Lauren Cotton's blog

Lauren Cotton

I joined Chinwag in August '10. I work across Chinwag, Chinwag Jobs, Digital Mission and Social Media Week London mostly on communications & publicity - chatting to you wonderul folk via blogs, newsletters, twitter, facebook, linkedin etc.

I also do illustration in my spare time, take a peek! Tumblr // Web Store

Inside Digital Mission NYC: We Are Social

Statue of Liberty

Digital Mission went to New York from 1st - 5th November, along with 19 leading, UK-based digital companies.

we are social logo

As part of the 'Inside Digital Mission NYC' series, each company was asked if they would like to go into a bit more detail and share their individual stories.

This mini-interviews is with Nathan McDonald from We Are Social, based in London.

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South by South West Interactive 2011: Accelerator Competition and Interactive Awards

SXSW Interactive

SXSW Interactive, one of the most exciting events in the digital calendar, will be taking place 11th - 15th March 2011 in Austin, Texas.

This year it will be hosting two competitions, the SXSW Accelerator and the SXSW Interactive Awards, both of which showcase the unique innovation and convergence that only happens at SXSW. The deadline for both is fast approaching - Friday 10th December at 11:59pm.

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Inside Digital Mission NYC: ustwo

NY Buildings

Digital Mission went to New York from 1st - 5th November, along with 19 leading, UK-based digital companies.

ustwo logoAs part of the 'Inside Digital Mission NYC' series, each company was asked if they would like to go into a bit more detail and share their individual stories.

This mini-interview is with Julian Ehrhardt from ustwo, based in London.

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Inside Digital Mission NYC: Waspit

Car Wash

Digital Mission went to New York from 1st - 5th November, along with 19 fantastic, UK-based digital companies.

As part of the 'Inside Digital Mission NYC' series, each company was asked if they would like to go into a bit more detail and share their individual stories.

waspit logo

This mini-interview is with Danielle Dalkie from Waspit, based in London.

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Inside Digital Mission NYC: BrightLemon

Buildings

Digital Mission went to New York from 1st - 5th November, along with 19 fantastic, UK-based digital companies.

As part of the 'Inside Digital Mission NYC' series, each company was asked if they would like to go into a bit more detail and share their individual stories

brightlemon logo

This mini-interview is with Leon Tong from BrightLemon, based in London.

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Inside Digital Mission NYC: Nuji

new york

Digital Mission went to New York from 1st - 5th November, along with 19 fantastic, UK-based digital companies.

nuji logo

As part of the 'Inside Digital Mission NYC' series, each company was asked if they would like to go into a bit more detail and share their individual stories.

This mini-interview is with Dean Fankhauser from Nuji, based in London.

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Inside Digital Mission NYC: Lingo24

NYC Street

Digital Mission went to New York from 1st - 5th November, along with 19 fantastic, UK-based digital companies.

As part of the 'Inside Digital Mission NYC' series, each company was asked if they would like to go into a bit more detail and share their individual stories.

lingo24

This mini-interview is with Christian Arno from Lingo24, based in Scotland. 

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Inside Digital Mission NYC: Huzutech

Back of NYC Taxi

Digital Mission went to New York from 1st - 5th November, along with 19 fantastic, UK-based digital companies.

Huzutech logo

As part of the 'Inside Digital Mission NYC' series, each company was asked if they would like to go into a bit more detail and share their individual stories.

This mini-interview is with Craig Bedworth from Huzutech, based in Scotland.

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Inside Digital Mission NYC: Casual Films

NYC

Digital Mission went to New York from 1st - 5th November, along with 19 leading, UK-based digital companies.

casual films logo

As part of the 'Inside Digital Mission NYC' series, each company was asked if they would like to go into a bit more detail and share their individual stories.

The first of these mini-interviews is with Barnaby Cook from Casual Films, based in London.

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Inside Digital Mission NYC

NYC Taxi

The third Digital Mission to New York took place between 1st and 5th November and saw 19 of the UK's leading digital firms tackle the Big Apple.

In amongst the presentations, masterclass and networking events we got to spend time with and get to know the people behind the companies. It's amazing how much you can learn about someone during a taxi ride across New York.

Having many a short converstation, and learning a little about the background of each company only increased our curiousity.  Each story was unique and generally more interesting than what's included in the average company blurb.

