Andrew Hemmings

Selling social media by talking business first

Published November 18, 2008 Uncategorized 2 Comments
Tags: Birmingham Post, LinkedIn, Social Media, Web 2.0

A question on the Birmingham Post discussion group on LinkedIn has got my mind whirring. The question asked ‘Do you find it difficult communicating the usefulness of tools like LinkedIn?’

I think that the key here is to actually step away from the social media/web 2.0 table for a second and also park the apparent usefulness/benefits to one side too.

I see LinkedIn and alike as tools – a means to achieve an end – so I believe that the initial focus needs to be on those end objectives. As a crass example, if you’re renovating a house, you decide what you want to do before heading to the DIY store – you wouldn’t first head to B&Q, buy a load of tools and then decide what to do with them.

Business or other organisational objectives are the best opening gambit as they’re largely time immemorial, widely understood by the management population – and are what people actually need/want to achieve. Try this for size:

Q1) Do you want to increase sales by reaching new customers?
Answer – Yes.
Response – You could achieve this with x, y or z tools.

Q2) Do you want to use LinkedIn, it’s great for networking?
Answer – Ummm, excuse me?

Now, for sure, that is a little contrived – but all the same, the business objective-led approach is more compelling. There’s no strange technical terms or names, just straightforward business speak that you wouldn’t say no to.

There are so many business objectives that social media tools could be means to help achieve, not just the marketing-oriented ones that are most talked about. However, I believe that the mass adoption of these new tools can only happen if we initially put the tools back in the box and focus on the business objectives people need to achieve first.

Lead by business needs, not technology tools.

The dividing line

Published October 31, 2008 Uncategorized 0 Comments

Anything dated before this post is from my previous life as a Marketing Communications Officer at the Technology Innovation Centre - anything dated after this post is completely unrelated to the Technology Innovation Centre.

Universities Unite to Enhance Enterprise Education

Published July 10, 2008 Work work! 0 Comments
Tags: Enterprise Education

Leading practitioners of enterprise education from across the UK, will be sharing the latest innovations in enterprise skills development, at the fourth annual Technology Enhanced Enterprise Education (TE3) Open Day. This year’s event will take place at Birmingham City University’s Technology Innovation Centre (tic) on Wednesday 16th July 2008.

Established in 2003, the TE3 project has developed into a collaborative community of Midlands-based enterprise education specialists. In order to expand this collaboration to a national stage, the TE3 Open Day is co-organised with Enterprise Educators UK, a national network of over 500 higher education practitioners from 83 member institutions.

TE3 Open Day co-ordinator, Charlotte Carey, a Lecturer in Applied Research at Birmingham City University’s Business School says: “The main emphasis of this year’s event is on play, as we want delegates to get hands-on and experience the technologies themselves. Sessions will range from high-technology virtual worlds, to mind-mapping table cloths!”

The event’s opening session will explore how internet-based ‘Web 2.0’ applications can be utilised to create engaging and connected enterprise education. The Head of the TE3 project, the University of Birmingham’s Dr Kelly Smith, will join Birmingham City University’s Charlotte Carey to assess the use of Web 2.0 tools, including blogging, social-networking, wiki’s and Twitter, in enterprise-related curriculum.

The University of Wolverhampton’s Jane Edwards and Kevin Brace will then take delegates on a short tour of the virtual learning spaces in the internet-based virtual world, Second Life. Delegates will be invited to sample a virtual enterprise project, which allows participants to experience the cut and thrust of business, in a low-risk virtual environment.

The open day programme also includes an exploration of a wide range of high and low-technology solutions for student engagement and curriculum development, with contributions from Leeds Metropolitan University’s Alison Price and Sheffield Hallam University’s Dr Simon Brown.

Commenting on the importance of enterprise skills development, the Head of the TE3 project, Dr Kelly Smith says: “Enterprise education gives students both an alternative career option and the confidence to make a difference in whatever type of work they choose. By utilising new technology, we can spread learning opportunities to a wider audience and make learning more engaging, helping more students to develop vital entrepreneurial skills”.

Dr Simon Brown, Director for Enterprise Teaching and Learning, Sheffield Hallam University and Vice-Chair, Enterprise Educators UK says: “The TE3 Open Day is a great opportunity for colleagues from different backgrounds to meet and share experiences. Our association with this event provides a welcome opportunity for members of Enterprise Educators UK to learn from this well established and highly regarded project.”

The TE3 Open Day will take place at tic’s Millennium Point campus in Birmingham City Centre. Further event information can be found at www.te3.bham.ac.uk

Robots race to Birmingham to claim the UK Micromouse Cheese Trophy

Published May 30, 2008 Work work! 1 Comment
Tags: Birmingham City University, Cheese Trophy, Micromouse, Millennium Point, Robotics, Robots, Technology Innovation Centre

The ‘big cheeses’ in the world of mini robots, will be racing to Birmingham’s Millennium Point, on Saturday 28th June, to compete for the UK Micromouse 2008 Cheese Trophy. The event will also feature mini-sumo, drag-racing and biped ‘walking robot’ challenges.

