That piece in full

So, it’s Friday.

For the sake of leaving a brief entry just in time for the weekend, and now that two magazines have now published cut-down versions of a little piece I wrote about BIMA recently, both omitting both beginning and end, I’m re-publishing it here in full (such as it is!). You may notice that, per the final sentence, I have indeed followed through:

I found myself next to the delightful Paul Walsh the other night. I’ve never met a BIMA chair before - I’d always, to be honest, been sceptical, wary and disengaged. I’d always thought BIMA was reactive, not proactive; a trade body because it thought we should have one, not because we needed or wanted one.

So there I was, chattering with this lovely Irish guy. Talking about twitter (no, nor do I), Facebook (just joined, inundated with people I slightly recollect, wanting to hug me - so 1989 - or making friends with each other), LinkedIn (How Connected Am I?). And talking about such things as angel investors, global money networks, Usenet and Gopherspace.

And what role BIMA has these days. The awards of course do a fine job of peer reviewed digital goodness, and offer a marker for clients. But what else? What should BIMA be doing to represent us in a way that promotes us, gets us a better image or a better deal, or more business?

My view is that BIMA should be providing guidelines for clients running digital pitches. It should be running huge programmes focusing on the education establishment - enthusing students about the possibilities for careers in digital, at agencies, client-side, in the media. Providing the industry with fresh talent, something we are all desperately short of. And of course providing clients wqith an informed, inspired graduate intake who will in turn eventually become brave, enlighted clients.

Now there would be a thing. And do you know, Paul’s enthusiasm for this kind of thing is infectious. I might even have to join in.

Have a good weekend.