We love infographics we do.

OK, so this hasn’t anything to do with the world of digital really, but its an infographic and we love infographics. In fact, we would present all of our blog posts in infographic format if we were any good with Illustrator. But we aren’t so we will stick to the magic of words. After all, the keyboard is mightier than the sword….

Anyways, this infographic shows how lottery winners spend their money. Only 12% have a bar in their house – what is wrong with people?

Zuckerberg, laughing....

The frenzy of hype and excitement surrounding the flotation of Facebook peaks this morning as its shares go on offer in the biggest flotation of an internet-based company in history.

The social network turned multinational corporation will be floated on the New York based Nasdaq exchange at $38 (£24) a share a price that values the company at $100bn (£63bn).

From 2.30pm UK time the market will determine the share price and value of the company.

Much coverage has focused on the huge fortunes a handful of Facebook’s early friends will make, a group comprising a graffiti artist, a rock star and the college buddies of founder Mark Zuckerberg. But from this point the story of Facebook could become far more corporately conventional.

Facebook will be subject to the same scrutiny and pressures as any company.

Analyst Max Wolff told Sky News: “It now has to grow into that valuation and live up to it.”

Mr Wolff said what has been called a social movement has in reality always been a company in recent years “professionally managed by longstanding professionals, even if it has a mascot founder out front.”

But it will now be treated as a corporation beholden to its shareholders and investors. They will demand improving performance quarter after quarter.

And that is the big challenge. Most observers agree Facebook has plenty of potential for more growth. The question is, can it grow fast enough to justify its astronomical valuation?

An actual photograph of Mark Zuckerberg's pocket.

Facebook has enjoyed unprecedented success but is based on one idea, the mission to connect people better. Its founders must now show they have plenty more tricks up their sleeves. Google  for instance launched essentially as a search engine but has diversified in many different directions, from cloud computing to self-driving cars.

Optimists say the key to what sets Facebook apart cannot be found in its share prospectus or through spreadsheet analysis of performance figures. What makes its different is its ability to engage people, to draw them in, make them participate and share their information.

Facebook supporters say we ain’t seen nothing yet, and only with the massive infusion of cash this flotation brings will it be able to deliver on its full potential.

By (c) Sky News 2012

Mat Clayton

NMN: Will this be your first time at Thinking Digital conference?
MC: Yes its my first time to Thinking Digital.

Can you give us a quick overview of what you will be talking about?
I’m going to be doing a panel with Paul Smith (Ignite100) and Christen Duong (Foursquare) on the heaven and hell of start-ups

How has the start-up journey been for Mixcloud so far?
Its been an amazing roller coaster of ups and downs, especially as a boot strapped startup in one of the most competitive niches.

There will be loads of tech start-ups at Thinking Digital, do you have any advice for them?
Don’t be afraid of rejection, it will happen a lot. Surround yourself with the brightest people you can, and amazing things will happen.

Which other speakers at TDC are you looking forward to hearing?
Mikko Hypponen’s talk on cyber security, its a topic which has intrigued me since I first started coding, but I’ve yet to attend any official talks on the subject.

The full Thinking Digital programme.

He decided to put it in his own words – he is a writer after all – so here goes:

My new novel Pig Iron concerns a young man from the travelling community called John-John who has spent the best part of his teenage years in a Young Offender’s Institute for an unspecified crime. He is freed in the summer of 1999 and obligated to return to the north-east town where he grew up. In his absence much has changed: people keep talking about this mysterious “internet” and everyone seems to have a mobile phone glued to their ears. Some of the phones even double up as cameras. No-one knocks on each other’s door any more: all communication is through the airwaves, down the wires.

But all John-John wants is a simple life in the woods and fields. He seeks solace in the rural landscape that he calls his “green cathedral” away from the noise and clutter of modern life. In many respects Pig Iron is an anti-technological, anti-digital novel. It considers the redemptive powers of mud and the changing of the seasons.

Yet the promotion of the book has involved utilising as much modern media as possible. Published by the independent Bluemoose Books, myself and publisher Kevin Duffy have co-ordinated a slow-burning campaign of publicity across print and digital media, all on zero budget. Not because there is no money available, but because in the 21stcentury effective marketing favours ingenuity and tenacity over grand spending. If this sounds like horrendous PR speak then I can only apologise profusely – the word marketing makes my blood run cold too.

