I am Helen Keegan, a veteran of mobile marketing, advertising and media since 2000. This is my diary and musings about mobile since 2004. I am part consultant and part events organiser in London, Barcelona and beyond (Swedish Beers and Heroes of Mobile). I write here about mobile technology and media and other things I'm interested in like theatre, art, crafts, business and life.
Sunday, December 10, 2017
Sunday Snippets
Want to speak at a conference? Then check out Mark Littlewood's top tips for a successful speaking application.
Google is on a mission to rid the web of annoying ads. They have a division called 'Sustainable Ads' and have put this post together to inform journalists of what's happening.
LinkedIn has a feature to allow bosses to spy on employees. You can read about that here.. I can't say I'm surprised but it does raise questions around privacy, especially when someone is looking to change jobs or is going through a difficult personal issues.
The gender gap rumbles on with women in IT being paid 15% less than their male counterparts according to a new diversity report from BCS and this article from Digit. You can download the report here (PDF).
Algorithms aren't going away soon and something I've been thinking about is the impact they have on our lives - often unwittingly. I wrote last month about what you do when your boss is an algorithm. This week, I came across an article reminding us that biased algorithms are everywhere and no-one seems to care.
And if you're doing the table planning for your Christmas party, you may want to take this into consideration. It's 21st Century dining etiquette!
Day 10/25 Blogmas
Friday, June 06, 2014
What I’m up to next week…
It’s a busy time at the moment, what with consulting projects, speaking gigs (including a recent trip to keynote a conference in Norway) and plotting my own events. And next week is particularly busy. If you’re in Manchester or London, you may want to join me.
Monday 9 June – Mobile Monday Manchester demo night. I’m chairing the event and I’m really looking forward to seeing what the different companies have to offer. It should be a good night and I’ll report back on proceedings next week. Tickets have sold out, but if you’d like to come, drop me a line and I’ll see if I can get you in. Or contact the lovely Sabine directly (she’s in charge you see!). If you’re in Manchester and fancy a catch up before demo night, I have some time on Monday afternoon for a coffee. Get in touch if you’d like to meet.
Tuesday 10 June – The Europas! Mike Butcher and his team have put together an unconference by day and an awards ceremony by night. There are just a few tickets left if you’d like to come by. I believe there are some open mic spots as well as different sessions to delve into during the day. I’m interested to see what the conversation is around mobile.
Wednesday 11 June – Responsive advertising briefing with Brand Perfect and Elizabeth Line of the Studio, Condé Nast, New York. It should be a really interesting discussion over lunch getting some insight into how Condé Nast operates in our new digital world. Tickets are £30 or free if you’re a member of the Brand Perfect community (it’s free to join). Details here.
Thursday 12 June – What’s next in mobile? is on at DigitasLBi and I’m doing a session with Rafe Blandford, Ilicco Elia and Sergio Falletti talking about apps vs. web amongst other things. It starts at midday and goes on for the whole afternoon with a variety of sessions covering pretty much all aspects of mobile as it pertains to brands. It’s also free to attend but space is limited. Message me if you’d like to come or get in touch with Julia Conroy at DigitasLBi to request a place.
And then on Friday, it’s back to my desk and catching up on a week’s worth of emails and the like….
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Top Tips for Public Speaking
I do a lot of public speaking. I always have done. At primary school, I was given the good speaking parts because I had a clear voice and a good memory. As a teenager, I acted my socks off at my local theatre and as an adult, I’ve been speaking in public in every job I’ve had – whether it was running a training course, hosting a fashion show or giving the keynote at an international conference. It’s very much second nature to me and something I enjoy doing. Don’t get me wrong, despite years of practice, I still have to prepare – including rehearsing out loud. But I don’t have stage-fright or nerves in the same way that others have it. That element of stage-fright for me is excitement rather than fear and the cue to go on with the show. And I see public speaking as being a very important way to communicate your story and market yourself or your business, whether you’re in a panel discussion or on stage showcasing your latest wares.
It doesn’t always go right though, as this video shows. It’s from CES just a couple of weeks ago and it’s Michael Bay talking up Samsung on the main stage.
