So the year is really off and running. It’s only mid January but the WebsEdge team has already been on the ground in Boston and Chicago producing Historians TV as well as covering the Joint Mathematics Meeting – the world’s largest gathering of mathematicians. And next week we have a team in Washington DC for the National Council on Science and the Environment.

This is our first year producing JMM TV but our fourth with Historians TV. And as always there was a really interesting mix of pre-made films and coverage of the event itself. All put together into a television programme shown at the conference venue and in the delegate hotel rooms. And as always a lot of positive feedback – which is always good. Just don’t test me on my algebra!

Whilst we’re always tuning the model the basics of that programme formation and distribution haven’t really changed over the last few years. But this year there was one major difference – the use of video via social media. B2B media – be it video, magazines or even events – isn’t always the first place you find innovation in social media. And whilst Facebook, Twitter and YouTube have been ever present among consumers for quite a while now they have been slower to take hold with events.

But all that is beginning to change. We saw two trends emerging last week.  First, more and more people are joining in the twitter conversation using the conference hashtag. But what’s interesting is that whilst many of these are at the conference a sizeable proportion isn’t. Enabling folks not at the event to actually take part in the conversation.

Second, people are embedding the videos we made at the conference into tweets using YouTube. I think that’s a really interesting development for two reasons.  It allows people to have a conversation around the videos rather than just watching them. But even more interesting is the effect this has on mobile media. Because YouTube videos can play on most devices the video clips of that days conference can now be carried around with you in a form anyone can access on any device. And for business to business media that’s really a first.

2012 is shaping up to be a big year. With both the London Olympics and US Presidential elections on the agenda there’s plenty to look forward to for television folks everywhere.

And here at WebsEdge we’re no exception. We’ve three major events in January alone with two inside the first week. We’re off to Chicago to produce Historians TV for the AHA’s 126th Annual meeting and to Boston for the Joint Mathematics Meeting – the world’s largest mathematics meeting.

And these are interesting times for both groups. The venues will be bursting at the seams with a combined audience of around 15, 000 professors, graduate students and undergraduates. And as we go around conducting interviews and putting together television programmes we’ll be struck by the depth, the diversity and the sheer sense of optimism that abounds in both these meetings.

But there’s no doubt that both of these meetings also take place against a very challenging budget cycle. As politicians look to make federal spending cuts there is less money to fund many important programs. Take the ‘Teaching American History’ grants for example which have just been eliminated from the 2012 Federal Budget.

But what also strikes me is the new wave of innovation that is tackling both the need to compete on a global scale and ever declining budgets. This may be the 126th annual meeting of the American Historical Association but one of the main themes for discussion is the use of digital technology in all it’s forms. And I think that’s what drives these organisations and their members forward. Of course the challenges are great. But we’ve been here before. And the only way through is by constantly challenging ourselves to be more relevant in the future than we’ve been in the past.

Stephen Horn, CEO

WebsEdge

January can be a tough month can’t it? At the best of times temperatures fall, work mounts up, and those credit card bills come tumbling in.

But as we all know these aren’t the best of times are they? We’re now officially in recession and some forecasters think it could be the worst since the Second World War. And with our biggest banks reduced to penny shares these are economic times like no others.

And it’s hard to see a way out. Nobody knows how long or deep this recession is going to be. And one of the biggest casualties in times like these is confidence. And without momentum everything seems harder.

But there is a ray of hope and a lead from New President Barack Obama. A realisation of what needs to be done and the scale of the problem we face but also an unshakeable belief in our ability to get the job done.

And it’s the same for us here at WebsEdge. We started the year off in style in New York producing Historians TV, another great brand to add to our roster. And however tough 2009 and 2010 become we’re going to carry on producing great TV for our vertical audiences. I hope the President is proud of us!