Yorkshire Forward has recognised the Digital & New Media industries as one of its five priority sectors, this means we believe these industries are key to the economic growth and development of the Yorkshire & Humberside region, so we're supporting them through various projects.
The main area of work that I’m personally involved with is the networks, these are business networks for companies and individuals to meet others in the same industry. I can't stress how important it is to network with people in your own industries and in overlapping areas. I think some people are still put off by the thought of being in a room full of 'competitors' but when I’ve spoken to people who have been dubious they always comment on how they didn't realise that their competitors were also so complementary to them.
I always used to hate that phrase ‘it’s not what you know, it’s who you know’ and I still do, but there is an element of truth in it. I have had many conversations with people, who on paper I could easily think would have nothing to offer me, but a casual conversation leads to a piece of information, which leads to an introduction to someone, which leads to a whole new project / area of work etc.
I have also seen what positive things can happen when you get a few related companies into a room together, seeing first hand individuals striking up deals with each other that either cut costs or give them access to new customers they could never have accessed before.
It can be very difficult to justify spending time at an event without obvious ROI gains and the importance of making contacts can be difficult to quantify, but I do believe that the businesses that achieve the most success are the ones who do get out there and meet people and have conversations with others.
Digital Week is one such opportunity to be made the most of!
The following Yorkshire Forward funded networks exist in the Yorkshire region:
Electronics Yorkshire for the electronics and photonics industry
Game Republic for the games industry
Learning Light for the e-learning industry
Print Yorkshire for the print and packaging industries
Screen Yorkshire for the film, TV and new media industry
techmesh for the IT and Telecommunications industry
Emma Frost is Sector Development Executive for Digital & New Media at Yorkshire Forward. She can be found at the following blog: http://digitalyorkshire.blogspot.com/
For the full Digital Week 09 programme, and opportunities to network visit www.digital-week.co.uk
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment