Digital Economy on a Bicycle

After a recent visit to South Australia to assist in the launch of a so called Digital Enterprise Centre I came away with a tasty new view of economic development.

The village of Willunga in the vales south of Adelaide is renowned throughout the cycling world for its infamous hill that is an annual fixture in the ever-expanding Tour Down Under. The three-kilometre hill is broadcast to tens of millions of viewers each and every January, as the world's best cyclists fight each other for the title of 'King of the mountain'.

Yet Willunga and the surrounding district is also a centre of both local fresh food markets and the super-high-speed internet through the National Broadband Network (NBN) pilot program. The village is therefore an eclectic mix of events and possibilities that on the surface don't naturally fit together. Yet, I soon discovered 'oil and vinegar' make for great salad dressing.

The farmer's market in Willunga is held every Saturday morning in the town square and features both real farmers and real local food. As a result it has won local, state and national awards for its food and atmosphere. Locals walk or ride their bikes to stock up on fresh food, wines and bakery items. Others also come from as far away as northern Adelaide to get the best and freshest food that can be found. In many ways the area has echoes of provincial France or Italy, and its older colonial homes and small churches complete the milieu.

The farmer's market organisation, though, has also been infected with innovative ways. The marketing and development managers have spawned the idea of replicating the real market place as a Virtual Farmer' Market, which has set heads a-spinning.

The idea that has been prototyped allows people to walk through a virtual market in 3D and visit the tents and stalls as they are in reality. The young team that's working on the project has been inspired by the possibilities their local NBN roll out has afforded them: the opportunity to create new and innovative services to augment the market is driving optimism and change.

Billy Doecke and Dave Abrahams at the Willunga Markets.
Photo courtesy of Dave Abrahams.

Billy Doecke, part of the innovation team, speaks enthusiastically of the possibilities of the emerging new 3D service. She says they’re hoping to create video introductions of the stall holders so people can get to know them before they arrive and purchase produce. They’re also keen on getting the sellers to list what they are selling each week so people can view online what will be sold at the markets on Saturdays.

Now, having left Willunga, I feel a little sentimental - not so much for their provincial setting and fresh food, but for the positive and innovative atmosphere that they are building on the back of their NBN roll out. I hope to be able to inspire a similar change in my regional economy when the NBN rolls out on the Central Coast of NSW later this year.

Perhaps fresh local food, wine, optimism and superfast networks can deliver a new economic renaissance to many regions across Australia. Oh, and with such high speed 3D virtual reality don't forget your bicycle helmet.

Article originally published on myregion.com.au.

Social Business - travel

The term 'Social Business' is accelerating through the modern online vernacular and for good reason. Businesses and organisations, governments and NGOs are all frantically trying to apply a largely personal technology to enhancing business outcomes.
The big question remains. "Does social media lend itself to profitable business applications?". The risks are clear from a manager's point of view TIME WASTING. Though there are clearly some examples, that have worked, at least in raising the profile of various campaigns. Used in a disciplined way some savvy organisations are making social media work.
One such organisation that has turned the use of social media on it's head was the successful European airline Norwegian. They recognised that people wanted to use social media all the time, so they made it available for all their travelling customers during the entire flight for free. They certainly gained a lot of goodwill and cashed in on the service big time.
In this video OI principal consultant Dave Abrahams talks around the opportunities around travelling.

Social Media Addiction in business

What does an addiction to social media mean for the work place? Well if you jump on the stereo-typical bandwagon we'll be thinking about stupid rude teenagers in customer service roles. Though this is way too simple, most employees have social media accounts these days and most of the keenest new users are middle aged.

Simplify your Social Media and get on with business in 2012

How many hours do you use on "Social Media Production" at work. We suspect for some of you it maybe a fair amount of time. The next question is how effective is the time used.
1. Are you repeating yourself on Twitter, FaceBook and YouTube etc?
2. Are you communicating effectively to the right people in you social media channels?

We've made a short little video that covers this topic:

Simplify your Social Media this year

Why not put a little effort into moving some people between your various account. Take some of your prospective customers from FaceBook and Twitter, move your professional contacts into a LinkedIn account. Or invite people to watch your conversational video on Google+.

We've witnessed some great success with our branded online video customers using PixelMache.TV to distribute their messages.

How would a few thousand extra video views work for you? When you think of what that amount of customers would do... you get the idea.