A hilarious plan to bring a herd of painted swine into Bath's city centre in the name of art has caused consternation among council officials.  Apparently it is felt by some that the pigs would be "inappropriate" and "damaging to the city's character".

The brightly coloured models have been designed to interest summer tourists, engage people with the history of Bath, and raise large sums of money for charity.  Over £20,000 has already been raised in sponsorship fees, which will have to be returned if the conservative elements of the council have their way.

I was lucky enough to see one of the pigs close-up at a BBWA networking event last week.  Beautifully decorated by one of the members, it will certainly stand out against the backdrop of Bath stone-clad town houses.  Joined by a herd of similarly decorated brethren, the sight may turn out to be in turns comical, bizarre and possibly pointless.  The idea gets my thumbs up though!

Source: Bath Chronicle

Picture Source: EcoSherpa

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A new report published this week by Forrester estimates that over $5 billion will be spent on social networks by 2013 in North America and Europe alone.

Coming above six other Web 2.0 categories - mashups, widgets, wikis, blogs, podcasting and RSS - social networks have been clearly identified as this years' must-have inclusion in any large companies' online budget.

Although this research hardly comes as a surprise, it will be interesting to see what will supersede the current trend.  Attendees of this week's "Geek Conference" in San Francisco will most likely get a taste for what's ahead on the new technology event horizon.

Source:  BBC Technology

Does the NHS deal with SMEs?  How would you go about reaching the key decision makers within each Trust?  How does the overarching hierarchy work?  

These were some of the many questions buzzing around my head before attending last night's BEN event entitled:  Selling to the NHS.  With the Chief Exec of North Bristol NHS Trust heading up the panel of speakers, this was an opportunity too good to pass up.

Joining Sonia Mills were three entrepreneurial clinicians, who spoke about their personal experiences in selling their own products to the NHS, along with Maria Hassard, who currently heads up NHS Innovations South West.

The key points discussed were relevant to cracking any market:  do your research,  be aware of all vested interests and - above all - sell the solution to their problems instead of emphasising potentially irrelevant features of the product.

What was interesting to hear about was the change in NHS culture and practises.  Innovation and data protection are current buzz words used in an organisation historically known for its backward approach to technology and change.  The regional innovation hubs have appeared as a result of this, while more open relationships are being sought with private industry. 

Although the amount of red tape has not abated, nor the lines of communication become any easier to charter, the health service seems to be sending out a welcome message to SMEs.  Whether this invitation will stretch to independent web developers was a question I came away with last night.  That, and some chocolate cake from the buffet!

While Lisa dined out on croissants and hearty English fare yesterday, I quaffed a few glasses of complimentary red with the cream of Bristol media society... dahling! 

It seemed that everyone had turned over the same leaf, with a collective decision made to be sociable and 'get out there'. 

Goldbrick House's champagne bar was heaving with an eclectic mixture of folk representing the entire spectrum of media.  I met cameramen, post production crews, an artistic dance director and a lovely illustrator amongst others, whose lengthy job titles prevent me from mentioning them here.  What they all had in common, however, was an open, friendly approach - cooperation rather than competition seemed to be the order of play here.

Bristol Media are doing a great job of providing a link between disparate arms of the well established media body here in the South West - I'm looking forward to the next event in February.

 

It's been a while since there was a post about what we've been up to, so I thought it was about time I added one.

Yesterday I went along to a Business West breakfast networking event, where I not only got to meet lots of interesting people and hear a talk about the new Bristol Heart Institute at the BRI, but I also had a scrummy full English breakfast washed down with a cup of tea.

However it all seemed slightly ironic, that there we were tucking into a big plate of cholesterol, not to mention the plate full of croissants available and a free complimentary chocolate bar, all while listening to a talk by the Heart of Bristol appeal on how to avoid a heart attack!!

My next venture out will be on the 6th February to a networking event with guest speaker Julia Hartley-Brewer, Assistant Editor and columnist for The Sunday Express.

It's women only though lads!