• Are you the agency of the year?
• Is a member of your team a star?
• Do you have a ‘best’ client?

… they all come under the new Talent category in the BIMA 2008 Awards.

This year’s categories in the BIMAs have changed. There are now nine main award category areas. Each category has a number of sub-categories into which entries will be accepted. There is no limit to the number of entries from any one organisation and the same project may be entered into more than one sub-category.

You’ll find the categories a lot wider and more general, allowing for a greater variety of submissions from more areas of our industry. That said, the sub-categories are very specific and prescriptive, meaning it’s easier than ever to see where your entry belongs. So, as well as celebrating traditional creative, we will also be recognising a few unsung heroes. It’s been an incredible year for all of us in the interactive field and BIMA wants to celebrate everything that’s created a buzz in 2008 and those who made it happen.

The winners of each sub-category will receive an award and the winner of the main category will receive a BIMA gong. The sub categories are listed on the Awards Web site. In the case of the Student Award, there are no sub-categories.

It’s time to gather your best work this year and submit to the BIMA Awards 2008. We look forward to receiving your entries.

Good Luck!

The Government is launching a new consultation concerned with the Artist’s Resale Right.

Resale right was introduced into the UK in 2006 when Directive 2001/84/EC was implemented. Resale right allows artists and their heirs to receive a small royalty each time one of their works is resold whilst that work is in copyright. The UK currently uses a derogation in the Directive so the right only applies in the UK to works by living artists. This derogation will expire on 1 January 2010 unless the UK Government seeks a further two year extension in accordance with the terms of the Directive.

The UK-IPO is seeking views on whether to maintain the existing derogation for a further two years until 1 January 2012 or to allow the derogation to lapse and for works by artists who are deceased, but are still protected by copyright, to be eligible for resale right.

The Artist’s Resale Right: Derogation for Deceased Artists Consultation launches today, 30 June 2008 and closes on 22 September 2008.

Comments may be sent by post, e-mail or fax to;

The Artist’s Resale Right Consultation
Copyright and Intellectual Property Enforcement Directorate
UK Intellectual Property Office
Concept House
Cardiff Road
Newport
NP10 8QQ

I met with two very cool people from Microsoft yesterday and we’ve come up with a cunning plan to provide a calendar of networking events for BIMA members throughout the year. Moreover, they will be completely free for members to attend.

If you’re a brand and would like to support BIMA and its members whilst promoting your technology/brand, feel free to get in touch.

If you’d like to avail of such networking events, please consider becoming a BIMA member.

More to come…

So that’s what we have done this year.

Relevance

This year the awards are going to ambitiously serve the interactive design & development community with the detail of recognition they desire. 2008 sees the a reduction in the top level to 9 categories; B2B, B2C, Website , Games, Integrated Campaign, Social Media , Film & Animation, & Talent.

The top-level categories then have subcategories, into which you submit your abundant talents. The new sub - categories allow the detail, the technology and whatever nuances that play a part within the overall experience to be recognised and revered.

There are so many facets, assets and attributes required in this era of interactivity to = make a truly great experience that are largely unrecognised as a piece of art in their own right. BIMA 2008 will recognise those nuances as well as emerging disciplines in the best ever breakdown of categories and awards.

Within each top-level category we have also introduced a new feature, the wondrous wildcard called ” The Little Bit of Wickedness Award”. We want to see the devil in the detail. You know when there is a piece of work that is just truly mouth watering but you just don’t know why…It’s just perfect. Well, enter it in this category.

It could be the logo of an online game, a sound effect, or an incredible flash component that you developed. It could even be a whole site.

All of this attention to detail, access to specialised areas and talents to enter, are relevant in our current industry. In 2008 we are acknowledging the breadth of what you / we do and recognising new and emerging disciplines.

Aspirational

Not every category will win an award. “Mmmmm”, I hear you say.

Why? Well, while we do our best to recognise great work, if there just isn’t anything great within a category then we can’t justify awarding a BIMA.

Basically, BIMA’s are not easy to get. They are to be loved and desired, and ultimately, you need to work hard to get one! But, having looked at the industry year and some of the folios out there, there is incredible work all worthy of a BIMA!

Fun

The devil is in the pixel. It’s one of the powers behind all of our careers. The necessary detail that we all work with. But it’s a detail that is overlooked and sometimes ignored.

That attention to detail is what this year’s awards are all about. We asked ourselves some questions? It’s not good enough, or fair enough to just have an award for the best website. How many combined talents, technologies, creatives and details go into making that one experience?

Some elements of a site raise the benchmark, while other areas of the same site could have been better.
Whereas the awards of old seemed to bundle all these individual assets, attributes, and important details together; this years awards will recognise them as individual components.

For example that wondrous sound effect on the button of a game that you cannot stop pressing, the incredible flash animation that heads up an otherwise dull site, a social blog that has revolutionised your life, and not forgetting that pioneering user interface that challenges all others. And let’s not overlook the abundant talent in the UK. And my, what enormous talent we have!

And why is all this fun? We are working in the most fun, fast paced, futuristic creative industry. So fun is in everything we potentially do. We need to have fun in awards and this year, the awards ceremony aims to be more relevant and aspirational…and also a massive excuse to have as much fun as possible!

Hello, yes it’s a bit of a mouthful, but in simple terms it’s a group of 15 people from various backgrounds selected by the BBC to advise external suppliers on how best to work with the BBC commissioners.

The BBC Approved Supplier List (ASL) was created to hold a multitude of suppliers (over 300 in fact) in a pool for commissioners to dip in to for assistance with projects. All these suppliers have pre-qualified through the ASL system.

There has been numerous occasions where suppliers have found it difficult communicating through this system, so the advisory group was set up to make this process driven relationship more efficient for both parties.

I have recently been appointed onto this group and will be representing BIMA at these meetings. I feel that BIMA will be able to offer a great deal of support to the BBC Future Media team, and be a perfect body to communicate it’s members comments, issues and needs back to the BBC.

To start with, the advisory group will look at the commissioning process, we will run a system audit and suggest ways in which the BBC can enhance the process and experience.

Also, BIMA will be running a series of events with the BBC for BIMA members and the ASL. These will be in the format of open workshops where ideas can be shared and further face time will be given with BBC commissioners. These will be open to non BIMA members and non ASL suppliers too.

Please keep an eye on the BIMA site for these events which will take place later this year.

