Paul Walsh, the Irish Opportunist

The BIMA Awards (BIMAs™) now rightly take their place on the top shelf of prestigious Awards, alongside the BAFTAs, the Brits and the Oscars.

To win a BIMA, therefore, is truly the highest accolade in a very competitive world.

BIMA has never shrunk from its responsibility to reflect the very highest standards of creativity and innovation and caused controversy some years ago when it considered that the measure of work in one particular category was not of sufficient merit to be awarded a winner’s trophy. More recently, the industry applauded BIMA’s decision when it announced that the judge’s favourite – the BIMA Grand Prix – was the winning entry in the student category.

The Association is run by 12 strong Executive team with me at the helm as Chair. I know I know, I don’t look old enough

Until now, the Awards Committee has included only members of the Executive. For the first time ever, the Committee for 2008 is made up of Executives and non-Executives. This demonstrates how the Association is more engaging and transparent.

The bold move is already proving to be the right thing to do. The enthusiasm amongst the team is electric. Watch out for a new format. If you thought it was difficult to win a BIMA before, wait for 2008. It will be easier to identify where your work fits in, but we’ve halved the number of trophies. Why sit through 21 announcements when you could be enjoying a fantastic gala followed by a cool after-party.

So, here it is, the committee…

BIMA Awards Committee

Clare McDonald

Committee Chair
Creative Director, Interactive Media Agency, Bskyb

Having started life as a print designer of unwearable computeraided fashion, Clare realised that her passion for the pixel needed to be directed into a relevant world. No one ever was going to wear her LCD coats!!! While studying at the RCA Clare worked on the very first RCA CDRom for the end of year show and helped push forward the concept of digital design and its marketing potential within the fashion department and beyond. This left Clare with both a huge passion for collecting shoes, wearing odd outfits, dodgy CDRoms and also a desire to help people achieve their ambitions. It also allowed her to truly develop her cross platform approach to the design process and solution building. She also fell in love with “the web”. Over the next 15 years a series of interesting positions in the UK and the US in fashion, interactive and entrepreneurial businesses landed Clare finally as Creative Director of the Interactive Media Design Agency in Bskyb.

Responsible for the creative direction of interactive properties, Clare helps build visual strategies and creative solutions with her award winning team to develop online, mobile, interactive tv, blue sky thinking and brand solutions for Bskyb. This is a highly directional and strategic position, that is forging a new creative force within Bskyb and the European entertainment market. Utilising earlier experience with early online video and projects for the likes of Microsoft, Office Shoes, IT Network, Open TV and the likes Clare and her team are truly pioneering online entertainment design. The future is looking incredibly interesting for Sky and a future that marries Clare’s cross media approach, mixed with a bit of pizzazz will have great results.

Paul Walsh (me)

You can read my biog here if you’re really bored.

Matthew Gorzkowski

Managing Director, Play

Matthew Bagwell is Conchango’s Creative Director and founder of creative agency, SignalOrange. Matthew has been called digital evangelist, offering insight into how people want to interact with organisations through multiple channels. He is capable of bridging the gap between inventing experiences made possible by web 2.0 phenomena and delivering them in reality.

Matthew Bagwell

Creative Director, Conchango

Matt began his Marketing career working for Saatchi & Saatchi in Europe and Shafter Advertising in the US where he helped to launch new products for major brands including Procter & Gamble, PepsiCo, Fujitsu and Nokia.

Recognising the potential of digital media, Matt joined Itraffic in San Francisco as Account Director. Here Matt led key accounts such as Disney and Buena Vista Entertainment before returning the Europe to join Itraffic London as Client Services Director where he oversaw the interactive marketing activity of brands such as British Airways and Hilton. In 2005, Matt co-founded Pay in conjunction with M&C Saatchi and former Itraffic colleagues Jon Sharpe and Ethan Segal.

Dr. Scott Gallacher

Director of Online & Partner Marketing, BskyB

Scott is responsible for Sky’s online sales & marketing across their full product portfolio including digital TV, Broadband, Telephony, HD, Mobile TV & Sky +. Sky, according to Nielsen, are the largest online spender in the UK underlining a commitment to digital, with their pioneering work in Behavioural Targeting winning the 2007 award for best use of research in media.

Scott is well regarded industry commentator & speaker, Chairing last year’s Revolution conference on Brand Advocacy and speaking at the Economist Marketing Director summit in March on the challenges facing marketing in the next 5 years as well as addressing Cranfield business school on the maturing of digital marketing.

Previous to BSkyB, Scott worked at OgilvyOne as Client Services Director for the American Express International Online account covering 38 countries. Prior to this he served as a Vice President for Digitas. Scott holds a PhD in Multimedia innovation & social learning from Edinburgh, M.Sc. in Human Computer Interaction from Heriot Watt and a BCom in Business Studies from Edinburgh.

Chris Clarke

Executive Creative Director and President, Digitas London

Chris has been at the forefront of the digital industry since the late 90s. In 2000 as a UK founder of pioneering digital agency Abel & Baker, Chris brought a new level of creative excellence to the nascent digital industry and won a number of awards including Campaign Direct, Revolution, Clio and Cannes Cyberlions for clients such as Virgin Mobile, The AA and MTV.