It looks like he’s under-prepared and under-rehearsed. I expect Samsung paid him a lot of money to come up on stage and say nice things about their kit, but without the teleprompter, he had nothing to say. I guess that’s also why he’s a movie director rather than an actor.
Don’t let this happen to you. And don’t let this put you off either!
Here are some resources I’ve come across recently which may help you if lack of preparedness, stage-fright or just sheer dread thwart you.
Zach Holman has put together a lovely website with everything you need to know about preparing and delivering a conference talk. You can find it here http://speaking.io/. I don’t have much to add to his advice as it’s great except that it’s well worth watching and listening to other speakers. Sometimes it’s hard to take an objective view as you’re listening to them for the content and in a different context. But if you can, also check out their performance and see what you like or don’t like about how they’ve done it and have a think about how you could improve on that yourself. I find listening to panel discussions on Radio 4 quite helpful for this too as you’re not distracted by any slides or visuals and you can really tune into someone’s personal style.
Mary Portas tweeted this link the other day. It’s a short article about the one phrase you ought not to say. I concur and I’ve been guilty of this one in the past. You have been warned…
Of course, in order to do any public speaking, you need the chance to speak. Most commonly, this is about being accepted to speak at a conference. Here’s a link to some sound advice about putting that conference proposal together. It has a technical bent, but the advice is valid regardless of topic. There’s some more advice here too.
Public speaking is not rocket science. I’m glad that it’s not something that everyone’s good at as it leaves plenty of openings for me to do my thing. But it’s also clear to me it’s the sort of thing that you get better at the more practice you have. So don’t be shy. Have a go.
Good luck.
Monday, January 07, 2013
Three simple actions to redress the balance
I’m going to keep this one brief. I’m bored of writing about this old chestnut. I expect you’re bored of reading about it, but the whole issue of the lack of representation of women at tech conferences has reared its ugly head again. I guess I’m partly responsible so that’s one of the reasons for writing about it, yet again.
I happened to mention on my Facebook page that I liked the look of the upcoming Edge conference but was disappointed to see no female speakers listed at all at the time of posting. Not an unreasonable comment – especially given my history in talking about the subject for many years and being a seasoned event organiser. That generated some debate, some interesting links and some feedback and comments from friends and friends of friends. You can read it here https://www.facebook.com/helenkeegan/posts/314598241984232?comment_id=1594410
Following being name-checked in a few tweets, I read a stern criticism of the Edge Conference speaker line-up here where the (male) writer considers it inexcusable that there are no female speakers listed and the unwillingness of the producer to comment on the process. I think the term ‘inexcusable’ is strong. I doubt it was deliberate, but getting more women involved just wasn’t a priority for the organiser. It usually isn’t. In fact, they’ve often not thought about it at all. That’s part of the problem.
Meanwhile, I’m reminded that CES is happening in Las Vegas and I watch this telling video from the BBC on the topic of scantily clad booth babes from the 2012 event and ponder if anything much will have changed. I feel it’s unlikely and shared my thoughts here. And it seems from this year’s Voco campaign to drive traffic to its stand, nothing much has changed at all. You can read about the campaign to boycott Voco here. Their campaign just makes me feel queasy.
I also read about The Atlantic’s idea about boycotting all male panels ‘Men: You can fix this. Refuse to participate unless there are women on stage with you.’ And a friend points me to this useful infographic explaining how women contribute to the entrepreneurial scene.
And finally, I stumble across this blog post and words fail me.
So why am I bothered about all of this?
Technology is a huge part of all of our futures and I want to make sure that female voices are heard so that we play a part in building that future, so that we have a stake in it. So that we can make the future a better place.
Mixed gender teams do better. That’s what the research tells us, over and over. You’re better off with an average ability mixed gender team than a high ability single sex team if you want to be more profitable, more productive, happier. My conclusion is that mixed panels and mixed line-ups will mean a better conference, a more productive networking event and more knowledge sharing. And more women in tech will mean we’ll have created a better future for ourselves.
And my hunch is that if we can get more women to participate, then we’ll get more of everybody to participate. This will make it better for everyone.
Maybe I’m naive. Maybe I’m idealistic. But I don’t think this is too much to ask. It also isn’t down to one group of people to fix this. We all have a part to play.
