Marketers Question Impact Of Social Media
By: mobiadnews.com
According to a new study, over 80% of UK marketing professionals do not believe that Social Media currently has any impact on their brands
EuroCloud UK and a lesson in SaaS marketing
By: blogs.zdnet.com
In the midst of a busy schedule the past couple of weeks I’ve been preparing for the launch meeting in London of EuroCloud UK, the British instance of the Europe-wide SaaS and cloud industry community network that was first unveiled last month.
Very few in U.S. willing to pay for online news
By: siliconindia.com
Bangalore: Americans, it turns out, are less willing than people in many other Western countries to pay for their online news, according to a new study by the Boston Consulting Group.
UK Supports Creators at C&binet Forum
Steve Hewlett, Patrick McKenna, Lorna Tilbian and Simon Fuller at c&binet forum 2009./Image courtesy of the c&binet forum
By Contel Bradford
The inaugural c&binet forum took place in late October at the Grove in Hertfordshire. The three-day event brought innovative business leaders together with brand owners, investors, analysts, technology companies and British government officials to discuss financing opportunities for creative industries, new business models for Web content, and most importantly, how to effectively secure creative rights.
Copyright and losses from the file-sharing phenomenon was the most heavily debated topic during the course of the event, a heated matter business secretary Lord Peter Mandelson jumped all over. In simple terms, Mandelson let it be known that freely sharing files without repercussion will soon be a thing of the past.
“It must become clear that the days of consequence-free widespread online infringement are over,” Mandelson warned. “Technical measures will be a last resort and I have no expectation of mass suspensions resulting.” Apparently, he believes that a “legislate and enforce” approach is the only way to effectively protect the intellectual property of content owners.
This is obviously something the UK is taking very seriously as the enforcement strategy is slated to be officially laid out in the government’s Digital Economy Bill later this month. The new legislation will involve warning users through notifications with suspension of their Internet access being the last resort. These warnings will be monitored for effectiveness over a period of 12 months. If what the UK deems as illegal file sharing has not declined by 70 percent by April 2011, Internet users in violation could have their Internet access cut off entirely by as early as July of that same year.
According to Mandelson, “The British government’s view is that taking people’s work without due payment is wrong and that, as an economy based on creativity, we cannot sit back and do nothing as this happens.” He then added, “The threat for persistent individuals is, and has to be, real, or no effective deterrent to breaking the law will be in place.”
With Mandelson setting the tone on the issue of copyrights, the C&binet Forum proceeded to tackle some other important matters, mainly opportunities for creative industries and competition from other nations.
Freemium as a Viable Business Model
During the C&binet Forum, Gail Rebuck of Random House, revealed that author Dan Brown’s latest novel was made freely available on 70 pirates within 24 hours of publication. This led to a discussion on the “freemium” business model, with author Cory Doctorow’s suite of services for his upcoming collection of short stories serving as an example. Doctorow will be offering free downloadable versions in a variety of formats while giving users the opportunity to enhance the product through numerous premium upgrades. This business model is very similar to what is being done by Playfish and Spotify, both of which are leveraging the upselling model as a framework.
Advertising and the Game Industry
Representatives from both the games and advertising segments were in attendance, quickly finding themselves in a heated discussion on how advertising should be approached to financially benefit creative industries. Laurence Green, chairman of Minnesota-based ad agency Fallon, suggested that the creative industry feels advertising budgets will continue to grow and become an inexhaustible supply of revenue. Nicholas Lovell, game industry consultant and founder of Gamesbrief, was not in agreement with this theory. “The advertising pie doesn’t need to get bigger; it just needs to shift from big distribution players (like iTV or The Wall Street Journal) to content players.” He added, “Two of my clients make substantial revenues from making content aimed at consumers and paid for entirely by advertisers, with no broadcaster, publisher or retailer taking a cut.” In Lovell’s viewpoint, creative industries need to leverage the cost-efficient distribution of the Internet to reach new and larger audiences, be able to share content and come up with innovative and effective methods for profiting from that audience.
Content Will Remain King
Simon Fuller, TV producer and creator of the Idol global franchise, also spoke at the C&binet Forum, firmly backing content producers as the inevitable winners to discover viable business models in the creative industry. He feels that while major brands such as Microsoft and Google have a sizable head start, there is still enough room for many smaller players in the burgeoning digital media market. “It is a serious war zone … no one has really struck oil, but we know it is out there. My hat is firmly in the ring of the creator,” Fuller states. Fuller also noted that content has become considerably easier to distribute and the “gatekeepers” such as the major music companies do not have all the answers. While he does not believe that powerful entities are not likely to vanish entirely, he did add, “The future is increasingly about individual ideas so powerful and potent they spring out of nowhere.”
Leaders across a broad range of industries aired out a number of issues at the inaugural C&binet Forum. However, some in attendance feel that not enough was discussed in terms of innovative business models and how the British government will aid its creative startups. While it appears as if the UK still has a long way to go when it comes to unifying its creative market, the event played host to some important conversations and generated a lot of buzz around on the Web. Perhaps this is the start of an annual affair that not only helps facilitate the success of the UK’s creative industries, but creative economies throughout the world as well.
Contel Bradford is a professional freelance writer who produces Web content to help numerous clients achieve optimization and organic search engine rankings. You can learn more about his freelance writing services www.contelbradford.com.
How Etailers Can Take On the Whole World
By: ecommercetimes.com
International e-commerce is within reach of every online retailer, even those without a global brand. However, going international requires careful consideration of several factors, including security, language differences, currency differences, shipping costs, fulfillment time and customer support.
The Beauty of London in Design
By: smashingmagazine.com
“There is no specific London style.” At least that’s what the ‘Super Contemporary’ show at London’s Design Museum proclaims. During an exploration of London’s art and design scene in September 2009, what did emerge was a city with a unique sense of its own personality and history, a fertile hub of international thinkers, and a community working towards a future that is designed to be interactive, environmentally responsible, and prosperous.
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