Herb Kim chief executive of Codeworks - the organisation supporting the digital industry in the North East and organiser of major events such as Thinking Digital - was recently named by a national newspaper as one of the most powerful 100 people in British media.
I don’t feel any more powerful. I’m meant to be the 83rd most powerful person in that list, but I felt like the 83rd most powerful person in the room at my daughter’s fifth birthday.
From a romantic perspective, if you create something worthwhile the people who use social media will become your salespeople and allow you to focus on creating the best product you can.
I had offers from accounting firms and banks for my first summer job but I wanted to angle towards this internet thing. Dow Jones was doing this online stuff so I managed to cut my teeth on Money and Investing Update, an early version of Wallstreetjournal.com
The games industry people tended to be paranoid of each other, worried they were going to poach each other’s staff. We created a safe environment and people realised there was a lot more to be gained by working together than lost.
It’s more like we’ve produced a modern version of a hit TV show and it’s put the spotlight on the North East as a home for creative technology.
We want to bring potential business and networking to the sector, and breaking out of traditional networks is the only way to do it.
I’ve often called the North East the most American part of the UK I’ve lived in, in the sense that it’s less congested and expensive than the rest of the UK. People move around the US a lot, and the willingness of their business community to accept people is part of what makes the country work. It’s the same here. Just because you weren’t brought up in Jarrow doesn’t mean you can’t fit in.
Our approach has always been to make sure we’re relevant to the digital sector in the region, even if it means we’re going to have to suffer some slings and arrows.
It’s not like we’re dead if One North East and regional funding dies. There will be a future for us.