In 2002 Abel & Baker was bought by leading web agency Wheel. While at Wheel, first as Creative Director of Abel & Baker then Executive Creative Director of Wheel, Chris helped turn the creative reputation of the agency around, delivering award winning work and driving an extensive change management process to make Wheel an ideas led creative business. Key client achievements at Wheel include winning BT, the global roll out of Brahma beer, and bringing prestigious clients such as ABSOLUT Vodka and Sony PlayStation Europe on board. Chris also oversaw numerous corporate website projects for clients such as Allied Domecq, United Biscuits and Unilever for whom Wheel managed the global rollout of Unilever.com in 26 languages.

Since joining Digitas London in April 2006, Chris has re-invigorated the creative product, winning new business with Vauxhall, Shell and HP, rolling out a network of offices in Europe and winning a Campaign Digital Award.

Chris is a multi-award winning creative with Cyberlions, LIAA, Clio, Revolution, Campaign Direct, Campaign Digital and D&AD awards to his name. As a founder in the UK of digital pioneers Abel & Baker, Chris was responsible for some of the first Rich Media and viral work done in this market.

Daniel Birch

Creative Director, Freestyle Interactive

As a Creative Director who has worked at a number of top London agencies LBi (then Oyster), AKQA and twentysix Daniel now leads the creative and delivery teams at the midlands largest digital agency Freestyle Interactive. This gives him genuine perspective across all aspects of digital channels.

As a Creative Director of Freestyle it is his role to lead and define the user experience on their clients. With wide ranging experience in leading multidiscipline teams of designers, developers, writers and architects he is able to bring the right solutions to a wide range of online of projects.

As the board level role responsible for project delivery through the project management team Daniel has a clear understanding of the delivery challenges faced by project managers and can appreciate what it takes to deliver an awarding winning creative solution.

Daniel’s belief in balancing the desire to win awards with developing the right user experience for client’s customer puts him in a unique position. As a Creative Director Daniel has found the opportunity to have an opinion on all this creative but will be frequently found client side asking awkward questions or bothering project manager’s to try and understand how Isle Interactive can be more efficient – all with the goal of giving the creative a better chance to design better and with more insight.

A genuine understanding of all aspects of the digital build process and experience across kiosk, mobile web and iTV means Daniel is able to combine a wealth of experience to developing a framework for creative teams to work in. A desire to work on projects that are created in a less that ideal situation, short time frames, limiting timeframes or conservative outlook means he has an affinity for recognising others who have succeed in this conditions.

The client list is long and varied, as you’d expect from nearly 12 years of working in the industry. From mobile guidelines for Orange to ground up redesigns for Natwest and Abbey and campaign work for Volvo and Drambuie the experience is there.

Janice Cable

Principal Administrator, BIMA

When she joined BIMA, Janice brought with her the experience of a lifetime working with trade associations, mainly in the music industry where she considered herself extremely privileged to be able to work with some of the most influential industry doyens and talented composers, artists and broadcasters in the UK. She has considerable experience in arranging and coordinating exhibitions, seminars and conferences, both in the UK and abroad, and was responsible for organising industry social events, both lunches and black tie. Her previous involvement has been extremely valuable for the administration of the BIMA Awards as, amongst many other tasks, she prepared and managed the selection of the UK entry for the Eurovision Song Contest. She hasn’t done this for ten years which, incidentally, was the last time the UK won!

About BIMA

Established in 1985, the British Interactive Media Association (BIMA) is the industry’s longest established association to represent the diverse interests of the UK interactive industry.

In short, it’s BIMA’s mission to ensure the UK remains the centre of excellence worldwide for creativity within the interactive industry.

I read and hear that question being asked all the time, most recently via a comment on a TechCrunch post.

For those who don’t know the answer, here it is

• Segala, Founder / CEO
  
• Jaipur Restaurants, Partner
  
• Newspepper.com, Non-executive Director
  
• 3 Dynamics, Mentor to the CEO
  
• British Interactive Media Association (BIMA), Chair
• New startup which you’ll read about very soon
• Consult multinational brands in how to be more innovative with their marketing
• Chair and speak at conferences around the world
• Have fun doing it

Do people have a problem understanding what I do because I have so much fun doing it? Or could it be because I manage to squeeze in so much?

Business should be fun!

The most interesting conversation to come out of SXSW for me was Sarah Lacy’s unfortunate interview with Mark Zuckerberg. Paul Carr (by the way, welcome to Twitter Paul!) captured the moment succinctly

Sarah Lacy (SL): “Thank you - thank you all so much. Now let’s hear it for this guy - Mark Zuckerberg everyone! So, I wanna start by asking - as I did in my book - why do you think Facebook… which I use like all the time - is so great?”

Mark Zuckerberg (MZ): “Well…”

SL: “What I mean is - what is it about Facebook that has attracted not just me but millions of other people like me to sign up?”

MZ: “Terrorism.”

SL: “I totally agree. Can you say more?”

MZ: “Sure…”

SL: “Can you believe this guy? Wow - I mean his answers are so short - seriously I think he’s the biggest loser I’ve ever interviewed. Hey Mark, can I tell the story about the first time I allowed you to be interviewed?”

MZ: “Sure… I guess.”

SL: “Ok, so, like, I’m interviewing Mark - and we’ve been talking for like twenty hours and Mark was like ‘I need to pee’ and I was like ‘that’s so interesting and sexy’, tell me more and he’s like ‘no I really need to pee’ and I’m like talking about my book and like the next thing I know he’s peed all over the floor and it’s like so cute and hilarious.”

