These are my links for June 27th through July 12th:
- Communities Dominate Brands: Everything you ever wanted to know about mobile, but were afraid to ask – An incredibly in-depth article on the past and future of mobile communications, with lots of key facts on world-wide trends, smartphone usage and how mobile is used by different audiences. SMS is still the dominant use of the device globally, with MMS predicted to be the next major area fo use/revenue "MMS alone is bigger than the global music industry"
- Webinar: The Science of Facebook Marketing – Fascinating study into the psychology and statistic of how men & women are using Facebook, what subjects are popular and how to engage – speak plainly and simply on Facebook!
- Everything you need to know about the internet – A great philosphical, historical mini-essay all about the internet – past, present future. I like the description of Web 2.0 as 'small pieces, loosely joined' and of course the mini-rant on reforming copyright – it needs to be done, but of course it won't.
- NESTA – Creative Business Mentor Network – New call out for creative business in UK (must be trading 3 years with turnover £250K +) to be supported by an awesome collection of high level CEO mentors.
- How The World’s Online Ad Sales Stack Up – Infographic IAB stats on global ad spending, showing the greatest spend (but a decrease) in USA, with UK as next largest market (4Bn Euro spend – making Britain 10 x the spend of Sweden). Does that mean the UK has the greatest innovation in online advertising?
These are my links for March 23rd from 09:22 to 23:16:
- Scrolling and Attention – Jacob Nielsen, usability legend, with some very interesting research on user experience tracking in relation to below-the-fold content: 80% of users ONLY read what's above the fold, but some layout that encourage scrolling can still command attention.
- 5 days until Mediacamp, Nottingham’s first barcamp for creative media March 27 – If you're not following me on Twitter (please do, I'm @susioneill) I may have been remise to inform you that we're once again hosting another Mediacamp in Nottingham this Saturday. It's a day long energised discussion, presentation and exploration barcamp to discuss all aspects of how digital media is rocking our world. I'll be experimenting with social reporting, capturing highlights of the day for our website www.creativenottingham.com, and hosting a session to talk about the CreativeNottingham project and our plans. <br />
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The event is currently sold out – if you *really* want to come email me (susi@digitalconsultant.co.uk) and I'll see if I can help, otherwise they'll be live streaming of the main hall and live reporting on CreativeNottingham.com.
- How to build Augmented Reality into your digital strategy – Augmented reality – building in a layer of digital information and content into real world places – is the next real innovation from the future that's already hitting our world through services like Google Goggles and Layar. This article talks about how you can bring AR into your brand's digital strategy.
- Project Canvas is open and standardised – and great for consumers – The CEO of video-on-demand service Blinkbox counteracts Sky's claims that Project Canvas, providing a standardised broadband to TV service, will be bad for business. He counteracts that producers are aggregators will be able to delivery pay-as-you-watch programming and in will generative innovative 'apps' like for the iphone to provided added value services through the open network. I can't wait – this could be yet another exciting platform for technologies and video producers.
- Creative funding database – Although I'm sure this is probably the same data as the funding database on Business Link site, this creative funding/business support from the excellent Creative Choices skills website works very well, it's easy to use and seems to be pretty comprehensive.
- Conservatives’ ‘Cash Gordon’ web campaign backfires – And in the blue corner, the Tories have made a pigs ear of their latest venture to discredit Brown. 'Cash Gordon' site had a rent-a-crowd vibe, and was based on a back-end system used by right-wing lobbying groups against healthcare reform in the US. Trolls quickly hacked the site and used the unmoderated hashtag's on the site's display to make a disparaging remark or two. Well done Tories for going web 2.0, poor show on making such a #hashtag of it. Lessons learnt: although an election is a fast and furious thing, it's essential to allow time for user-testing of a site launch, rather than a very public flop.
- Brown outlines advanced UK digital strategy – As we're all on tenderhooks for the notice of the UK election date, the parties are lining up their policies. In the red corner, Brown the encumbent plans to introduce two new bodies to advance the digital economy, An Institute fo Web Science headed up by web inventor Tim Berners-Lee, and a digital public service unit led by Last Minute.com founder and digital inclusion champion Martha Lane-Fox (one has to have double-barrelled names to succeed nowadays in government). Whilst creating two new quangos, Brown dashes against the rest, replacing 'first gen' e-government with an integrated MyGov portal (cue expensive new makeover). It will be interesting to see how the development of this policy unfolds, particularly in line with the forthcoming digital economy bill and whether this does progress through parliament despite public uproar.
- Direct Marketing 2.0 – You are what you click – Net Imperative article briefing on how user insight and split-run testing can help to build better return on investment as part of a digital strategy. Some important lessons here like 'rubbish in, rubbish out' data sources, and the idea of an A-Z rather than A-B, testing iteratively all aspects of a campaign or conversion web page as an ongoing beta.
Image by Tom Fishburne
As a business owner, making good management decisions and delivering strong leadership in difficult times can become complex and distorted; trying to judge actions and their outcomes to get the results you need can seem like staring into a clouded, crystal ball.
Fortunately, help is at hand from a new programme delivered by Business Link to support management and leadership skills.
