Brisbane Digital Strategy Forum

This Tuesday just past, the 11th of September, the Lord Mayor Graham Quirk and his ‘Chief Digital Officer’ Kieran O’Hea, held the Brisbane Digital Strategy Forum in conjunction with Brisbane Marketing at the Sebel and Citigate in the Brisbane CBD.

Industry leaders from various sectors were invited to attend and to partake in the discussion. I was fortunate enough to attend on behalf of DEJAN (our Brisbane-based SEO branch) and put in my two cents worth!

Brisbane Digital Strategy Forum

The format of proceeding included brief introduction from the Lord Mayor, Kieran O’Hea of the ‘Digital Strategy’ what it means to him and the community, both on a company level and as individuals, and what expectations are held and the hurdles we need to be aware of. Further to Mr O’Hea’s comments there was a panel discussion which included a selection of individauls both invovled first hand in the development of the Strategy and individuals from corporations, already embracing the growth of the digital space within their own oganisations. The panel was posed with key questions by the compare to which they responded and discussed.

The Panel

  • Sharon Schoenborn, State Director Queensland / Northern Territory and Pacific Islands – Microsoft
  • Michael Burke, Queensland Director – Australian Interactive Media Association
  • Marta Indulska – UQ Business School
  • Michael Gillespie, Online Marketing Director – Domino’s Pizza Enterprises
  • Nick Brant, Chief Information Officer – Brisbane City Council

Following on from the panel, were round tables of 9 to 10 people who were each given a question to discuss an come up with 3 actionable outcomes for their topic of discussion surrounding the Digital Strategy. This feedback was broadcast to the room, documented and taken on board by both the Lord Mayor and the CDO as input from ‘the coal face’ to better their understand the views, concerns and opinions of the businesses and individuals present.

A significant milestone moving ahead for the Brisbane Digital Strategy, is to develop an audit of all thing digital pertaining to the online assets of the city and determine how this fits with the goals developed. Further to this, identifying where digital innovation is taking place within SME sector throughout Brisbane will bolster the aim of selecting 25 champions of digital industry to assist in the mentoring and growth of other similar businesses.

[blockquote type=”blockquote_line” align=”right”]”I’m here to grow the digital economy which will contribute to the overall growth of Brisbane’s economy” Kieran O’Hea[/blockquote]

The core outcomes

The core outcomes of the Strategy development outlined by Kieran O’Hea are as follows –

  • Identify opportunities for Brisbane
  • Encourage digitally literate businesses to act as digital champions to inspire others in their sector
  • Outline actions and initiatives to encourage businesses to take advantage of rapid advancements in information and communication technology for greater efficiency and profitability

I hope to see some great ground roots level, jargon free education of business and individuals to get the word out on how an effective digital strategy will play an important part in the future success of their businesses and lifestyle. Lets make sure these tools, information and resources are easily accessible via search too – it’s paramount!

Great to see a hash tag being displayed at a Brisbane event on the big screen throughout most of proceedings (often missing from Brisbane events) #CDOForum @DigitalBne

Further to this, the only aspect that could have been embraced to make this successful event more effective, would be to have recorded a video and or held a Google+ hangout as part of the event. The ongoing benefits from people sharing this content and being able to engage further may have proved to be a great catalyst for true engagement in the future of Digital Brisbane.

Dan Petrovic, the managing director of DEJAN, is Australia’s best-known name in the field of search engine optimisation. Dan is a web author, innovator and a highly regarded search industry event speaker.
ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6886-3211

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