Search Sense

Hot on the heels of news that Linden Lab, the firm behind virtual world Second Life, are setting up in our hometown of Brighton & Hove the Financial Times yesterday ran a piece noting the city’s vibrancy as a new media hub:

With a trendy reputation that appeals to creatives and mavericks, a younger population than the regional average and a well-educated workforce boosted by an uncommon number of university graduates that remain in the city after their studies, Brighton has all the attributes of a creative hub.

We’re looking forward to Linden Lab’s arrival in the city of Brighton & Hove - it will strengthen the ecosystem of web businesses in the city and is a great validation of the vibrancy of our technical and creative community.

So for fun, here are the top five things I think Linden Lab employees will have to tempt them out of Second Life and into RL while working in Brighton when the office opens:

1. The beach: it may be pebbled, but Brightonians know that that is a user-friendly feature which means you can spend lunchtime on the beach without getting sand everywhere. Plus it’s WiFi’d up if you need to continue trading your Linden dollars and checking on your latest Second Life creation.
2. The Duke of Yorks Cinema: for some big screen action the town’s arthouse cinema is a legend. Big seats, impeccable sound and innovative shows - they’ve taken to broadcasting live HD broadcasts of opera from New York recently as well as satirising films like March of the Penguins by having comedians do voice overs for them.
3. The Lanes and the North Laine: you have to love the Lanes and the boho North Laine - a few steps from the office door and you’re able to lose yourself in the bustle of cool shops, bars and cafes.
4. Red Roaster: Seattle may have given birth to Starbucks, but Brighton’s keeping Red Roaster all to itself. The cafe roasts and brews its own blends of what many are happy to claim is the best coffee in the world. It also hosts the RSA-inspired Coffee House Challenge debates for those who feel like exercising their rhetoric after a coffee or two (I know I often do).
5. The Brighton Festival: if they’re hiring now the first employees should be able to be in Brighton for the festival in May which makes the most of the City’s eclectic charms and foibles, kicking off with the rag-tag children’s parade and often including street theatre spectaculars like people strapping massive pyrotechnic rigs to their backs.Those are some of my favourites. Would love to hear of any others fellow Brightonists would like to add…

: : By the way, for more of Brighton & Hove, check out the Brighton Daily Photo blog by our Dean Harvey.

It’s a big day for us at Spannerworks as we officially become part of iCrossing and unveil our shiny new brand look on our website.

You can check out our press release for more details or take a look at the article in the Sunday Times from yesterday. For a broader look at the context of this deal in the search engine marketing sector from a US perspective, Adweek’s run a feature today called: As Search Explodes, Agencies Expand.

It’s also great to see iCrossing’s hometown newspaper, the Arizona Republic, carrying the story.

We’ll be keeping an eye on the news today, for sure!