Chicago-based software firm INXPO combined forces to develop, produce and stream live interactive presentations from over 20 local experts on big and open Data topics. “Cook County is home to many of today’s technology leaders and is well-known as an incubator for digital entrepreneurs,” Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle said. “Big Data Week gave us the opportunity to showcase our expertise and accomplishments.” Big Data Week 2013 was a global event with 27 participating cities including Beirut, London, San Francisco, Kuala Lumpur and Toronto. Using INXPO’s platform, Cook County and the City of Chicago held 32 virtual and physical events, the most of any participating city. “We wanted to build a stage to tell the world about what data and technology companies are doing in the Chicago area, because Silicon Valley is not the only place where innovation is happening,” said Lydia Murray, Cook County’s Chief Information Officer. “INXPO’s platform gave us the ability to create a very professional looking and interactive experience.” Promoting local firms is an extension of President Preckwinkle’s regional strategy for economic development. In April, the county’s Council of Economic Advisors released an economic growth agenda. In keeping with Preckwinkle’s focus on local technology companies, Cook County worked with Chicago-based INXPO, whose next generation webcasting platform, Social Business TV, powered the online experience. Working with the Bureau of Technology, INXPO supported the Big Data Week online experience and streamed three days of live programming from its downtown Chicago studios. Viewers accessed the content on desktops, laptops and mobile devices “INXPO is honored to support Cook County and the City of Chicago. Their goal to reach a large dispersed audience with an important series of online presentations is a challenge that organizations of all sizes face,” said Drew VanVooren, President of INXPO. “Social Business TV is the ideal platform to deliver a highly engaging, interactive and measurable viewing experience.”