Digital Futures conference in review
So I made it to the Digital Futures conference at the Museum of Science and Industry yesterday.
It was a mixed bag. Constant sound problems (yes, at a technology conference) were annoying, but the buffet lunch just about made up for them.
Content-wise, the usual problem occured: company directors decided to use their entire time (and then some) to talk about their product or service.
This kind of thing quickly becomes tedious, and even more so after 30 minutes of non-stop sales spiel. There were several guilty parties yesterday.
There was a decent panel session hosted by Mike Ryan from Manchester’s Idaho web agency, however. They invited three ‘digital natives’ (aka students) to talk about their technology habits.
Except that the three panelists weren’t particularly native. They each used Myspace and Hotmail… and very little else. It quickly became apparent that they were far from early adopters.
Particularly concerning was that they spent little or no money online. One used Amazon voucher he’d been given, while another had spent 99p on an episode of Desperate Housewives for his mother.
Pesonally, I wasn’t too concerned – the panelists just seemed a normal bunch of students, desperate to avoid paying for anything if possible.
I’m just a few years older and I’d estimate my yearly online spending at £2-3k. Mike, who is probably in his 40s, worked his own out at £8-9k.










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