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At what point do retailers embrace the social shopping sphere? From reviews, comments, payments, marketing and brand voice, where and how do they begin? There are so many social networks and sites here today gone tomorrow that retailers and brands are  concerned that there either too late, too early or will waste their money on something that could potentially damage their brand and reputation! Equally they feel that they are missing out on this new ‘Social Shopping’ (Look at Dell who have attributed $2million in sales thanks to Twitter) and would like to get their brand and company in there but in the most effective and timely way.

Brands and retailers do need to be aware of the burgeoning ‘social space’. It can be as it is a vital lifeblood to support their overall positive position within the marketplace, helping them to be seen as forward-thinking and innovative. It is also the vehicle that may drive many businesses forward in the coming years. Some may look at networks and  such as Twitter, Facebook or MySpace and think they are niche plays – and it does not really affect them. If brands want to meet their audience, they need to connect with them in the correct forums. This is not the case. For example 70% of Twitter users in the UK are over the age of 35 (comScore Media Metrix) Retailers should be aware of and monitor the social ‘chatter’ that resonates around their brand. They have to understand where the chatter is, how to track it and ultimately what to do with it. This responsibility typically sits with marketing or brand teams as they are often the official gatekeepers for the product or service. Retailers can then decide if there is a need or desire to connect with the network or forum – but what they do and how they interact is equally important:

1. Sit there and do nothing = can sometimes imply apathy and lack of understanding to the community

2. Push Push Push = using the community solely for gain and monetary advancement

3. Defend & Answer = defensive stance that shows again that the brand is only interacting to trouble shoot issues

A more strategic approach is to observe what’s happening on the networks and look to PULL rather than PUSH – by viewing these communities as a channel to discuss / share / collaborate and improve their business. That in turn will start to create trust and respect from users. This is the social commerce that is becoming more prevalent in many industries today. As far as monetisation is concerned, this is a new economy and so it is too early to put a firm monetary value on its aggregate worth. However, in terms of positive brand visibility, its value is easy to see.

Whether you enter the ‘social space’ now or in the future, it does not make a difference - the Twitter of today could become obsolete next year. What is key is that you are aware of the most relevant social media, and ensure that you have the most the most appropriate level of interaction with them. Look within your company to see who could be a good spokesperson(s) to help channel the discussion and not be seen as an ’invasive intruder’ that is there to spam and sell.

Top Tips for the embracing the social shopping sphere:

1. Look & Review the social sphere – who is on there, what is the nature of the communication, are competitors on there, what are they doing, what is the reaction, is my brand / company being discussed?

2. Decide & Act after “Look & Review”  where your participation level sits – passive, active, influencer - where this will sit within your business, who sets the tone of voice etc..

3. Pull not Push - Remember that this is not necessarily a PUSH marketing vehicle but gathering new currency of social commerce that you will want to keep and maintain

4. Trust & Reward – If you are an active participant trust the voice of your network and reward them – that can be through various methods and means – could be tips, help, advice

5. Innovate - Look to go beyond the traditional methods and where this new found network can benefit your business – product reviews / brand placement / services etc

As Twitter is the media darling just now much more so that Facebook or MySpace, it’s interesting to note the activity on that medium. Of course Twitter in all essence is NOT a social network per say but in fact a communications network (as we have seen with the breaking news recently) with social features (friends & followers) While at the same time it’s also very interesting to see who is actually responding and building up a reciprocal network – by how many they follow

It is supposed to be uber cool if you only follow a handful of cool people – but then there is the perception that you’re not really listening and you are there as a “push” medium only.

Twitter is still in its infancy and will start to see more with Twitter over the next 18 months (but at the same time towards the end of the year – there will be a new kid on the block that will take the social commentary even further!!

I’ve been concerned about this for a while – and recently I guess certain elements and the stars aligning made me realise that in fact we all must be careful about what we do in the fast moving social media space. We’ve all read and heard stories of potential employers checking out peoples Facebook to see what they get up to in their private life is not only a violation and invasion of privacy – but what does it matter what they get up to in their own time. However lest address that last point “violation and invasion of privacy “ in actual fact – it probably isn't – if someone has a Facebook / MySpace / Bebo or whatever account and they have it open to the world to see – then at what stage is it violation of privacy laws vs a nosy and snooping employer? Or is it just a curious employer that is genuinely looking to see what kind of person the potential employee is?

So how does it look if that person comes across as vivacious, bubbly outgoing and friendly – then on Facebook either has but 3 friends and enjoys collecting rare and unused stamps? The reflection of that persons social space – based on the bias of the employers own perception of that person based on some social media output. Notice so far I’ve not mentioned anything about the persons ability or experience as I assume these are already a given since that person attended an interview. Everyone is always interested and some what a voyeur aspect – why would so many follow Jonathan Ross or Stephen Fry on Twitter if they weren't so voyeuristic in knowing what these people are doing in their daily lives – just he same as you and me but because its them there is that fascination. They would never add their Twitter followers onto their Facebook or add them into their iPhone address book – so to them its a good ego boost as well as self promotion – more importantly its just great fun!!

