• My Top 3 Weekly #lastfm artists: Justin Timberlake (10), Bobbie Gentry (10) and Ciara (2) #mm http://bit.ly/cC4gkn #
• is reading Tap Into the Real Value of Consumer Data With Real-Time Bidding http://www.clickz.com/3636520. There's a whole new market here. #
• @cookiedude .. And I'd be an estranged uncle: the one nobody ever speaks about. Quite like the sound of this family already. in reply to cookiedude #
• wonders if errors are inevitable in the world of digital advertising: http://curns.me/g/c #
• really needs to stop tinkering with website layout and go to bed. #
• wonders if any of his contacts know of a Mac consultant willing to run an IT tender process for a few weeks? #
• is packing for the week ahead & wondering why it's always so last minute! #
• opened this very large box to find 3 toothbrushes inside – http://moby.to/9bf4ad #
• has arrived at the hotel. Musn't sleep. Must stay awake for several more hours! Must – stay – awake! #
• is seeing Foursquare in a whole new light in the USA. 'Specials Neraby' are quite useful. I wonder how much usage they get? #

Every man and his dog, if he works in digital media, has an opinion on this one. Pay walls will, or will not, save newspapers, magazines, books and any other form of printed word. E-readers, iPads and digital paper is, or is not, the saviour of the free press. So, why shouldn’t I wade in here? I may as well be shouted down by those who think that paper has, or hasn’t, got a future.

And so as not to be sidetracked, I’ll repeat my first prediction that pay walls will lead newspapers and magazines into a better digital world (which may, or may not, save their business models in the long run).

My second prediction is that pay walls will be removed after – for arguments sake – twelve months.

In my end of year predictions I suggested pay walls would be good for advertising because an engaged, paying audience is, generally, attractive to advertisers. And it’s far too early in the year to be retracting such suggestions so I’ll be sticking with it. But, upon further reflection, I think there will be a second advantage to short term pay walls and it’s not the pay bit that’s useful but the wall itself; the act of registration and identification that will aid newspapers’ business models.

The subscription money may – or may not – be insignificant. But in a world where advertising is highly targeted to us as people, be that by our tracked behaviours or the things we write – or the games we play – in social media, knowing more about audiences is becoming a necessity to deliver advertising online. But most media organisations don’t know much about me as a user at all. I read anonymously with only an ip-address acting as a proxy for who I am.

But look at the market they are playing in. According to Hitwise, getting on for 6% of all UK web visits are to Facebook. And Facebook knows lots about me because I tell them in all my interactions on a daily basis. Google accounts for nearly 9% of all visits which, while admittedly being search-based (i.e en route to somewhere else) is still giving them tremendous insight into my behaviours.

Pay walls will start to give newspapers a better insight into their audiences and with that data they’ll start to be able to attract much more highly targeted media. Once that data is put to use newspaper will realise they need to tear down the walls to grab a big audience but those people will start to be given reason to identify themselves so that advertising can be targeted properly. And then another of my predictions will come true: it’ll be all about the data.

It is for that reason that I think pay walls may save newspapers and magazines.

I also predict personal jet packs are the future of transportation by 2011.

• is reminding himself that leaving the office right on time results in quieter trains. Good times! #
• keeps going to the kitchen to make tea & forgets to put the kettle on. Brain to clogged up with other things. Plug. Socket. On. #
• learnt that he shouldn't read Twitter's #glee updates while watching the +1 episode. It's an odd show to be so popular. #
• is trying to find childlike wonder too! RT @tomcoates … I try to maintain my childlike wonder where possible. #
• is reading about crowd sourcing support: http://curns.me/g/a "It can be handy to have an army of loyal customers … willing to assist." #
• is having a nice evening until they all go out for cigarettes & this is what I'm left with! – http://moby.to/iya9yo #
• . @pyweaver because Ashley & Wife are Coles apart. I think that's very clever! in reply to pyweaver #
• had a good evening with @Cornelia77, @estelupin & @stevenperks. 'Twas fun to see them again. #
• is thankful that he got the train. @Cornelia77 had other plans in reply to Cornelia77 #
• continues with a day that seems to better than yesterday. Thanks for asking. It'll be a great day if I get back to my desk before the rain! #
• @sandlines I've had to bail on today, which is a shame. We should catch up for that coffee in Victoria soon. Next week? in reply to sandlines #
• was impressed by the quality of the video conference picture & sound in the meeting he's just left. Can I get one to work from home? #
• is also very concerned RT @terry_wogan: I can get little done today… I'm sick with worry for Ashley and Cheryl http://bit.ly/bk29QY #
• reads @wandsworth_news reporting a 10-point action plan for improving Clapham Junction station. About time too: http://bit.ly/ah31nj #
• reading @ExperianMkt predicting digital advertising to increase 17% annually to $55 billion industry by 2014: http://bit.ly/9VIQAv #
• wonders how he missed this? RT @Cornelia77: publisher-facing Atlas AdManager deemphasized http://bit.ly/9TONVX #
• is all out of power on this phone now! Goodnight. #
• is asking has copyright got the way of us preserving our history? http://curns.me/g/b #
• wonder why Johnny Depp is wearing that hat? Oh look, here's Lord Lloyd Webber. Must be Friday Night with Jonathan Ross. #