Organised by Birmingham City University’s Technology Innovation Centre (TIC), the event aims to inspire more young people to consider careers in software and electronics. These sectors continue to experience skills shortages, with the UK Government’s Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills recently reporting that although the supply of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths graduates has increased, it hasn’t increased fast enough to meet employer demand.

Event organiser, Dr Tony Wilcox explains: “Whilst electronic and software systems power many of the consumer products prized by young people, the underlying technology isn’t accessible and is taken for granted. Mini-robots, as featured at UK Micromouse, are a great way to get ‘hands-on’ and explore these technologies, which is the most effective way to spark new interest in these areas.”

Micromouse championships have been held annually in the UK for nearly 30 years, with similar events also taking place in the USA and across East Asia. The top ‘maze-solver’ challenge sees autonomous mini-robot ‘mice’, racing unaided to the centre of a specially constructed maze. Challengers utilise sensors, motors and software to enable their robots to negotiate the maze, map its surroundings and work out the optimum route to the centre over a series of timed runs.

UK Micromouse features a wide range of categories for senior and junior competitors, as well as competitions for school teams. Robot competitors range from simple starter robots, capable of sensing and following a route marked with a line, to the highly-sophisticated maze-solving robot mice. Other events include the drag race, which is a fun challenge to test the speed and acceleration of the robots and a robotic mini-sumo challenge, where contenders must first find their opponent, before pushing them out of the ring.

TIC’s Centre Manger for Software and Electronics, Parmjit Chima says “We’re looking forward to a fun and extremely competitive day. Teams from Singapore and India have pre-registered, so we’re expecting some international competition to our annual battle-of-the-bots!”

UK Micromouse 2008 is free to attend and open to the public from 10am. Further details about the event and building mini-robots can be found at www.tic.ac.uk/micromouse

Make the web work for your business at Creative Networks

Published May 22, 2008 Work work! 1 Comment
Tags: Creative Networks, Technology Innovation Centre, Web 2.0

Over the past two decades, usage of the Internet has developed from simply ‘surfing’ inter-linked pages of information, through the boom in on-line retailing and e-commerce, to the present day array of so-called ‘Web 2.0’ on-line services and applications.

This month’s Creative Networks event aims to de-mystify the terminology of Web 2.0 and demonstrate how the region’s creative community can empower their work and businesses with new ways to communicate, collaborate, create and distribute content via the Internet.

Organised by Birmingham City University’s Technology Innovation Centre (TIC), the event opens from 6pm on Thursday 29th May, at Millennium Point. It is free and open to all creative companies and freelancers in the West Midlands.

Helping Creative Networks’ delegates through the bewildering range of Web 2.0 terms, tools and possibilities, will be leading Web 2.0 exponents, Pete Ashton and Stef Lewandowski, from Birmingham’s own thriving digital community.

Dave Taylor of TIC’s Centre for Interactive Media says: “Whilst the term ‘Web 2.0’ is used widely, its precise definition is as debated, as it is misunderstood. The term ‘2.0’ may appear to imply that there is a new Internet system, but Web 2.0 actually just refers to new ways of using the Internet.”

With such a diverse and evolving range of Web 2.0 services and tools, the event will focus on two fundamental Web 2.0 concepts. The first is a change in mindset, where people stop seeing the Internet as a static information silo, but instead use it as an extended suite of tools and services to reach, engage and interact with clients, partners and wider society. The second is the power of distributing content, in text, audio or other visual form, through links and syndication to other Web 2.0 sites and services.

Dave Taylor explains: “Whilst the term Web 2.0 may be unfamiliar to some people, popular Web 2.0 services such as the photo sharing website, Flickr, video sharing website YouTube, as well as social networking tools such as Myspace, Bebo and Facebook, are well known and established.”

Pete Ashton comments: “Services like Flickr and YouTube are classic Web 2.0, not simply because they enable anyone to publish their content on-line, but because that content can then be taken outside of those services independently of their creators. In essence, it means that content on the Internet can take on a life of its own, as it is used by people as part of their on-line lives.”

Another popular Web 2.0 tool is the blog, a term derived from ‘web-log’. Blogs can take the form of an on-line diary or journal, or even a platform for news and general comment. The power of blogging is realised through the linkages between blogs and the syndication of blogs around the internet. Blog posts can quickly spread across the Internet, which has led to the rise of so-called ‘social media’, where users create and distribute their own news content.

By the end of the event, Pete Ashton suggests that attendees should be able to: “Put your material on-line in a manner that can take advantage of these phenomena and understand how the conversation that powers Web 2.0 operates.”

Pete has been blogging since 2000. He was a driving force behind the establishment of Birmingham’s ‘Flickr’ photo-sharing community and set up the ‘Created in Birmingham’ blog, which recently won a Media Guardian award for ‘innovation in an independent blog’. Co-presenter, Stef Lewandowski, is both the founder and Managing Director of the creative agency 3form and a co-founder of the Birmingham-based creative industries organisation, Creative Republic. Stef has recently received one of the internationally-recognised ‘Webby Awards’ for excellence on the Internet.