We began by printing up advance copies of the novel and sending those to friends, readers and journalist 8 months before publication. Because ultimately it is the book that counts – not the author, not the cover image, not the ‘back story’. The novel is key. If it is unmitigated rubbish then no amount of marketing will save it. Fortunately a couple of respected novelists responded by offering quotes for the back cover, which we were able to send to retailers like Waterstones, who then invited me to do some instore signings.

Then the online promotion began. A photographer friend very kindly offered to take some promotional photographs, which then turned into a second day of activity in which we made a series of short films. Each clip was offered to a number of websites to run exclusively; the clips manage to combine an extract from the novel against a backdrop that hopefully gives potential readers an impression of its setting. At the same time we started spreading the word about the local (to the north-east of England) nature of the book by speaking to some journalists at newspapers, student publications and culture magazines across the region, who conducted some interviews with me. The Guardian asked me to write an article about Northern fiction. Any such print coverage was relayed via my Facebook page, an online Pig Iron group and both mine and Bluemoose’s Twitter accounts.

Although the novel is not out until May 31 2012 Amazon have sent out pre-ordered copies which some people have read and reacted to. This has subsequently lead to a series of correspondences with readers and bloggers, who seem to understand the independent nature of the book’s publication and have responded with goodwill. At the time of writing the only tangible promotional cost aside from postage has been to print some art postcards of the book cover, which have been sent to reviewers, bookshops and even sneaked into books in libraries. Even then I managed to negotiate a deal with VistaPrint’s HQ in Holland, who kindly doubled the print run for no extra cost. Total price £38.

Benjamin Myers, author of Pig Iron

Finally I wrote a piece for New Media Now. You’re reading it now.

If this all sounds like a lot of work, it is. But I think it is worth it. It has been estimated that 15 million ISBN numbers will be issued in 2012 – each book is fighting to be heard. And it is nothing compared to the three years of writing, re-writing and editing a novel, which still remains, for me, the most satisfying aspect of being a writer. Writing fiction requires a monastic-style existence, but the internet at least facilitates communication direct from the writer’s digital monastery. Theoretically, it should make the writer’s life easier.

That said, fresh air, mud and the smell of fecundity wafting on the breeze is still preferable to me any day.

Pig Iron is published May 31 by Bluemoose Books.

Benjamin Myers can be found here: www.benmyers.com

Gigaom has recently issued a series of interviews with Steve Blank – author of The Startup Owner’s Manual.

He talks about, among other things, small startups, big execution & Steve Jobs.

Blank co-founded the CRM software company E.piphany and the video game business Rocket Science. He is currently an entrepreneurship professor at Stanford, UC Berkeley and Columbia which give him a unique insight that combines a historical perspective with a look at the next generation of entrepreneurs.

There are five interviews in total which are viewable here.

The Tickets:
5 x Livecast Lounge Passes – the winners will pay only £150 + VAT
5 x Student Main Hall Passes – the winners will pay £99 + VAT
5 x TDU workshop “A Practical Guide to Predicting the Future” – the winners will pay £25 + VAT

To enter the competition, simply complete the form and tell them why you’d love to go to Thinking Digital 2012.

Entries will close Friday 18th May at Noon and winners will be announced by 3pm the same day.

Ref Number 881410

Java Developer – North East
Salary £Negotiable

Our client is a highly sought after digital agency based on the outskirts of Durham. They’re currently looking to recruit a Java Developer to join their growing team and work on a very high profile account.
The candidate will initially be based on site full time on the client’s premises in Newcastle then after the initial 5 or 6 months the role will move to head office in Durham. The successful candidate will need to be experienced in Aglie and an appreciation for the front end development (ie HTML, CSS, Javascript etc) is also essential.

Magnus Lindkvist, Comedic Trendspotter

Magnus Lindkvist: Comedic Trendspotter

Magnus Lindkvist is an internationally known speaker, trendspotter and the author of three books – Everything We Know Is Wrong, The Attack of The Unexpected and the upcoming When The Future Begins. In his work, he challenges our entire way of thinking about and looking towards the future. As Magnus writes, “business is all about focus. But with focus comes myopia and to conquer that, I come in to shake things up.”

Based in Stockholm, you’ll find Magnus is blessed with the Scandinavian ability to be analytic, challenging, creative, optimistic and humorous seemingly all at the same time.