It’s relevant to the BIMA community since the space is shaping up into a very interesting landscape from an advertising, monetisation and application development perspective, and BIMA members (likely to have some knowledge here) are well placed to benefit.

We make online advertising (in fact a lot of online advertising as Interpublic Group’s largest digital agency here in the UK, as I was reminded recently) in order to deliver as many messages as we can to targeted audiences to get them to remember the brand name or to click on to be more engaged and buy something.

We also develop communities, often by association with passions, football, tennis, online gaming, web developers, no less, and this is where the world of social computing is so challenging. Which is better - to run a campaign of x impressions that gets 0.02 click through (say 300 people) or to write a widget that is downloaded by 300 people. The answer is probably both are relevant, but do a different job. If the end game is engagement, time spent with the brand, or memorability, what’s your vote?

Think about it. Write about it. It’s a good debate.

Download to your iPod(:40 minutes/1MB)

Let’s face it, an exclusive invite-only event isn’t exactly, inclusive for BIMA members.

For those of you who keep an eye on this blog for Top Cats related posts, please keep an eye on my personal blog for future updates.

This is an exceptional opportunity to meet Craig Menzies, Forrester Research Senior Analyst and author of the Forrester Wave European Interactive Agencies Web Design Capabilities. I’m delighted to say that Craig recently joined BIMA as an Advisor to the Board

Please come along to hear and discuss with him his views on Web Design, Client / Agency Relationship Meltdown, and the Big Bad Recession.

Craig is investigating…

For Web site owners, finding the right interactive agency to take on their Web design project is hard enough, but creating a long-term healthy, happy and productive working relationship can be harder still. And on top of that, how do Web site owners and agencies get the best quality work while in the midst of an economic downturn?

• How can Web site owners and agencies get the best from their Web design projects?
• What are the common problems (and remedies) for client/agency relationship meltdowns?
• What do some of Europe’s top agencies think about how the economy will affect their businesses?

About Craig

Craig is based in London, and his research covers the design capabilities of interactive marketing agencies in Europe, and how prospective clients can work with design vendors to achieve their business goals. He also focuses on how user-centered, brand-conscious, research-driven Web design can have a positive impact on both the online customer experience and the bottom line.

Before joining Forrester, Craig was a senior technology consultant and the head of technology for Logan Tod & Co., head of technical and eCommerce for leading UK retailer I Want One of Those.com, head of database operations for one of Canada’s largest direct marketing firms, and a freelance Web designer and database marketing consultant

Event Date: 19th June 2008 | Time: 08:30 to 10:00 hrs
Venue: Bar 19/21, Soho House Club, 21 Old Compton Street London W1

Register now to avoid disappointment

This basically means focusing on all aspects of digital, ranging from the traditional executions of design teams, right through to innovative craftsmanship, which often results in those awesome little gems of wickedness.

Therefore we think you’ll find the categories a lot wider and more general, allowing for a greater variety of submissions from more areas of our industry.

So, as well as celebrating traditional creative, we’ll also be recognising a few unsung heroes.

It’s been an incredible year for all of us in the interactive field and BIMA want to celebrate what’s created a buzz in 2008 and who made it all happen.

The registration page on the BIMA Web site will be made available this week. You can enter as many categories and sub-categories as you like. Why not do the ground work now and paste your work of art when the site is ready.

The BIMA Awards 2008

We have reduced the overall number of categories from 21 to just 9 this year. It’s now easier to see where your work of art belongs, but it won’t be so easy to pick up one of the Industry’s most prized gongs.

1. B2B
2. B2C
3. Website
4. Games
5. Integrated Campaign
6. Social Media
7. Film & Animation
8. Student Award
9. Talent

Each Award Category will aim to have one BIMA Award Winner. If no segment warrants an award, then one will not be given.

Within an Award Category there are a number of sub categories of entry. If no sub category warrants an award, then again, one will not be given. As usual, there will be one BIMA 2008 Grand Prix Award. All of the category winners will be judged and a Grand Prix Award will be given out.

Why have we changed the categories this year?

The purpose of this new category structure is to capture the talents and merits that specific areas of design and development play in the creation of an interactive experience. Many unique skills and successes come together to make “magic” in modern digital media.

Our industry has evolved further this year than any other, and BIMA wants to identify the developments and achievements made by introducing new categories and disciplines.

We will also assume that all good interactive design will aim to be accessible and compliant.

B2B

This award category focuses on identifying solutions that challenge conventional ideas and expectations of the B2B genre. Judges will specifically look for creative solutions and strategies that excel (business-to-business products or services) or communications (supports corporate communications and operations) across all aspects of the designed solution.

All ideas will be considered, whether they’re big or small, from intelligent and insightful copy, to clever use of bespoke technology.

To succeed in this category we’ll be looking for unique and effective ways of meeting business objectives, as well as a mature use of integrated digital channels as part of the overall strategy. Oh… and not forgetting the most important criteria; brilliant design and exceptional creativity! This is not open to agency-to-agency projects as this is covered by another genre, the ‘Talent Award’ with ‘Best Agency.’

Entries can be in any interactive media, Internet, CD-Rom, DVD, mobile, installation, kiosk or interactive TV.

Awards

Best B2B

Overall winner in this category from the submissions in the sub-sections

Content & Design Award

• A piece of work within the category that is inspirational, innovative and unique in its creative concept, graphical design and execution. The pure aesthetics of design detail, the celebration of digital nuances, and the art of idea will be awarded.

Distribution & Media Award

• A piece of work within the category that, in its ambition to communicate a concept, explores the use of different channels and media types in a unique and compelling way. Use of new and clever methods of integration that demonstrate burgeoning effectiveness will be rewarded.

Measurements & Results Award

• A piece of work within the category that successfully engaged a far greater online/measured audience than expected through its innovative concept and deployment. Success in terms of audience numbers and those wunderbar page impressions are what count here.

Technology & Innovation Award

• A piece of work within the category that shows innovation within architecture, development and/or deployment. We celebrate the code!

Awesome Little Bit of Wickedness Award

• A work within the category that either has a detail to be revered and highlighted for all its gloriousness, or its just that damn good that you don’t want to put a finger on it… It’s just wicked. It’s that site that has the most incredible piece of animation, incredible sound effect, or a wondrous use of graphical design… It’s just a little bit of wickedness!

