Wired-up Brighton to gain global focus (From The Argus)

Wired-up Brighton to gain global focus

10:40am Tuesday 2nd June 2009 in Search

Digital media professionals from across the world are to hear how Brighton has established itself as a major global player in the industry.

Phil Jones, managing director of Wired Sussex, has been invited by organisers of Cap Digital’s international conference World Future Digital City@FenS, to discuss the city’s success in a talk under the heading The Digital City In The Next Five Years.

The two-day conference takes place in Paris and will be attended by hundreds of digital industry movers and shakers including political advisors and researchers.

Mr Jones said: “The organisers approached me because they recognised there is a cluster of digital companies in Brighton and they are interested in how this growth has happened and how important it has been for the city as a whole.

“It is very pleasing to be asked. It is recognition that Brighton is really coming of age in terms of its digital profile.”

While Mr Jones will discuss the history of Brighton as a digital media hub, his main focus will be on what may happen in the future.

He said: “I think it will be interesting to talk about the social aspect of digital media rather than the technology.

“A lot of people at the conference will be talking about how they are getting their cities wired for growth but, while infrastructure is obviously important, they may be more interested in hearing from me about the connectivity between Brighton’s digital companies.”

Mr Jones believes the city is unusual in that there are very good relationships between rival companies.

He added: “The typical reaction to a new company moving into Brighton is not that they will be a competitor for the best talent but is more likely to be that we’ll all rise with the tide.

“What people talk about when discussing the city is how the sector is incredibly networked.

“In a pub you are never more than two yards away from someone else who works in the sector and that proximity has engendered a way of thinking and dealing with problems collectively.

“If that is not unique then it’s certainly unusual.”

Many of these digital media companies could work together to benefit Brighton as a whole, Mr Jones believes.

He said: “There is an enormous amount of intelligence and understanding about digital media in Brighton so we need to look at how we can bring this together around projects that benefit the entire city.

“For instance, if we can get a map of all the traffic lights in Brighton we may be able to get some geeks together to create a programme that would sequence them better so we could improve traffic flow for everyone.

“We are at the second stage of our digital development. The first was growing the sector but now we have to explore ways that sector could combine to help things like local democracy or education so we can make our city an even better place to live.”

Mr Jones is asking Brighton residents for their vision of the future digital city to include in his speech at the conference, which takes place on Friday and Saturday.

Anyone wishing to contribute can post their thoughts at blog.wired sussex.com.