Latest Articles

Rough Guide to: In-Game Advertising

In-Game Advertising offers marketers a cost-effective way to specifically target key audiences, industry players claim. New Media Knowledge talked to one in-game advertising network to see how businesses can deploy and benefit from the technology.

more

Alexander McCall-Smith Engages Web 2.0

The Daily Telegraph is in the middle of a 20-week serialisation of an online book created by author Alexander McCall-Smith, his first such project. New Media Knowledge caught up with the organisers to discuss ‘Corduroy Mansions’.

more

Business Brief: Video Advertising Looks to Future

Google has announced it will incentivise advertisers on its video properties as well as launching research programmes into how Web users consume Internet video material. New Media Knowledge spoke to a number of industry players to gauge their views on where the video advertising market is going.

more

• ‘Virtual Home’ for Ex-Pats in London Established
• Rough Guide to: Social Media and the Law
• Record Visits for UK Blog Sites
• Clearing Congestion
• Rough Guide to: Pay-Per-Click Advertising
• Opinion: What Happens to Newspapers?
• LinkedIn Adds Business Applications

Related Articles

• Waste of White Space?

  Unused TV airwaves are set to underpin the next generation of wireless products, according to Larry Page, co-founder of Google. Tim Hoang reports. more

• I'll Show You Mine

  Part showcase, part confessional - ten of the UK’s finest digital designers bare their creative souls and share their work and wisdom. Each will reveal - in less than seven minutes - ‘the best advice I’ve ever been given’. more

• iDesign - Working the Walk

  We’re delighted to say that Tuesday’s iDesign conference went down a treat. If you wanted to know where exactly this country is up to with interactive design,and where it’s going, then we think the Dynamo team nailed it with this event. more

• UK Online Ads Soar

  Internet advertising spends in the UK rose over £2mn in 2006 - representing an increase of 41.2 per cent as brands move their marketing budgets online. more

• Top UK Sites Show Rising E-Commerce

  ComScore has released details of the top UK internet properties for December 2006. more

Broadband Showcase For UK Businesses

As part of a government drive to encourage the inventive use of broadband by UK businesses, the Digital Content Forum (DCF) has launched its online Broadband Showcase...

As part of a government drive to encourage the inventive use of broadband by UK businesses, the Digital Content Forum (DCF) has launched its online Broadband Showcase...

[Register and post your own comments on this article below...]

A new website www.broadbandshowcase.org.uk has been developed as a platform for businesses to showcase how they have used broadband in an original way and to show how it has benefited their company. Created in collaboration with the Department of Trade and Industry, regional and national partners and the Broadband Stakeholder Group, the site aims to promote innovative use of broadband.

Digital Content Forum is inviting businesses of every kind to submit their details through the site. They are looking for companies across the UK from every Industry, size and sector to get involved and submit a case study of how their use of broadband has helped their business.

Examples of applications of broadband can include; well designed websites and e-commerce companies through to use of web cams and VoIP (voice over IP). Additionally, the website will highlight companies that have developed communications technology which uses broadband in an inventive way.

Smart use of broadband applications by business

Any company that believes their use of broadband is highly creative is also being invited to submit further details about their business and to enter it into a showcase competition. A panel of leading experts will judge the entries and from them select the twenty companies that exhibit the most visionary use of broadband. The chosen companies will be given a prestigious showcase on the home page along with a link to more detailed information. This will appear on the site in mid-Autumn.

This interactive site will demonstrate the tangible business benefits that broadband applications can bring to a company. The showcase is designed to inspire and encourage other companies to take advantage of the broadband technology available. It is also a good marketing opportunity for those companies showcased on the site. As there is the potential for them to collaborate with other companies and launch themselves into new markets.

Government backing for dynamic adoption of broadband

The Digital Content Forum and the government hope this showcase will help push the UK to the forefront of international e-commerce.

Stephen Timms, Minister for E-Commerce and Competitiveness has said: “There's no doubt that the UK has a thriving content industry, but now more than ever, it is vital that we stimulate and promote strong and healthy content businesses...We look forward to continuing to work in partnership with the DCF to ensure that the UK digital content industry is a global winner"* ['UK Digital Content: Exploiting the Opportunity, September 2002']

Showcase to be continually updated...

Unlike previous technology showcases, which have been static and quickly outdated, this Broadband Showcase will be continually updated. Companies are able to easily upload their own details, so that information about the latest innovations can be passed on quickly and easily. This will allow businesses to benefit from up to date information about emerging technologies and their applications.

Digital Content Forum acts as a two-way conduit between Government and business. It is responsible for helping the Government make policies which help British companies of all sizes and for educating businesses about the technology available and its potential impact on their business.

Scope for growth through broadband

The DCF is part of what the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry describe as “…ground-breaking programmes to transform the UK from a poor relation to a digitally rich nation in just a few years.” ** [The Prime Minister and The Rt. Hon. Patricia Hewitt MP The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, Connecting the UK: The Digital Strategy March 2005]

Emma Williams Director of Digital Content Forum said: “ The showcase will also help forward-thinking businesspeople justify investment in broadband technology; and educate people and help them understand the ways this new technology can improve their business.”

Broadband offers a wealth of opportunity for high-quality website content. Taken advantage of properly, it can jump-start a business’s growth and even revitalise a flagging company. In a recent survey some 84% of those businesses that are currently connected observed a quantifiable increase in productivity, and 61% say that broadband has produced cost savings.*** [Institute of Directors survey]

This initiative aims to improve business connectivity and encourage broadband take-up. The Digital Content Forum is also keen to encourage interaction between businesses, the brokering of relationships and knowledge sharing with other companies. The online showcase hopes to become an inspirational resource for businesses and a catalyst to refresh British industry.

About The Broadband Showcase:
The website will contain a searchable directory of developments enabled by broadband. This will highlight examples of effective uses of broadband by businesses from right across the UK, allowing companies to benefit from the experience of others. Free access to this wealth of information will improve knowledge of this arena throughout British industry.

Submissions for the showcase are invited from business, public sector or community projects as well as online initiatives and award events. Showcase entries must be designed to inspire social involvement, create economic development or be an innovative, stimulating and visionary piece of broadband content. The twenty most auspicious events, programmes, initiatives and content applications will be showcased on this site www.broadbandshowcase.org.uk

About Digital Content Forum (DCF):
The DCF forms a two-way conduit between industry and government to gather views and input into policy-making processes. It goes further to broker relationships, develop shared knowledge and undertake activities to promote innovation and excellence in the content sector.

It operates as a professionally managed network of members, to which it delivers value through representing their interests and views on a broader scale. By aligning complementary activities within the sector, it promotes co-operation amongst trade associations and businesses, enabling them to fulfil their own objectives. www.dcf.org.uk

About the Website Designers:
Essence Communications is a multimedia agency, based in Bristol. The company creates digital solutions to help companies put their messages across to an audience in an open, interesting and engaging way. Essence produces websites, CD ROM, DVD, video, presentations and events; it also manages multi-disciplined, informational projects and provides consultancy. It has a history of providing services for Government Departments, Regional Development Agencies and blue chip companies across the UK.