One of the most revealing discussions at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco this year was with Ariel Emanuel, the CEO of William Morris Endeavor agency and inspiration for Ari Gold in the TV show Entourage. At first I was confused as to why a super-agent from Hollywood was being interviewed at the world’s pre-eminent web-tech conference, but it didn’t take long for the penny to drop.

Lloyd!!! What's a Twitter?

We have heard the old web cliche that “content is king” for years now, and of course there is a lot of truth in it. An iPod is not much use without the music that can be easily stored on it, and most of the successful apps and devices we love to use require a steady stream of great content to make them appealing to us.

And of course, Ari Emanuel knows this. He’s been telling the traditional media for years that content is king and, via his stable of stars, has been able to supply a considerable amount of that content to them.

But in 2010, the playing field looks much different to a decade ago. Piracy has become a massive issue for the entertainment industry in the last ten years. The number of potential distribution platforms has also exploded. Now an artist, and agent, must consider a plethora of options rather than the traditional few.

Both Hollywood and the music industry have had an uneasy relationship with Silicon Valley. The web has been viewed as both the villain and the saviour as digital files enable easy and instant distribution and sharing of content.

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There is a lot of conjecture about Internet Television, how we will consume it and how it will affect us. This entertaining presentation was given at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco in November 2010 to debunk some of the myths (sorry, I have somehow forgotten who did this presentation).

Internet TV will change viewing habits forever

You know you’re old if…

• You think you’ll need a box to watch Internet TV
• You think you’ll need apps to watch Internet TV
• If you want to watch TV on your TV
• If you want to watch TV with other people
• If you watch more than 36 hours of TV per week (in which case it’s ambient, running in the background most of the time rather than being content that you elect to view when you wish)
• You think that Internet TV is “amateur hour” and that no web originals are professional

Viewing habits have changed remarkably in recent generations. Internet TV will result in an even more dramatic shift in media consumption.

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The social media community is fairly vibrant and well-established in the Newcastle area now. I think its about time to highlight the great writers, photographers, sights, scenes and ideas floating around the region and put them all in one easy place for everyone to find.

This photo is here for no other reason than its of a Newcastle beach

My team and I are putting together a side project to curate the best Hunter-based content.

That’s where you come in. We’re looking for people who’d like to contribute to a well-run online magazine for Newcastle and the Hunter. Its a chance for you to raise your profile, discuss burning issues, highlight the things you love and get some additional traffic and link-love along the way.

It’s a little bit Huffington Post (without heavy politics), a little bit Daily Candy, a little bit Digital Ministry (community contribution, not the geeky content), a little bit Gridskipper.

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These are my paraphrased notes and observations from the presentation by Katherine Savitt at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco on 17 November 2010.

Z future is here

Generation Z are those children and teenagers born between 1992-2010. In the USA they number 65 million. In first world countries they number 275 million, while worldwide there are 1.6 billion Gen-Z’s.

They are the first generation of digital natives, people who have grown up with the internet and connected devices. They are not amazed by the digital age, they take it for granted.

Gen Z represent the age of acquired attention deficit disorder. They are used to using multiple devices at once, and doing it effectively. In fact, neuroplasticity theory explains that, as we evolve with machines and multiple smart devices, we as humans are actually able to process much more with multitasking ability, despite what we always believed about the need to concentrate on one thing at a time.

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The recurring question everyone is asked at a large industry event, like the Web 2.0 Summit, is “what do you do” or another variation, “what does your company do?” Your answer tells a lot about the focus and marketability of your company.

Drinks break at Web 2.0 Summit 2010

Most people answer this with a long, rambling description, often requiring a few follow up questions to clarify things for their interrogator. Alarm bells should ring if this is your typical response.

The smart and focused companies provide concise, easy to understand explanations. Think about how Apple always describes their killer products: iPod = 1000 songs in your pocket, iPhone = the web in your hand etc.

I met a lot of very smart start-up founders at Web 2.0 Summit and it was clear that the good ones could, without fail, explain their idea or business in a handful of words. They had their elevator pitch down pat as a result of being put through the ringer by VC’s in a very competitive market.

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A series of short posts with the latest facts about our digital economy and lives. Use them for your presentations, blogs, homework or trivia nights.

• Second Life is currently populated by no more than 84,000 avatars at a time. Source: The Economist
• Online advertising typically accounts for 10-15% of a newspaper’s revenues. Source: The Economist
• Facebook users are adding photos at a rate of nearly 1 billion unique images a week. Source: Time Magazine
• In April 2009, 63% of U.S. adults had broadband Internet connections in their homes – up from 55% in 2008. Source: Bloomberg Business Week
• About 2/5th of LinkedIn’s members are female. Source: The Economist

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On 30 November in Newcastle, the Lunaticks Society are holding an event on cloud computing for business. It promises to be an interesting discussion on modern computing, security and the general benefits of “the cloud”.

As a business owner, I’m a big fan of cloud computing and host most office functions online.

But it’s while I am traveling that the benefits and ease of cloud computing are magnified. I can check-in, contribute, edit, chat, and generally work from almost anywhere via my laptop or, as is the case on my current trip to San Francisco, via my iPad or iPhone.