There are three simple things that, I believe, will help make the situation better. (I’ve talked about them on Facebook as well)
1. Conference and event organisers need to be more mindful about getting more female speakers involved and make a concerted effort on this. Different people need to be approached in different ways. Try new ways to get more women involved.
2. Women need to step up and get involved. Be counted. The more you do this, the easier it gets. Get on with it. [Need some tips on how to be a good speaker? There’s some great advice here.]
3. Men need to defer to their female colleagues once in a while. When you're asked to speak, why not suggest a female colleague instead so they can get the experience and exposure? Your company still gets the kudos. The knowledge is still shared.
In doing these three things, there will be a knock-on effect that more people will get involved from all aspects of our society and from all backgrounds. This is a good thing and I don't think it's too much to ask.
And finally. I know that getting more women into tech needs to be tackled in our schools as well. I fully support that. The two are not mutually exclusive. Every little action counts.
I sincerely hope, that this is the first and last time I feel compelled to blog about this in 2013. But it’s not up to me. It’s up to all of you out there to do your bit too. Are you in?
Chestnut photo used under Creative Commons License. Photo by PracticalOwl.
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Brand Perfect Tour hits San Francisco
I’m very pleased to tell you that I will shortly be heading to San Francisco, on of my favourite cities to visit, and while I’m there, I will be one of the facilitators at the Brand Perfect Tour event on 8 May 2012. I was involved in the London event last year and this time, we’re in search of seamless brand experiences on mobile. The event is aimed at brands, retailers, media owners, agencies and developers. And whether you’re a veteran or a newbie to this world of mobile marketing, you’re sure to get something out of it. With a mix of keynotes, discussion and hands-on exercises, there’s plenty to get your teeth into.
We’ll be talking with major brands, agencies and expert developers about where opportunity in the mobile channel really lies:
- How should a brand view the mobile channel in their marketing mix?
- What are the challenges and rewards?
- What are the success stories that show the way forward?
- How do you plan and implement a mobile strategy to reach the mass market that’s on-brand?
- What are the technologies involved and what can brand owners expect to be able to deliver?
Then put it all together by working in cross-disciplinary teams with your peers covering the business, design and development elements of creating a mobile experience based on a real brand brief. You'll not only have plenty of great ideas by the end of the day; you'll have made a lot of new friends tool.
The event is free for brands, retailers and media owners to attend.
If you're an agency or developer and you bring a brand buddy with you, then you both attend for free.
If you're a journalist or blogger and would like to cover the event, please get in touch with me for a press pass. I have a few available. Otherwise, the ticket price is USD395
Registration is required: http://www.brandperfect-tour.com/events/next-stop-on-the-tour/
Spread the word and see you there! You’ll also find Brand Perfect Tour on Facebook, the event is also listed on Facebook and LinkedIn to make it easy for you to add to your calendar and share with friends and colleagues. And you can follow the twitter action here.
Oh, and there are some super pictures from the London event in November for you below from photographer Paul Clarke. And you can view some of the London presentations here.
Monday, November 14, 2011
Internet Week EU–Mobile Best Practice Panel
It was a busy week last week – it was Internet Week in London and there were a ton of mobile events as part of that. I moderated two sessions, participated in a round table, went to a dinner and attended two mobile conferences. Even by my standards, that’s quite a lot. There were some recurring themes though…
- Mobile is still being placed in a silo and not prioritised despite proven results. I heard tell of a bank wanting a mobile presence but not willing to put any budget behind it. Another tale of a large retailer whose mobile commerce offering is highly successful but has been ignored in all the above the line marketing for their Christmas push.
- Ad agencies are one of the barriers – inability to make margin or add value in a mobile proposition; lack of technical knowledge or expertise; blinded by the iPhone; unwillingness to change their way of working to incorporate mobile thinking to be at the heart of the strategy rather than an add-on
- Mobile marketing budgets are still relatively small as compared with above the line or even social media budgets (despite ~50% of social media being consumed on a mobile device)
- Clients lacking technical knowledge and lacking in consumer insight means that mobile initiatives are tactical rather than strategic.
- Arguably, mobile commerce is core business to many organisations now (in the same way as having a bricks and mortar store or an ecommerce offering), but is not treated as thus
- We’re still talking about statistics to prove that customers have gone mobile. Surely we know this already and we should be moving on to talking about what we do, how we do it and what we learned in the process?