Back to the example above and then pushing this a little further – what is the correct etiquette for social media and current or potential employees and employers? I mentioned a potential situation above, that has been raised on numerous occasions even to the point that the employer found it appropriate to mention an individual who in his interview said that he was very active in social media and had hundreds of friends on his MySpace and Facebook accounts – only for the employee to check – saw that he had but 6 and they were his family and nothing more. The guy never got the job, branded a bulls****er and then, thanks to the stupid employer, went round the web as one of those “funny Facebook stories” that showed the guy had no friends and only family and didn't actually do anything even though he claimed to be a massive influencer. The result was classic – he was a prolific user, influencer and had 1,347 friends and ran groups – however his account that the employer found was for the purpose of his family only – to chat and find out the goings on within the family unit – his real account he protected himself with an ALIAS that backfired on the employer – and a million dollar suit for the employer followed…

So here we stand on this abyss of being swamped within social media and information is everywhere – which is fantastic and scary. I was prompted to write this after reading a post by Len Devanna  who asks the question “Blurring the lines of life & work” – however that is not quite the case.

If it were as easy as that then the blurred lines would or could be disassociated. Len is a blogger, twitterer and is Director of Web Strategy for EMC. However It’s what information you put out there, where and under what guise? Len talked about two “fictitious” scenarios about a client which was a good read  - Len then finished off by saying “So where are the lines? Do we need lines? Am I over analyzing this? Do I, as an individual, have every right to say what's on my mind regardless of the possible ramifications? Or is the conservative approach the right one?”  But using Len’s example and his twitter account – lets say he had a meeting with FOX to do some web strategy around Family Guy – but using Len’s example in his post we find that in one of Len’s tweets he said “1st season of Survivor was mildly fun.. Then downhill. Bachelor, Biggest Loser - It's all part of FOX's plan to take over the world. Fox could if they used that example – as a slant against FOX and their global strategy!

I would say not and Len is entitled to voice his concern / opinion / comment to his hearts content – but as he is using his name, and linked to EMC you could say that there is a link – no matter what disclaimers say – but that is the points isn’t it?

Google have finished the work that is bringing the tweets from Twitter to the fore and delivering the entire 140char text – which means all those ramblings, drunken tweets, and offensive backlash items will be there for the Googling world to see – link that back to your work and you have an issue…

So perhaps the way forward is for work – create your own work persona – talk, discuss, blog, share and tweet about specific elements and challenges that you face. Have an alias where you can have the mundane and celebrity following to see if @stephenfry will upset anyone today – and if your going to post pictures of your stag night with a bevy of topless dancers – then expect your future wife, mum, employer to be having a quiet word in your shell like…

My continuing blog posts about the Governments Digital Britain will continue up to the point that the final document is completed by Lord Carter. Probably go on beyond that – but some news and initiatives trickling out last night – really got my back up (as some of you would have seen!) and its here that futurists and strategic thinkers that look beyond the here and now and delve further into the future into a landscape that is very different to the one that we see today – so the indication that the Government will set up a “rights agency” for the web really started to make my blood boil. Not really with the fact that here is another Government set on regulating the web – but actually not getting the point of it at all and why file sharing will continue way beyond the pathetic laws that they are planning.

Firstly – here is a snippet from the Guardian that alerted me to the plans from Lord Carter to create a “digital rights agency” and how does he plan to actually police this? We have seen regimes and countries try to clamp down on access and limit the amount of data that their citizens can see / read / watch / access… – but these are Communist states that want to control the flow of information that their Citizens consume. Now last time I checked we were a democracy (in the loosest form of the word these days)

Quick background check…. So in essence there is still a need to go all out to prevent the Music industry in particular, from being crushed by the powers of the illegal file sharers? However in this current climate – apart from Pinnacle – how are the other music labels holding up at the moment? Are they asking for huge hand outs from the Government for aid before their business goes to the toilet? Nope! Why – because they are making a huge amount of money from their digital sales – which are increasing by around 25% YoY – not making up the shortfall in CD sales I grant you – but again – this is now 2009 – times have moved on and consumers have moved with the times. So gone are the heady days of the 70s, 80s &90s where multi-million album sales and single sales are the norm. It just doesn't work that way anymore. This has to be the first lesson for them – just as the banks are being reigned in again – the music industry needs a slap in the face that wakes them up to the reality.

