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An interesting invite popped through Chinwag's virtual letterbox this morning: an opportunity for a spot of networking with some of the top brass from China's mobile and ICT sectors.

The visit sees representatives from government agencies Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), China Academy of Telecom Research (CATR) and Hong Kong-based mobile value-added service provider, Mtel Ltd visiting London, Cambridge and Edinburgh on a trip organised by UK Trade & Investment as part of the Enabling Innovation Intiative to build stronger links between industry in the UK and China.

The three events are scheduled for:

• London (Science Museum), 7th July 2009
• Cambridge, 8th July 2009
• Edinburgh, 9th & 10th July 2009

This series of posts about Ecommerce is brought to you in conjunction with Vodafone, who are currently recruiting a Head of Ecommerce, see Chinwag Jobs for more information.

Working in e-commerce is both challenging and stimulating. From a career that was an almost unheard of niche a decade ago, it has evolved into an expanding universe of work possibilities. There are almost as many different types of role as there are jobs around, each has its own challenges and skills requirements. Today's seasoned e-commerce professional is part geek, part business person, part designer and more besides.

With the move from mortar to clicks and the emergence of mobile e-commerce (Nokia has also just invested $70M in Obopay), it is clear that there are increasing job opportunities in the space, despite the challenges in the economy faces. The skills required to stay ahead in the e-commerce space are broad, and still rapidly evolving. Hoping the skills that got you this far are going to enable you move on, or even stay where you are, is a risky strategy. Continual personal development is the name of the game.

A handy list of 8 online conference tools compiled from a discussion on the ever-lively uk-netmarketing email discussion list:

1. GoToMeeting - http://www.gotomeeting.com
2. Webex - http://www.webex.com
3. Yuuguu - http://www.yuuguu.com
4. DimDim - http://www.dimdim.com
5. Yugma - https://www.yugma.com
6. Powwownow - http://www.powwownow.co.uk
7. Adobe Acrobat Connect - http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobatconnect
8. SIghtspeed - http://www.sightspeed.com

Thanks to Gareth Beck, Peter Cunningham, Paul Lock, Sarah Platt, George Hopkin, Christopher Jenkins-Powell, Mike Parry and Marc Duke for the suggestions.

This series of posts about Ecommerce is brought to you in conjunction with Vodafone, who are currently recruiting a Head of Ecommerce, see Chinwag Jobs for more information.

Mobile e-commerce has been talked about for more than a decade. Back in 2000 publications like vnunet were asking "Mobile commerce - big or REALLY big?". It has been a long journey since the days of WAP sites and slow data services. Today's mobile phones give users web browsing and video playback just as happily as dealing with phone calls.

It's over. Well, the Digital Mission to South by South West Interactive is at least. The companies rounded out the week with the Great British Breakfast, at the exquisite Old Pecan Street Cafe in Austin. The venue was filled to capacity with British companies and US businesses invited during the week, all looking to connect.

It has been a busy couple of days for the Digital Mission companies here at South by South West. These are just a few highlights from the last 48 hours, much of which has centred around Stand 413 on the Exhibition floor, where the the companies have been meeting with the press and SXSW visitors.

Saturday had the Brits flying the flag, wearing T-shirts with the Digital Mission logo and their Twitter IDs. It turned out to be a great way to connect with Twitter followers from both sides of the pond.

It might be Austin, but I almost had to swim to the "Doing Business in the US" Master class yesterday. It is cold and wet over here, no sign of any Texan sun.

South by South West kicks off today, but yesterday was all about understanding the legal aspects of setting up shop in the US. The Digital Mission companies braved the rain to gather at Palm Door to get the inside scoop on entering the US market. It's a very different environment to the UK, but the UK Trade & Investment team are able to point businesses to the expertise required.

This series of posts about Ecommerce is brought to you in conjunction with Vodafone, who are currently recruiting a Head of Ecommerce, see Chinwag Jobs for more information. 

It's an interesting time for e-commerce, certainly challenging, but there are potentially even bigger things afoot. Away from the on-line world, the last few months have seen numerous collapses in the high street.

Pick-n-mix legend Woolworths closed its doors. Music and games retailer Zavvi pulled down their shutters, and the fashion retailer Principles closed its doors too. That isn't the end of the tale though.

Six months of planning, 100+ applications, 35 companies and heaps of logistics. The merry band of Brits that make up the Digital Mission is heading SXSWard. For live info, follow @digitalmission on Twitter.

So, if you're lucky enough to be in Austin, what's happening? Funny you should ask, here's a quick run-down. Swing by, we'd love to say 'hello' and there's a bunch of interesting people to meet and some ground-breaking products launched...

Debate on the “content-for-free” model continues to dominate various forums and industry blogs.  Commentators argue that it’s crippling online publishers and driving some out of business.

From the never-ending financial problems of the New York Times to the demise of small digital media companies, the issue is occupying the minds of analysts, commentators and media owners across the industry.

The first time I went to South by South West interactive, the sheer volume of events was over-whelming. A predictably hurried decision to go left little time for any proper planning and the show whizzed by.

According to Aaron Brazell, second time out, the event should be an endless round of conference sessions, meetings and partying networking. As part of the Digital Mission, featuring 35 of the UK's hottest digital companies, our group will number nearly 100. For more Brit-related shenanigans, keep an eye out for Rebecca Caroe's cunning plan.

The momentum is building as the final preparations are made by the 35 companies travelling to South by South West interactive as part of the first Digital Mission of 2009. We're excited to announce that Techfluff.tv have joined the Digital Mission as our video partners and will be joining the Digital Mission gang on the journey to Texas.

A turbulent year is pretty much a good description of how I see 2009 shaping up for the online advertising industry.  For the consumer economy at large we all know the story by now, retailers and manufacturers both large and small are hitting the wall as consumer spend freefalls.