MZ: “Thanks for sharing that.”

(Audience break into spontaneous standing ovation, in awe at Zuckerberg’s razor sharp retort. Fat guy at the front screams and faints. Twitter crashes.)

SL: “Ok, so getting back to Facebook, I wanna ask you about privacy and Facebook Beacon.”

MZ: “Ok, well, let me say that Beacon isn’t something we’re really focussed on as a company right now - I mean it’s like not something I’ve even really heard of. What people don’t understand is that it was developed by our platform team and not our advertising team - so really it’s not advertising at all. I mean, in the Lebanon, kids are actually using it to interact with Coca Cola which - and this is unbelievable - makes them realise what they’re missing by not being in America and that’s why there will never be another nine eleven. But we’re not the only company delivering world peace through invasive advertising, we’re just one of the people in the space. We want to focus on building the platform for world peace and let others build on that.”

SL: “Ok, stop talking now. Jeez! It seems to me anyway, that Beacon is not really the issue. In fact, I shouldn’t have even mentioned it. The big issue is the news feed, what can you say about that?”

MZ: “Well, it’s just something we’re not really focussed on having to explain right now.”

SL: “Ok, that’s fine. Now - last night you told me you were gay and like to fuck squirrels - can I tell that story?”

MZ: “Er…”

SL: “Ok, well, I guess I should have let you make that announcement, gosh darn I’m so ditzy (giggles). So what’s it like to be rich and to have journalists, like, really want to sleep with you?”

MZ: “It’s just not something I’m focussed on right now.”

SL: “How about if I do this?”

(Lacey begins to fellate Zuckerberg but, remarkably, is able to keep talking….)

SL: “Well, sure, that makes it so much easier.”

(Three rows of fat guys at the front of the room orgasm as one at the incredible comedic timing of Mark ‘Bill Hicks’ Zuckerberg as Lacey switches position for a reach around.)

SL: “Ok, well, that’s all we have time for - if you want to know more about how awesome - but dorky - this rich guy is, I guess you’ll all have to read my book. It also has the story about how I famously poured water into Serge Brin’s laptop on my show at Yahoo.com. That was sooo funny. And when I hyped Kevin Rose on the front cover of Business Week and then sold a book to Penguin on the back of it about overhyped web 2.0 companies. Don’t worry, Mark, I’ll give you a discount. And I’ll even throw in a copy for your girlfriend. What’s her name?”

MZ: “Uh…”

SL: “Ok, great! Well thank you very much Mark - it’s been a really insightful conversation on one point five billion levels. And, to the audience, I just wanna say thank you both for staying.”

Session ends.

Paul’s original post from which I stole all of his content can be found here. Please subscribe to his blog. He’s hilarious!

As a result of the poor interview, Mark called for a second interview which Jemima Kiss articulates very well.

To his credit. Mark Zuckerberg has acknowledged that a lot of people were frustrated by the wasted opportunity of yesterday’s keynote interview with Sarah Lacy. He did the interview on the condition that she was the interviewer, so whose to blame there?

In the rather more tropical surroundings of a safari-themed bar, Zuckerberg announces that he thought he’d drop by “because yesterday’s keynote just wasn’t enough fun“. That media training has really been paying off.

“One of the big pieces of feedback from yesterday was that people didn’t get a chance to ask enough questions. People were more interesting in product development and technical questions - I’m really interested in those issues like scalability but we thought we’d open up for another 20-30 minutes today.”

So in the midst of the developer garage, what did his home crowd really want to know?

Data portability is a big issue. Zuckerberg said that he wouldn’t necessarily commit to signing up to the same open standards as the other big social networks. “Beacon is a first iteration of that approach to help people share information. We are philosophically aligned with this openness and efficiency in the community but, at the same time, we don’t know what other people are doing and whether our policties are aligned.”

Robert Scoble got kicked off the site (albeit for just one day) because he appeared to be scraping data, rather than ’sharing it’.

Balancing the advantges of data portability with people’s privacy concerns is tricky: “We think sharing information is good, which is why we started this whole platform thing. But these are some of the questions that need to be worked out.”

Music: Is music a focus for the site? Not especially. The site didn’t predict how causal games like Scrabulous would take off (Zuckerberg plays it with this grandparents, aw). The great thing about having a platform is we don’t need to be editorial.

“We don’t need to say what will be the right applications because the market will sort that out for us, and the people that build the great products and applicatiosns will be able to build the great companies.”

It’s a very clever business model, because it lets the users determine the trends and leaves all the R&D to external companies. Nice.

Spam: Facebook will be cutting down on application spam, as he said yesterday: applications will be encouraged to focus on the level of proper engagement they have with their users rather than the number of installs, and the more popular apps will be able to send more invites.

China: He also said that he doesn’t look at time spent on the site as an important metric: Zuckerberg thinks that, like Google, the site should make communication more efficient and help people do what they need to do.

Facebook is looking at the issues of moving the business into China, said a very confident and relaxed Zuckerberg. He’s very open about it forom the start: “Making sure that people’s private information is private is a really important thing for us to do,” he said, explaining that there are only really two options in China; either have the government censor your site and impair the performance of traffic to it inside the country if it doesn’t like you, or have servers inside the country which will be shut down if you don’t follow their policies.