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• My Top 3 Weekly #lastfm artists: Tom Robinson (29), The Beautiful South (20) and Dolly Parton (20) #mm http://bit.ly/cC4gkn #
• is startled by the man in the sandwich queue who has just put gloves on his ears & started jumping up & down. <moving away> #
• admits to having forgotten that it's pancake day. Should I go out & buy eggs for a batter or a pre-mix for speed? Lemon & sugar compulsory. #
• < audio has been muted > #brits #
• @afullerview @riazkanani @sandlines Being mayor of the office means they have to start listening to you. At least that's my theory. #
• @afullerview what day you at TFM next week? #
• is glad it's not my telly (or that I'm getting old) RT @stoop_uk: Audio is SO out of sync on the #brits #
• wonders where Robbie Williams' annoying habit of nodding came from. Maybe he's started selling car insurance. #
• @cookiedude Robbie is, apparently, the saviour of music but he's not singing a great selection. No wonder they're selling Abbey Road. in reply to cookiedude #
• wonders when Robbie last sang Angels without the help of his audience? Did he ever? #
• @cookiedude I believe EMI have put Abbey Road studios on the Market. Aren't they Robbie's label? in reply to cookiedude #
• has actually found ITV2 to watch the Robbie Take That medley. I am not sure if I should admit to either. #
• @sandlines @afullerview @riazkanani I am learning you're right about that. & being mayor of a coffee shop isn't getting me free coffee! #
• @TheoTheodorou I trust it is warmer in Barcelona than London! #
• is sat in a nice hotel bar but it's almost as crowded as the pubs around here. Though hotel bars were undiscovered gems. Not here. #
• @LisaCharran that should buy you a few drinks. in reply to LisaCharran #
• @cookiedude The German? in reply to cookiedude #

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• quite likes this Google buzz thing, it's just a shame it's at an email address I don't use very often. #
• hopes you try Google Buzz with me. Go to my Google Profile and join in: http://curns.me/g/7 #
• is laughing: @pyweaver just pointed out Google's created a new month: Februrary (See Google Apps Newsletter) #
• likes how "we don't have anything to announce at this time" is 2010 speak for "no". #
• is already seeing many more local Google buzzers than tweeters: http://curns.me/g/8 #
• loves London in 1903: the hats, the horses and the total lack of health & safety. http://curns.me/g/9 (And that car thing won't catch on!) #
• @neilangus Is it good karma or bad karma? The technology has the power … in reply to neilangus #
• @neilangus You should have threatened to unplug it. I find most technology stops giving you a hard time when the power's off! in reply to neilangus #
• @cookiedude some wise person once said, "it takes time to make things". They never qualified it with a, "just how long?" in reply to cookiedude #
• @cookiedude I just noticed you are the mayor of the Hamburg office. Does that mean that they have to listen to you now? #
• is listening to the new #terrywogan show on #radio2. Think the live format may take some getting used to. Why's video only on catch-up? #
• is back from seeing A Single Man at Wandsworth Cineworld. Very good but not a feel good film. Now for something to make me laugh. #

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• quite likes this Google buzz thing, it's just a shame it's at an email address I don't use very often. #
• hopes you try Google Buzz with me. Go to my Google Profile and join in: http://curns.me/g/7 #
• is laughing: @pyweaver just pointed out Google's created a new month: Februrary (See Google Apps Newsletter) #
• likes how "we don't have anything to announce at this time" is 2010 speak for "no". #
• is already seeing many more local Google buzzers than tweeters: http://curns.me/g/8 #
• loves London in 1903: the hats, the horses and the total lack of health & safety. http://curns.me/g/9 (And that car thing won't catch on!) #
• @neilangus Is it good karma or bad karma? The technology has the power … in reply to neilangus #
• @neilangus You should have threatened to unplug it. I find most technology stops giving you a hard time when the power's off! in reply to neilangus #
• @cookiedude some wise person once said, "it takes time to make things". They never qualified it with a, "just how long?" in reply to cookiedude #
• @cookiedude I just noticed you are the mayor of the Hamburg office. Does that mean that they have to listen to you now? #
• is listening to the new #terrywogan show on #radio2. Think the live format may take some getting used to. Why's video only on catch-up? #
• is back from seeing A Single Man at Wandsworth Cineworld. Very good but not a feel good film. Now for something to make me laugh. #