Next slap in the face must go to the artists that seem to be demanding bigger royalty payment based on their “stature”, “success” or catalogue! Again the times have changed – the next breed of consumers Gen Y & Gen Z are very different animals and see and perceive music and its consumption in a very different way – and I keep sounding like a broken record here – but these are the fundamentals that need to be addressed and understood before we can actually move forward. Look at the sheer greed of some artists thinking that they should be paid more on You Tube – even though this is now a way that users discover music and artists – just as radio used to in the past – but this time the attention / consumption is very different (as well as the quality) Billy Bragg, Robbie Williams, Blur all meet today at their FAC (Featured Artist Coalition – or Fading Artists Cry) Summit where Blur’s Dave Rowntree said "YouTube's row with the PRS is the most recent example of just how fast the music industry is changing." – What you’ve only just realised that!! Now that may sound harsh – but the You Tube example and what Billy Brag said about the whole You Tube affair with talk of Artists Unions etc..  I think that artists need to look at themselves and importantly their labels – that own their copyright and publishing rights. If you have signed your life away to your ecord company for a fast buck in your early careers – and now see your video on You Tube and get a few pence for it – then ask yourself what is my record label getting from that – and actually what is my video on You Tube really worth in todays market? What is Artists Market Value in the social media world of 2009. Perhaps answer those questions first internally before shooting Google down! Hope that is on the agenda today!

So how does this tie into what the Government regulation and rules? Well with the announcement of the digital rights agency (proposed) what value will they bring and is this just about music or other formats and types going to be covered by this agency. ISPs will monitor the flow of P2P traffic and under legislation decide to target, trace and monitor torrents that are delivering illegal content! That all sounds great – now we know that ISPs can (and should have been) following the P2P traffic for a long time – what is contained within them is another matter! I guess if your Torrent is tagged or labelled as “Beatles_White_Album” then yes I would say that this is an album containing the Beatles tracks – you could go further if the torrent contains 30tracks and is around 210mb – then yes you are going to track that one down… well done {claps hands} What if the entire Beatles catalogue was on a Torrent labelled as “CM3u0yKuF” zipped up into chunks – Secure Zips are tagged as HolidayFiles_France_88: is there smart technology that knows how to get around that?? If there is then – fantastic  - but then if we have level of penetration detection on networks then is it not more appropriate to after that technology to go after the trap doors and hidden doors into the seedy underground world of child pornography – where although not costing an industry any financial hardship – its something more important – children's lives! I’ve talked about this before – where its always a subject that is hard for people to talk about openly but none the less there should be a task force beyond what we have to ensure that if we are going to monitor internet usage then – surely this should be one of the first port of calls?

So in final ranting fashion what are we saying – P2P is in fact a dying breed and the shares already know this – what you find is that the ones that are left and being charged are not the hardcore that need to be brought to task here – and by that I don't mean some lengthy prison sentence. The technology has moved so far away that I have seen and tried out the new breed of illegal file share sites – as they finish the UI and monetisation (these guys that set up Pirate Bay & KaZaA etc know what they are doing) and you know what in a seamless silent world there is over 5Tb of media on there just now in some of these sites – with the latest Hollywood blockbusters (US cinema releases such as Watchmen..) that come over the wire under the noses of the ISPs with no detection – because they have moved away from Torrents and into a whole new venture. I’m not going to name any names or anything like that – also doesn't really work like that anymore is all I’m saying.

So once the Government, UK Music, Lord Carter and ISPs finally agree to take action – it will be a barren wasteland of dead empty torrents and a few people who stumbled across it while trying to find a music video that used to be on You Tube until the greedy artists decided they wanted more $ from Google (because they can afford it?? argument from artists!)

Big Brother will be watching – but what exactly will it be watching….?

In my last post I touched very briefly on the Games and Movie industry and where the D2C opportunities are heading. These are inevitable – however there are more pressing issues at stake just now and the as 2009 is THE year of the emerging mobile (we all knew it had potential but here it is at last it starts to come of age and will be very dominant for the next 3 years) device and of course those apps that are either very useful and handy to have or – if you like the Zippo brand you can have a pretend lighter that no matter how hard I try I can never get my cigarette lit!

So this week those covermounts that were of course according to some “the saviour of the music industry” we were told were no longer going to be part of the Mails make up any more “senior executives at the newspaper believe the use of covermounts is a costly exercise, prompting a significant spike in circulation, but not luring in long-term readers.” So bang goes that idea then…

So what's next? That of course is what everyone is trying to scramble about and try and come up with the “next big” thing! Well i would hope that after all this time we are now at a stage where the old models no longer work and actually you need to have a much more open approach to how you stack up a business model for digital media. You have the potential of a worldwide audience, you have multitude of delivery options to you – stream, download, side load, D2C, B2B… the list goes on and as such there is different models for each of those – and each will have a differing value based on the delivery and consumption.

However there really needs to be a take in the ground that does not label, or pigeon hole the end user because they decide to consume the media in whatever format they chose.

With this I have been talking about the big wins in mobile this year and the year of mobile of which we as consumers, and we as strategists and technology futurists have been talking about the power of the converged device and the power that it will yield when it arrives. I had been battling for years earlier saying that it was coming but not yet, I was a naysayer and then at the end of that year, just go back and ask “did mobile revolutionise the world, or did we just send more txt messages?”

