Internet World 2008

The exhibition 'Internet World' took place at the end of April, at Earls Court in London. Internet World is a major exhibition for people who make their living from internet services and attracts businesses from all over the world to learn about each other. Darren and I went to our first exhibition with Blue Box Software to watch and learn.

The exhibition was divided between seminars from the directors of major players in the industry, and exhibition stands of the marketers, designers, or software developers keen to raise thier profile. There were two seminars that stood out particularily for me.

Richard Ambrose: Head of Safety & Trust @ Ebay UK.

Cynical remarks about the kind of organisation that needs a safety and trust division where widely whispered as Richard Ambrose began his seminar on 'the challenges of maintaining trust in online communities.' For a company that makes half a billion dollars (profit globally) each quarter I found their policy on protecting the consumer almost Fordist.

"with over one hundred items listed every second, it is impossible to screen everything"

Or anything, it seems, as Richard explained; Ebay UK relies on the vigilence of their online community to spot the unethical, fraudulent or illegal items listed. Ebay have plenty of initiatives to make Ebay a safer, more trusted place to trade, such as removing the ability for a seller to give a buyer bad feedback. The overall impression I got from the presentation (being once an avid and succesful ebay bargain hunter) was that Ebay perpetuate ignorant fears about the unregulated and rather amateur internet industry. Such a large player in the market should act like the super brand they are and not hang on to the car boot 'ethos' it once had.

Andy Hobsbawm: European Chairman @ Agency.com

What less would you expect from a global agency chairman than an engaging and entertaining, well delivered seminar? Amongst all the colourful metaphors and powerful portfolio examples there were some real insights to be considered, from the internet driven redundancy of traditional 'push' advertising campaigns, to the opportunity of the web industry to work with the majority of the world brands not using the web to it's full potential.

Nice examples were:

"At no point in the past have a pair of 14 year olds in New Zealand with a chemistry kit been able to damage a global brand like Ribena" refering to results of a school experiment on the level of Vitmain C in Ribena (nil in this case) published on the web and circulated through social networks quicker than any damage limitation PR stunt ever could.

"The billions spent by Dell in advertising mean little when 8 of the 10 page 1 results in a Google search are about awful customer services, dissapointing products or general poor reputation" referring to the old fashioned blanket approach to marketing, forcing the consumer to accept the promise on face value, rather than ask a couple of million people around the globe if they really are 'lovin it'















So overall an encouraging event for anyone born in the times where tacit knowledge of the web is a given, and plenty of potential to make the most of this in the future :)

Business Link West Midlands

Blue Box Software is now part of the Business Link's West Midlands Supplier Register. A major part of the Business Link's purpose is providing grants to part fund worthwhile business development projects.

As a registered supplier we can deliver web projects that recieve part funding. In order to find out if your business ticks the boxes to recieve a grant you need to have a free business review.

More details can be found here.

'The Apprentice' is back!

The Apprentice is, in my opinion, one of the few contemporary programmes that makes the TV license worthwhile. I caught the bug part way through the third season last year, and it seems that this series could be as engaging as the last.

Using excellent casting, production and plenty of dramatic effect, the show does what any teacher, advisor or lecturer has failed to do; inspire me to be ambitious about my career. The first episode highlighted the contrast between Sir Alan Sugar's 'street smarts' attitude to entrepreneurship and the candidates impeccably presented professional composure.

Nicholas, you could argue, was fired for his unashamed admission of having problems working with 'less priveledged' people. Sir Alan offhandedly claims most of the professionals he has employed are 'clueless.'

Whether the show has a few clangers cleverly scripted for our entertainment, or Alan's prejudices are a little obvious, I still feel the show is achieving something very rare in today's prime time offering: getting young people of all backgrounds motivated to get some vocational skills. The pursuit of material wealth is not my meaning of life, but it is a reward most of us strive for.

I'm busy for the next 15 weeks; on wednesdays 9-10, BBC...

Fruits of our labours

Well done to all the team - we all grafted in February and smashed our targets for both new business and project delivery. We all celebrated this fact last night with a superb meal at 'The Little Sauce Factory' in Worcester, which has excellent service, tasty food and great atmosphere.

Highlights were Jorj not managing to finish his pudding (very rare!) and Jorj buying a round (unheard of!!)

Drunken Science

On April 18th we will be heading up to Birmingham to celebrate Andy's 21st Birthday. On that very night the band 'We Are Scientists' will be performing at the Carling Academy.

Cardigans are optional

New Addition to the Family

Some clients of BBS may well have already spoken, or even met me. For those who I haven't yet had the pleasure of working with, allow me to introduce myself! I began at Blue Box Software in Jan '08, since when they've got me working on a variety of interesting, and often challenging projects. I really enjoy writing code, and have worked with varied languages and technologies, in a variety of situations.

On a personal level though, I quite like to get outdoors. I have an addiction to fishing and many an hour has been spent in pursuit of the next monster. Once the weather improves I will be spending my weekends by the lake, fishing for carp, testing a new bait I have developed (fish nutrition being one of my side-hobbies! - yes, I know, Im sad...).

In future entries, I hope to keep you up to date with my progress, the projects I am involved in and (hopefully, time allowing) any nifty gizmos I get into action. And if Im lucky enough, maybe a whacking-great fish!

New Office Space

Our trusty handy man removed a partition wall today, giving us access to the office next door. This practically doubles our office space providing room for expansion and a nice meeting room.

Many thanks to Clive for a first rate job!