- There is an obsession with direct ROI in mobile initiatives and a fast one – a few months, maybe a year. Yet in publishing, a new print magazine would not be expected to break even for three years. The mobile experience is more complex than just looking at the number of hits or click throughs and we should be applying research methods from other marketing and commerce disciplines rather than transplanting online advertising models.
- Accessibility is barely on the radar at all. It seems to be perfectly acceptable to alienate a large proportion of your customers because they don’t have your preferred device, so what chance do people with impairments or disabilities have when it comes to the big guys making their mobile sites and services more accessible?! Oh, and there are at least 54m disabled people in the US and over 6m of them here in the UK.
Much of this, and more, was discussed in my Internet Week panel session last Thursday at The Hospital. My fellow panellists were James Pimentel-Pinto from full-service mobile agency, AgencyMobile, Shawn Thomson from Largetail, consultant Andrea Bauer and Andy Smith, formerly of Admob (Google) and now with mobile couponing specialist Eagle Eye. There were also some interesting questions and comments from the audience. So if you have 40 minutes or so to spare, you may want to take a look or have a listen. Comments and questions welcome.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
BizSparkCamp, A Technical Day focused on Windows Phone 7 – 29 November 2010
I’m pleased to let you know that Bindi Karia has invited me to speak at the next BizSparkCamp on 29 November. It’s a technical day focused on Windows Phone 7, (although my session won’t be the least bit technical – I’ll be talking more about trends and opportunities) and is being held at the Microsoft Customer Centre near Victoria station.
I’ve been playing around with the latest Windows Phone 7 – I have an LG Optimus 7 – and I rather like it. I like that the operating system doesn’t look like any other on the market, yet is still intuitive. It’s fast, responsive and the screen and audio quality are great. The camera is good too. And I never thought I’d be saying this about a Windows Phone as the track record until now has not been strong. It’s a contender so should be considered accordingly as part of a mobile strategy.
So here’s the blurb about both the phones and the event and maybe I’ll see some of you there:
Windows Phone 7 is a different kind of phone, designed to bring together what you care about most. Its smart design lets you do more in fewer steps. Its intuitive Hubs, for People, Music + Videos, Pictures, Games and Office, means we bring things together for you so you can do what you need to do more quickly and easily. With this new platform, Microsoft offers a fresh approach to phone software, distinguished by smart design and truly integrated experiences that bring to the surface the content people care about from the Web and applications. For the first time ever, Microsoft will bring together Xbox LIVE games and the Zune music and video experience on a mobile phone, exclusively on Windows Phone 7. “Microsoft has nailed it. Windows Phone 7 feels like an iPhone from the future” (Jesus Diaz, Gizmodo)
What: BizSparkCamp: A Technical Day focused on Windows Phone 7. It is free to attend.
When: November 29th 2010, 11:30am – 5:30pm, followed by networking reception. Light lunch will also be served.
Where: Microsoft Customer Centre, in the Microsoft offices, Cardinal Place, 100 Victoria Street, SW1E 5JL.
RSVP: To register, please go to http://bit.ly/bHxa36 and enter Invitation Code: FD8513
Microsoft BizSparkCamp for Windows Phone 7 is a technically focused day designed to offer assistance to entrepreneurs, in particular, the CTOs and developers/architects within Technology Startups.
- Learn to build new applications on the Windows Phone 7 platform (via a series of technical briefings)
- Potential Nomination for BizSpark One (an invitation only program) for high potential startups
- Generate marketing buzz for your brand
Microsoft BizSpark is inviting registrations from Startups interested in Windows Phone development. Register now for your chance to learn the latest development techniques with Windows Phone and your chance to meet other startups who have already developed and successfully launched apps on the Windows Phone 7 Marketplace.
So in case you missed it, to register, please go to http://bit.ly/bHxa36 and enter Invitation Code: FD8513
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Everything you need to know about being a presenter or panellist
Well, almost everything you need to know at least. Here are some links to interesting blog posts and articles about being a presenter or panellist which some of you folks out there might find useful, regardless of whether you work in tech or fashion – these tips are all relevant for you.
