Daily Networker

Since launching Make Your Mark with a Tenner at the end of January, I have been approached by a number of television companies interested in discussing business programme ideas and I have seen a couple of things this week which have made me think;

The first was the photo inside Duncan Bannatyne’s autobiography, of Dragons’ Den;

The second was picking up a copy of the London Metro (our free newspaper) and seeing the publicity shot for the new series of The Apprentice;

Notice anything similar?

I must say that these are two BBC programmes which I have watched and loved over the past couple of years. The thing that strikes me is how greatly these suited, grumpy, austere images contrast with my own view of business.  The entrepreneurs I meet and spend time with are colourful, upbeat and energetic.  They work incredibly hard and they have fun.  I understand that The Apprentice and Dragons’ Den are designed to parody what really happens in business, although it’s telling that the punchiest catchphrases they have given us are “You’re Fired” and “I’m Out”, styling that ‘ultimate prize’ as cash investment or a job at Amstrad…. 

On a day in which Tim Campbell, the charismatic former winner of The Apprentice resigns to pursue his own ideas, is it time that mainstream broadcasters began showing the other side of business life?

“I regard user generated content as the most exciting thing that’s ever happened”. 

So said Peter Bazalgette, TV legend, creator of every TV format from Changing Rooms to Ground Force to Ready Steady Cook, at last night’s MGEITF interview at The Hospital.  This from from the man who brought Big Brother to Britain, and who wrote the excellent book, Billion Dollar Game in which he tells the story of how John De Mol (amongst others) unlocked the magical combination of TV, Web and Telecommunications to make an absolute fortune. 

What I find interesting is how he squares his view of user generated content with his firm, Endemol’s refusal to accept ideas from members of the public.  Although I can understand his view that “I intend to run my business well, stay sane and not get pursued by nutters all the time”, I’m surprised that he has not adopted the Stelios approach to idea submission.  That way he could tap the zeitgeist whilst avoiding the legal wranglings.   

The place where UGC meets TV could be incredibly exciting.  Here’s what happens, for example, when children’s drawings are given to experienced artists;

Can you imagine where you could go on this theme when it comes to the future of kids programming?  Or how about user-generated short films submitted for judging, with the winners remade by Hollywood directors (an idea Peter touched on last night).  The thought that user generated content doesn’t need to be taken literally unleashes some incredibly compelling possibilities.

Speaking about web innovation, he expressed that view that “I don’t regard YouTube as competing with what we do…It’s complimentary”, and showed particular interest in Joost, (the latest venture from Skype founders Niklas Zennstrom and Januus Friis) and in multi-player gaming.   

I was interested by Peter’s approach to what he calls ‘organised creativity’.  He appointed himself as the industry’s first ‘creative director’, because he believed it had to share the same methods of the advertising industry, rather than waiting and hoping for great ideas to strike.

It’s an exciting time when Peter Bazalgette starts stalking about the next big changes in television.  Will wikis fuel a script-writing revolution?  Will in-game advertising be the top place for brands to be seen?  Will someone follow in John de Mol’s footsteps and create the next truly converged TV/web/telco phenomenon?  At the web events I have been attending this year, there have been remarkably few TV companies in attendance.  As these two crowds mingle and build relationships in 2007, the outcomes could be phenomenal. 

George Osborne (the UK’s shadow chancellor) this morning gave an extremely interesting lecture at the RSA about the social impact of the web.  This is his second strong speech on the subject, as his Olsen lecture last November shows.  Some of the lines from the Olsen lecture were repeated;

“I’m looking forward to WebGordon”  (A reference to WebCameron.  Will his own site edge from 1.0 to 2.0?)

“How many people here are friends with Tom Anderson?” (founder of MySpace who greets each new user)

“People (in the US) will be able to Google their tax dollars” (as information about what the US government spends money on is put online)

Calling for ”A culture that welcomes criticism and comment, then reacts to it”

All lines worth repeating, and today’s lecture was, in his own words, ‘Part Two’.

In the Olsen lecture, George quoted The Long Tail, and today it was Wikinomics, reflecting a deepening of his exploration into this whole area.  Last november, he mentioned ‘wiki’ four times, and always in the context of Wikipedia.  Today proved that he has seen the wider potential, both within and outside organisations. 

As the web’s increasing opportunities confront us, George’s main message is that politicians must “resist the urge to push back”.  In response to sites like Conservative Home, his conclusion is that it is “an unambiguously good thing that (they) exist”.  His view is that “top down politics is no longer suitable in a bottom up age” and he spoke of the opportunity social networks present “to connect and engage with new audiences”.

The theme moved from conceptual “Open Source Politics” to literal, “Open Source Software”, which he thinks the UK government should be using more of, following successful projects in several other countries. This call has been well documented in today’s media.

George’s two speeches have been seeded with subtle references which build his credibility in this field.  “When I met Eric Scmidt, Google’s CEO, he told me..”, “When I visited Mozilla’s HQ in Palo Alto” and the big takeaway is intended to be “George Osborne GETS the web and says Bring It On”.  Personally, I was convinced, and the post-event conversation suggested to me that I was not alone. 

Sometimes politicians blow their cover with the tiniest of mistakes (”I’m a big fan of MySpaces”, “Oh I listen to The Oasis all the time”).  I think that the image some have is of the slick researcher handing a polished speech to a luddite MP.  Today, George Osborne proved the opposite, by giving a tiny clue to reinforce his credibility.  When a fellow speaker began warning against certain aspects of social networks including Facebook, George intervened swiftly, pointing out that Facebook is built around ‘closed networks’ (individuals from a verifiable community/closed as opposed to ’accessible to anyone’ platform”). He really does get it. 

