This focus on customer satisfaction and customer experience has been the cornerstone of O2’s recent success in the UK market. However this focus on quality can come at a price. Speed to market and consistent innovation is challenging when you operate within a risk adverse, quality first, environment.

Their light bulb moment was observing the behaviour of internet companies who know nothing else but Beta testing with customers and following agile development processes – it’s in their DNA as entrepreneurial young businesses. So they wanted to create a way to allow application developers to interact directly with their high value customers. I feel this collaborative approach is the only model to drive innovation and adoption of mobile data services. In fact, I must declare my interest – I’ve been working with O2 on this project.

Therefore it is a significant step in the world of telco to launch a Beta service with the coming of O2 Litmus. They do this with the intention of another first, effectively turning O2 Litmus over to the community of its users, allowing them to shape future iterations.

What is O2 Litmus? It has been developed to address four key objectives:

1. Develop a way to drive mobile innovation and provide a fast route to market for successful applications
2. Create an ecosystem where all players in the value chain benefit. Developers have to be able to make money via O2 Litmus.
3. Find new ways to provide O2 customers with unique experiences, building on the success of The O2 venue and the iPhone.
4. Empower their leading edge customers – put them in the driving seat to help set the future direction of O2’s mobile data services.

O2 Litmus will provide the framework for collaboration, co-creation and experimentation between developers and O2 customers. I hope a move on this scale can only be good for the digital industry as a whole, by driving awareness and an appetite for the co-creation approach.

If you would like to be part of the journey, please register at at www.o2litmus.co.uk

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

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.