How to write a successful speaking proposal
http://blog.web2expo.com/2008/04/how-to-write-a-successful-speaking-proposal/
Jeremiah Oywang – how to moderate a panel – a comprehensive guide (this is a *must read*)
Benjamin Ellis gives us tips on working more quickly…
http://redcatco.com/blog/productivity/why-dont-you-see-what-you-can-do-in-an-hour/
and how to write a speech in 5 minutes…
http://redcatco.com/blog/communication/how-to-write-a-speech-in-5-minutes/
Friday, April 03, 2009
Technokitten’s upcoming gigs
Despite the credit crunch, there seem to be mobile events and conferences aplenty so I thought I’d let you know about a few where I’ll either be attending or organising or speaking.
Well, it all kicks off with our next Mobile Monday London event in association with DCKTN ‘Financing your Business in a Credit Crunch on Monday 20 April 09. It’s free to attend and whether you’re a start-up, pre start-up or an established business, there’ll be something there for you. The venue and line-up hasn’t been finalised but rest assured, it’ll be good! More details as they come. Please register on the Mobile Monday London alpha website and RSVP for the event there too.
The following day is Mike Butcher’s Techcrunch Geek ‘n Rolla. It promises to be a great day of inspiration and information for start-up tech businesses. I shall be there showing my support. But this is one event where I won’t be on duty for once. I’ll just be a normal punter.
And as if that isn’t enough in one week, I’m very pleased to be joining the ForumOxford for their Future Technologies conference on Friday 24 April 09. This one-day conference will explore emerging technologies with an emphasis on Mobile / Web 2.0 innovations. The idea of this day is to facilitate better discussion between the audiences and speakers which is sometimes missing from bigger, more formal events. It’ll be my first time there so I’m very much looking forward to it and it will be lovely to come to Oxford for the day. My presentation is “Media and Marketing in a Mobile 2.0 world - tips and trends in mobile marketing and mobile media”. And I’m in good company with a great line-up covering all aspects of Mobile / web 2.0. The conference is great value for money too at an unbelievable £205 including refreshments, three-course lunch and post-conference drinks and networking. Hopefully see some of you there!
Then in May, I’m off to Denmark to Aalborg. A city I’ve never been to before. I’m going to be speaking at the Media on the Move conference giving a keynote on what’s happening in mobile marketing and media with reference to the travel and tourism industries. The line up looks really interesting and I know the organisers so I know for sure it’ll be a good conference. I just hope some of the other sessions will be in English too. I guess I’ll find out when I get there!
The skipping on to flaming June, I’m on a panel at The Mobile Web Summit and will be covering new thinking about the future of mobile marketing in relation to analytics, CRM and location based services. The conference is on in London at the Jumeirah Carlton Hotel in Knightsbridge and is on the 3rd and 4th of June. Prices start at Euros 399 for tickets. Osney Media’s format is slightly different from other conferences in that it’s very much discussion based around round tables and then that knowledge is shared with the wider group. Definitely worth a look.
Later on in June, I’m a judge for the Sixth Annual Global Messaging Awards. The awards recognise the important role that mobile messaging plays in the mobile industry today, the technology behind it and the varied applications that it is being put to. Mobile messaging can include entries from text or video-based, email or IM-based organisations. The final deadline for submissions is Wednesday 27th May. The shortlist will be announced on 9th June and the finalists at the 2009 Global Messaging Awards gala dinner that will take place on the evening of the 23rd June in Central London. Full details are here http://awards.160characters.org/ And for enquiries about the awards please contact Mike Grenville, mike@160characters.org
The categories for 2009 are:
- Messaging Infrastructure or Platform
- Messaging Application: Business
- Messaging Application: Consumer
- Messaging Application or Service: Public Sector Award
- Messaging Application or Service: Social Use
- Mobile Financial Services Solution
- Innovation in Messaging
- Best new Marketing Campaign using Messaging
I’m also participating in the Global Messaging Conference on 23 and 24 June. I’m one of the judges for the Messaging Innovation Showcase which is on at the end of the first day. I’ll be with Ken Banks and Rob Mosley and we’ll be looking at pitches from companies to see how they’re making mobile messaging relevant to the modern generation.
Developers of innovative messaging applications will have the opportunity to showcase their products to a panel of judges and the conference delegates. Products will be judged on their innovative qualities, usability and potential to drive up messaging revenues.