B2C

This category focuses on consumers and how they interact with commercial enterprises. It’s a lot more than just paying lip service to consumers needs though. We’ll be looking for a genuine understanding and proof that insights learned have been acted upon. Therefore the planning, and subsequent exploitation of digital channels should show compelling strategies to engage consumers at all levels of the solution. The converging of channels provide opportunities to enter a wide variety of work that balances technical, creative and business innovation to provide genuinely interesting and effective solutions. Innovative, ambitious and creative solutions are what the judges will be looking for in 2008.

From mobile solutions, interactive TV to micro sites.

Entries can be in any interactive media, internet, CD-Rom, DVD, mobile, installation, kiosk or interactive TV.

Awards

Best B2B

Overall winner in this category from the submissions in the sub-sections

Content & Design Award

• A piece of work within the category that is inspirational, innovative and unique in its creative concept, graphical design and execution. The pure aesthetics of design detail, the celebration of digital nuances, and the art of idea will be awarded.

Distribution & Media Award

• A piece of work within the category that, in its ambition to communicate a concept, explores the use of different channels and media types in a unique and compelling way. Use of new and clever methods of integration that demonstrate burgeoning effectiveness will be rewarded.

Measurements & Results Award

• A piece of work within the category that successfully engaged a far greater online audience than expected through its innovative concept and deployment. Success in terms of audience and those wunderbar page impressions are what count here.

Technology & Innovation Award

• A piece of work within the category that shows innovation within architecture, development and/or deployment. We celebrate the code!

Awesome Little Bit of Wickedness Award

• A piece of work within the category that either has a detail to be revered and highlighted for all its gloriousness, or its just that damn good that you don’t want to put a finger on it…It’s just wicked.

Website

Put simply, this award category is looking to applaud the best website.
The judges will assess the whole experience comprising the idea, the overall design, the information architecture, navigation, and use of rich content such as motion graphics and video.

It’s all about the nuances that create the wonderful website experience you create, from innovative use of audio, through to the taxonomy and user experience. This years award is looking to find the great makers of the best websites out there, big or small…big budget or not.

*NB - Micro sites (by which we mean campaign specific sites which live separately from the main corporate or brand site and are designed with a limited life span) will not be awarded here. Micro sites are supported in most other genres in the subcategories.

Awards

Best Website 2008 Award

Overall winner in this category from the submissions in the sub-sections

Content & Design Award

• A piece of work within the category that is inspirational, innovative and unique in its creative concept, graphical design and execution. The pure aesthetics of design detail, the celebration of digital nuances, and the art of idea will be awarded.

Distribution & Media Award

• A piece of work within the category that, in its ambition to communicate a concept, explores the use of different channels and media types in a unique and compelling way. Use of new and clever methods of integration that demonstrate burgeoning effectiveness will be rewarded.

Measurements & Results Award

• A piece of work within the category that successfully engaged a far greater online audience than expected through its innovative concept and deployment. Success in terms of audience numbers, and those wunderbar page impressions are what count here.

Technology & Innovation Award

• A piece of work within the category that shows innovation within architecture, development and/or deployment. We celebrate the code!

Production Award

• A production of many parts that merits great reverence in its scale, its complexity, and/or its timelines and budget restraints.

Copywriting Award

• It’s all in the writing!

Awesome Little Bit of Wickedness Award

• A work within the category that either has a detail to be revered and highlighted for all its gloriousness, or its just that damn good that you don’t want to put a finger on it… It’s just wicked!

Games

This award recognises the most innovative and compelling example of interactive games and gaming, across any platform. As an example, what the judges are looking for is a game that challenges the overall excellence of design in a game, including game play, mechanics, effects, user experience, narrative, illustration and scenarios.

We welcome everything, including mobile, micro sites, kiosk, handheld, console, iTV or online games that break new visual, technical or narrative ground!

Also, games that have community elements, peer to peer and other innovative technological dynamics are also welcome.

Entries can be in any interactive media, internet, CD-Rom, DVD, mobile, installation, kiosk or interactive TV.

Awards

Best Games 2008 Award

Overall winner in this category from the submissions in the sub-sections (It was felt that Mobile and Handheld should not be separate, but one category)

Handheld Award

• A piece of work within the category that was designed and deployed specifically for handheld or mobile devices.

Online Award

• A piece of work within the category that was designed and deployed specifically for the online connection.

Console Award

• A piece of work within the category that was designed and deployed specifically for console.

iTV

• A piece of work within the category that was designed and deployed specifically for an iTV platform.

Awesome Little Bit of Wickedness Award

• A piece of work within the category that either has a detail to be revered and highlighted for all its gloriousness, or its just that damn good that you don’t want to put a finger on it… It’s just wicked.

Integrated Campaign

This award goes to the best example of digital work in the context of an integrated campaign. The winning work will successfully demonstrate the use of a big creative idea expressed across multiple channels. This could encompass on and offline media, but MUST demonstrate an innovative use of online and / or mobile.

Judges will look for the design and creativity of the piece, not just how successful it was in terms of distribution.

Entries can be in any interactive media, Internet, CD-Rom, DVD, mobile, installation, kiosk or interactive TV.

Awards

Best 2008 Integrated Campaign

Overall winner in this category from the submissions in the sub-sections

Content & Design Award

• A piece of work within the category that is inspirational, innovative and unique in its creative concept, graphical design and execution. The pure aesthetics of design detail, the celebration of digital nuances, and the art of idea will be awarded.

Distribution & Media Award

• A piece of work within the category that, in its ambition to communicate a concept, explores the use of different channels and media types in a unique and compelling way. Use of new and clever methods of integration that demonstrate burgeoning effectiveness will be rewarded.

Measurements & Results Award

• A piece of work within the category that successfully engaged a far greater online audience than expected through its innovative concept and deployment. Success in terms of audience and those wunderbar page impressions are what count here.

Technology & Innovation Award

• A piece of work within the category that shows innovation within architecture, development and/or deployment. We celebrate the code!

Awesome Little Bit of Wickedness Award

• A piece of work within the category that either has a detail to be revered and highlighted for all its gloriousness, or its just that damn good that you don’t want to put a finger on it… It’s just wicked.

Student

This category is open to a student, or a team of students that demonstrate the best use of interactive work within digital media. The project should have been undertaken as part of a course and is open to anyone who is currently in full-time education.