Dave Taylor says: “Both Pete and Stef attended the world-famous ‘South by South West Interactive’ new media conference in Austin, USA, this Spring, so the event promises to inspire attendees with some of the very latest ideas.”

Anyone interested in attending should contact Creative Networks Co-ordinator, Scarlet Scardanelli, on 0121 331 5400 or e-mail creative.networks@tic.ac.uk.

Further reading:

What Is Web 2.0?
Design Patterns and Business Models for the Next Generation of Software
http://www.oreilly.de/artikel/web20.html

The who, what, and why of Where 2.0
http://news.cnet.com/The-who%2C-what%2C-and-why-of-Where-2.0/2009-1032_3-6239471.html?tag=item

Transparency and Making Choices
http://blogs.sun.com/jonathan/

Web 2.0 debates internet’s future
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7368387.stm

Luminaries look to the future web
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7373717.stm

The World Wide Web turns 15 (again)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7375703.stm

A ‘more revolutionary’ Web
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/05/23/business/web.php

Webby Awards
http://www.webbyawards.com/

Media Guardian Awards
http://megas.guardianprofessional.co.uk/winners-independent-blog.aspx

Jazz and hip-hop star Soweto Kinch joins Creative Networks

Published April 16, 2008 Uncategorized 5 Comments
Tags: live performance, music, soweto kinch

Birmingham’s multi award-winning jazz and hip-hop musician, Soweto Kinch, will join this month’s Creative Networks event, to explore the resurgence of live music and its positive impact on local communities. Organised by Birmingham City University’s Technology Innovation Centre (TIC), the event will take place at Millennium Point, on Thursday 24th April.

In a period where the music industry is shifting from physical-format music sales, to a wide range of internet-based digital distribution strategies, there has been a significant resurgence in live music performance. Research by Mintel indicates that attendance at live music events doubled between 2001 and 2007, when the market was estimated to be worth £743 million. This figure is forecast to rise to £836 million by 2009.

Dave Taylor of TIC’s Centre for Interactive Media comments: “Faced with considerable change and turmoil, it is interesting to see how the industry has turned to its roots in live performance. The live experience cannot be replicated and revenue generation is relatively straightforward.”

The increased focus on live performance is illustrated by the growing use of ‘multi-rights’ or ‘360 degree’ contracts. These seek to share the revenue of an artist’s tour and merchandise sales, in addition to the traditional percentage of recorded music sales. Madonna has famously moved from a major record label, to sign a $120million multi-rights contract with Live Nation, a specialist live event promoter. Other artists such as Prince and The Charlatans, have also increasingly relied on live performance revenues, after giving away their latest albums for free.

Dave Taylor says: “Whilst established acts may be able to rely on their existing profile to take this extreme approach, it is vital that grass-roots talent is still able to progress from pubs, clubs and community centres, into larger arenas on the national and international stage.”

Creative Networks’ special guest speaker, Soweto Kinch, is a shining example of a local talent that has reached the global stage. He demonstrated a passion for jazz at an early age, initially playing the clarinet, before taking up his trademark instrument, the alto saxophone, aged nine. After completing a degree in Modern History at Oxford University, Soweto was offered a place on the ‘Tomorrow’s Warriors’ jazz musician development programme, established by British jazz legend, Gary Crosby.

Having initially gained prominence through live performance with his band, the Soweto Kinch Trio, Soweto’s debut solo album, ‘Conversations With the Unseen’, was released in 2003 to critical acclaim on both sides of the Atlantic. Successfully fusing jazz and hip-hop, the album earned Soweto the MOBO Award for ‘Best Jazz Act’ in 2003, and a major international tour followed. These live performances resulted in the 2004 BBC Radio Jazz Awards for ‘Best Band’ and ‘Best Instrumentalist’.

A passionate advocate of the power of music to inspire and transform communities, Soweto’s second album, ‘A Life In The Day Of B19 - Tales Of The Tower Block’, was inspired by his immediate surroundings in Birmingham. With narrative supplied by former BBC newsreader, Moira Stuart, this ground-breaking jazz concept album follows the everyday challenges of three men in a block of Birmingham council flats.

The album is a response to Soweto’s belief that media coverage of certain areas of Birmingham negatively focuses on stories of crime and unemployment. He suggests that the immense talent and rich cultural inspiration in these areas deserves greater coverage, in order to instil people with a high estimation of their capabilities and a vision of what is possible.

TIC’s Dave Taylor says: ”Just as Soweto’s music is an inspiration to the communities of Birmingham, his experience and insight will be inspirational to his fellow musicians. As always, we extend a warm invitation to all creative freelancers, companies and groups.”

Established in 2004, Creative Networks is a regular monthly gathering of up to 200 creative community professionals. The event is free and opens from 6pm. Anyone interested in attending should contact Creative Networks Co-ordinator, Scarlet Scardanelli, on 0121 331 5400 or e-mail creative.networks@tic.ac.uk.

Andrew Hemmings

The dividing line

Universities Unite to Enhance Enterprise Education

Robots race to Birmingham to claim the UK Micromouse Cheese Trophy

Make the web work for your business at Creative Networks

Jazz and hip-hop star Soweto Kinch joins Creative Networks

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