In response to Sun Tech Mission 2009: it’s (still) grim up North

I find the article very disappointing. In the past 10 years that I have been involved in the digital industry and networking across the North East, things have changed dramatically. There’s a tangible buzz across both the public and private sectors about what’s going on here. Its difficult to know where to start.

We have seen organisations driven by the public sector such as Digital City, IDI, Codeworks, and Software City gather momentum and profile on a local, national and international stage helping to turn around such perceptions of the North East.

These organisations are helping to promote digital innovation and playing a key role in supporting enterprise and entrepreneurship. They are encouraging great ideas to become great businesses, while supporting existing digital companies, from animation to web technologies, to expand their networks, develop their skills and access new markets.

We’ve also seen the growth of groups such as Refresh Teesside, Super Mondays, and Thursday Fizz which  are proving successful at developing new communities and generating genuinely exciting conversations. These groups, spread across the region, are driven by passionate private sector businesses and individuals to create new industry networks, meet contacts (which often in the North East become friends), share ideas, and promote collaboration.

Other organisations such as the Entrepreneurs Forum with its IfWeCanYouCan Campaign (which i understand is unique to the North East), and the members involved in them, are fully committed to harnessing the buzz by supporting businesses and signposting them to the best advice, mentoring, investment networks and resources. To be honest from what we’ve seen, the results of this have been absolutely unquestionable.

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Apr 7 2009 by Jez Davison, Evening Gazette – view article online.

MARK Easby had to face his mum’s cancer and a confidence crisis before becoming Tees Valley’s king of communications. JEZ DAVISON discovers how the Big ‘C’ transformed his life

THE year is 2000 and a young Teessider is caught in a crisis. Former college drop-out Mark Easby had just scraped through university with a third class honours degree before being crushed by the death of his mother Gwyneth from leukaemia.

With confidence and motivation at rock bottom, he decided the only way was up and embarked on a post-graduate qualification “as much for my mum as for myself”. (more…)

Featured in Evening Gazette on Apr 1 2009 – View article on www.nebusiness.co.uk.

A FLEDGLING digital agency in Stokesley has pledged to remain a local company for local people as it expands from its base in the Tees Valley.

Established last year, Better Brand Agency (BBA) is looking to hit £1m turnover in three years. Run by industry brand expert Declan Metcalfe and Teesside graduates Mark Easby and Peter Jones, the firm specialises in brand, marketing and social media campaigns and works with clients across the North-east and Yorkshire. (more…)

University of Teesside has selected Better to provide social media consultancy for the corporate communication team to help develop and deliver a social media strategy for the University and its departments.

Better has worked alongside the marketing, web, alumni and student recruitment teams at the University to help them understand how social media integrates with their communication strategy and bring their various audience groups closer to them on a daily basis, while supporting them in building and integrating and number of social media tools around their main corporate website.

The University of Teesside is a vibrant, innovative University dedicated to pursuing excellence and enabling individuals and organisations to achieve their potential through high quality learning, research and knowledge transfer. For more information please visit http://www.tees.ac.uk.

TECH NOTES by Declan Metcalfe. Featured in the The Newcastle Journal and nebusiness.co.uk (view article online)

WHAT’S all the buzz around social media?

The explosion that is social media came about due to the convergence of three forces: people, technology and economics. People wanted to talk, and technology caught up to the extent that it became possible to connect to friends in real time using a multitude of devices. These are made affordable because the infrastructure is now in place making it easily accessible to the vast majority.

The easiest way to think of social media, I believe, is as a conversation that millions of people are having, one that’s growing louder as more and more voices join in. And guess what the topics are: they are talking about you, your brand, your product and your services.
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A FAILED management buy-out has led to the creation of a new brand agency in Stokesley, Tees Valley.

Mark Easby, Declan Metcalfe and Peter Jones established Better Brand Agency after the trio’s bid to buy out their former employer, Middlesbrough agency Calm Asylum, foundered.

The new company, which launched in September specialising in brand, marketing and digital services, is now looking to employ extra staff with a view to achieving revenues of around £500,000 in two years.

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We’re all excited. There’s a Twestival coming to the North East and we couldn’t resist getting involved to support the event. The TyneTwestival is taking place at 7.30pm on 12th February at The Other Rooms in Newcastle City Centre.

We have been working on some graphics and web buttons to help spread the word, and these will be online very soon. For more information the TyneTwestival please visit http://newcastle.twestival.com where you can buy tickets online, or follow @tynetwestival on Twitter.

Better Brand Agency is a brand agency offering brand, graphic design, marketing, social media and social networking, web and digital services based in Tees Valley, North East and North Yorkshire.

“WHAT IS THINKING DIGITAL?” film now live at http://www.thinkingdigital.co.uk/blog/?p=84

A little more about Thinking Digital:

Thinking Digital is an annual conference where the world´s greatest thinkers and innovators gather to inspire, to entertain, and to discuss the latest ideas and technologies.

Defining exactly what to expect at Thinking Digital isn’t easy. The conference prides itself on the eclectic nature of the schedule. One moment you’ll be experiencing a first UK appearance of Live Mesh (as attendees where treated to at Thinking Digital 2008) and the next you’ll be hearing about the science behind love from the world’s leading expert.

For all the latest updates please visit http://www.thinkingdigital.co.uk or follow ThinkingDigital (http://twitter.com/ThinkingDigital) on Twitter.

Live in the North East? Love Twitter?

Why not get involved in Twestival, a party in 50+ cities around the world on 12th February 2009. Funds raised go to Charity Water. Newcastle’s Twestival party, for tweeters across the North East, will be in Newcastle. And you’re invited!

On 12 February 2009 cities around the world will be hosting Twestivals which bring together Twitter communities for an evening of fun and to raise money and awareness for charity: water.

Join the Twestival campaign by hosting a Twestival in your city, attending an event, or participating online.

The Twestival is organized 100% by volunteers in cities around the world and 100% of the money raised from these events will go directly to support charity: water projects.

In September 2008, a group of Twitterers based in London UK decided to organise an event where the local Twitter community could socialize offline; meet the faces behind the avatars, enjoy some entertainment, have a few drinks and tie this in with a food drive and fundraising effort for a local homeless charity.

The bulk of the event was organized in under two weeks, via Twitter and utilized the talents and financial support of the local Twittersphere to make this happen.

Around the world similar stories started appearing of local Twitter communities coming together and taking action for a great cause. Twestival was born out of the idea that if cities were able to collaborate on an international scale, but working from a local level, it could have a spectacular impact.

Visit the website at http://twestival.com/ from more information or follow Twestival (http://twitter.com/tynetwestival) and Tynetwestival (http://twitter.com/twestival/) on Twitter.

Refresh Teesside is a community of designers and developers based in Tees Valley working to refresh the creative, technical and professional culture of New Media endeavours in their areas. We aim to promote design, technology, usability and standards.

There are lots of Refreshing Cities around the world but only a couple here in the UK and it’s about time that changed. The drive behind digital media in the North East seems to be focused very much in Newcastle however Teesside is home to many up and coming digital media agencies and also many freelance web designers and developers.

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