The judges will be looking for exciting and innovative creative ideas in interactive design and functionality. Entries can be in any interactive media, Internet, CD-Rom, DVD, mobile, installation, kiosk or interactive TV and the entry must be accompanied by an introduction from the tutor of the course outlining the degree achievable from the course.

Social Media

To blog or not to blog… that is the question. Our judges are looking for the most innovative experiences within the ever-evolving social media space. From an incredibly poignant blog, to the juiciest avatar, we want to celebrate our social designs!

Awards

Best 2008 Social Media Award

Overall winner in this category from the submissions in the sub-sections

Best Blog Award (Personal or Corporate)

• A blog within the category that is innovative, informative and entertaining. Open and honest a compelling read that inspires and engages visitors to return to day after day. Whether the content is incredible personal and poignant or just good fun, this is blog is championed by a loyal audience who share this site with friends and contacts both online and off.

Best Network Application

• A piece of work, within the category, that has been adopted by a broad audience. An audience that recognise the benefits that this innovative application brings to their day-to-day lives. Whether it is just about connecting people or staying in touch it will make everyday online tasks ‘easy’ and ‘convenient’ whilst generating huge page impressions!

Viral Campaign

• The online destination, site, video clip, tool, application or experience that everyone is talking about and visiting, that taps into popular culture. Cutting edge, this experience is so compelling, emotional, edgy, mysterious and exciting that the advertisers work is done for them when an online audience begin to share it with friends and colleagues and it goes on to join a pantheon.

Awesome Little Bit of Wickedness Award

• A piece of work within the category that either has a detail to be revered and highlighted for all its gloriousness, or its just that damn good that you don’t want to put a finger on it…It’s just wicked. This could be an uncategorised piece of UGC, a wondrous widget that sits within a social space or just the most incredible piece of social media that’s incredibly wicked!!!

Talent

The talent award 2008 should actually speak for itself. We basically want to celebrate true greatness within the interactive industry.

Awarded to an individual, team, agency or client, the talent award 2008 is here to enable BIMA to identify the work of the makers and craftspeople among us. Applicants can come from all disciplines, all corporate levels and currently working and building a digital portfolio. An individual or a team who are truly innovative and inspiring. Up and coming stars that are worth keeping an eye on.

“Sometimes there is just that raw talent in the team who goes the extra mile. The talent that create masterpieces. The designer who just has that flair and polish, the developer who invents and never tires, the planner who is just god’s gift…and the boss, who really is the leader”

Awards

2008 Talent Award

Overall winner in this category from the submissions in the sub-sections

BIMA Star

• A talent within the category that illustrates great personal talent through their portfolio of interactive achievements.

Agency of the Year

• An agency within the category that illustrates great talent through their portfolio of interactive achievements. Client and agency nominations required.

Client

• Time to thank the ones that make it happen…Who’s been the best from this year… (Submission: Examples of work, Up to 500 word synopsis of talent and any other additional digital assets that support the submission.)

Film & Animation

The moving image is a core part of the interactive and digital experience and always will be. These days it is an on and offline interactive expectation. This award recognises the innovation and art within film, entertainment and animation within an interactive experience.

Whether it’s a mobile drama, a flash animation, an interactive installation or a video short on a social network. The important thing is that it must be an original production or adaptation that is innovative and groundbreaking in its own right, marrying the art of motion and digital together.

The judges will be looking for innovative concepts, production values and originality.

Entries can be in any interactive media, Internet, CD-Rom, DVD, mobile, installation, kiosk, VHS, Digi-Beta or interactive TV.

Awards

2008 Film & Video Award

Overall winner in this category from the submissions in the sub-sections

Online Production

• An original piece of work created for viewing online, via interactive or mobile only.

Event

• An original piece of work created for an installation, a performance, Experiential, a VJ set, launch material or other such event.

Writing Award

• It’s all in the writing!

Awesome Little Bit of Wickedness Award

• A piece of work within the category that either has a detail to be revered and highlighted for all its gloriousness, or its just that damn good that you don’t want to put a finger on it…It’s just wicked. This could be an uncategorised piece of UGC, a wondrous widget that sits within a social space or just the most incredible piece of animation that’s incredibly wicked!!!

If you’re a Top Cat, pencil it in now. Please don’t register your interest just yet - I just wanted to give you a heads up. I received a response from 70 Top Cats within 24 hours of sending out the invite for May. So, make sure you’ve got your finger on the ’send’ button.

Sponsored by

Our thanks for June’s sponsorship goes to TH_NK

How to become a Top Cat

Top Cats is a regular event coordinated by BIMA and Internet People. The purpose of the event is to forge greater collaboration between London’s Internet startup, Web design, interactive marketing, mobile, TV and advertising communities at the highest level.

Top Cats are now permitted to recommend up to 2 new members each month. To become a member, you’ll need to be recommended by another Top Cat

Sponsorship opportunity for future gatherings

Get in touch if you’d like to sponsor a future Top Cat event. Email paul@segala.com

The deadline for the Call for Judges is close of business 11th July 2008

The judging panel will comprise exclusively of senior practitioners working within the interactive and associated industries. When the selection has been made, all applicants will receive an e-mail to advise them whether they have been successful.

Deadline for entries to the BIMAs 2008 is close of business on 31st July 2008 (the entry form will be available on the BIMA Web site shortly)

BIMA Awards Gala Dinner, Thursday 27th November 2008 at the Bloomsbury Club, London

Good luck!

Read the full post.

BIMA is now calling for judges for the BIMA Awards 2008 (The BIMAs™).  If you would like to be considered for selection as a judge for this year’s event, please go to this page on the BIMA Web site, complete the form and submit your details online.

The deadline for the Call for Judges is close of business 11th July 2008

The judging panel will comprise exclusively of senior practitioners working within the interactive and associated industries.  When the selection has been made, all applicants will receive an e-mail to advise them whether they have been successful.

Deadline for entries to the BIMAs 2008 is close of business on 31st July 2008  (the entry form will be available on the BIMA Web site shortly)

BIMA Awards Gala Dinner, Thursday 27th November 2008 at the Bloomsbury Club, London

Good luck!

Please read my previous post if this party is news to you.

I thought it was worth providing an update as we’ve seen just over 100 tickets go within a couple of days. There are only 200 tickets available so please make sure to register to avoid disappointment. Everyone is welcome; agencies, brands, technology providers, freelancers, students, graduates, civil servants, bloggers, twitters… you get the picture. It doesn’t matter what industry you’re from either. It’ll be a night to remember!