“There are ways to position these things make decisions and set them up to create minimal exposure,” he said. Now that China is on the verge of overtaking the US as the world’s biggest internet market, this strategy is increasingly important.

And has it been a strain for you, Mark, being under such scrutiny because of the success of Facebook? He’s now the world’s youngest billionaire, according to Forbes.

“That’s an interesting topic for a develop garage! I have a small group of really good friends and going through this whole experience of building the company has often been a strain but has helped build interesting friendships.”

Jemima’s original post from which I mercilessly stole her content can be found here. Jemima is also one of the few bloggers that I’m subscribed to, so make sure you’re tuned in. She has her finger well placed on the UK digital pulse.

I’m not sure I like either of Mark’s two options to expand into China. I don’t like the idea of filtering content on behalf of the government, full stop. But what’s the alternative?

Also, check out Rebecca Caroe‘s post on the BIMA blog about panel put together to discuss online advertising for newbies.

I’ve just been given 10 free tickets to give away for the IWTC Conference in Dublin tomorrow. They’re also offering day passes for €50. The first 10 people to leave a comment get a ticket.

I’m giving a talk at 9:15 in screen 1 tomorrow so drop by if you’re around.

I’m taking part on a panel tonight to discuss (debate I hope) where is Web technology now, what enabling technologies are happening, where will that drive innovation, what skills will people need and how will this translate in to job demand. The debate will be the opening of the IWTC Conference, held at the Cineworld Cinema in Dublin.

I’m a great lover of new technology and debating how it can enable a more accessible Web to more people around the world, irrespective of what device they use. However, I also think we need to look at getting the basics right. One such basic on my agenda for the new Industry Association I’m setting up in Ireland will be broadband. It’s a joke in Ireland and I intend to solicit feedback on my opinion tonight. I’ll save my new technology chant for the same conference on Friday.

On the subject of the basics

Damien Mulley, one of Ireland’s finest bloggers (and Technology Journalist of the Year 2007) has been campaigning for better broadband in Ireland for some time now. I’m hoping I can leverage the fantastic work he continues to do, whilst getting his ongoing assistance and advice to enable a better digital ecosystem in Ireland. Only then can Ireland play a major role on the digital stage.

As a side note, it amazes me that Damien was diagnosed with MS recently and still continues to work like a horse. I’m sure he’s likely to shed a tear behind closed doors (who wouldn’t) but he should be held up as a fine example to anyone unfortunate enough to have been diagnosed with an incurable disease. I know, to a much lesser extent, how Damien must be feeling as my sister was diagnosed with the damn thing about 10 years ago.

Anyway, I hope you can make it along to the event tonight, followed by the launch party. Let me know if you’d like to come as I’ve got some guest passes. If you don’t get a response from me just email barry@irishdev.com and come along anyway - I’m sure you’ll get in (oops, I’m sure I’ll get my wrists slapped).

Can you help?

I’ll post the date for my next meeting to discuss the new Association. Please let me know if there are specific dates in March that I should stay away from.

I’m looking for some sponsors, so please get in touch if you’d like to support a new Industry Association in which your own interests will be looked after too.

Blacknight and Microsoft were very kind and sponsored my kick off dinner meeting. I still have enough in the fund to setup the legal entity and perhaps get a basic Web site done, but that’s about it.

I’m going to deliver a presentation on how Content Labels (AKA POWDER) will enable more trust on the Web. I’ll have with me, a tin of Heinze Baked Beans to help me demonstrate how Content Labels help consumers make better informed decisions about the suitability of products before making a purchase.

Read my Segala blog to learn more.

I’ve got two conference tickets to give away for a startup event in Brussels on March 19th 2008 call Plugg. If you haven’t been to Brussels before, it’s worth heading over to the conference if only to see this fantastic city. Although I wouldn’t go for the city alone, I’d got for the amazing networking opportunity to be had at this type of event.

Discover Europe’s hottest young internet start-ups and get inspired by some of the most compelling visionaries out there in just one day!

The Plugg conference is an excellent opportunity for you to get up to speed on the state of the European Web 2.0 industry. Register now for this extraordinary event - you can still enjoy the early-bird reduction fee!

I wish Robin Wauters the very best with this event. Robin used to work for Blognation before it was finally brought to a close through the unfortunate battle of the blogs late last year.

I’ll keep this simple. Leave a comment and I’ll pick two names out of a hat live on Qik on February 6th (around lunchtime in the UK).

A debate has started on Vodafone’s BetaVine. If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you’ll know that Vodafone provided me with exclusive rights to seed interest in the wider industry to help launch the Portal, after providing advice prior to its launch. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to find the time to continue commentating about it. Anyway, it’s doing exactly what I had hoped. It’s stimulating and supporting conversation within the industry. In this instance, it’s a heated debate which is likely to raise more awareness for the Portal if nothing else.

Luca Passani is the culprit (I mean that in the nicest possible way) responsible for starting the debate. If there’s one thing he’s good at, it’s starting a debate. Unfortunately he doesn’t know how to agree to disagree, or even respect the fact that he can sometimes be wrong.

My intention here is not to discuss the debate itself but instead, get people to use the right terminology. Ok, so my post about the correct spelling of Web site was a bit of a joke, but knowing the difference between WAP and the mobile Web is not, as it impacts end users for the worse.