If you’re a senior manager or business owner, digital consultant can deliver consultancy to you in the following areas:
Digital strategies for service businesses:
- Website planning and digital strategy – essential in planning a website commission or re-launch
- E-marketing strategy (including e-commerce, online editorial and social media)
- Digital skills training: virtual team management, e-comms and blogging
Business strategies for digital and creative businesses:
- Executive coaching and professional development for digital sector managers & leaders
- Innovation, market research and product development for digital products/services
- Business development, visioning and planning
- Performance development – including HR and company skills plans
To give you an idea of how we think and work, here’s a few links to some favourite recent articles on strategy and leadership:
How to be a better leader: give up authority
Adapting to crisis in your knowledge-based business by delegating control
Constant Transformation Is the New Normal
Disruptive innovation guru Scott Anthony on how to adopt now ‘business as usual’ no longer exists
A Checklist to Choose Which Internet Marketing Channel is Right for Your Business
Guide to pricing, resources and strategy for selecting internet marketing platforms
How-To: Using Social Media Strategically
A marketer’s guide to thinking about the key issues in formulating a social media strategy
Funding packages
The training award is worth up to £1,000 .
The first £500 does not need to be matched by you but the second £500 does.
You can opt for any of the following packages of support:
- 1 day of consultancy (includes 1 visit & all expenses)
Package worth £500 – you pay: FREE
- 2 days of consultancy (includes 2 visits & all expenses)
Package worth £1,000 – you pay: £250
- 3 days of consultancy (includes 3 visits & all expenses)
Package worth £1,500 – you pay: £500
Funding criteria
To be eligible to receive this award your business will have to meet all of these criteria:
- Have between 5-249 staff (this can include exec and non-exec board members)
- Be less than 25% owned by a large organisation
- Be based in the East Midlands or West Midlands regions
- You must be a key decision maker, senior manager or owner of the business
- You must have not received LSC Leadership & Management funding since 2007
How to access this support
- Please contact me, Susi O’Neill, by email (susi@digitalconsultant.co.uk) or phone (07981 222799) to express an interest. We can then firstly discuss if I can help with your business issue; if I can we will complete together a referral form which I will submit it on your behalf to your local Business Link.
- A Business Link advisor will contact you to arrange a time to complete a diagnostic review of your business, including a Leadership & Management assessment which will identify gaps and areas for development.
- On completion of your review your Business Link advisor will complete a Development Plan for you, which you will need to approve and send back with other paperwork to Business Link by post. They will then confirm if you are eligible and offer you the grant in a confirmation letter. Please allow at least 1 month between your application and confirmation of the grant.
- Assuming we’ve ended up noting the same gaps in your needs and I can deliver the skills you need, we can then proceed with the consultancy work. You have 90 days from your offer letter to complete the work you need.
- I will invoice you at the end of the work and you will pay me directly then claim the eligible costs back directly from Business Link.
Programme information
This scheme is called the Director Development Programme in the West Midlands. Find out more about the Business Link West Midlands programme here.
In the East Midlands this programme is called Leaders First. Find out more about the Business Link East Midlands programme here.
Ready to demystify your management and leadership issues?
Please email me, Susi O’Neill (susi@digitalconsultant.co.uk) or telephone 07981 222799 for an initial discussion on the programme and how I can help you.
These are my links for November 5th from 18:07 to 18:18:
- ‘Why the games industry needs the Tories’ – As title suggests: OMG!! But actually this speech by Ed Vaizey, Shadow Minister for Culture, is cutting it with games sector, suggesting fiscal breaks and better quality education can help grow the games sector rather than haemoraging it overseas. Disagree strongly with his view that the UK Film Council should take on games: bad idea. They don't even want to work with TV and the aesthetic and structures are all so contradictory.
- There’s life outside London – Ruth Pitt, new director of Screen England, on the power of media production outside London – and how we need to shake off the shackles and connotation of "regional" as a euphism for 2nd class. You go girl!!
- At the Base of the Pyramid – Erik Simanis writes an insightful article on reaching untapped markets of the very poorest people in developing nations, using unconventional tactics like selling the joys rather than the necessities, and involving communities as entrepreneurial sellers.
These are my links for November 2nd from 09:17 to 12:36:
- User-generated video to broadcast on Dublin streets this Christmas – Here's an example of web culture traversing to mainstream culture: Zozzy TV will allow people to "streetcast": broadcast their 30 sec films on a screen in Dublin's major shopping streets (interspersed with adverts, presumably). One to bring to other shopping districts?
- Major console games maker mulls a move from UK to Ireland – Scotland is losing its status as a producer of quality games as more developer threaten to leave to exploit tax breaks in other nations. This time Realtime Worlds threaten to move to Dublin – not known as a centre for games as yet but it's certainly developing the infrastructure for a digital production economy.
- Report claims illegal downloaders buy more music – A report by lefty-think-thank Demos, paid for by Virgin Media, claims downloaders spend 50% (£33) more on music each year, and would download more if prices reduced to 45p a track. I'd question this research generally though: Virgin have lots to gain from a decrease in peer-to-peer traffic clogging up their network, and it's based on what people say they would do rather than proving behaviour and outcomes.
- 12 Essential Plugins that Extend WordPress as a CMS – If you're a web developer working with clients to develop websites built on the awesome, free WordPress system, these plug-ins are great for increasing the editorial rights, changing images and adding custom forms amongst other things.