Tickets are free for BIMA members and just £15 for non-members. I’ve noticed registrations from at least 4 countries so far. Keep ‘em coming and see you on May 20th at Soho private members club.

Register now.

I’d like to thank diffusion for sponsoring the event.

Please get in touch if you’d like to sponsor.

Apologies for cross-posting from my personal blog, fortunately there’s only a small overlap of readers on both. I wrote a post a few weeks ago, complaining about Yahoo!’s stupid integrated registration system. I was so pissed off with the login process I decided to can my use of MyBlogLog and Upcoming. Fortunately I’ve never had a problem with Flickr.

However, since removing the mugshots of my readers from my blogs, I’ve felt like something has been missing. So, I’ve managed to sort out my login details and Kamrul has reinstalled the MyBlogLog widget (Recent Readers).

What is MyBlogLog?

MyBlogLog provides a widget that you can place on your blog. MyBlogLog users who then visit your blog are automatically added to the “community” of visitors and you will usually see an image and/or text with the visitor’s user name. Only the most recent visitors MyBlogLog members, will show within the MyBlogLog widget (found on the sidebar to the right).

If you have a MyBlogLog account and remain logged in, your face will automatically appear in the widget on every blog you visit (assuming they have the widget installed - TechCrunch also has one). I didn’t really care for it that much until I had it removed from my blogs. For some strange reason I missed seeing (some) of the faces of my community. I say ’some’ because only a small fraction of people have an account - not because I don’t want to see some people

I’ve gone a step further than most blogs. MyBlogLog users who leave comments also get their mugshot displayed beside their comment. It would be fun to encourage more to join.

Setup an account now and join the community.

You’ve gotta embrace social media tools, techniques and importantly, communities, before you can even think about taking on BIMA’s public relations. So, please make sure you’re on Twitter and are a member of the BIMA Facebook group before getting in touch. Why? Well, if you need me to answer that question you’re not right for the job

I have quite a few PR people following me on twitter so this approach shouldn’t limit us to the extent that we don’t find anyone. Well, I hope not anyway.

Who we’re looking for

We’re looking for a freelancer or small agency to work on a contra basis. So, in return for your amazing craftsmanship with words and untouchable contacts within traditional media, we’ll help raise your own profile. You’ll also have the opportunity to educate industry via BIMA, with respect to the new PR world we live in today. You could even use your work with BIMA as a case study. That’s it. More defined requirements should actually come from you.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank immediate future for its amazing contribution to BIMA over the years. Katy Howell in particular has been personally very helpful to me over the past couple of years. Thanks Katy. Katy is of course, on twitter. You’re probably wondering why we’re looking for someone else if immediate future did such a great job. The answer is simple, Katy did such a good job that her company has grown quickly, winning so many clients that they felt it was time to pass on the baton.

Please DM me to get the conversation going. I look forward to hearing from you soon. You’ll first need to follow me on twitter before being able to DM me.

I’m far more interested in the Forrester comment reflecting the change in consumer behaviour. The digital officers worth their grain of salt should also be talking about that. The internet is the serious medium of attention for the consumer. Just look at the number of insurance policies researched, reviewed, renewed and sold online. Or the number of holidays, cars, books, CDs, even chocolate bars, and sickness diagnoses make the frequency list. Last night, just before midnight, I ordered a rabbit hutch (don’t ask), a new CD player and a bunch of wiring (anyone with kids/rabbit will understand). That experience sums it up for me - convenient, simple, and a lingering household chore done. The concept of brand utility has become fashionable, but the concepts of usability and user experience still kind of stick, don’t they?

Small technical point about the big shift in Client budgets to digital - it isn’t always reflected in a big shift of fees to digital agencies and search represents a huge proportion. Still, there’s enough prediction that internet expenditure in the UK is soon to outstrip that of TV to challenge the complex agency supply chain to reorganise and restructure, as that’s not happening in quite the same timescale either.

But the basics of decent functionality solving my problem and brands online letting me take the brand experience where I want it are moving much faster than perhaps even we, the experts, realise.

I wrote a post a while back on my personal blog, highlighting the lack of journalists on Twitter. Today, thanks to Marie Boran (AKA PixieVonDust), I read with great interest that Charles Cooper from CNET is of the same opinion. Charles goes as far as to say

Out of curiosity, I drew up a list of 55 technology journalists to find out how many use Twitter, arguably one of the most important social-media technologies on the scene.

If you’re not familiar with Twitter, think of it as a conversational tool come micro blogging platform from a technology perspective. I also think of it as a community of early adopters, of whom, some are very influential with a passion for sharing. It’s a community you can communicate with via the Web site, desktop client or mobile phone (either by SMS or application). So, it’s very accessible. You can subscribe to alerts too, which means you get notified any time someone ‘tweets’ a message.

Twitter has almost replaced my RSS reader completely and to a degree, my reliance on Google to find stuff. If I want to find out the latest gossip, ask for advice on how to use something new, or find the latest world news, I head straight for Twitter.com and scroll through all the conversations for the past few hours.

I was in New York recently to take part in a panel discussion about Mobile TV. Whenever I wanted a recommendation for a restaurant within walking distance, or the address of a specific clothes shop, I turned to my Twitter community. Within minutes I had the answers to any question I asked. Some people went as far as to Google restaurants and read the reviews before making recommendations to me.

A couple of people actually few from California to New York to meet me after connecting on Twitter. It doesn’t get better than that.

So, if you’re not already on there, setup an account now and search for people you know. Check out who they follow as they’re likely to be connected to people you know. Don’t subscribe to too many people at once. Make sure some of them become a follower of you or you’ll end up looking like a stalker, and nobody will follow you. Don’t limit yourself to only people you know. It’s a fantastic way to get to know new people around the world too. Are you on Twitter already?

Read the full article on CNET.

Connect to me on Twitter let me know if you’ve followed me after reading this post so I know where you’ve come from.

Every month, BIMA and Internet People, host an exclusive event called Top Cats. The goal of the event is to forge stronger ties and greater collaboration between the Internet start up, mobile, interactive marketing, TV and advertising communities.

There are no formalities apart from a short introduction to the evening and we don’t have speakers. It’s an informal gathering of likeminded people, many of whom end up collaborating on very interesting projects.