It was a TechCrunch post that inspired me to write this note. I was about to post a comment but quickly realised that my message is important (and long) enough to warrant it’s own post. I’ve written about this previously where Luca has commented along with Google, Microsoft, .mobi, Opera and others. See here and here.

In my opinion, Luca has absolutely no interest in seeing the Web as we know it on the desktop, come to mobile phones. He is in favour of WAP and is an expert on the subject. WAP is not the mobile Web though, they are two entirely different technologies and he doesn’t have an appreciation for Web trends.

• WAP = sites built only for mobile phones
• Web = sites which should work on any device

WAP browsers and Web browsers look the same but what they display is completely different. One generates revenue for Operators and Content Providers and the other provides end users the ability to search and browse the Web. That’s why most end users don’t know the difference between a WAP site and a Web site. However, it’s not good enough to assume that they don’t care. It’s also wrong to assume they don’t want a choice.

In more detail
WAP sites are sites which have been built specifically to work on mobile phones. They do not work on desktop computers. This means if you come across a WAP site on your phone and wish to email the URL to a friend so they can see it at home, they can’t unless they’re using a mobile.

I used to own an LG Chocolate phone to demonstrate this point when giving presentations at conferences. I’d ask someone for the URL of their company Web site and then explain that it was impossible for me to view it on my new cool phone because it didn’t have a Web browser capable of displaying it.

Not all mobiles have browsers capable of displaying Web sites. Some phones come with a Web browser but it’s sometimes removed or hidden down the menu system by the Operator (not the manufacturer). Operators have always been extremely keen to keep it this way as they make money from WAP through revenue share deals with content providers.

It’s also worth mentioning that the Content Providers to which Luca and TechCrunch refer, are not likely to want users to access the Web (as invented by Tim Berners-Lee and harmonized by the W3C), as you do on a desktop computer. Otherwise they’ll stop making money through their commercial agreements with Operators. This means end users get whatever WAP sites Operators believe will generate the most revenue. This is not in the best interest of end users today.

It made sense to only offer WAP sites when mobiles were unable to display Web sites. It also makes sense to continue building WAP sites while mobile devices continue to improve, standards are adopted, prices come down, speeds improve and developers build Web sites so they work better on mobile devices.

In my opinion, we’re almost there. You only have to look at the recent launch of the iPhone to see what’s possible. It won’t be long before this capability is more widespread across more devices and the above points are addressed. As I keep saying, I’ve heard all the same arguments whilst at AOL in the mid 90’s. People use to say that online marketing would never take off because the Web was too slow, yada yada yada. The same type of people used to say that TV would never take off because it was so much smaller than the cinema screen.

End users do care about the difference between the two, or at least they would if told they were restricted to what the Operator wants them to see. Mobile stake holders make too many assumptions about what users want. That’s why the industry is so crap at getting it right.

So, can you see the difference between the two? If you had a mobile which stopped you from accessing the Web, would you care? Would you be happy to only view the WAP sites that your Operator forces upon you?

Please stop referring to WAP as mobile Web, it’s not. Just call it WAP.

From a customer point of view, you buy a mobile so you can surf the Web as you do from your desktop computer. Would you be happy to learn that you’re only able to use iMode, Live or other WAP sites?

Apologies for not posting as often as I should. I’ve been too busy drinking Champaign, attending networking events and going to parties. Naturally, I’ve also been striking up compelling partnerships with companies who will soon help Segala in its mission to scale and gain mass adoption for Web accessibility standards compliance and Content Labels in general.

The purpose of this post is to tell you what I’ve been up to over the past couple of months whilst name-dropping to highlight the people I think are cool and worth knowing. If you’re a partner or friend, it’s very likely that I’ve already introduced you to at least one of the people mentioned. Hopefully I’ll also give a little insight to my 48 hour day which enables me to run Segala, Chair the UK’s interactive trade association (BIMA), advise a few internet companies in the UK, mentor the CEO of one of Hong Kong’s top 5 mobile games companies, and present at various conferences and seminars.

From left to right.
1) Me and Oli Barrett
2) Hugo Greenhalgh, me and Michael Smith
3) Simon Woodruffe, me, Sabina Ali, Michale Smith and Anna Melville-James
4) Me with a group of people at a recent a Creative Out event supported by BIMA

There are lots more photos but you’ll have to do a search on Flickr to see the ones which don’t place me in compromising positions. Ok, so I looked a bit pissed in the second last one above. I wasn’t going to include it as it almost puts me in a compromising position but hey, if you can’t show that you’re human and able to enjoy yourself then what’s the point of it all?!

I had dinner recently with Robert Loch and Paul Birch. Paul asked if I did any work or if I was just very good at giving off the perception that I didn’t. The answer is yes on both accounts. What’s the point in doing all this work if you can’t have some fun at the same time?! That said, I’m finished my quest in getting Segala to the top of the mountain. That is, we can now demonstrate the company’s full potential to venture capitalists (VCs) without giving away internal organs as part of the deal. I’ll publish more information about our system that automatically generates Content Labels soon.

Presentations and Keynote Talks

I present at events regularly. I’d like to share with you, some of the most recent ones as they’re relevant to the content on this blog. Initially I was going to cover everything here but have decided instead, to write a post for each of my presentations in case you’d like to commentate on something specific without it being lost in a sea of information.