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• Top 3 Weekly #lastfm artists: Spandau Ballet (25), Nanci Griffith (17) and Deborah Harry (16) #mm #
• is very impressed just how fast the Virgin Trains service from Liverpool Lime Street to Euston is. And a nice journey too. #
• is glad he's not joining the cinema queue at Wimbledon Odeon: Orange Wednesdays must be working. Wow. What's the big film? #
• wonder if he will just sit and listen or will he tweet the Local Social Media event? Find out tomorrow! http://curns.me/g/5 #
• @simon_baptist I'm conserving battery so that I can tweet later at #smwldn. Looking forward to it. in reply to simon_baptist #
• finds that he can get an OK cup of coffee from the cafes near his office but nobody seems to care about tea. Nothing is brewed properly. #
• @anya_paul & are the boots nice? in reply to anya_paul #
• will be at Local Social at The Hospital Club from 6.30pm. Quite looking forward to the speakers. Are you going? http://curns.me/g/6 #

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• Top 3 Weekly #lastfm artists: Nanci Griffith (17), Andy Bell (14), Indigo Girls (12) #mm #
• recommend the Eat Prawn Tom Yum. Had extra Chilli today. Next, coffee in the new office with former work mate. #
• is amazed trains are so busy before 7. Long day ahead, I think. Heading north-ish. #
• @Cornelia77 It was fun running into you like that. See you Friday! in reply to Cornelia77 #
• heading north on the train but seem to have been stopped at Milton Keynes Central for a while. #
• @Cornelia77 I haven't seen this week's episode but I agree. Hopefully, it's been recorded to watch later in the week. in reply to Cornelia77 #

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• wishes he had such a large electronic calculator: http://curns.me/g/4 #
• just finished watching last Sunday's Being Human. It's getting more confusing than Lost. Must concentrate harder. #
• is glad the snow didn't arrive in the south. Having breakfast near the office (I'm nice & early). #
• @SeanieSS I had a similar experience a couple of years ago. The retention offer came in a letter after I'd signed with somebody else! in reply to SeanieSS #
• is on a Thames Clipper after an interesting few hours at The British Music Experience @ The O2. Sadly, it's raining so there's no view. #
• has just seen Tamsin Greig in 'The Little Dog Laughed'. It was excellent (v. funny) & she was superb as the movie star's LA agent. See it! #

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• wonders if this is a foolhardy enterprise: day return to Nottingham through today's fresh snow falls. Reporting St Pacras station is cold! #
• is being warmed by Starbucks Porridge & It's Very Tasty! Next: Coffee. – http://moby.to/k5e7zj #
• is now on a train to Nottingham. It's still snowing as we leave London. Quite sad as it'll all be slush by the time I get back. #
• So, @JohnDalziel do you agree Kevin McCloud is a useless piece of telly fluff then? (his words for those that didn't see, not being rude!) #
• @sandlines enjoying the new job? Hope all is well. in reply to sandlines #
• @Cornelia77 I asked similar CRM question last yr. http://moobiz.com was recommended to me; does invoicing, projects, accounting and more… #
• @cookiedude Ah, my friend. The curse of the conference call. If I knew the answer I'd write one of those business self-help books & be rich. in reply to cookiedude #
• @cookiedude True, just need an airport bookshop distribution deal. I'll write it as a follow-up to my best seller: "Internal mettings. Why?" in reply to cookiedude #
• realises that his reply to @cookiedude should have used the word meetings. But I find the word hard to type outside working hours. #
• @sandlines Which MS office? Soho or Victoria? I've ended up in Victoria anyway! in reply to sandlines #
• wonders why a Caffe Nero latte is served in a glass and not a cup. Any ideas? #
• @danofftheradio you bought the tshirt, right? in reply to danofftheradio #
• found Ghostbusters on Watch & is finding that he is quite enjoying. Who ya gonna call? #
• reads a 'weather insider' is worried people won't be able to concentrate on watching the symbols. Funniest quote ever! http://curns.me/g/3 #

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• thinks, oops. I don't imagine the snow caused this. – http://moby.to/im5kfa #

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• seems to have missed Ghostbusters 2: RT @ShowbizSimon: Superb news! RT @STYDNews: Ghostbusters 3 arriving in 2011 – http://bit.ly/875UHo #
• @anya_paul too right! When does spring start? How you doing? Good Christmas? in reply to anya_paul #
• just left the cinema having enjoyed Sherlock Holmes. Recommended. Man in front if me had a flask & mince pies but he didn't share. #
• #10YearsAgo I was with @pyweaver celebrating in Devon. We roasted a duck. Today, just eaten a roast duck. Food is the way to celebrate NYE! #
• @cookiedude Hey! Happy New Year to you. I agree, 2010 will be better than last year. No doubt. Enjoy! in reply to cookiedude #
• @cookiedude let's decide now that it's great! I am looking forward to it. in reply to cookiedude #
• wonders if it's text or tweeting at midnight tonight. It could be a little bit of both, couldn't it? #
• wishes everyone a great 2010. Happy New Year. Fireworks & champagne seems a sensible way to start a new decade. #
• is laughing: RT @GrandPrixDiary: BBC TV weather boy just said "today could be the coldest day of the year so far" What an idiot. #
• discovered that the gallery was closed. Change of plan for this afternoon. – http://moby.to/y98htf #
• watched the alert waiter reunite man with abandonded bag at St Pancras while people who should have done something about it walked past it. #
• is on board Southeastern's high speed train to Canterbury. Waiting for the high speed part. Reckon that's any moment now. #
• A delicious seafood platter for two was the plan for a late Sunday lunch and Loch Fyne did not disappoint… http://www.urbanspoon.com/x/11E #

