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Month: June 2008

Speaking at “The Future of Digital Marketing”, e-consultancy – June 2008, London.

The Future of Digital Marketing | Events | E-consultancy.com

I really enjoyed speaking on Wednesday at e-consultancy’s FODM conference. This is the 5th iteration of their ‘what’s new in online marketing’ format and the emphasis this year was less on “newness” and more on strategic importance and direction.
The roster of speakers was intimidating and the senior audience (with many clients and contacts) just added to the, ahem, ‘helpful pressure’.
It was a great opportunity to build upon some of the Digital Resolutions and similar best-practice presentations I’ve given this year and look at the underlying trends and emergent opportunites:  from data, metadata, microformats, attention data (and my current love, APML), semantic data and towards a time when the data, enlivened by algorithms for use, spacial/place-awareness, contextual triggers and oodles of cunning creates a network effect – changing the nature of future marketing and engagement with customers. Long sentence.
The slides are available slideshare, but since it’s more picture than points I’ve listed some of the key sites and references below.
  • Socialisr from Yell – an interesting take on making their database into a social event organising support thing.
  • Microformats.org – the space for little things. Little, structured and portable things. Standards therefore.
  • APML – the standard, interchange, thinking space for Attention Profiling Markup Language.
  • engagd – useful and early implementations of APML. Worth bookmarking and keeping under watch.
  • Tastebroker.org – a place to grab and see your APML.
  • Phorm’s “Open Internet Exchange” – read, consider and see whether it’s threat, opportunity or both. And to whom…?
  • TrueKnowledge – really interesting take on structured, explicit and inferred knowledge.

Heading off to the Mediafutures conference

Just off to the Mediafutures Conference in Ally Pally (reaches for A-Z) and wondering whether there’ll be great broadband/mobile reception there ‘cos we’re under a mast?

Interesting day lined up but here’s a quick heads up that there’s a twitter channel at (predictably):
Twitter / mediafutures

I’m not going to promise an update since Nico’s notes are generally quicker and better than any notes I’ve taken at his events 😉

Media Futures Conference 2008

Nico Macdonald and the BBC have announced The Media Futures Conference, being…

“… a one day exploration of the dynamics and trends shaping the future of media. As well as an opportunity for lively debate, the conference will feature presentations showcasing innovative projects, showing smart thinking in practice and illustrating the scope of what is possible “

No small promise then 😉

The conference is the culmination of a year’s conversation with the BBC by Nico (of Spy.co.uk), and builds upon the regular series of Innovation Forums (fora?) and the Innovation Reading Circle (as mentioned here previously in my review of Andrew Keen’s book, Cult of the Amateur).

The website – Media Futures Conference 2008 – has information on the agenda and speakers (I’m Chairing a session on provocations).

The tickets have already sold out once so if you’re interested in attending I’d suggest you register promptly (Update: there’s also a “Waiting” list available via the ticketing page).

BBC NEWS | Magazine | The joy of pottering

BBC NEWS | Magazine | The joy of pottering

Sweet and rather apt magazine piece on “pottering”. Starting from Monty Don’s recouperation (aided by pottering) the piece makes an opportunity for a bit of comedy (describing that modern phenomenon ‘working at home’ via the metaphor of gardening…) and a more serious point about self-directed, deadline-free work…

This is the more active version of “quality slobbing time” (QST[tm]), which is a more determined, nay total rejection of structured activity. It’s a close relative of “man time” and shares with it the temporary abandonment of personal hygiene, conversation and a balanced diet, but adds in a particular focus on some activity that other people would consider banal or perverse – eg protestations the Under Siege is the best film ever and must be watched. Again. Or channel surfing for CSI repeats.

Potterers and QSTiados will of course claim that either pastime is simply the inverse of the otherwise manic, pressured, hyper-productive Blackberry Lifestyles they lead. Of course it it.

Now, where’re my shoes…?