Data Publishers Association 2008 conference

What do John Inverdale and East Riding of Yorkshire Council have in common? Don’t have a clue? Well, the answer is they both appeared as speakers at the DPA 2008 conference in Brighton last Thursday. 

One presented the user perspective of how online directories and databases can be a valued resource for rural communities. The other entertained a bunch of well-fed (and watered) publishers during their awards ceremony. The awards ceremony was the culmination of a day’s packed schedule of talks, demonstrations and networking around the theme of ‘Publishing for Profit in the New Digital Age’ held at the Grand Hotel. I’ll summarise a couple of the sessions here on this blog, but I’m afraid I didn’t make it to the dinner and ceremony, so can’t fill you in on gossip. Check out the DPA website for updates.The keynote session in the morning was delivered by Mark Canon, President of New Media at Yell UK. He outlined the different kinds of change that the industry is undergoing and provided a strategic framework for what businesses will experience in the future.

Focusing on online products, he outlined an evolution from an ‘island model’ (where quality, control, restriction to data and non-integration with other, competing sources reigns) to an ‘archipelago of islands’ (acknowledging affiliation with other data sources and neighbouring interest groups) until finally you arrive at an ‘ecology’ (where data is assembled and associated with other sources, aggregation and action are key, your product is integrated into many other sources in all kinds of formats: a scary, noisy place that your company has to get used to).It was a good analogy to draw and one that explains in clear and simple language what the move from Web 1.0 to Web 2.0, and latterly, the emerging Web 3.0 means for customers. The message was clear: embrace the change and there is place at the table for publishers with expertise and quality information. Open your minds to the potential and explore new business models. Think and work collaboratively to monetise content: evolve or get left behind.

What does it mean for skills? Well a shift in approach for one thing. Straight-forward taxonomies in glorious, online isolation just won’t cut the mustard in today’s directory world. Thinking about a more organic and complex approach to search should be on the menu for starters. Are your websites Search Engine Optimised? Do your technical, sales and marketing teams have the right knowledge and skills to make this happen and understand the value of the traffic that results? Only time will tell. The attentive audience and applause at the end indicates an industry that knows what it’s got to do to survive these challenging times.