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And so, with the bells of Big Ben still ringing in my ears (via the television, do you think I am mad enough to have ventured into central London?) I’m back to follow up on yesterday’s predictions for digital advertising in 2010. Yesterday, I suggested money will come back in a fragmented way to digital media. Thus, there’s not enough money to pay for anything and as a result paywalls rise and, I suggested, that paywalls might actually lead to a rise in CPM rates for some publishers. Is it a crystal ball or in the tea leaves? I don’t know but here’s another vision – or two – for the coming year.

And I don’t see why we should change the habit of a decade and so I may as well announce that 2010 will be the year that mobile advertising will become mainstream. You know, like it did last year. And the year before. I guess you could argue that 2009 was the year mobile ‘Apps’ pointed us in a direction. My humble opinion is that mobile advertising will transform its brand into ‘location based advertising’ and the world will think it’s all new. Rather like a Marathon became Snickers. All new and yet reassuringly the same.

I think you can see this mobile re-brand trend already. But location based advertising should be big sometime. The company that gets mass adoption alongside location based mobile coupons (to come good on the ‘I’m passing the coffee shop give me 50p of a latte’ idea) will be very successful. I’ve mentioned mobile coupons a few times in 2009 and I think the value of them is yet to be properly exploited.

Look, here’s a passing bandwagon. Let’s jump on. I think real-time is an interesting trend but digital advertising has always managed to exploit the more immediate nature of its existence (in comparison to offline media) so, apart from the introduction of some new trading methods and – perhaps – some new formats, real-time won’t impact advertising. Of course, if Twitter comes up with an advertising business model I may regret that statement but I don’t think it will be the real-time nature of Twitter that will form the basis of the ad model; it will be the Twitter communication platform itself.

However, Twitter & Facebook will transform digital advertising in 2010 even more than they did in 2009. New formats and new ways of engagement will be mean the both the banner/display and the text/search models will have something new to compete against. And if I knew what that ‘new’ thing was, I would be busy reaping my rewards from that and not writing this.

Location-based advertising alongside social media engagement (Local Social, if you will) is really an emerging feature of the media landscape. I predict growth and innovation in that space this year. I’m not convinced we’re at the point Local Social will be mainstream but I am prepared for my friends from Local Social Lab to convince me otherwise (hopefully, over a tasty brew).

I do think one key element ties location-based, real-time and social media advertising together and that is data. Advertising, especially digital advertising, has always had a great deal of data with which to work. Audience measurement, action/reaction-based metrics, opinion and behavioural data often come into play. But I think we will see the rise of user-powered data in advertising by which I mean I, as a user of digital content, will actively share information with advertisers in a more open transaction in order to receive a service. I predict we will all take more control over what data we allow to be exploited and we will be more aware of who is benefiting. We will insist on greater transparency over data sharing but also will be more aware of what data sharing is allowing us to do. The trade off between sharing and getting something in return will become clear in the next twelve months.

There are challenges with using data. The online advertising industry has surrounded itself with data (click rates, acquisition rates, impressions, views, behavioural segmentation, hits, users, sessions etc. etc.) which did not align to ‘old’ media. As a result, the industry spends more time explaining what it is talking about than anything else. That issue need to be addressed. Then I wonder if it’s possible to have too much data? As an industry we sold ourselves on that data – the ultimate measurable medium – but perhaps we lost our creativity, our gut instinct and a lot of money while drowning in data. And then, of course, there’s security. If I am to share data I have to trust you with it and I am not convinced anybody trusts anybody else with their personal information which, I think, is the second digital dilemma I’ve presented to you in two days.

I am going to write my story of 2009 in personal data terms in the next few days but how the system to trade data will manifest itself will, to me, be one of the interesting stories of this year.

I’ve not written about the dramatic change to television viewing because of on-demand digital viewing (you’d have to be asleep to miss that change) and I haven’t talked about how the radio industry is imploding because it can’t agree on what a sensible route to digital actually is, but regardless, I think there is another interesting year ahead.

But until I tell you how many minutes I spent in a cinema in 2009 – or something similarly riveting with data – may I wish you a very happy and prosperous new year. Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter in the year as I track if any of these predictions have any validity at all.

The world is awash with Christmas songs. But very few ever get around to singing about the New Year. Abba did it. And then there was that song from that Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, I’m sure it has something about it being a new year in the lyrics. I was wondering why there are so few new year songs and it occurred to me that between Christmas and the New Year everybody is busy predicting things and hasn’t the time to pen a song about how we’re all going to keep our resolutions until Tuesday.

And it is in that spirit that I am not writing a New Year’s tune but instead looking ahead to 2010 in Digital Advertising. I could, of course, have picked any topic but I thought one that I worked in might give me some credibility and, more importantly, means I can return to work on Monday morning with a plan for the year.

Let’s start with the predictable. There will be a storm in a teacup over use of cookies in Europe. And, of course, by the time everybody has agreed the technology will have moved on. Still, the industry will talk about it a lot and there’ll be pictures of biscuits (the chocolate chip variety) as the industry news sites run out of new ways to spin an old tale. Possibly a good excuse to hit the gym in January.

Almost as predictable is the second statement. Money will start to come back into advertising and that’ll make a lot of people feel better. However, the switch to digital advertising will continue, traditional media will remain at sea wondering what to do and how it’s all going to be paid for. And so-called paywalls will rise. I don’t think I need a crystal ball for this. I can smugly say that I previously said we had to stop thinking that advertising can pay for every thing; but smug is not a good way to enter into a new year so I’ll move on. A fragmented media market may be good for choice but diffused ad spending means nobody has any money to create anything. So, we as the consumer of content are going to have to start paying upfront for things.

It’s the last sentence that brings me to a digital age dilemma. If we’re going to have to start paying for content will we remain happy to consume advertising alongside it? Historically, we did in newspapers and in the cinema, for example. But we didn’t with books and don’t have our movie’s interrupted with advertising on the premium movie channels. I suspect newspapers in particular will hear a lot from users who won’t pay and download a banner style advertisement at the same time. There will be a fascinating follow-on impact for the advertising industry but I can’t read that from the cards.

As a quick aside I think there could be an interesting side story to the rise of required payments. For too long advertising rates, CPMs if you will, have been dropping and you have to believe it will come to a point where they can’t get any lower. I suspect the rise of paywalls for publishers which, if even vaguely successfully, will also force a rise in CPM rates (if the dilemma of the previous paragraph can be solved). The act of a customer paying for content proves the value of that content and suggests an engaged audience (and an audience with money). That must be an attractive place for advertisers to be.

And I think that’s enough crystal-ball gazing for today. Leave a comment if you think I’m right or wrong. Perhaps I will pen a ‘Happy New Year’ ditty while celebrating this evening or, more likely, I’ll have a glass of something sparkling and try to be in a state to finish my predictions tomorrow. One thing I can say with certainty, if I do write more tomorrow it will feature the word Twitter.

So look out for my Happy New Year tweet around midnight. So long 2009!

• observed woman in cafe leave handbag & purse on table while ordering but go back to pick up mobile phone. Phone more important than money? #
• reads about models from online behavioural segments. Some interesting views questioning this type of analytics. Thoughts?http://tr.im/If3M #
• is reading about the death of the CPM online pricing model. Really? http://tr.im/If5z #
• noticing that the rain/snow combo is making a lot of people very grumpy in Victoria Station right now. Minor delays but most trains running. #
• RT @mattjones: At this very minute, the axial tilt of the Earth is at its furthest from the sun, and it shows, BRRR! Happy Winter Solstice #
• saw slow traffic onto Garratt Lane from Burntwood Lane. Drivers trying shortcut via side roads. Don't! Roads are very poor. #
• reading about #eurostar efforts to restore reputation: http://bit.ly/europr I like them but ppl were trapped for hrs! Ferry bookings up? #
• reports that the death of the CPM pricing model is all because of CMOs. I wonder about this? http://tr.im/If5z #
• after all my talk of lower CPM rates, what about the highest CPMs in online advertising? http://tr.im/IfPL #
• RT @alwarman: John Lewis PR story – best ad they could have hoped for: @reubenturner created this in response http://twitpic.com/us51z #
• wonders when your countdown to Christmas starts. Even though I am in the office tomorrow, I think it started 90 minutes ago! #
• is still a big kid at heart. It's Christmas Eve! I shall be at work this morning but later I shall be searching for a decent glass of port. #
• wondering what's a fun thing to do on a Christmas Eve afternoon in central London. I have luggage which makes it hard to get around. #
• will be eating a luxury mine pie in moments. – http://moby.to/ysenh4 #
• wants his proper Christmas lunch now! @twitchhiker already has the bread sauce! http://twitpic.com/ #
• @danofftheradio Party? Are you doing secret Santa at your party? What did you get? in reply to danofftheradio #
• @sandlines Bet you're singing along before the day's out. Good Morning Baltimore and all that! in reply to sandlines #
• had the mince pie, found the bread sauce and now @timetosplash has turkey: http://twitpic.com/uy7kz. Who's bringing cranberry sauce? #
• wonders how many have beaten him to the Merry Christmas? Can you hear Sleigh Bells? In need of some? Try these: http://tr.im/InAt -Ho Ho Ho! #
• has just watched a Christmas movie. Next: lunch. – http://moby.to/g8utzm #
• wishes everybody a very Merry Christmas. – http://moby.to/hu1h94 #
• wonders if Bernard Cribbens will bring The Wombles back to save the world! #
• @cornelia77 did you get a white Christmas then? #
• wants to alert you to the fact that turkey sandwiches are now being made. At this time of night!! #
• stepped into the TARDIS: it's the Big Fat Quiz of The Year 2005 and the couple of the year are Peter & Jordan. C4 now! Take me back to 2009. #
• just watched David Tennant be announced as the new Doctor Who on The Big Fat Quiz of the Year 2005. This seems so wrong. #