Who qualifies to be a Top Cat?

Top Cats is attended by top level executive, senior decision makers, investors and reporters.

• Established Agencies = Founder/CEO/Chai
• Technology Providers & Brands (big companies such as Microsoft and the BBC) = Director/Head or other senior decision maker
• Startups = Founder/CEO/Chair + secured VC funding or have a seriously good track record
• Other = Publishers, Editors, Authors, TV Personalities, Establish Journalists, you get the picture…

The entry criterion is quite strict. This isn’t to alienate non-Top Cats, it’s just one way in which we can deliver different types of events that are relevant to different people. If you feel you meet the criterion above, please get in touch by email janice.cable@bima.co.uk

The next gathering of our Top Cats is May 1st. Sponsored by Microsoft (for the second time!) and hosted at One Alfred Place Private members club in London. I had lunch with the Chief Executive during the week - the venue is second to none and the food was delicious.

Here are some names to give you a taste for ‘who’s who’.

1. Alastair Duncan, CEO, mrm Worldwide
2. Alexis d’Amecourt, Head of New Media, 19 Entertainment
3. Amanda Lorenzani, Head of UK Portal, Excite
4. Andrew Shorten, EMEA Platform Evangelist, Adobe
5. Angela Kirkham, Publishing Manager, O2
6. Avid Larizadeh, Associate, Accel Partners
7. Ben Luckett, Head of E-commerce, British Gas
8. Carl Taylor, Director of Applications & Services, Hutchinson Whampoa
9. Charles Billot, Marketing Director, Soup
10. Chris Wood, CEO, Top Table
11. Craig Hill, Founder / Chairman, Digital Outlook
12. David Soskin, CEO, Cheapflights
13. Daniel Appelquist, Senior Technology Strategist, Vodafone Group
14. Dennis Greene, Head of E-business, Royal Mail
15. Daniele Fiandaca, COO, Profero
16. Dr Charles Wiles, Product Manager, Google
17. Felix Velarde, Founder, Underwired
18. Hugh MacLeod, Professional Blogger
19. Jemima Kiss , New Media Reporter, Media Guardian
20. Justin Champney, Head of Brand Innovation EMEA, McCann Worldwide

Hosts

(Me) Paul Walsh, Chair, BIMA & Founder/CEO, Segala
Robert Loch, Founder, Internet People & Founder, Recommendbox.com

Sponsorship Opportunity

The Top Cats event is made possible by sponsorship.

Sponsors of the event receive:

• Brand promote on the invitation email, sent to more than 450 top people from London’s interactive sector.
• Inclusion in the reminder email for the event.
• The option to have marketing material at the event.
• Option to recommend people for the invitation list
• The option to give a two-minute ‘word from our sponsor’ talk at the event.

We’ve never had any trouble attracting sponsorship and we might have two secured for June and July already (unconfirmed). That said, we don’t like to make assumptions and would love to hear from you if you’re interested in becoming a sponsor. We’re considering an unusual event for June which may require a few sponsors to come together.

To learn more about sponsorship please email me Paul@segala.com

Flash Essentials - Thursday and Friday 10th April and 11th April - Two day course - This course is aimed at designers and developers new to the flash environment. Delegates will produce an engaging interface using text, graphics, animation, video and sound. Simple user interactions are added using built in ActionScript behaviours etc.

£250 - (usual price is £499)
£150 - if you are a freelancer
Price includes lunch and manuals.

Flash Actionscript - Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday 7th April, 8th and 9th April - Three day course description is ‘The person must have some knowledge of Flash and ideally have done the flash essentials course. This provides experienced flash designers with the knowledge and hands-on practice they need to create dynamically generated event-driven animation and interactive games with Flash. The course teaches fundamental programming techniques. It begins by introducing core concepts including instance names, variables, functions, properties and methods, then proceeds through conditions, loops, event handling and animating with Action Script.

£300 - (usual price is £699)
£200 - if you are a freelancer
Price includes lunch and manuals.

To book a place call Anna on 020 7393 1390

See you at the Breakfast Bites on Tuesday.

I’m not at all religious but when I received an email this morning which gave praise to the work being done behind the scenes by Janice Cable, BIMA’s company secretary, a poem immediately sprang to mind. So, I thought I’d share my thoughts about Janice’s work at BIMA by way of reciting ‘Footprints in the sand’.

Footprints in the Sand has been seen in print by people the world over since the late 1940’s. All that time no author has been credited with this immortal work, only ‘Author Anonymous’ has appeared at the bottom. This web site was created to bring to light the story behind ‘Footprints in the Sand’ and its author Mary Stevenson (Zangare).

One night a man had a dream. He dreamed he was walking along the beach with the LORD.

Across the sky flashed scenes from his life.
For each scene he noticed two sets of footprints in the sand: one belonging to him, and the other to the LORD.

When the last scene of his life flashed before him, he looked back at the footprints in the sand.

He noticed that many times along the path of his life there was only one set of footprints.

He also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in his life.

This really bothered him and he questioned the LORD about it:

“LORD, you said that once I decided to follow you, you’d walk with me all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life, there is only one set of footprints. I don’t understand why when I needed you most you would leave me.”

The LORD replied:

“My son, my precious child, I love you and I would never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you.”

It’s during the busy periods when Janice really shines and it’s on those occasions when she acts as the glue which holds the Executive team together, always there to support the ongoing and sometimes tough demands of the association.

Thanks Janice. No, she hasn’t left BIMA, but I think we should thank people for their hard work, dedication and loyality while their doing it. Why wait until they leave.

Oldtimers may remember Fray from very old web.  Derek started it in 1996 as a live story telling site.  Each story ended with the question “when has this happened to you?” .  This started his interest in community online and how to invite participation.  

“When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro” Hunter S Thompson

Today the web enables people to get exposure that used to the exclusive preserve of adults, authorities and experts.  So what can you do if you want crowds on your site?

Content owners have 3 lies they tell themselves when confronted with free content:

1.  Everyone on the net is an idiot. 

2 Good stuff is too hard to find

3. You can’t make any money.

1.     Everyone on the net is an idiot… for past 10 years the mainstream media only focused on this.  But refute it using Google – value based on number of links to pages… proxy for votes and voters are important. Kim Pedersen’s Backyard Monorail – 300 feet of track costing $4000.   He shares what he knows for free – created a community of shared interest.  Wikipedia because it was the first makes it a bad site to copy, now.  But the small community of editors who do the most (0.7% of users) are key to small edits/spell checkers (tend the  Drafted Postsgarden) and new users who post substantive new articles.  

