Britain is dead. Long live Digital Britain.
I often feel that we are privileged to live in this time: technology is forcing a series of changes not just to the way we do business, but the way we live our life itself. Economic historians talk about us being in a ‘wave of innovation’, explaining history in terms of dramatic transformations like pottery and the printing press. Technology is one of those. It is interesting stuff and those of you with a thirst for knowledge can find out more by searching on Schumpeter’s Waves of Economic Innovation and Kondratiev Waves.
Anyway, the reasoning behind my ramblings is that this week has finally seen the launch of the Digital Britain report, which was supposed to “cement the UK’s position as a world leader in the knowledge and learning economy.” Since October last year, we have been given the opportunity to shape the platform for the way we live life and do business going forward, but it’ll happily bet that most of you won’t have even looked at the report, let alone understood that you could have contributed to it. And you wouldn’t be alone.
For me the evolution of the report itself has been interesting: the government has tried to approach this in a conventional way – quietly issuing green papers, allowing individuals to submit their comments “for review” and debating it in parliament; the digital community has done what it does best – hosting unconferences and developing an online version of the report (The Fake Digital Britain Report) that anyone could adapt, shape, comment on and debate in an open forum. Honest, open exchange vs. highbrow politics.
When the report was issued, naturally many of the points raised by the digital experts were ignored. The Director of Digital Engagement, the man who was recently appointed to lead us forward in the use of digital channels didn’t even comment on the report, either via Twitter or his blog, on the day of the launch. He might have done now but frankly it’s too late to be of interest. So funnily enough, the report, which could have been a fantastic opportunity for Gordon Brown to get on the front foot, has been slammed. And not just because your tax will go up by 50p a week to pay for universal Broadband access.
Why is this important and what does it have to do with recruitment advertising? As we are all painfully aware, the recruitment landscape is in a period of dramatic transformation. Some of these changes are driven by financial necessity, like the shift to Direct Sourcing; other changes are more fundamental in nature. Like the questions of how we will work, what we will do and where. Many of the answers to these questions will be shaped by the decisions that are being made right now and therefore it is our responsibility to at least acknowledge the debate and understand the principles, so we can advise clients how to respond. Or you can pretend it isn’t happening.
The report can be accessed here. It is 245 pages, so may take some reading. The unconventional report can be accessed here. Mind you, if you are just interested in the debates, a simple trawl of the blogsphere will provide you will plenty of food for thought. To get you started, try this
All work and no play…
On a completely separate tangent, games have been a hot topic of late. We have been working with KPMG to develop a series of games that will provide a level of interactivity and engagement to the site, whilst at the same time implicitly challenging the preconceived brand impressions of KPMG and accountancy as dull and grey. We have used a flash developer but there are sites that will develop the games for you. Or you can simply purchase and reskin existing games. 3rdSense is one such site and they have recently updated their site with a ream of examples. It is worth having a peek and playing a few, just to get a sense as to whether you think they would work for your clients or not. I can’t wait to try ‘Work Experience Waiter’.