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Win Stand Space at Mobile World Congress 2011 in Barcelona

MWC09

he Creative Industries KTN and UKTI have joined forces to launch a competition to give a way one place on the UKTI booth for a company to showcase their technology to the leaders of the world mobile industry.
This is fantastic opportunity to showcase your company at next year's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Europe's most prestigious event for the mobile sector and meet potential business partners.
How to enter All you have to do is tell Creative Industries KTN, in 250 words or less: “Why would you be the talk of MWC and how will your offering act as a draw and be demonstrated on and around the UKTI booth?” 
Send your entry to ideasatcreativeindustriesktn [dot] org by 26.11.2010.
The prize
The winner will receive a place on the UKTI booth which is located at one of the most prominent places in the congress, plus full integration with UKTI’s presence at the event. Steve Williams of UKTI said: “Our stand is always very busy and we are looking for a company whose product or service has that wow factor that will get everyone at the show talking and bring the key international decision makers flocking to the UKTI stand. This is a great chance to put your business in front of the top people from the world’s mobile sector. We will also promote the winner to relevant companies within our network to increase their exposure even more.” There are also two runner up prizes of guaranteed place at Mobile World Congress pre show press networking event on 17th January at 1 Victoria Street London, with a chance to meet and present your company to more than 20 UK media interested in mobile and technology.
Mobile World Congress 2011 is held in Barcelona Feb 14-17, 2011. It is the leading event for the mobile industry and is attended by 50,000 senior figures from across the mobile sector from 200 countries.
MWC is: •    A world class thought leadership conference featuring visionary keynotes and action-provoking panel discussions •    An exhibition featuring more than 1,300 companies displaying the cutting-edge products and technology that will define the mobile future •    App Planet, the new Centre of the Apps Universe •    A great chance to network, find business opportunities and make deals. The winner and two runners up will be selected by a panel of judges that will include: Mark Leaver CIKTN Theme Champion for Globalisation John Cass CIKTN Director Steve Williams UKTI
Ts and Cs Companies must have working products, services or technology. The judges will be looking for a company that is creating new ways to market through mobile in a creative and innovative way. This is not just about theory but practice. The decision of the judges is final and no correspondence will be entered into. The first prize is a place on the UKTI Booth. No travel or accommodation costs or other expenses are provided. There is no cash alternative to the prize. The winners are responsible for transporting and insuring any equipment/products to and from MWC The runners up prizes do not include travel or accommodation or other expenses. The winners will be required to undertake PR activities in relation to the event via the CI KTN platform, e.g. blogs, tweets, video interviews to be agreed with CI KTN

Mobile World Congress in Barcelona is one of the most important events in the calendar for anyone that dabbles in the mobile sector.

Aside from the thousands of mobilistas, including a large delegation from the UK, what's not to love? Mobile geekery and Barcelona in February. Part of the UK presence at the show includes a UK Pavilion to showcase the best mobile talent from this side of the Channel, backed by Creative Industries KTN and UK Trade & Investment. 

They've got together to launch a competition to give a way one place on the UKTI stand for a company to showcase their technology to the leaders of the world mobile industry.

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#TheEuropas Finalists, Bon Chance!

View from Centre Point

The Europas, the European Startup Awards, will be taking place tonight at Paramount, top floor of Centre Point, in London (see the fantastic view above). The event is now totally sold out, with over 350 people coming from the cream of Europe’s startups, VCs and entrepreneurs.

Update: Livestream from the event is now available...see below

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BIMA Awards - Special Awards Finalists Revealed

BIMA awards

Following on from the announcement of the Sector and Discipline category finalists last month, BIMA have now revealed the shortlist for the Special Awards. The Special Awards recognise excellence in interactive crafts, with the shortlist made up from all the entries received across all the main categories, so competition is fierce.

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New York, New York...

Manhattan Skyline

Last week saw another successful Digital Mission to New York.

We landed in JFK on Halloween and were greeted by a limo and it’s fantastic driver, Clinton, to take us to Manhattan.  Moment of glitz and glamour over, we headed to The Three Monkeys to meet up with all the companies and the UK Trade and Investment team, and generally cause havoc.  I believe everyone had a good time, and judging by some of the stories the following morning, havoc was successfully caused.

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Digital Mission Companies Waspit & RealEyes Announce New Products in New York

DMNYC10

Last week, Waspit Ltd and Realeyes Data Services, both companies that joined us on the Digital Mission to New York, managed to find time to announce new launches at ad:tech  NYC 2010, despite a full weeks schedule and their own meetings!

Waspit Ltd launched their new contactless payment system, "BuzzPay" and Realeyes Data Services launched the second generation of their Adgagement eye-tracking service.

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