So with 2009 in full swing and Apple & Google in full throws of their Apps – what can we learn from them and relate that back to the entertainment industry? Well on the iPhone part of the SDK is that you can not topuch or intefere with the iTunes library – that's Apples and no one is touching it!! Quite right too it is one of the biggest USP of the iPhone – which makes it such a good music player as well as a phone – but another of my favourite applications from Tapulous showed a slightly different approach where – the iPhone comes in 8Gb & 16Gb – (sure that this summer we will see the 32Gb version) so it was then feasible to write an application with content wrapped inside it! You could in effect wrap an album in there and avoid “touching any part of iTunes”…

This got me thinking then – rather than just iPhone what if we could package up a subset of items and start to make an interactive and changeable experience that at the same time gives you the chance to sample and enjoy even more music for example?

So the Music App was conceived – and sure that there are other variations on a theme here – but lets have a look a a couple of examples of how this could work from a users part and then how this can work as a business idea and start to translate what in essence is a template for digital media on portable / mobile devices…

Lets take the brand new U2 Long Player: No Line On The Horizon. U2 delivered various formats of the alum from CD, Box Set, Vinyl, digital & digital deluxe editions. Although that is a very traditional way of delivering such a long awaited album – you noticed that after the single came out there was a scramble for U2 catalogue – as always happens with massive bands – and something that the labels are keen to see in a larger scale, but there's not many U2’s, Metallica’s etc.. left that has that sort of impact.

What then if part of UMGs drive they delivered the U2+ App. This is an app that caters for most new phones and as the album, plus the digital booklet and hell why not throw in a sample of the Corbijn video to tantalise. Then as this is an App – deliver 2 other sample Albums of U2 – say Boy & Best of 80 – 90. Suddenly you have just delivered to the end user a total U2 experience that goes beyond the usual download and play. Now we can start to get somewhat clever with this – the App is the U2+ No Line on The Horizon (the “+” being key here) where you can then update your 2 bonus elements and say swap out Boy for October and listen to a sample of that album. Of course you can directly link off and download the entire album ( that's the up sell or just listen to half the album that is embedded within the application – and there is your security aspect of dropping 3 albums within 1 app) so in essence you have just created a mini U2 radio / sample package that you know – as the user had to download the application and connect to deliver any updates.

The really clever part is that once the user has the application on there – the possibilities to then cross sell and deliver U2 news, tour, merchandise, bonus tracks is simply breath taking – you have a direct relationship with the consumer that you never had before (as previously this was done either with iTunes or retailers..)

Then take this idea one stage further and deliver TV content and start to deliver an episodic subscription delivery where the application will deliver the latest episode 1 at a time – suddenly using a DVD Rental formula where you have a queued list of TV shows that you are keen to watch and have in your queue – as the example above start delivering TV content direct to the device and update the application as the user is finished one episode – and again the great cross sell opportunity is that if they have subscribed to a show like Family Guy – for example – whilst waiting for the next episode to air or become available – give the user a number of additional options to consider. It could be an older episode that they may have missed, a related show such as American Dad either way you have an opportunity to target and deliver a better experience for the end user than ever before.

Not only as the Apps for these new devices saved the mobile industry – in terms of the end user being able to personalise their mobile experience – but may have just delivered another way to enjoy digital media on the go… and although I’m not going to say save the music industry – but at least we can start looking at the huge possibilities that we have available using an app as an initial delivery tool and from there – start thinking about ongoing value to both the user and to the rights owners…

(PS apologies for the crap images – I’m NOT a designer and these were knocked up – quite literally  - to show what could be possible… with a decent designer I bet they’d look even better…)

I've talked a lot about the power of how digital media and direct to consumer will start to penetrate the mass market over the coming years – but for early adopters that time is most definitely here now.. If you are a retailer or reseller in the Entertainment sector – you better hold on to your boots and have some very smart thinkers helping you shape where you play a part in the Digital Future..

Microsoft's approach last week to release Grand Theft Auto – The Lost & Damned Episode 1 - as a download only to XBOX Live may have gone under the radar by most – but to me that was the discussion that I had with Sony’s Playstation division back in the days prior to the launch of the PS2 – where I talked to them about broadband penetration and when Sony could deliver a D2C proposition. Back then although we knew that broadband would penetrate – the idea of avoiding a retailer and delivering direct to the consumer over the internet was in someway a bridge to far. The games were GBs in size it could take days for it to come down the pipe. FFWD to 2009 and Virgin delivers 50Mb broadband speeds now – and technology is such that we can deliver a progressive download that delivers enough of the game for the user to start playing before its downloaded entirely. I had another challenge for Sony back then was – “Pay as You Play” I had thought that by that time would the kids of that generation really care about having a stack of games that cost them £50 that they may either play until their eyes bleed or – actually play a few times and then lose their money as they trade it back in – why not let them pay as they play – slicing up the game in such a way that they have 20% of the game for £10 – and as they complete they move on to the next step – I also showed them that in effect a £50 game would now become £60 actually costing more if the user ended up playing the entire game – as well as delivering hidden elements, community aspect, more maps and levels that – heaven forbid could be designed and adapted by other developers by opening up parts of the games SDK? (Look at Nintendo’s Wii Ware as a close example) – This was of course back in 1999!!!