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This is the day that we should be saying Happy Christmas to one and all. Season of good will and all that. Of course, I shouldn’t forget that you could also think of today as a birthday too. So Happy Birthday, er, BBC iPlayer. I wonder what the iPlayer team are wishing for as they blow out the two birthday candles?

For a good period of the last two years I worked with other organisations that are looking to put television onto the internet. My work in digital advertising has meant that I have been, naturally, working with companies who wish to place advertisements around that television content. As I noted here in 2008, I was involved in the launch of Microsoft’s ad-serving capabilities into their Mediaroom IPTV product and with others on over –the-web content.

The iPlayer was really the platform that pushed on-demand viewing across the internet in the UK. You wouldn’t expect anything less from an organisation with the resources (in monetary terms, in talent and engineering terms and in marketing and reach terms) that the BBC can bring. It’s still the iPlayer that comes to mind when most people think of watching TV via the web and the iPlayer was certainly the talk of other European broadcasters (at least it was when I was regularly speaking to them). It’s a shame as other on-demand services are equally as good, ITV in particular have made great leaps. The Sky Player has been made to work with their proven business model which can only be a good thing for the space.

Because the iPlayer is not commercially driven, however, there has been little discussion of advertising in on-demand platforms. For the commercial providers it has always been the advertising that pays for the content. ITV has always been great at ensuring you get similar experience online as you would watching the show on television: why would they show programming without advertisements and commercial breaks? At last, most organisations have reached the point of being able to replicate the linear television commercial break experience. Sadly, however, we’re not seeing a great deal of innovation in this space which intrigues me even more now I’m less directly involved in the technologies that power this advertising. It’s an area ripe for new ideas. I know people in organisations I worked for have ideas by the truck-load but, for some reason, they’re not sharing them right now.

The economic climate and resulting downturn in advertising spend can be used as an excuse for the lack of in-production experimentation and, for commercial television companies struggling with smaller audiences and reduced ad revenues, this may be valid. But where are the innovative tech companies pioneering new ways of advertising around on-demand television? They must be there somewhere.

So, my Christmas/Birthday wish, point me to the innovators. I’m @curns on Twitter and I’d be interested to read about something genuinely innovative in the way in which advertising content is presented to consumers of on-demand content.

It’s not unknown for me to state the obvious, so here goes. This was/is that last working day before Christmas. And for many, including me, it was the last working day of the year. It has also dawned on me that it’s the last working day of the decade. I guess, therefore, that I’ll play the looking backwards game. You know, the one where we all try to find something interesting to say about the last year, or in this case, decade. So, what have I learnt about working in the twenty-first century? Firstly, it isn’t different to my working life at the end of the last decade/century but I’ll skip that marvellous observation and present the top five things I’ve seen change – or not – in my last ten working years.

Internet Access Is Ubiquitous In The Workplace

I ended the last decade having just left an organisation where you had to have special permission to have online access. Ironically, I was part of the team building their web content. And, although my world view is biased because of the industry I work in, I think access if fairly ubiquitous. Of course that’s lead to the rise of personal blogging, Facebook, instant messaging and shopping in your working day. I do see a trend the opposite way: corporate filters and blockers are in place in more and more organisations to restrict access. Sorry chaps, it’s a losing battle. You should trust your employees more.

Digital Connectivity Hasn’t Cut Travel

I’ve spend a decade in industries supposedly working in ‘new’ media with organisations you would hope would embrace virtual conferencing to reduce the carbon footprint of their employees. It simply wasn’t the case because the need to actually sit face-to-face with prospects – for them to shake your hand and know if they can trust a word that you’re saying – remains. It’s only the economic climate that’s cut travel budgets but I don’t believe it has cut the need. In fact, digital connectivity may have facilitated more travel because you can be connected everywhere so why not send somebody off to cement the deal?