2.    Good stuff is too hard to find. Traditional ways of finding good stuff is human editors (magazines / newspapers), non-traditional editors took this and applied to the web (Amazon where users were reviewers) and moderators.  Computers took on the task (text search), Google’s page rank (more sophisticated weighted by incoming link) and technorati.  But the middle path of hybrid using both human and computers is where most of the opportunity lies today (Flickr interestingness, community vote and best of both).  Flickr algorithm is voting by actions (going to look at photos).  Displayed by leader board by day. This created a competition and people trying to gain the system.  Later they made a 7 day version, recent randomised of 9 images. 

The Wisdom of crowds – the number 1 book to read.  It is about how people can use groups to be smart.  Summarised as selfish behaviour aggregated for a common good.  The interaction is simple – key.  Simple questions.  “did you like this?”.  You need diversity across the spectrum to make this work. But selfishness is important – design for selfishness [we think our products are awesome and anyone who disagrees is an idiot!]  High on our own supply.  If you can create a desire for the user to put their voice onto something you may succeed.  Rewards can be ego or money.

Assignment Zero using wiki software collaboration with Wired Magazine – crowdsouring stories. The crowd didn’t want to participate by writing stories.  So they changed to asking for research… asked people to sign up for interviews (instant response!).  Doing an interview was a simple task compared to writing something.  Read a list of people and decide to take action by asking a few questions… their editors condensed into print-worthy text.   Using crowdsourcing as a cost-saving measure doesn’t work.  Communities must be cultivated, respected and managed if they are to create economic value” Jeff Howe who coined the phrase crowdsourcing.

3.    You can’t make any money.  Threadless is a great example – t shirt store with no designers, just an interface.  The best get printed, bought. A trusted middle man.  Golden tag in 1 shirt per 1000 (Willy Wonker thing), member forum for people who’ve won in the past… cultivating a winner class.  Have a plan with good answers ready for when you get ‘busted’! 

Derek's new startup Pixish – bringing the threadless happiness to any image based contest.  Cautionary tales – Yahoo games Wii site…. create niche sites pulling stories, photos and stuff tagged Wii including a strip of photos from Flickr.  They didn't’ give the users any way of opting out… all sorts of things tagged Wii including Yahoo sucks, baby weeing etc…  It wasn’t a legal reason.  Because there was no clear way to opt out users rebelled.  Copious opt ins and opt outs are needed.  Need a group opt in.  GM Tahoe Apprentice Campaign.  User generated content to make an advert…. but users put their own captions on “Waaa? No iPod plug-in??” and you could only use their existing photos and videos… you could add text over the video.  “We paved the prairies” and “The ultimate padded cell!  “Global warming isn’t a pretty SUV ad”, “The Earth is now your bitch!”.  They designed for their own selfishness not the participant.  Narrow scope of creativity – text only.  Content was greedy – couldn’t export to any other place….YouTube or your site.  The audience was wrong – this should have been just GM owners not the entire internet!  Cf Saturn owners club.  But it worked.. really well. the microsite had 600k visitors in 3 weeks with an average 9 minutes online and many visited Chevvy.com too which was what they wanted.  

Community is Grown not built.  “building community” is for architects not online.  

How to do it.  5 steps

1. Give people tools they want
2. Trust them to do good
3. Reward good contributions
4. Punish bad contributions
5. Expect the unexpected

Punishment isn’t deleting swear words but limiting the effect of problematic users (timeouts, community boot outs for 1 hour voted by half the users).  Geotagging from Flickr – on day 1 Iceland people came together to spell the word “Fuck” on their photos….. a lot of photos were needed on the map.  A collaboration in real time. 

Weird things will happen.  Goal is to channel in the right areas and then respond appropriately. 

Slides on www.powazek.com

Questions

how to incentivise forums.  Offering swag etc.  This is valid but ego stroking can be more effective.  Look at whether it is solving a problem and do people want to talk to each other.  Member of the week programme.  Mail people t shirts and ask users what they really want.

What to do with non-winning entries on Pixish.  You can delete at any time.  You own it.

Mixing pro and amateur stuff in a mashup site – concerns about quality.  Not designed to replace pros but to bring opportunity to a wider scale – meritocracy if the system works well.  

Creative commons is a great idea but has ‘kinks’ one of the key issues are publishers who don’t understand it.  www.moveon.com online aggregator of angst!

Rewards that aren't bribes.  Start with payment in kind and then move onto cash when you can afford it.  Not offensively low e.g. $10.  

Does online trading work to encourage amateurs.  There is more talent out there then there is opportunity.  

Indirectly – sell yourself as a consultant, book deal, selling a product, training, workshops, conference. 

What works – every blog is different.  Experiment.  Adsense is a good entry level way.  
WP – my business took over my blog!  She started how to document a start-up from home so blogged it.  Three months later the blog became the start-up and she scrapped the other idea!  The link from DR grew her stats.  She learnt how to make money off the blog via ProBlogger.  She is a trained life coach and sold herself as this online and this was the fastest way to get revenue off the blog but her goal was to make money off the traffic.  Last autumn she realised sehe needed help and so started a blog network to the site (7 new ones).  Each blog is growing differently – kids activities (search engines bring readers), dads blog (no search engine success).  Creating compelling sticky content people want to come ‘hang out’ but they don’t want to click on ads.  Creating OK content designed to make people to clieck on an ad is different.  Know your goals for the blog.

Experience working with the ad networks?  Experimented – some direct sales is a lot of work – need to be a true salesperson and set ratecard and have your own ad server.  This is the most profitable… big advertisers need 1m pages per month before they’ll look at you.  Ad network is bread and butter – real girls media.  They act a bit as a broker and represent the site in their proposals to pitch big brands.  You don’t know where the income levesl will be.  So I sell text links and affiliate advertising to fill the gaps.  Diversity is key – don’t rely on one means.  
JB – How do you work with newcomers?  When choosing an ad network what should you consider? Their role is to be a single point of contact for advertisers to represent sites.  Blog community and news sites have difft needs at different stages.  “your ad here” code which you could buy online with credit card and emailed the blogger to approve it.  That was how Adbrite started.
You need to decide if it is about money or control.  At the beginning control is imp;rotant – find the ad networks that give you the opportunity to choose and view the ads that will run on your stie.  Look for a network that will have transparency so the advertisers can see they are running on YOUR site.  They need to see that you are contributing to their programme.  They may pay more.  
The key to adbrite is segmenting – content, quality, original, design, user generated content, then segemented into elite, premium tiers. Some advertisers want quality sites and performance advertisers want volume.  
Online tools – service is the big differentiator between different ad networks.  Work with your account manager – what are tips for generating more revenue.  Placement is number one way to grow.  Internet is not about interruptive advertising and so different from other media.  Google heatmap for advertisers is worth reading.