NMN: Will this be your first time at Thinking Digital conference?

ML: Yes. I was due to speak last year but spent the conference days in a hospital bed in Stockholm.

Can you give us an overview of what you will be talking about?

The myth of good ideas!

In one paragraph, summarise your book ‘Everything You Know Is Wrong’

It’s a trendspotter’s handbook to help you rely less on trendspotters and, instead, spot your own trends and build your own story. Not the kind of superficial fashion trends (hottest apps, summer colors, etc) but the kind of deep tranformative trends that tend to be invisible to the naked eye.

Are there any other speakers at TDC who you are particularly looking forward to hearing?

My experience is that the real value in a conference lies in the fragments from various speakers and in the spaces between sessions. These things will take me by surprise and that’s what I most look forward to. Bottom-up attention instead of top-down attention.

The line-up of speakers is particularly diverse but do you envisage any particular theme arising as this year’s hot topic?

Digital seems to be hiding in there somewhere…

Richard Banks, Microsoft Research

Richard Banks
Interaction Designer at Microsoft Research

Richard Banks is a principle interaction designer at Microsoft Research in Cambridge, UK. He’s part of the Socio-Digital Systems team that looks at family life, trying to understand the complexities of home, in order to figure out how the digital should fit in appropriately. Richard joined Microsoft after graduating from the Royal College of Art in London where he worked in Seattle on Microsoft Office, Windows and MSN before returning to the UK. Richard recently authored The Future of Looking Back which speculates on the nature of digital content as a legacy of our lives.

NMN: Will this be your first time at Thinking Digital conference?

RB: Yes. This will be both my first time at the conference, and my first time in Gateshead. I’m really looking forward to it because I’ve heard so much about both Thinking Digital, and the vibrant and creative scene that has emerged in the region.

Can you give us an overview of what you will be talking about at Thinking Digital 2012?

I work within the Socio-Digital Systems team at Microsoft Research’s Cambridge Lab. We have a focus, particularly, on the impact that technology is having in the home and on family life.

We spend a lot of time visiting families, talking to them about their lives, with a focus, particularly, on core human values. Families talk a lot about their shared history, from the things they’ve done together in the recent past, to stories that stretch further back.

Families often fill their homes with pictures, books and objects that remind them of their history – think of the photos you might have on the wall in your own home. I’m really interested in the transition of these objects from being physical things to being digital things.

My talk is going to focus on how the digital things in our lives are different to physical things, and what the differences might mean in terms of the way we look back on our past.

What is the concept behind your book ‘The Future of Looking Back’?

It was inspired by my Grandfather. When he died he left behind about 200 printed photos in a suitcase. These were beautiful objects, mostly black and white and faded, showing his life, particularly, as a pilot in the Royal Air Force during the second world war.

Sitting looking at his photos, I started thinking about the shots that I take with my digital camera. I realized that I take about 5,000 shots a year now – I don’t delete anything. Multiplying my average shots per year by my expected lifespan (if I’m lucky) I realized that I’d leave a photo collection with about 200,000 shots in it.

I’d been able to sit down and go through my Grandfather’s shots in one sitting. I can’t imagine that my daughter, who might end up inheriting my shots, would be able to do the same with 200,000 images!

So the book starts with that premise – that the things we’re likely to leave behind as part of our legacy when we pass away are going to be digital and therefore the ways in which they are preserved and used aren’t going to be the same as they are with physical legacies. The book discusses this transition, talks about an average lifespan and the times (like parenthood and old age) when we’re likely to record and reflect on our lives, and finishes with a more speculative discussion about new technologies that are coming up, and the kind of digital legacy they might create.

Which other speakers at TDC are you looking forward to hearing talk?

Obviously, there are a few speakers whose work relates to my own. I’m interested in hearing Margaret Maitland talk about her work as a curator at the British Museum because of the overlap between my own interest in personal histories and her focus on important cultural histories.

Similarly, I’m interested in hearing Paul Watson talk about cloud computing, which may have the single biggest impact on the way we think about the storage and preservation of our digital stuff.

Mostly, though, I’m interested in being inspired by the diversity of speakers. I’m always amazed by the connections that can be made between the work that you do, and what someone else in a seemingly wildly divergent field does. Hearing from robot surgeons, musicians and all these other amazing people will be truly inspiring!