Business Travel Still Sucks

Business travel has an air of glamour. Lunch in Amsterdam, dinner in Milan sounds fun. How wonderful it could be. Generally, it isn’t. Unless you’re the boss, you’re on cheap tickets at the last minute with early starts and late finishes. Fly in, taxi to an office, meeting, taxi to airport and home by midnight to do it all again tomorrow. It’s generally bad for your sleep patterns, bad for a social life and it’s really, really bad for your waistline. In the last ten years the relative reduction in the cost of flying has meant business meetings abroad are really more affordable than they were. But, as long as you know it sucks, then it’s still a great deal of fun. I’ve been lucky enough to travel to a lot of places over the last ten years that I probably wouldn’t have gone to if my boss hadn’t sent me. And I would not have changed that opportunity for anything. I’ve eaten cuisines of the world and seen – albeit often from a taxi window – many amazing places. It may be unpleasant but it’s unpleasantness worth enduring.

Constant Connections Means No Off Time

This is one that I think most employees find themselves powerless to fight. Now that the last ten years have connected us, we’re always connected and so we’re always at work. Wasn’t the digital future meant to give us all more leisure time? But now, we’re answering emails when we get home and on the train heading into the office in the morning. We can answer calls from the boss while waiting in the doctor’s surgery and speak to an overseas office while sat in the pub (I don’t recommend that). Digital connections and a mobile infrastructure mean we have an expectation of immediacy and I, for one, remain to be convinced that it’s a good thing.

Companies Haven’t Embraced Remote Working Opportunities

I’ve established that the last ten years has connected us and thus allowed us to work all the time from anywhere. But I think employers as a whole – large and small – are failing to embrace remote working. There are many jobs – and I know it’s a long way from being all jobs – that are not so time sensitive that the 9-to-5 has to apply. There are few jobs that need to be done in the same office in those hours. But organisations – or maybe it’s the boss – fail to embrace the flexibility this could offer them. With many of the companies I have worked with (rather than for) I hear tales of how working from home is frowned upon and the thought of working from a holiday villa for a week is a no go zone. Now, I believe workplace culture is important because employees need to belong and interact with colleagues. But, we don’t need to be there all the time and we can work from 7-3 or 12-8 and be just as productive. We can work from our houses, a friend’s house, the local coffee shop and, in some cases, at 35,000 feet above the planet and still reply to your email. Remember, it’s results that count.

And so, that’s my random five observations. I could have noted how tools like Twitter are changing the way we interact with customer or how they’re replacing industry-centric publications by connecting you directly to people. I could have noted how smart phones mean office workers aren’t carrying laptops quite so much but you still see far too many laptop bags on those overcrowded commuting trains (why haven’t we solved that dilemma?).

If I am lucky enough to remain employed for the next ten years, I wonder what changes will appear? I suspect that the idea of remote working will be embraced by more and more offices where there are huge overheads in central office space that could be removed if people spend part of their time working remotely. I know it doesn’t apply to everybody but I suspect increasing broadband penetration and cloud computing means it’s becoming more and more feasible. I’m looking forward to the next decade. In technology terms, I really believe it will be the decade of the cloud.

• wonders why a day off work is never as productive as it should be. Post Office queues very frustrating. How I miss all that free time I had! #
• has, with his amazing powers of deduction, worked out London's big film opening. – http://moby.to/wf3jwp #
• remembers evesdropping on ppl talking about Gordon Ramsey in this coffee place. Now listening to 2 chauffeurs try to out celeb each other. #
• thinks South Molten Street might have the best festive lights in town. – http://moby.to/8k5hai #
• is wondering if #BA would recover from a strike? There's a lot of negativity towards them online right now. They were my favourite airline! #
• is in a second coffee shop waiting for @pyweaver. It's been invaded by a crowd of teenagers (with their teacher). Peace has been shattered. #
• thinks Trafalgar Square is lovely at night. – http://moby.to/xj1t0q #
• @cookiedude name names! Not having a good day? in reply to cookiedude #
• @cookiedude oh, I want to say something about not being very clever. Obviously, clever isn't the word I'd use. in reply to cookiedude #
• @Cornelia77 And how is the world of eCommerce? Where are you based now? in reply to Cornelia77 #
• @cookiedude now I really want to know what else they teach you about the English. Although I may regret this question. in reply to cookiedude #
• thinks the Heathrow Express mailing he just received, offering a chance to win #BA flights, might be badly timed. #
• thinks this is funny & smart . It made me laugh: RT @AndrewGrill: http://moby.to/nmyete – Very smart ad from BMI – BA competitor #
• hopes Hull Post Office copes:RT @Hitwise_UK: Online shopping more popular in Hull than any other UK town this Christmas http://bit.ly/6dXY9Z #
• @cookiedude I trust it was delivered, under armed escort, to the office. in reply to cookiedude #
• notes that this is not the best time to head outdoors: trying hard to snow in Victoria! #
• admits to being slightly disappointed at the lack if snow in suburban south west London. Still, relieved he's spared travel pain. #
• @Cornelia77 what snow? Everything as normal here (except I bought the wrong coffee). Looking out on a snow-free Cardinal Place right now. in reply to Cornelia77 #
• never ceases to be amused at the spin that can be put on stories: RT @GuyKawasaki: Britain banning checks http://om.ly/dHMs #
• thinks, Blimey, Santa's got a Caffe Nero loyalty card. – http://moby.to/alvflx #
• replies @Cornelia77 if only I knew what you were talking about! Do you have snow? There's so much more snow as I head out of London. in reply to Cornelia77 #

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I haven’t written about radio for quite a while, unless you count my comments – on Matt Degan’s excellent site – about Commercial Radio blaming its woes on the BBC, and I don’t think that counts.

