I wanted a title that was better than ‘latest updates’ so you’ll have to go with this Tom Waits title [Spotify link]

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of conference speaking, hosting (see my speaking page), awards judging and more articles for DMI Magazine.

It was my first time speaking at a Mashup* event (Being Social 10) talking about the future of social networks. With 7 minutes to speak we couldn’t cover a lot of ground but I did highlight the future of social TV, Twitter as the backbone, real payments on social networks, narrowcasting, proximity based and pop-up social networks! All of these points will be expanded in a series of articles I will be sharing shortly. There should also be a video interview with me to share once it is live on the site. Thanks to Benjamin Ellis, as always for the two pictures in this article.

Last week I was delighted to host the SmiB10 conference at the Riverside offices of PayPal, courtesy of Heather Taylor. The hot day was filled with great speakers sharing a range of different social media experiences from brands like Gumtree, agencies, consultants like Andrew Gerard (great use of presentation & twitter interaction) and authors. The afternoon session was particularly awesome as we had three great speakers that told us stories that were relaxed, enjoyable and inspirational. Robin Houghton shared her thoughts on the day here.

The NMA Effectiveness Awards judging was very interesting, although I have to admit I didn’t see as much innovation as I expected. I can’t really share more until the awards are released, on June 24th. I will be a guest of NMA so if you are coming, do pop over and say hi!

Did you see my article in Personal Branding Magazine? The huge US publication tracked me down and asked for an article relevant to personal branding. So I wrote about the need to attach a value to your social brand. Warren Buffett has more concerns over withdrawing from his reputation bank than he does from his financial bank account, which is testament enough to make you think about your value. In this social world, everyone can see you muck up so be careful what you put your name to. Furthermore, you have invested time and money in your personal brand so consider that next time someone asks you for something. The article is in the paid for version, but you can get a feel of the magazine here.

I’m off to New York in two weeks to take part in two panels for DMI Talk Back at the DM Days conference. The panel sessions are great opportunities to step away from the script and discuss the realities. opportunities and draw backs of digital media. I am taking part in two panels over the two days, “What works and what is waffle” and “What the world needs now and where do we go next?” Both should be great sessions.

Talking of where next, I will be launching a new consultancy in about three weeks. It will be focusing on over the horizon digital changes, from the future of social networks to the booming business of apps, social TV and more. This will be a rather different consultancy which will work to help brands and agencies gain the constant knowledge of what is coming with the insight and interpretation to help them harness the changes quickly. I will make a more formal announcement when I am ready to share more.

Until next time…