Parties and Champagne tasting

Well, what can I say, it’s the second Web boom and I want to ensure I’m in the middle, celebrating it as it happens, with a laptop in one hand and a glass of bubbly in the other. Note that I didn’t say ‘Internet bubble’; that would conjure up negative connotations based on the bubble burst which happened a few years ago. I don’t see anything about to burst as startups nowadays need very little money to get off the ground, they can deliver products and services more easily by collaborating with likeminded people/companies and it’s much cheaper than ever before, to market and sell via the Web.

It does make me wonder though, when an Enterprise Ireland consultant who’s being paid by the tax payer to evaluate Segala’s business model, says to me, “… but Paul, I honestly can’t see how you can possibly sell over the Internet without the need for loads of sales people knocking on doors…” This was about 2 hours into an extremely frustrating meeting so my only response was “I think it’s time for you to leave my office as you’re wasting my time and I’m wasting yours”. Hopefully Einstein is back to his day job, rounding up sheep in a field on a remote island off the west coast of Ireland, where he can’t damage less experienced opportunists.

Anyway back to the positive stuff; the parties have been and continue to be, brilliant – as seen on Channel 4 news recently! The report also covers OpenCoffee London. If you’re an entrepreneur, investor, journalist or simply interested in networking with smart business people looking for collaborators and partners, then ensure to get your ass down to an OpenCoffee meeting! OpenCoffee meetings are taking the world by storm thanks to Saul Klein from Index Ventures. Click on the image to see the actual report.

The party featured in the report was attended by likeminded folk, such as

Michael Smith, Firebox.com co-founder, Mindcandy Founder, Second Chance Tuesday co-foundder (busy chap!)
Judith Clegg, Second Chance Tuesday Founder
Robert Loch, Internet People
Paul Birch, Bebo co-founder, Cominded Founder
Jim Lawn, POLCAT co-founder
Bronwyn Kunhardt, POLCAT co-founder
Chris Mooney, FHM International Editor
Scott Rutherford, Cominded Shareholder
Hugo Greenhalgh, Sharp Edge Editor
Farzad Jamal, MIVA Commercial Director
Oli Barrett, Rainmaker , Shareholder
Ben Way, Rainmaker, Founder
Ryan Carson, CARSONSYSTEMS Founder (FOWA, FOWD etc.)
Simon Woodruff (one of the original Dragons from BBC’s Dragon’s Den)
Jasmine Birtles, Moneymagpye founder
Tom Boardman, Firebox.com co-founder
Mike Fletcher, RSVP Editor
Richard Moross, Moo.com Founder
and many more equally cool personalities who I haven’t mentioned by name.

Networking events I’ve attended

Where do I start?! First on the list is Rob Loch’s regular gatherings of smart and creative individuals. These events are a mix of intimate dinners and informal piss-ups where people just talk and possibly follow up on drunken conversations about collaboration and partnerships the morning after. This is how Segala has sealed many of its compelling partnerships; starting with a mutual belief that alcohol and hot tubs is the basis upon which all deals should be made.

Then there are the BIMA events. For those of you not familiar with BIMA, it stands for the British Interactive Media Association. It’s the longest established trade association for the Interactive industry (est. 1985), with a bias towards the creative type. I’m Chair for the second year and am (thankfully) supported by 13 strong executives.

I try to go to as many BIMA events as possible, so I can been seen as ‘eating my own dog food’. It’s important to attend your own events, if only to demonstrate that you believe in them (which I do wholeheartedly!!). BIMA and Internet People are joining forces to run a new regular event (more information soon). BIMA’s events include intimate dinners which are always oversubscribed, dialogs and soon, ‘Breakfast Bites’ at the Ivy. I’m sure to get a kicking from my networking events Chair; Julie Lane as the venue has yet to be agreed internally. I’m hoping they’ll come around to choosing the Ivy when they see it in writing and everyone comments that it’s a great idea
I’ve also had the pleasure of hooking up with the likes of Steve Clayton , David Rowe and Claire O’Hallaron from Microsoft recently.

There are plenty more networking events to mention but I think I’ve covered enough for one post. In future I’ll write about upcoming events as they happen.

A few of us Irish folk based in the UK received a little coverage in the Sunday Tribune yesterday. Actually, it was quite a spread. I’m particularly proud of this feature as the Tribune is a very respectable paper amongst the business community. The ‘5 marketing elite (their words, not mine!) include

• Lorraine Twohill, Head of Google, EMEA
• Rory Godson, Partner and Co-founder, Powerscourt Media
• Kevin Brown, Head of Engagement Planning, Bartle Bogle Hegarty
• Paul Walsh, CEO and Co-founder, Segala (me!)
• Dee Forbes, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Turner Broadcasting System, UK and Ireland

So, for the sake of promoting a great article about 4 professionals and me, I’ve published the entire piece here. The original article can be found on the Sunday Tribune Web site.

As the Tribune put it

Irish scale the heights of UK adland

When Lorraine Twohill arrived in London in 1999 to head marketing for the internet travel company, Dreamticket. com, she intended to stay for two years. The Carlow native was keen to get on the dotcom bandwagon and was prepared to leave her job in the Netherlands to do so.

London at the time was the epicentre of European internet activity and so I had to go there, ” she says.

Fast forward six years and Twohill is still in London, but now as director of European marketing for internet giant Google. She is one of a new generation of influential Irishborn marketers scaling the heights of London’s cut-throat advertising, PR and internet scenes. While much has been made of how the Irish dominate the London property sector and ‘own’ Bond Street, it seems marketers hailing from these shores are cutting it in Soho’s adland too.

Chances are that Lorraine Twohill will have come across her compatriot, Kevin Brown, a director of Google’s ad agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty.

The name Rory Godson is on many lips too, as the Dublinborn former deputy editor of the Sunday Tribune develops a power base in the Square Mile as a financial PR guru.

Meanwhile, Britain’s internet trade association, BIMA, is chaired by another Dubliner, Paul Walsh, whose day job involves running web accessibility and mobile testing company Segala.

[Minor corrections. BIMA actually standards for British Interactive Media Assocation. I’d be proud to be a Dubliner if I was from Dublin, but I am in fact, very proud to be a Wexford man.]

And these are just the highprofile players. The Ireland Fund of Great Britain, the fundraising charity that doubles as a business and social network for Irish professionals in London, says it has “at least 200″ Irish marketing directors and managers on its database of donors and event-goers.

They are drawn to a city that Godson describes as “one of the two great international cities in the world” and the opportunities it provides.

Many blue-chip companies have their headquarters in London, where marketing strategy is set and then executed by ad agencies based in Soho or Farringdon.

So why have these bright marketers eschewed the booming Irish economy while members of other professions - notably lawyers and accountants - have returned from London in droves?

The fact is that while it’s not exactly a marketing backwater, Dublin’s smaller scene cannot hope to compete with London’s scale and creative opportunities. The marketing strategies of multinational companies tend to be generated at headquarter level, in offices based usually in the larger markets of the US, Britain and Europe. They attract the best marketing talent including, it seems, some of Ireland’s finest.

Heavy-hitting marketers are not motivated by localising global marketing plans but rather by the extent of their influence over brand strategy and a large marketing budget at their disposal, says Samus Farrelly, commercial director of headhunters HRM Recruitment Group.

“It’s not that such jobs don’t exist here in Ireland but there aren’t as many opportunities, and when they do come up, they are heavily sought-after, ” he says.

While technology makes business increasingly borderless, proximity to London’s ad agencies and culture is vital for British-based marketers. Powerscourt Media, the financial PR company co founded by Rory Godson, delivers media nous to both Irish and international brands and gets them coverage in the financial press. To achieve that, Godson feels he must nurture his book of City contacts face-to-face.

“Every company that’s serious about international business has to tell their story in London, ” he says. “To have the relationships with the key editors here, you have to be on the ground, and by osmosis, taking in the same influences as them such as listening to the BBC in the morning.”

Powerscourt’s work advising Aer Lingus on its IPO last year could not have been done effectively from Ireland, Godson says.

For those Irish marketers arriving in Heathrow from the mid-1990s onwards, it helped that the Irish ‘brand’ had never been so highly valued.

“The Celtic Tiger didn’t just change the nation, it changed the perception of Irish people and their abilities, ” says Adrian Brady, who in 1996 founded Eulogy, which claims to be the biggest Irishowned PR agency in the UK working for such clients as Virgin Mobile and Royal Mail.

Hugh Burkitt, chief executive of The Marketing Society, attributes the success of Irish marketers in the UK to several characteristics.

“The Irish have some advantages on the British scene, ” he says. “There’s no question that the Irish verbal ability is very great. The Irish accent is classless, whereas English voices can convey status. And as we increasingly work in team situations requiring consensus, the natural conviviality of the Irish comes into play.”

Beyond this, London’s most influential Irish marketers share certain traits, not least an impressive CV and early experience of big campaigns or brands. Many are aged between 35 and 40 and have passed personal thresholds such as starting a family that make returning to Ireland more difficult.

One feature that LondonIrish marketers lack is a formal professional network, similar to that for Irish solicitors and accountants in Britain. The absence of such a forum is a missed opportunity for doing business, says Eulogy’s Adrian Brady. His PR agency is exploiting its advantage to “understand both British and Irish cultures” by helping overseas brands launch in Ireland and vice-versa. The company is currently working on Brazilian drinks brand Sagatiba’s Irish debut.

There is, of course, an informal network for Irish marketers and other professionals through events run by The Ireland Fund of Great Britain. What aspiring marketer would not want to rub shoulders with Peter Sutherland, chairman of the fund and former chairman of BP and Goldman Sachs International, at the fund’s annual London City Luncheon powerfest?

Aileen Ross, director of the fund, denies that its purpose is a business network, stressing that the primary aim is to raise money for projects to help the Irish community in Great Britain. To do so, however, the fund must encourage affluent Irish professionals to attend its parties and golf days.

“It’s become obvious that they do us to network, to meet like-minded people to do business with and socialise, ” she says.

Nearly 20 years ago, the writer Maeve Binchy observed London-based Irish professionals at play at another London Irish ball and coined the acronym Nipples (’new Irish professional paddies living in England’). Now it seems we may have to invent a new one. That’s because today’s Simpils (’successful Irish marketing people in London’) are determined to influence the destiny of the world’s biggest brands and must do so beyond these shores.