RC – Affiliate marketing – where does it fit?  It is a revenue share arrangement where you get paid for referral traffic that converts – a % of the sale.  Two distinctions – appeals to the long term relationship between the two parties.  You know your community and purpose of your site and you know where the affiliate fits into your site.  Both parties have equal stakes.  It is a long term job.  Find a good relationship between what you want to do online and how it translfates into the world of e commerce.  You post whatever you want (banner, text, data feed, snippet generator) wherever you want to display it and for how long.  You control look and feel.  In direct media determine what I display where when I do my own adverts.  

Which programme to choose?  Each company has a different take on how they manage affiliates.  Some are restrictive as it’s a representation of our brand.  We see them as an outside salesforce like the pre-internet Tupperware programme!  Referrals – it needs to make ‘sense’ to both parties.

How do you choose who to work with?  The elective programmes are the best to be in.  They have to have a value ad to the audience for us comparison shopping has worked well.  Makes it easy to solve the customer’s need.  Reviews of product allows an affiliate to give their view.  Or content about where you use the gear e.g. route planning.  Find something you are passionate about and look at the merchants that represent that.  
Intenret sales spilling out into the real world?  We plan to use events offline to allow affiliates to take their tracking mechanism offline.  Athletes at the events whether competing or not, branded pre-printed post cards or business cards with a link to the tracking source or a specific landing page… unique to them and allows credit to referrals off that page.  
WP – you have to go to the affiliate manager and ask for this – custom coupons codes and special landing pages…..

What other things do you need to keep in mind to stay up to date?
Newbie picky about ads running on their sites.  We give you the choice but the flashy ads convert better than the big brand CPM.  CPA – cost per action/acquisition.  CPM- cost per thousand.  CPC = cost per click.
The ad networks give advertisers code that goes onto their website after a user has completed the action wanted e.g. sign up to brand.  We track that conversion using the code back to the original site where the user clicked / viewed.  This allows advertisers to manage their budgtets.  Being picky limits you.  We used to group by vertical sector – now more about user targeting – geographic / age / stage.  Some pay a premium for this.  
RC – affiliate managers want to engage with sites – work on the relationship.  Provide a resource for your readers through your content.  
DR - Do as much tracking as possible on ad conversions crazyegg free tooll creates a heat map from your site.  Know where ads convert and where not…. use as a negotiating tool when you know this information.  Do surveys of readerships, age, geographic, buyers / researching.
WP – it can be frustrating to gather this information when you are a new advertiser.  It takes time to learn this… it is valuable so spend the time on this.   Put a text ad from adsense for her services within the copy of the blog…. worked for her services not others.

Question:

What about Disclosure and affiliate links?
DR – it varies from site to site.  One gets a lot of search engine traffic – for digital cameras. I have a site-wide disclosure for this.  For Problogger I put “aff” to show it’s an affiliate so reader knows.  The links perform better when I do give disclosure because my readers like me.  
WP – I never used to do disclosure because I do everything for free.  But I realised that readers don’t assume that – they assume the worst.  I try to put more disclosure in place.  

How do the networks pick the affiliates?
disclosure is important for your readership.

PPV or pay per post?
DR - I don't write comment for payment.  I understand why some write a review and get paid for it.  it depends on your site.  For me people question your motives. Transparency is important.  I see anything on the site saying something about ME and I want people to come back for years to come.  if it is helpful and relevant to your audience.
WP - I separate reviews from comment content.  readers don't like these two things mixed up in one place on my blog.  People don't respond in the same way.
RC - GuruReview - encourage reviewers to tell it like it is.  Write it but say what is the alternative solution for it.  There are lots of alternatives.  You can turn this into a positive.

Tracking and measurement – how do you gauge success and improve the overall mix?
B – there are two types of measurement the performance of the ad – number of clicks and who signed up / purchased.  And a quality metric – think about the domain name used for your blog for big name advertisers ask  Can you show me a site list – names that are clean, professional looking but they never visit the sites!  Keep user generated content quality and looking good.  
WP – there is google analytics, hittail , crazyegg .  I found it effective Pro MyBlogLog to see what people clicked on.  You pay $3 per month to get this.  I learn a lot about what people click on.  I learnt a lot from this - what I am writing on.
How does it work when you join as an affiliate?  When you apply to join a network there is a list of all the merchants and you apply to each individually.  When accepted you get access to all their ads and codes.  Research Google for affilitate programmes in your topic.  And you can go direct.  Networks – commission junction, linkshare and performix, are the big ones.  Learn your niche when choosing.   ADify.com is a network of networks and you can go there to find your niches.  UI not so good – Martha Stewart runs through there.

WP - To sell ads directly you need about 500 viewers per day to get a smaller advertiser interested.  DR suggests putting ads on from day one so that users are used to it from the start.  When you go small target small advertisers.  It created the culture.
Local search is becoming very popular and so there are probably good local ad networks.  Cenveo is a local Chicago network. 
 

Five thousand four hundred people turn up, and I was lucky enough to share a ‘power session panel’ (try saying that with six San Miguels inside you) with blog Gods Shel Israel and Jeremiah Owyang training about 600 Intel people about new media marketing technique. Shel co-authored the book Naked Conversations with Robert Scoble and is good opinionated company, and Jeremiah is Forrester’s top commentator on social media. He’s also pretty handy with the cam as you can see here.

Enough name dropping already (there were plenty of other super people to meet and Paul of course twitters with Shel tous les temps) - the gist of the sessions was healthy debate about whether social media is relevant to a firm like Intel. My take on it is simple. Social media helps you do two very important things. 1. Listen to customers. Those that don’t are dying and those that won’t will die. And 2. Listen to yourselves. If it doesn’t sound credible to you, how can you expect them to believe it?

Luv

A