Am I from another planet?

I have been hot on the digital trail this week. As well as attending a host of client meetings I've been making a conscious effort to attend networking events to see how other organisations are managing the digital evolution. With a spare night in London I chose to visit a 'Mash Up' event to discuss how digital innovation could be used to make better use of Government data. 

How sad am I?

Surprisingly I found this more interesting than I first thought. Firstly, I was amazed at what data could now be made available using the the 'power of information', then secondly I progressed to who really cares, then finally I sat trying to understand how our public sector clients could actually make use of this information and could there be benefits for the private sector. Furthermore the word 'innovation' kept being used. This is a word that has previously been somewhat of a struggle to apply to campaigns in the public sector, but just maybe this strategy may provide a glimmer of hope.

Yesterday I attended the second Manchester Digital networking event. I wouldn't say there's active collaboration between the digital agencies in Manchester, but it was nice to see everyone at least in the same room discussing new technologies and it was great to see most companies doing well.

The highlight of my week came in debriefing members of Photolink, some of whom have limited digital knowledge from other parts of the Group. As I re-played my weeks client meetings and networking events they clearly felt I had visited Mars instead of London, as I proposed my intent to run a webinar by creating a site using API's, Flex and Web 2.0, using Twitter to communicate with members who may tune into the meeting using Skype!

As I'm writing this blog I have just learned I have become an uncle again. Welcome to the world Matthew Owens. As I struggle to keep translating the current technical evolution into benefits for our clients, I dread to think what the digital landscape will look like when my nephew is old enough to care but I hope it's as exciting as this one!