I hate that I have been so quite lately not because I do not have anything to say but only because I have been busy studying and this weekend I have classes all weekend, but I don’t want to jinx anything, and once I complete this course I will explain all.
I went to a pretty cool technology/ digital/start up /entrepreneurial conference on Wednesday called Net Prohpet. I had been to one before, and I remember the first time feeling like a kid in a candy store. Everything was fresh and new; the ideas of the industry were amazing the developments in the digital age fascinated me so much.
It was cool to be in a room filled with like-minded people and be wowed by the likes of the big players in the digital space like Ebay. The way they are changing the game in the retail space,I found that fascinating and interesting. I like that in this new digital age the focus is still solely on the customer but with innovative technology and fast forward thinking things are being done creatively. As Jody Ford, the vice President of Marketing for Ebay nicely said, “Customers want to get what they want when they want it wherever they are.” It may not be things we don’t already know, but it is a creative and innovative ways these companies are solving these problems.
Another strong point that came across loudly was how important the right education is, and every year Net Prophet raises funds for their bursary campaign to help send students to get educated. This year they partnered with an NGO Partners for Possibilities to help communities in need of education, not only do you have to donate money, but you can donate your time to help too. I also enjoyed seeing what Olgilvy Labs are doing internationally and how they are using education to create amazing things.
This conference also brought light into some areas I know not much about. Online gaming being another lucrative avenue and listening to how game development has taken off in South Africa was extremely fascinating especially using different distribution techniques to get your games to players instead of the conventional buy a game in the store route. This way it only gains momentum for the day of release and maybe for two weeks after. Compared to purchasing online directly cutting out distribution costs of a physical game and allowing people to pre-order and selling way more than you could have done by doing it the conventional way. This way the hype around your game also last much longer. The gamer community is huge, and real life feedback from gamers about your game is the best way to promote it keeping the experience as organic as possible and people are doing this online for nothing through blogging and vlogging. Bringing me back to the point, Jody Ford made “Customers want to get what they want when they want it wherever they are.”
With all the interesting talks about the industry conferences like this one that brings you good speakers and highlights the works happening locally and internationally motives and inspires you to get involved in some way, or another. It’s also awesome to be in an environment where smart thinking, giving back and developing start-ups is the way forward. Having a community like Net Phrophet share light on what is happening in this industry and helping start-ups with opportunities is a good way to harvest the talents in our country.
An event like this opens everyone’s eyes and makes them think and start asking interesting questions and also develop good ideas and connects you with companies and people doing amazing things you may not have been aware of if you have not attended.
Me specially feeling like an outsider looking into this world of tech where I am still trying figure out things it was interesting it broaden my mind to many possibilities. A big thanks to company for affording me this opportunity to go be entertained and educated for the day.
Let me know your thoughts of where this digital world is going?
Peace love and Happiness
Cherry ♥