As I look back I see I wrote about The End of A Radio Era in December 2002 when Jimmy Young left Radio 2. And I find myself wanting to use that self same title today as Sir Terry Wogan leaves his top-rated breakfast show. Throughout my childhood I was aware of Jimmy Young but, as a family, we actually listened to Terry Wogan.

The news people say it’s 27 years, of course, we know that the number represents years actually talking on the breakfast show. There were years off for good behaviour (when he did that television thing) meaning that it’s really four decades that Terry’s been an intricate part of our lives.

Many people have written elsewhere about what a remarkable broadcaster Terry Wogan is and I wouldn’t say anything different. It’s a special talent to be able to talk, cross-generational, to such a large audience and yet make it seem like you’re sharing in a small, intimate – and thoroughly entertaining – dinner (breakfast) party. And that, to me, is what marks out great radio broadcasters from average and poor ones: people who can really ‘do’ radio make it seem like your part of the conversation. The rest shout at you.

I do believe today marks a bigger transition than the end of a much loved breakfast show. Radio 2 has been able to call out Wake Up To Wogan as a shining example of its difference: there’s isn’t a commercial broadcaster in the land who would have done that show and I find it unlikely would any would have let it go on so long (although for that audience …). But from today Radio 2 can not point to Sir Terry as a difference that helps validate its existence.

I hope Chris Evans is given a chance (the BBC will but I wonder about the rest of the media). He too is different and I find it frustrating to read the many views that assume he is still a 30-year old Radio 1 breakfast host and not the consummate, radio-loving, professional broadcaster that he clearly is. But Wogan came from a different era. It wasn’t his physical age that helped secure Radio 2’s difference, it was the fact he started a career different broadcasting era, an era when broadcasters felt like your friends. And he was able to become part of our breakfast routine before we, as a nation, took to the sport of shooting down our celebrities quite as quickly as we do today and before the radio industry replaced presenters after a bad ratings quarter or two. I hope the new host will be different enough allow the BBC to continue to point to Radio 2 as something that can’t be heard elsewhere. I think it’s going to be a challenge: not because Chris is not unique but because the broadcasting landscape has changed and Chris has played his part in today’s tabloid celebrity fascination. Will we be able separate his history from his present?

But I don’t want to end pondering about Radio 2’s future. I find myself looking back on the words I wrote about Jimmy Young and realise that many of them can be applied to Terry Wogan. It was an interactive show from early on. Letters about the Poison Dwarf and the M1 cones may have been replaced by emails but the audience has always been integral to a large amount of the content. As a style it is decades old but it still appears to work. Making you feel part of show is important. Making you feel like a friend is, surely, a gift.

Perhaps it was something about Radio 2 in the 1970s that remains underappreciated because the flares distracted us. A generation of broadcasters deeply integrated audience participation into their shows long before anybody knew what they were doing. While all radio uses input from listeners very few shows are actually built around that input. I wonder if radio should look backwards to understand its value because, in the rush to work out what a digital future means for it, I sometimes think it’s losing sight of how powerful a medium it really is. Surely, if Sir Terry and his 8 millions TOGs are to leave a legacy it should be to remind us of the power of the audience contribution when making unmissable radio.

Thank you for being a friend. Indeed.

Update: 22 December
Celebrity broadcasters pay tribute to Sir Terry Wogan | Terry Wogan signs off from Radio 2 breakfast with a crack in the voice

• @nicholasmills bad evening? I met your twin brother tonight. Do you have a twin brother? Does he work in Cardinal Place? in reply to nicholasmills #
• @cookiedude Would have been fun though, wouldn't it? What if I just wandered into the building and sat down at a desk & did something? in reply to cookiedude #
• @cookiedude A badge? Small detail, I'm sure! I might try to make one with a bit of old plastic. in reply to cookiedude #
• is wondering if Twitter knows of some cheap flights to California in January. Flexible times any time from about 11th Jan. #
• was surprised at the lack of recycling going on with this sign. – http://moby.to/k2×9zf #
• has just eaten a lovely Mexican Burger at The Slug in Kingston. Yum yum. Homeward bound. #
• was shocked to hear that The Pet Shop Boys have a Christmas song out tomorrow. A Christmas tune? Not expected at all. But it's really good. #

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