If you would like to be considered for participation as a presenter in the showcase please submit your proposal to Caroline.Broderick@informa.com by 22nd May 2009
August, I’ll be busy with my own conference.. more on that another time. Watch this space as they say…
And then on the 24 to 26th of August, I’m in Scandinavia again, this time at Spa & Resort Strömstad in Sweden for the Dialog Conference which brings together thought leaders covering all aspects of relationship marketing, loyalty and CRM. I’ll be covering mobile marketing, obviously!
And of course, in between times, there will be other Mobile Monday London events and there might even be another conference or two.
Phew, I’m tired just thinking about it all!
Friday, March 13, 2009
Female Social Media Guru UK Awards
The award serves to celebrate the wealth of female speakers and practitioners of social media living in UK. In doing so its objective is to challenge the current under-representation of females on event panels by offering a high profile platform for women (something I’ve, ahem, mentioned before here once or twice).
Anyway, I’m thrilled to have been nominated (thanks to David Cushman) and would love to get to the final five so I get a chance to strut my stuff. That said, I’m in excellent company and I’d be very happy to see any of these ladies reach the final five. I’m genuinely interested to hear what they have to say.
If you’ve never seen or heard me speak before and are wondering whether or not I deserve your vote, then check out this blog post and video clip on The Future of Mobile. It’s only 6 minutes but I think is representative of what I can do. There are other videos and podcasts of me lurking around the internet too should you be interested in googling for them!
So, vote for me now – you’ll have to scroll down to the end of the poll almost to get to Helen Keegan but it’ll be worth it ;)
Thanks in advance!
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Technokitten's upcoming London gigs
I kick off on Monday 2nd June at MoMo London with "Wassup in Mobile Media and Marketing?"
I'm chairing a high-level panel discussion on current mobile web, services and applications from a media and marketing perspective. We'll take a look at everything from mobile web to proximity to messaging to games and highlight creative execution and effective campaigns. We'll also discuss what media-owners and agencies want and how we as an industry should or could respond. We will also be challenging our expert panel to take a glimpse into the future and tell us what's catching their eye on the mobile horizon and what they think will capture the public's attention in the future.
Panellists include Matthew Postgate from the BBC and Stephen Pinches from the Financial Times and the event is being held at the Royal Statistical Society near Moorgate tube
Those details again:
Theme: Wassup in Mobile Media and Marketing?
When: Monday June 2nd (doors open at 6pm as usual)
Where: Royal Statistical Society, 12 Errol Street, London, EC1Y 8LX, UK (http://www.rss.org.uk)
Our kind sponsor: Wireless Foundry!
To register, please add yourself to the list here: http://snurl.com/2aup4
Next up, on Monday 9th June, I'm leading a panel on mobile advertising at this one-day conference focussed on mobile search and the impact it will have on different sectors of the mobile industry. There's a discount code available for this conference available over at mashable.
Third time lucky is the Being Digital conference on Tuesday 10th June where I'm opening the day with a panel session on digital advertising. As well as the usual conference type discussions, there will also be a dedicated demo area and presentation sessions showcasing the latest offerings from companies breaking new ground in the digital world.
Cass Creatives
More details to come on this one but basically Cass Creatives is celebrating their 5th birthday and are inviting back some of their favourite speakers to join the birthday panel session to see whether the interactive revolution has actually happened in the last 5 years. More details to come as I get them. In the meantime, there's a facebook group to join.
Then on the social side, there's Minibar Mobile this Friday, the NMA social on 18th June, The Guitar Hero on Mobile launch night courtesy of Mobile Entertainment Magazine on 5th June, an Unlimited Drinks night from SMStextnews.com (date tbc), a Women in Mobile Data Association reception on 1st July and a Mobile Geeks of London night at the end of July. I'm also heading out to Barcelona for Mobile 2.0 and plan to hang there for the weekend (subject to flights and accommodation). Who knows, I might even try and squeeze in a Swedish Beers night in too at some point as I'm gutted I can't make the Sydney launch party tomorrow night.
Phew, and on top of all that, I do actually have a day job and clients to work with... oh yeah, and a festival season to squeeze in too. When will they invent a human cloning machine?!