 So FFWD onto 2009 10 years later – and I tip my proverbial hat to Microsoft for entering this space with such a high profile game such as GTA – just as music retailers watch their physical formats vanish from their stores – and deliver direct to a consumers PC – the entire games industry is moving this way slowly and steadily. Next step I hope that we can work with the Movie studios to deliver Worldwide Premiers of movies direct to peoples homes – think of all the people that cant get out to cinema because of children, disability etc.. – as per the above business model – say to a consumer – pay £25 for a “Golden Ticket” and then deliver the Worldwide Premier of Batman – WOW what a compelling offer for the consumer – almost creating an “at home event” friends family around the 50” HD LCD then as its hits the cinema {{ BEAMED DIRECT TO YOUR TV}} – this would help the business model of the movie industry where they will start to see a diminished set of sales as we all move into digital movies – and as per my first example – why have a stack of plastic? – stream the movie and I’ll pay to watch it when I want to – therefore why do I need to purchase more plastic to watch it once or twice if I'm feeling that way inclined…

These ideas to some are futuristic and way off – maybe because in part its down to peoples perception and understanding on where these new business models are and monetisation – however the technology, ideas and a whole new host of business models are already here!! Albeit rattling around within frustrated futurists and strategists that are speaking but seems that no one is (or wants to listen)

I have been asked a lot recently by friends, colleagues and others within the struggling retail sector what is the future and how can both large brands and smaller boutiques stores sustain and survive on our traditional high street?

I don’t have a magic wand or full raft of advice here to deliver the answers to make the UK high street take a hockey stick curve in the right direction – I do have my own thoughts (which i have been talking about for a while) and perhaps now is the time to start putting this into practice before we see another wave of high street brands vanish forever.

First off I think that the UK needs to review its own internal workings rules and regulations. For that you need the government to make some significant and momentous shifts in its thinking and understanding that the world - and in particular to this blog – the UK Retail High Street is a very different place compared to what it was 5 years ago. We all enjoy the convenience and benefits of online shopping and this is a trend that will continue to grow with the new breed of technology and consumer electronics making it even easier for consumers to shop, browse, compare and buy from the comfort of their sofa – why on earth would you need to venture out? There is of course a whole other conversation about online retail and where e-commerce moves into over the coming 12/24 months where again we will see a significant shift in that sector as well – I’ll keep that for another time though…

So what can the Government do that is not just a quick fix that we have to pay for eventually (I’m talking about the VAT cut) this has not really had the seismic impact that either Gordon Brown or Alistair Darling had hoped for – really? Plenty of people warned that when it was announced – perhaps big ticket items that a 2.5% cut in VAT would show a reasonable return for the consumer – but when consumers are spending less and watching what they do spend – the nominal VAT cuts they were seeing didn't have the same impact. A few pence here and if you were lucky a couple of pounds on the Christmas shop – but even then the consumer were cutting back some what on that so there is no real definitive argument for against the positivity that the consumers saw on their big Christmas shop.

We move into February with more unrest and threat of high street closures due to, and quite rightly too, the consumers lack of confidence in either the economy or their job security – so they will be more cautious of what they spend their money on. However we are in that never ending spiral that we must get out of quickly and make some positive steps to halt this and make the UK High Street a sustainable and vibrant place again.

How?

Firstly Government action – the continued (and often debated) archaic trading laws need overhauling NOW! BERR have always outlined the practice “Small shops with a floor area of up to 280 square metres (3,000 square feet) can choose their own Sunday opening hours. But they must be aware that staff who work on a Sunday may have special employment rights.” The limit of Sunday trading hours, sq ft size impact etc.. is unjust in this climate and in fact in 2009 is there really any other justification for the restricted Sunday trading. A complete overhaul would bring a more relaxed and sedate environment to the high street, as well as a longer time to browse and goodness knows even buy some goods. The BERR is headed up by Peter Mandelson and needs to address this sooner rather than later. I recall having fines from Local Councils when I was managing retail stores due to my store running over its allotted Sunday trading time limit! Why? I stayed open as consumers were still wanting to shop and spend their money in my store – so i wasn’t going to kick them out – every sale counted back then – as I'm sure it does even more so now. However as I recall there was some uproar from the Church leaders around Sunday trading – being “a day of rest”  yes that may well have been the case in 70’s & 80’s when online retail wasnt invented and people couldn't shop 24/7 if they wanted to… So the Church argument in a multi-cultural, multi-channel UK does not stack up!

