Hill+Knowlton Strategies

Happy New Year! (I was going to accompany that with an image, but you’d be suprised how NSFW the first Google Image result for that apparently innocent phrase is. Dear God, it’s all just filth on the internet, isn’t it?).

It’s been over a month, webmongs, and, if I’m honest, I’ve not missed you in the slightest. Doubtless, though, you have all been desperately pining for me, and staring blank-eyed into the middle-distance every Friday afternoon, wondering exactly how you are going to be able to fritter away the remaining hours separating you from your regular appointment with a bottle of meths and a cold, lonely evening alone in your bedsit in front of the glowing flicker of a cathode-ray tube.

I, though, have been leading the glamorous life of a jetsetter. Apart from on Christmas Day, where I found myself eating a mediocre lunch, alone, at the soulless Gordon Ramsey franchise at Heathrow Terminal 5. I have been to Rome and Berlin and (unexpectedly, due to being ‘confused’ on new year’s day) Dusseldorf and Amsterdam and San Francisco. I didn’t look at the internet AT ALL for over a fortnight. It was AMAZING.

Now, though, my nose is once again being deprived of multiple epidermal layers as a result of prolonged exposure to the grindstone. I am back ON IT. As such, take a deep breath, make yourselves comfortable, and let me guide you with the assured touch of a skilled lover through this week’s selection of things off the internet. After a picture, to break the monotony:

My vision was a bit like this on New Year's day, hence the Dusseldorf incident

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We may envy his fortune, but I don’t think most of us envy his fame. (Mostly as he has always seemed so uncomfortable with it.) But yesterday I went from Meh to a two thumbs up Like for Facebook’s founder and CEO.

Mark Zuckerberg’s time onstage at the Web 2 Summit made me like him as a person and not just admire him as a genius. He started off by repeating his talking points from the Messages announcement. Then gradually he got more engaging, human, honest. John Battelle is a great interviewer, but it was Mark himself that was impressive.

Watch. If you followed the FB press conference Monday just skip the front part.

Media training is a good thing. Internet entrepreneurs may need more than most, as the super smart ones are more concerned with building slick stuff than looking smooth themselves. But more than just practicing how to project an image, I think Mr. Zuckerberg has learned how to open up, share and ‘communicate more efficiently’ with the world.

We do quite a few events for clients here at H&K. But the two day D2 conference is the biggest I have ever been involved with. Both for the power of the speakers on the agenda, and the wonderful range of clients and guests attending. I am not really nervous, because we have done so much prep, but I do hope my part goes well. I get to follow the opening keynote from Sir Martin Sorrell. Ok, so maybe I *am* a little nervous.

You should follow #HKD2 and @HK_London to see more content as it gets posted from the event.