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A series of short posts with the latest facts about our digital economy and lives. Use them for your presentations, blogs, homework or trivia nights.

• Fewer than 1% of LinkedIn’s 50 million members worldwide actually pay for the service, compared with around 10% of Viadeo’s and 18% of Xing’s. Source: The Economist
• There are currently 21 generic internet domains in addition to the 280 country suffixes (such as .uk, .in, etc.) Source: The Economist
• Facebook currently has more than 65 million mobile users. Source: The Economist
• Currently about 1.2 million subscribers worldwide access broadband internet via satellite. Source: The Economist
• There are nearly 200 million internet addresses in use, which generate more than $2.5 billion a year in renewal fees. Source: The Economist

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This post has nothing to do with Media, Marketing, start-ups or Inbound Marketing. Instead its about the fact that my home town of Newcastle has just been listed by Lonely Planet as one of the 1o best cities in the world to visit in 2010. I just wanted to record this for posterity.

Newcastle Beach. Photo by Kitty Hill (Fairfax)

I’m proud to come from Newcastle. It’s town that has never had it easy. We’ve taken our lumps over the years (earthquake, major industry withdrawal, flooding) and have been poorly neglected by government at both State and Federal level despite contributing significantly to the economy. We don’t complain, and we just smile at those who condescendingly dismiss Newcastle as an unfashionable old steel town.

Why? Because we all know how bloody good it is to live here. And now Lonely Planet is letting the cat out of the bag.

Is Newcastle one of the Top Ten cities of the world (as has been misnamed in reports following the Lonely Planet listing)? Who can ever answer that? Its totally subjective.

What I do know is that I have lived in Scandinavia and several parts of the USA. I have traveled to many countries of the world and I’ve also been lucky enough to make the choice about where I was going to settle, raise a family and start a business. That choice was Newcastle.

We still have a long way to go to improve the decaying areas of Newcastle. We still seem to have a segment of the community who fear change and are determined to stop progress. We still are neglected by government. But those who live here also know the tide has begun to turn and pretty soon we’ll have the investment and infrastructure to match the amazing natural resources we enjoy. Beach, harbour, bushland, stunning nearby waterways in Lake Macquarie and Port Stephens and word class vineyards just up the road.

Drop by and say hi.
Following article taken from News.com.au
NEWCASTLE has been named as one of the top 10 must-see destinations in the world according to Lonely Planet’s ‘Best in Travel 2011′ book.
Cities like London and Paris failed to make the list, with the NSW harbour city ranked ninth the selection.

The authors have described Newcastle as “underrated”, saying the city has been “overshadowed by its bigger, bolder and better-known sibling, Sydney”.

However Sydney, and Melbourne, have never made the list before as they are “too dull”.

Lonely Planet Asia Pacific travel editor Shawn Low said the book aims to inspire travellers to pick lesser known cities to explore.

Mr Low said hundreds of ideas were submitted by authors, staff and bloggers, then refined by a panel of in-house travel experts.

“The rankings come down to topicality, excitement, value for money and that special X-factor.

“We want to pick a destination that has good thing about it that has been flying under the radar a bit.

“Newcastle is a great city.”

Mr Low said that Australia’s better-know cities such as Sydney and Melbourne haven’t made the list as they are not interesting enough.

“Sydney and Melbourne are obvious choices, they are quite dull. We want to inspire people to think more broadly.”

Newcastle’s beaches, climate, night-life and arts were listed as key elements placing the city on the radar.

“Today’s ‘new’ Newcastle is a unique blend of imagination, sophistication and laid-back surf culture,” Lonely Planet‘s book says.

Tourism Hunter’s Executive Manager Sheridan Ferrier says it is an “honour” to be included in the top 10 list.

“I think it is testament to the range of experiences that we have to offer in Newcastle and is certainly attributed to our lifestyle as well,” Ms Ferrier told ABC News.

The city’s most bizarre sight, according to the authors, is the dome-shaped Queens Wharf Tower, which is 40m tall.

The city receives over 100,000 visitors per year.

Other cities to make the list include New York City, US; Tangier, Morocco; Tel Aviv, Israel; Wellington, New Zealand; Valencia, Spain; Iquitos, Peru; Ghent, Belgium; Delhi, India and Chang Mai, Thailand.

You might also want to read this by Renew Newcastle Founder Marcus Westbury

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This year I have interviewed a lot of job applicants for various positions and one thing that I realised is that there are plenty of talented people around, but most of them have very little experience in the digital marketing world. Especially in Newcastle where we are based.

I don’t want to one of those employers that says, “Come back when you’ve got some experience.” I’d rather help foster new talent and grow the market.

So, we have announced a new initiative targeting the next wave of marketing and communication professionals: the Sticky Internship Program.

Here’s an opportunity to gain valuable experience in a modern, dynamic agency working across a wide range of areas. It’ll be fun, it’ll be challenging and it will be very worthwhile.

If you’d like to know more about the Sticky Internship Program please see the details on our agency site.

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