Four who’ve made it into London’s marketing elite… and me

Lorraine Twohill, Head of Marketing, Google EMEA

The lowdown:

London-based Irish marketers don’t come more powerful than Twohill, who directs Google’s marketing in Europe. She joined the search giant in 2003 from Opodo, the travel portal. Indeed Twohill, a Carlow-born polyglot educated at Dublin City University, is a serious Europhile. Before moving to the UK in 1999 as head of marketing for Dreamticket. com, she worked in Spain, Italy and The Netherlands. Twohill is a regular in the ‘Power 100′ list published annually by UK magazine Marketing and is listed in US ad bible Advertising Age’s most recent ‘40 under 40′ power ranking.

Irish nationality as a competitive advantage: “Ireland is going through a popularity phase at the moment, ” Twohill says. “They can talk about Cool Britannia, but it’s more Cool Hibernia now.” That said, Twohill notes that “there are so many nationalities in Google, and if you’re considered good, you’re good no matter where you come from”.

Reasons to stay in London: “I’m in the UK because my team is here. It’s our largest market in Europe and one of our biggest in the world. London is a centre of advertising resources and I need to be around them.” But the London-Dublin route is “like a shuttle service”. She returns to Ireland once a month.

Rory Godson, Partner and Co-Founder, Powerscourt

The lowdown:

Godson’s ascent from grubby journalism to habitué of UK plc boardrooms has been astonishing.

The Sunday Tribune hired the young Godson as a sports subeditor in late 1980s, and promoted him to deputy editor.

Stints at other Irish newspapers and a job as Irish editor of the Sunday Times followed. Poacher became gamekeeper when the world of PR beckoned. Godson joined Goldman Sachs as European director of corporate communications but, never one to let the grass grow under his feet, quit after a year to set up Powerscourt, advising such clients as Aer Lingus, Eircom and BP on their media relations.

Networking: Godson gets together with fellow London-Irish business people through the Irish charities he helps.

He describes such networking as “subconscious” but acknowledges that his agency does gain a lot of work from Irish clients. “Because we are culturally attuned to Irish sensibilities, working out what Irish clients want is easier for us. You get to the same wavelength more quickly.”

Reasons to stay in London: The key factor keeping Godson in London is business opportunity. “Our Irish clients want us to operate here and we have a rapidly developing international business too. You need to be on the ground, going to events and parties and having coffee with editors to tell your clients’ stories.” Godson doesn’t rule out moving back. “Happily we have a house in Dublin so it is relatively easy to move back and forth.”

Kevin Brown, Head of Engagement Planning, Bartle Bogle Hegarty

The lowdown:

Brown is one of London adland’s most influential media experts. It’s all a far cry from when he went to the UK aged 22 in the 1980s after completing a marketing course at the College of Commerce in Rathmines. Having been introduced to media planning and buying at Nestlé, Brown then experienced ad agency life at BMP and Bartle Bogle Hegarty. He honed his specialist media skills at Starcom Motive, leaving in 2000 to set up Soul, an agency he sold in 2005 to an Asian network. Last year Brown was headline news in Campaign, the UK ad magazine, when he rejoined BBH to establish a new planning division.

Irish nationality as a competitive advantage: “It’s no disadvantage. The Irish are pretty open, friendly and good communicators, which is important in a communications business.”

Reasons to stay in London: Brown’s wife is English and they have two children. “Once your children start building a world in this environment, it’s harder to up sticks and leave, ” Brown says. The other big incentive to stay is the global horizons offered by London and by BBH. “There are centres of excellence in the ad industry and London is one of them.”

Paul Walsh, CEO and Co-Founder, Segala

The lowdown:

One of AOL’s first employees in Europe, Walsh is a selftaught internet technology whiz who combines running his web accessibility and mobile testing agency Segala with chairing the UK internet trade association BIMA. He sits on the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) advisory committee and is a key member of the Mobile Web Initiative (MWI) steering council. Before founding Segala in 2001, Walsh consulted for mobile phone giants such as Vodafone and Orange. His career beginnings were not so lofty:

Walsh’s first job involved filing and lugging computers around for a Dublinbased bank.

Irish nationality as a competitive advantage: “I’ve been at international events where I’ve been told: “you Irish can get away with anything with that accent”. He admits to being “quite proud” that an Irish person is heading the UK internet trade body.

Networking: Walsh is an assiduous networker amongst internet technology types, regardless of nationality.

Based with his family in Guildford, Surrey, Walsh divides his time between Segala’s offices in Dublin and the UK, with travel around the world to speak at conferences and to visit clients.

Dee Forbes Senior Vice President and General Manager, Turner Broadcasting Systems, UK and Ireland

The lowdown:

UK London’s advertising business was the making of Dee Forbes, senior vice president and general manager of Turner Broadcasting Systems UK and Ireland. Arriving in the UK capital 16 years ago armed with an arts degree from UCD, the Cork woman began her career as a lowly sales executive at ad agency Young and Rubicam Europe. Promotion has led to her current position at Turner, where she is responsible for all the channel’s commercial activities, including marketing and PR.

Irish nationality as a competitive advantage: Forbes doesn’t believe that nationality is an issue in London’s business world, and apart from occasionally speaking more slowly, has never felt she had to compromise her Irishness. Forbes notes one undeniable positive. “I came to London 16 years ago as a green graduate and luckily the Irish have a strong work ethnic so we can make it here.”

Reasons to stay in London: “It would be difficult to get something as senior as this at home, ” Forbes admits. “But I return a lot to Cork where I have a house and so have the best of both worlds.”