Next is the BCSC that helps shape the landlords and business unit holders with the retailers. This is a key issue as more and more high street and shopping centre units become vacant the initial reaction is to increase the rates or rent elsewhere to make up the shortfall. There has been an on going debate between retailers and commercial landlords around what is right and wrong in the current climate. However again I can only go on my own retail experience – where at the height of the high street in early 90’s there was a flip side where landlords would significantly increase their commercial rents and rates as the demand for space was so high that the old adage of greed crept in and an increase in rental would benefit the commercial landlords – as well as a hefty price hike in shopping parking spaces etc… This must be a key piece of work for Michael Green & Jeremy Collins to really work with Commercial Landlords, Retailers and Local Council to review the current state of the “High Street” and act appropriately, correctly and without the incessant need of “what's in it for me” If Commercial Landlords continue to increase rents, while local councils push up rates and town parking become astronomical then we may as well mourn the demise of the high street now. We need to act in a positive and pro-active manner to establish the high street as a place of community and commerce where big brands can and should sit comfortably side by side.

This is the final part of my own take on the Retail High Street – while we would love to see Pete’s Butcher Shop, Frank’s Fishmongers sit along side Tesco Metro & M&S Food Halls – there doesn't seem to be that level of optimism or opportunity for these types of stores to thrive and flourish. A number of causes for this could be a lack of confidence that how can they possibly compete with the might of Tesco or M&S etc… Rent and rates are too high, the only available unit / location for me is in the wrong area of town… all these are perfectly valid points and again this is down to local councils, town planning and rejuvenation of the local high street. I have spoken to a few local councillors and their inept and lack of understanding on this subject is somewhat shocking to say the least. These bureaucrats need to have a lesson on high street rejuvenation – that doesn't involve creating yet another out of town complex that the big named brands may or may not move into – again they will look at the “what's in it for me” issue again and make a poor decision based on their own thoughts and views. I must stress here that not all local councils are like this – but a vast majority are – and in part of the rebuilding of a successful and thriving high street it requires everyone to be proactive and take responsibility. So I think that over time the high street will become an almost desolate landscape during the final downturn of 2009 – however if all the points above are carefully thought through and planned and agreed we will see a new emergence of UK Retail High Street in 2010 that will be very much in the vein of what the high street was supposed to be “Community & Commerce” local being a key driver. Local in terms of support, jobs, produce and products and a sense of pride that brings the dawn of a new era to the high street and to retailers to bring that passion and sense of community back to the fore.

However – lets not forget that retail as we know it is changing and will continue to change forever - nothing we can do to stop or change it. We need to embrace and work with and ultimately its in a small number of peoples hands to start to turn things around – get these achieved correctly and you will start to see the UK Retail High Street turning in the right direction – and if they don’t……

I read, watched and shook my head in utter shock and despair at the way the Britain “coped” with the recent and continued snow falls of yesterday and today. I think that looking at the way the current infrastructure is set up – no matter if its snow, rain, heat or UFOs – the United Kingdom is stuck in a legacy that in comparison to the recent Digital Britain – really is cause for concern.

Firstly lets look at what happened in the early morning of Monday when the snow was falling? Co-Ordination, communication and updates should have been a vital part of that process. I would have to assume that ALL councils were on high alert gritting, salting and clearing the roads throughout the night as the snow fell? However was there any new technology on board these gritters that were plotting their path via Google Maps for example – routes agreed and mapped out in advance based on historical data, alerting and commenting on where there were real black spots (or should that be white spots!!) Where roads were cleared and stayed clear – would have given the local authorities the knowledge that the A310 was cleared and the battle with snow on that road had been won – however the A3 up to junction 2 had been cleared and good for use - however there is deep snow and icy conditions that require more work – this would have alerted the “base” that John on Truck H1 would not be onto his next route – due to extra work being required…

All this data would be sent back to base where this could then be mapped, and then sent around to any one who needed it – from local radio stations, television etc.. again share and update the communication.

Then we move onto schools and other local services – where was the vital information there? Where was the direct access and update if schools were opened, buses were running etc.. nothing… What happened was the power of social networks and great communication. Twitter, Facebook etc.. all posted updates and routes to avoid as well as areas that were clear – without the communication from your fellow commuter, traveller or family – there would still be big gaps in what was happening!

Then we saw the effect of a very poor web infrastructure where the websites of nearly every train and bus company just crashed! Where was the live feed updates, pull the home page and replace with simple up to date information on trains running – instead they all just crashed! Leaving commuters and travellers in disarray as they didn’t know what was happening. Again where was their “event” plan if some kind of incident – whether elements or disaster that kicks in when the traffic to the site reaches a certain threshold that means that the site must move into "incident” mode that delivers key data – move the site off to another branch of servers – say in the cloud so that the main site is in reserve – or vice versa! Either way this just showed the lack of planning by these companies.

