This is the week that was: Can I ask you on a data?

In a week in which the London weather continued to stick with its wet and dreary ways, we bring a ray of sunshine as the much awaited second series of ‘This is the week that was’ comes back to the blogosphere in a blaze of glory. The writer strike is off, the reading and research has begun and the news and views of the B2B community are once again distilled into one blog post. Enjoy.

Content advice of the week

Content. It is one of the industry’s hot potatoes and now, an integral part of pretty much any integrated campaign. Creating the right content is, however, still one of the top challenges that marketers face today. This week IDG Connect released its analysis of regional content preferences across the globe. The big conclusion was that it’s far more valuable for organisations to create content that resonates locally – than a one size (and language) fits all globally. What’s your experience?

Mobile development of the week

Mobile technology is the fastest growing technology we have ever seen – from email on the move to the rise and rise of the app. Marketers have a new beast to contend with. Not only this – there is game changer just around the corner: 4G. When 4G finally arrives on the UK’s shores in 2013, smartphones will be faster and smarter than ever, allowing users to stream video and use apps even faster than the current fixed-line broadband speeds . But what effect will this have on mobile advertising? New formats? Even more rich media? Increased use of mobile sites? This week the wall blog gave its view.

New ‘sexy’ kid on the block…

You guessed it – It’s data. OK maybe you didn’t guess it. In fact we would be hugely surprised if you did. But according to Joel Harrison of B2B marketing magazine fame data is now officially sexy. Driven by the likes of Freakonomics and a shift in technology, data is crawling its way up the agenda and can no longer be dismissed as just another must-have as part of a DM campaign. Watch out marketing world!

…and apparently he now moisturises…

The rise of data’s popularity has not gone amiss to some bloggers though. futurelab this week introduced us to a new culture taking over the digital airways – the datasexual. Relentlessly digital and obsessively recording everything in their personal lives – data is all the rage for these people and sits at the centre of their lives. The result? Showing off your personal data as a status symbol – how many friends on Facebook, how many followers on twitter and even more precisely how much exercise done in a day (check out the Nike Fuel band). The lesson? This is the next generation of business buyer and one to keep our beady eyes on – because they will be measuring you up for sure.

Time waster of the week

Goes to social media. How on earth did I make time to write this blog you must be asking? Surely I must be on the train home, or turning down a post-work beer to tap away on the laptop? The reality is, as much as organisations would love to be online blogging, tweeting and engaging in discussion, the majority of staff simply don’t see it as part of their day job. In our recent blog post we pulled together some top tips to make social media squeeze into your 9 to 5. (just!)

Education session of the week

18 months ago we were introduced to a site that has filled our lunch times and shaped our conversations in the office. TED.com is abundant with talks from industry leaders and thinkers from across the globe. Some of the best have spoken there and if you are a sponge for knowledge this is the site for you. This week we put together our favourite talks for B2B marketers. Take a look.

Infographic of the week

A tweeting CEO is every digital marketer’s dream. However it seems to many that it is taking longer than expected for the C level to get on board with this whole social media thing. Salesforce looked at how important social networks and technologies are to CEOs of UK businesses and put its findings into an infographic. Fascinating.