Less talk, more action: Tangible ways for Brighton to rise

In Brighton, we have a digital media cluster of international significance.

The cluster spreads out, with fringes spanning Sussex, but the nerve centre is undoubtedly Brighton.

And within the cluster there are sub-segments that include densities of: e-learning stuff; search marketing stuff; animators and illustrators; digital agencies; freelancers; others.

In the post that prompts me to write this, Raj outlines some of the measures of this in 'dConstructing The Brighton(cisco) Scene' on blognation. (And I'm very grateful that he mentions our team at Nixon McInnes.)

But even Raj's admirable stab at it still doesn't capture the fullness of what's going on in Brighton's digital community, and that's not because Raj needs to try harder (he won the BusinessWeek Europe's Young Entrepreneur 2006 award, FFS!!!) - it's because it's difficult to do so.

A journalist from NMA interviewed me last week on the very same topic. 'What is it about Brighton that etc etc etc..?'. I really need to come up with new answers. E.g.

The nudist beach channels cosmic rays from Uranus to an elite team of geeks based in a Kemptown crack den.

The seagulls are all secretly trained in Ruby on Rails by MI5 - when they tear open the bin bags they're actually looking for half-used peripherals that can be frankenstiened into a giant slimey super computer located in the King Alfred changing rooms.

Red Roaster coffee makes designers feel fizzy in their tummies, with incredible design/experience consequences.

I dunno.

So I highlight the 'some' of what's going on because for me lots of us have had a crack at describing the fullness of what's going on here, but it'd be more useful to own and share some firmer, more rigorous measures of this so that we can put naysayers and regional rivals* back into their boxes with sound data that a market research professional or bean counter would agree were watertight. (Perhaps Wired Sussex can help here?).

But in the absence of such research, there is a risk that to the rest of the world Brighton is mas talk and menos action...

The answer to that challenge is coming down the road.
It must be.
What I'm expecting from the current vibrancy within the community is some tangibles and soon. The energy and vigour here has never been this good.
And because this 'good energy' should, and will - I'm convinced, turn into results. (Results = Menos talk, mas action).

Good tangibles might include:

• Web apps created by Brighton-based geeks scale like crazy, generate shit loads of cash and said geeks gain geek rock star status, and rightly so
  
• As above, but the app is sold to one of the big three (I just prefer the non-exit story).
• Some ambitious people in Brighton raise shit loads of other people's money and do the go-large-quickly thing and pull it off (if you're reading this and want to do this, contact me - I'd like to encourage you!)
  
• The premium tier of Brighton agencies pick up the gauntlet, stop underperforming - I absolutely include us (historically) here - and start doing genuinely note-worthy pioneering work for interesting clients.
• Another Brighton company in addition to Spannerworks, perhaps an agency or a publisher or something, gets bought - unfortunately there's nothing quite like big numbers for waking people up and 'proving' value that navel-gazing talk never can
• Linden Lab presence spawns  a virtual worlds cluster in Brighton that quickly becomes internationally reputed - now that would/will be cool
• Two more gatherings of international standing join dconstruct, Flash on the Beach and Develop (?) on the podium to put more flags in Brighton as a digital destination of excellence
• And something to do with the Universities - they're important in all of this

I don't know what you think, but that's my 10 cents.
More results.
More delivery against the talent and energy we all know we have here.

We owe it to ourselves!

* On putting 'regional rivals back into their boxes' - it's small minded to think it has to be us OR them, not us and them. A live and let live, UK-as-a-whole kicking ass view is healthier, I know. It's just having lived in Brighton & Hove since 8 years old, growing up in this city, going to schools here, having represented Sussex at rugby, and starting my own family here, my natural competitive streak starts edging in. I. Just. Can't . Help. It...

Comments

[Antony Mayfield]

That's the spirit, Will! Let's immediately form a committee to discuss the points you make in this post... ;-)

Action. Action. Action. Definitely what's required.

And even when you have been bought, the story doesn't stop there...

[kelvin newman]

The motivation def seems to be there already which is half the battle.

I think us Brightonians should all do our little bit to get our talented friends scattered round the country down on the south coast, the more of us there are the even better our odds.

[David Stone]

I think a lot of what you mention is already happening. Agency wise, yourself, Future Platforms, Clear Left, and Kerb have, are, or will continue to product note-worthy work. I believe there has been a few more companies bought in addition to Spannerworks, but I don't know enough to write about it incase I'm very wrong!

Re. Linden Labs, maybe not 100% virtual worlds but a look around Brighton for game companies, there's a few - NCSoft, Babel, and for-mentioned Future Platforms and Kerb doing mobile and flash games respectively. I'm sure there's more but gaming isn't really my thing, but I'd imagine that's why the Develop conference was hosted here?

At any one time there also seems to be a few rumors of companies in Brighton, maybe there is truth behind them? Who knows. Maybe we need more rumors to generate buzz ;)