Then we move on to the workers themselves – in 2009 there is still this stigma around “home working” in that its just a skive or an easy day. Never mind that there are millions of people who in these eco-aware and financial astute times – realise that they have the same abilities and connectivity to carry out emails, online meetings, VPN to actually be more productive that suffer a 6 hr commute in wintry conditions – that could well have put themselves and others at risk as they attempt to show employers that old fashioned resolve – as well as fear factor that we are seeing just now. Current economic climate is giving way to longer hours and pushing themselves beyond acceptable behaviour in order to secure their job. When this comes to dangerous wintry conditions this is just crazy – and doesn't help that the media jump on this with scare headline as £1.2billion lost as 6 million take the day off! – So based on the number of trains running, how many people couldn't get into Central London for example – some bright spark worked out that number of people missing x average daily rate = Lost business!! Good God!! how pathetic and antiquated – I know hundreds of fellow workers that were snowed in – and within minutes had re-arranged meetings, connected to my VPN, did a video conference on some software with others from around the world – and all this before 90% of my fellow commuters even made it in to London stuck on a jam packed train that took 3hrs to travel a normal 1hr journey! So actually the people that attempted to get into London were probably the ones that lost their companies money – and not us that fired up our laptops from home – but according to the media of course we were all having a “day off”!!

So then after that – you have to consider that the Digital Britain initiative that the government launched last week – connecting people at home to the internet is easy – changing how companies embrace technology and use it to the benefit of everyone is much harder.

Final anger and frustration at the media – the scaremongering in recent months with the economy and then today with the blast at people not commuting into work – again this is their ignorance of what home working has become in 21st Century – however these are the same companies that are seeing the death of the traditional newspaper and working out ways to deliver their content online – shame then that no one is reading their RSS News feeds – because they all have the day off playing in the snow…

Digital Nutshell: Issue 4 – MidemNet 2009 Special ~ Digital Music 2.0

Next stop after Las Vegas (as well as a brief stop over in Gibraltar – full analysis of the Online Gaming industry coming soon…) was onto Cannes and the MidemNet digital Music conference – and what could be classed as the Music industrys defining year such as the web was 2 years ago ~ Digital Music 2.0

Each year the music business experts, analysts, strategists and labels descend on Cannes to discuss the future of Digital Music and the year ahead…

2008 was the year of FREE and the embarrassing launch by QTrax – 2008 saw Nokia Comes with Music, QTrax finally launching, Rob Lewis & his Omnifone company going from strength to strength and music labels willing to do any deal possible…

2009 however was a more sombre affair… The global economic meltdown ensured that as CES, the US Snr VPs, CEOs were very much in absence. A few had fallen by the wayside (Pinnacle being a prime example) However it did seem somewhat perplexing that while over the weekend the digital heads were figuring out what models work in the digital world, where the gap will be filled by the falling physical sales – the Monday saw a plethora of companies selling their plastic discs to anyone who would listen – from the Music of Luxembourg & Canada – to British music at its best!! It didn't really fit – and actually looked like two totally different businesses rather than a joined up industry…

So Day 1 was a great insight into CwF + RtB = $$$$ which means Connect with Fans + Reasons to Buy = Make money $$$ – however looking at a longer, lasting and wider business model this didn't really stack up at all. We saw a great example of avant garde  guerrilla marketing and delivery model by the phenomenal Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails – but after the euphoria of making over $1.5million in month 1 – the remaining 11 months were not discussed. Also the amount of money, time, effort and real creativity needed to run and sustain a campaign such as Trent did – would not work for Girls Aloud or Coldplay. The fan (short for fanatic)base of the mass audience is not interested in matching up the bold letters on a tour t-shirt to then add these to create a single line of words that if you put a .com at the end would take you into a hidden world of mystery and riddles. Finally ending up in the toilets of a venue in deepest darkest Texas where USB sticks were hidden with unreleased music….  great for the fanatic – but not for the average music consumer clicking on iTunes or going into their local HMV for the latest album by Simply Red. As a dedicated music fanatic and passionate about all things music – that really appealed to me and my senses – but only if you have the worldwide audience of someone like Metallica, KISS, NIN or Radiohead…does this really work in the longer term. Perhaps that's why these types of bands don't succumb or are virtually unaffected by the current music crisis – they have a loyal following built around live / touring and albums – they have no real need to worry about radio airplay or appear on X Factor or American Idol – as they already have a core that can deliver sales of 2million physical CD sales in one month (AC/DC as an example) However ridiculed by music labels / tabloid press etc.. they deliver time after time for their labels and fans. Doing a deal with a retailer, a solid and reliable web site where the fans can connect, communicate, share and discuss are all key tools and marketing concepts that really create an ongoing relationship way beyond the here today – gone tomorrow attitude of the labels just now, as well as constant touring around the world is all very hard work but in essence will deliver returns beyond most peoples wildest imagination… This in essence is what Live Nation saw and tried to make their business model based on these principles – however they were mysteriously absent and never gave their insight into how this “fan” based business model is working (or not) for them

Feargal Sharkey and the UK Music held court as well with the ISPs and BPI to show that progress had been made and that with legislation they would have a reply and solution to the illegal file sharers and Pirate Bay! Feargal was fed up, frustrated and simply bored at the the talk of us strategists and futurists who after seeing many industries needing to change and diversify their core business and where this whole music industry mess was headed – had already sorted out an idea, some legislation, ISP agreement, government acceptance and industry approval that we should stop talking and get on with it!!

So here we are again where we have old thinkers protecting their nest egg by trying to plug their analogue business model into a digital industry. IT WILL NOT WORK!! The full detail is yet to be released but by hinting at a Digital Music TAX on the ISPs – who in turn will pass this onto the end user will NOT fix the issue that the industry has.

The missing link and the main target was file sharers and bizarrely iTunes (and other retail outlets) The pay extra for your broadband and have access to music shuns the level of investment and customer management that companies like Apple, Tesco, 7Digital & Amazon have put forward. However I’m not judging anything yet I will wait to see what comes out of UK Music and then do a full analysis then. I just don't trust people that have a monetary agenda over a practical or even technical solution to file sharing. However what all the panel can’t seem to grasp and this is the fundamental issue that they face – that as technology develops, at the rate that it is developing the clunky way that file sharers use Torrents to download – we have already seen the next wave of file sharing and its not as simple as looking for specific IPs, P2P traffic and torrents – and that is the worry that actually it will be the average consumer that will be hit and not the “fanatic” or “file sharer” that will feel any impact or financial burden placed on any Music Stealth Tax. They have to engage with Technologists, Futurists and Strategists as well as the traditional old guard and the retailers / resellers if they really do want to halt the progress and continued march of the illegal file sharers – and create a cohesive future for music. The fact of the matter is however, that the value of music is not what it once was or the perception and that spells trouble for all.

Google arrived at MidemNet as almost the Anti-Christ of the music business – here is the technology company that owns a video sharing site where copyright violations are a daily occurrence. Warners have even walked away from a licence deal with You Tube and Vivendi still has legal actions pending. However David Eun VP Partners & Strategy hit straight back at the industry by saying that the “music industry had not embraced change and has no innovation to speak of”  or words to that effect. You Tube is a channel for music, video and so much more – but its just that a channel and with Googles phenomenal technology and brilliant minds – it makes you wonder why UK Music and the industry has not asked for help? 

So in the end what was the outcome of what was a frustrating few days in the South of France – apart from the fact that the sun rarely shined, I was on a continuous cycle of work, travel, events, travel that would not give me a day off in 16 days (poor lil me!!)

Yes there was some light in the way of some new ideas that are coming from start ups…

PlayAnywhere – its your music and with this application you can access your music anywhere. More on this in a later Blog – but liked the idea and concept – just needs the business model ironed out a bit more of which we will be doing in February then delivering to some of our clients this year.

MPTrax – a great way between clubs / promoters & artists. Flat fee rate and get in touch with the right people for parties, clubs and events that could not necessarily get to book bands for their venues.

MySpace Music – Feel sorry for Courtney Holt the newly appointed President of MySpace Music – suddenly while listening to Courtney talk – you could almost see the strings of the 4 major labels  tugging away to ensure that Courtney delivered the correct message. Then I suddenly had it – I was sure I heard MySpace Music before – same business model, same type of “innovation” and same strategy…. AOL Music!! Remember that and what ultimately happened? AOL as MySpace – is a vehicle for the mass market to get information and music. It failed then and although MySpace Music will have a decent run – it will be of its own demise as well. I wish Courtney well in his new role – he will need it – but if he can have some control over what can happen and how it is developed then it may well have a future (Courtney give us a call and we’ll help.. ;)

So in summary what key points can / should we take away from MidemNet 2009 – and what UK Music and the rest of the old guard should think about while polishing their platinum discs..

• The humble music consumer is in fact more powerful than the music industry
• Quality, Convenience, Service and ease of use are expected and demanded and not desired
• Internet has radically changed the way that millions of consumers communicate, interact and change their own relationship to the traditional business methods
• Blending business models and variant platform models are now the norm and should be embraced not challenged
• Innovation and re-invention are the foundations to a sustainable and viable business in the 21st Century

Its not so hard – and we have have examples of other industries that have had to adapt and ovecome new ways of thinking, innovation and create new sustainable business models…

• Traditional High Street Retail >>> Online / e-Commerce / Services / Channels …
• Traditional Banking >>> Trust / Ownership / Social Lending (Zopa) / Nationalisation …
• Traditional Automotive Industry >>> Energy Sources / Renewable / Sustainable / Environmental …
• Traditional Utility Companies >>> Sources / Sustainable / Costs / Environmental / Reliance vs Dominance…
• Traditional Music Industry >>>>  Digital / Value / Live / Channels / Piracy / Social…

The trends continue and the challenges that face all industries are discussed and solutions tested and practised – it seems a shame that the music industry fails to embrace the change and innovate and re-invent themselves in a sustainable way… Maybe 2009 will be different…