As we have come to expect from the impresario Steve Moore’s Policy Unplugged, the event boasted an superb lineup, including Adriana Lukas, the excellent Mick Fealty, and Ewan McIntosh (who took the above photo) who blogs his excellent contribution to the event here.

The really interesting thing for me is what Part 3 of this conversation will sound like.  Who will make the next big political speech on the future of the web and what will it sound like?  Will it be a hat-trick for Mr Osborne?  Will it be Gordon Brown?  Ming.com anyone?   

Saying “We Get It” is one thing, as is referencing the innovation of other countries.  Part 3 will be truly exciting if it begins to touch on the wider differences that the web could unleash;

In Education (helping people learn from each other), in Health (as patients connect to share stories), in Crime (as neighbourhood watch schemes continue online), for the Environment (as wikis allow people to upload their energy-saving tips).  If government once spotted, rated then replicated best practice, doesn’t the web super-charge all of this and force them to completely re-examine their role?  Gordon Brown was reacting to the web’s ability to connect people back in this speech in 2004…  Is it too far-fetched to imagine how a MySpace generation will use the web to combat loneliness when they are old,  and how peer-to-peer giving sites will change the way we think about donations?

For any opposition or government, understanding the game and having a strategy gets a couple of points up on the board.  The home runs come through putting those changes into action and so the most exciting part is still to come. 

I really appreciate the way some people (like my friend Lloyd Davis) write about events in advance, as well as retrospectively. Incidentally, Lloyd is one of the nicest guys you will meet and if you are looking for someone to document an event or help you get your head around any kind social media/podcasts, video, blogging etc, he is a top man. 

Now  where was I?  Yes, writing about events before they happen can often be just as interesting, and so with that in mind, I’m looking forward to attending the Growing Business, Growth Strategies Conference on April 25th, sponsored by, amongst others Merrill Lynch.  Speakers include the legendary Gerald Ratner (who I find extremely likeable), David Lloyd and Ella Heeks.   I take my hat off to companies who sponsor these kind of events and I’m a particular fan of Merrill Lynch because they also support NFTE (The Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship), one of the best enterprise education programmes in the UK. 

I am struck at the moment by how many superb events I’m going to which do NOT have the financial support of some of the big players. In the web sector for example, local London heroes are Robert Loch, Saul Klein, Mike Butcher, Sam Sethi, Judith Clegg and Michael Smith. I can count on no hands the number of cracking VC-hosted events I’ve been to this year, and it feels to me a little like someone failing to return a supper invitation.  If you don’t feel able to host, you can always take your friend out to eat.  So I hope we’ll see some London VCs dusting off either their cheque books or their wine glasses this year, especially since so many of them are inspiring characters and contribute excellently as speakers at events!

An opportunity today to meet David Cameron, as we travelled back from Manchester on the train.  It was great to be able to share the background and updates of Make Your Mark with a Tenner as I had spent the day filming at Manchester Academy with BBC Newsnight. 

One thing that David cannot be accused of is having a lazy schedule.  I was chatting with him following an action packed day which, for him, had started on BBC television, continuing with back to back meetings in Manchester and was due, from 8pm onwards to flow into a dinner at which he was the guest of honour.  And I thought some entrepreneurs were relentless…  I’m sure that the same can be said for many politicians, and the interest which he took in what we are doing was genuine and appreciated.

Andy Powell, the Chief Executive of educational foundation Edge, and someone who I have a great respect for has written an extremely clear letter to the Evening Standard here in London this evening; 

“The UK’s low positioning in Unicef’s international child welfare survey is cause for serious concern.  However, the constant moaning about young people in this country and the fuelling of stories about their misbehaviour is even more serious, and we can hold the Government responsible for this.

We used to knock teachers.  Now it’s the turn of their pupils.  It is unwarranted and will turn into a self fulfilling prophecy.

The educational foundation I work for deals exstensively with young people through our Learner Forums, and I am constantly impressed by their maturity, originality and responsibility, qualities which they display to a far greater degree than youngsters in my day. 

We cannot go back to a society where all youngsters live with both their natural parents, eat together at meal times, play charades instead of on Xbox, and politely move between classes when the bell rings.  This does not mean we are about to fall into the abyss. 

Our education system has to change dramatically and the and the challenge is to give youngsters more opportunity to learn by working together with experts, to help others and to combine theory with practice.”

Through Make Your Mark with a Tenner, I’m seeing, first hand, daily examples of how amazing young people in this country are.  Whatever the bleak statistics might portray, UK children today will go on to be amongst the world’s leading authors, entrepreneurs, artists, filmakers and thinkers in years to come.  They will also be a generation which looks after those in the media who have written so negatively about them to date.  Let’s hope that amongst the many qualities they develop, forgiveness is one of them…

Last night Shami Chakrabarti, director of Liberty, gave an extremely interesting talk to the Mandrake Club.  In it, she compared the UK government’s attitude to freedom with the (some say apocryphal) story of the frog in a saucepan;

The story says that if a frog is placed in boiling water, it will jump out, but if it is placed in cold water that is slowly heated, it will never jump out.

It’s a powerful metaphor and one which has been used before to illustrate everything from the impending threat of the Soviet Union, to our lack of response to climate change.

In a 2005 poll of Radio 4 listeners, Shami was voted on the the top 10 people who really run Britain.  Hearing her speak, you’re struck by how lightly she wears her learning and influence.   She’s persuasive and self-deprecating - a powerful combination.