It’s easy to sit here and talk about the benefits of open source business (of which there are many), but what happens when it goes wrong or someone operates counter to the spirit? Read the rest of this entry »

Getting nearer every day. I’ve got to say that I’m looking forward to this years event more than ever before. It has been a pleasure to pull together. We could have done with another three months, but eh? what can you do. C’est la vie. Hope it will be very different situation next year. As i keep saying, the bestest bit of designing b.TWEEN is spending time talking to interesting people, introducing them to each other and figuring out the strongest intersection between them. Read the rest of this entry »

I met with Richard ( who has by the way been a massive support for the last few months on just about every level) and Kristina the other week to discuss which bits of their huge and varied knowledge we could most usefully focus on in this 35 minute session. I may have mentioned earlier that we have decided to scrap the Q and A after the sessions in favour of break outs. Essentially each of the speakers will go to a breakout space and delegates can choose which one they would most like to have a deeper conversation with. Q and As are so often no more than an opportunity for less shy delegates to introduce themselves Read the rest of this entry »

This one was a two stage discussion At the first, we considered how useful it would be for small companies to understand a little more about the internal workings and politics inside the walls of the major players. EAch of the panellists used to work for the biggies ( Matt used to work for the BEEB, Morgan for 3 and Jonathan for Orange.) I asked them each to spill the beans, and tell the audience 5 things they wouldn’t have felt comfortable saying while they were working for each of these organisations - useful tips from the inside that would help indies to navigate their complicated and shrouded landscapes when trying to pitch an idea or cut a deal. they were each going to use warts and all case studies to tell the audience what not to do when approaching these monoliths. Read the rest of this entry »

Read the rest of this entry »

i know it’s remiss of me to have gone so long without posting. There is no excuse other than we’ve been completely snowed under.For me this has meant i have spent the last few weeks meeting up with some of the most interesting and inspiring figures around the interactive media scape and working with them to figure out exactly what they will bring to the table at the forum.( It’s a tough job but someone’s got to do it ). Read the rest of this entry »

Peter Cowley confirmed today that he will be presenting at b.TWEEN 07.

We met today to talk about Endemol’s digital media investment fund.  The fund was launched in June 2006, a response to a changing media scape where TV is rapidly losing footing and the big broadcasting moguls are losing their grip on audiences.

They aim to invest in Indies with good sales driven content ideas around participation programmes, aggregation, evolving platforms such as mobile, IPTV and video-on-demand services, gaming and gambling. All of the major gambling brands are desperate to find ways of using content to differentiate themselves from their competitors. Since the launch they have received around 150 ideas. They have been surprised by how few of the proposals have clear business cases built around them, and by how few of the companies they talked to are investment ready. There has been no shortage of good ideas, just a shortage of the commercial acumen to accompany them. They have just entered their first investment deal through the fund with a company that has been trading for two years though wouldn’t tell who the company is

Endemol have also just announced a creative partnership with electronic arts (EA) to develop a new entertainment concept that will bridge the gap between TV and Games. “Virtual Me” combines EA’s avatar creation technology with Endemol’s TV formats to offer audiences a way to meet and greet in a virtual space. It will be launched in the next series of ‘Big Brother’ and will allow players to participate in virtual versions of TV shows like ‘Fame Academy’ and ‘Deal Or No Deal’, and to form real relationships with other virtual avatars on the web
(www.VirtualMe.com).
Incidentally, BBC viewing figures apparently plummeted to new low last Saturday, with less than 15% of the audience tuning in to their TV offer.