On the show this week, I talk to the journalist, BBC presenter and technology geek, Kate Russell.
We chat about FinTech, diversity in the workplace and online gaming for charity.
Welcome to episode 153 of the Marketing and Finance Podcast.
What you’ll hear about in this episode
How Kate uses gaming platform Twitch to raise money for charity
Current developments in technology that we should all pay attention to
FinTech developments people in financial services industry need to know
Why diversity in business is important
Her tips for becoming a public speaker, especially for women
A great example of social listening
Who is Kate Russell?
A journalist, a TV presenter, technology expert, online gamer and all-round technology geek. Kate’s had a portfolio career and went into writing reviews for games magazines from working in sales. She believes that gives her a unique perspective on the content she creates and allows her to pay attention to the marketing angles too.
Having reported for Sky TV and the BBC, she’s been with BBC’s Click (previously Click Online) for the last 15 years, looking at news and developments in the world of consumer technology.
Summary of our chat
Kate uses Twitch, a live stream to chat and watch people play games as a way of raising money for the charity Special Effect, which helps disabled people play video games. Her viewers have helped her raise £40,000, and technology companies have donated too.
Her top future tech tip for anyone creating online content is to pay attention to speech recognition. Google reported that one in five searches through their Android app came through voice search, and consumers are now asking more natural language long tail questions.
For financial services businesses, where everything is highly regulated and it takes time to implement changes, the focus should be on the customers in a decade from now – Generation Z. 24/7 connectivity means that they have no time to spare and won’t wait for you to catch up.
Kate is passionate about diversity in the workplace. She would love to see more women in the IT industry and thinks brands without a representative staff don’t appeal to a broad audience. She feels that diversity in culture is equally important, as is employing people on the autism spectrum.
Her advice for female speakers: Build your confidence by speaking at careers events at your old school. Find conferences you’d like to speak at and pitch to the organisers, or speak at smaller, free events and film yourself to create an online portfolio. Be proactive in finding opportunities, and after the first couple things will snowball.
And finally, Kate shared a great example of social listening: A US woman chose the Twitter handle @theashes and was bombarded with tweets about the cricket series. She had no interest in cricket but turned her initial frustration into branded T-shirts. The international media coverage was spotted by Qantas, who paid for flights to Australia to watch The Ashes.
Kate doesn’t read business books or self-help, conceptional idea books, as she doesn’t find them useful. She reads fiction or fact and believes there’s a skill to engaging narrative and storytelling, and make people interested in what you’re going to tell them.
If you enjoyed – Kate Russell on FinTech and diversity in the workplace – please leave a comment or a review on iTunes.
And if you know anyone who would enjoy the show – please share it with them. You can use the buttons below to share on social media.
Don’t miss an episode of the MAF Podcast – subscribe now.
Kate Russell on FinTech and diversity in the workplace – MAF153
RogerOn the show this week, I talk to the journalist, BBC presenter and technology geek, Kate Russell.
We chat about FinTech, diversity in the workplace and online gaming for charity.
Welcome to episode 153 of the Marketing and Finance Podcast.
What you’ll hear about in this episode
Who is Kate Russell?
A journalist, a TV presenter, technology expert, online gamer and all-round technology geek. Kate’s had a portfolio career and went into writing reviews for games magazines from working in sales. She believes that gives her a unique perspective on the content she creates and allows her to pay attention to the marketing angles too.
Having reported for Sky TV and the BBC, she’s been with BBC’s Click (previously Click Online) for the last 15 years, looking at news and developments in the world of consumer technology.
Summary of our chat
Kate uses Twitch, a live stream to chat and watch people play games as a way of raising money for the charity Special Effect, which helps disabled people play video games. Her viewers have helped her raise £40,000, and technology companies have donated too.
Her top future tech tip for anyone creating online content is to pay attention to speech recognition. Google reported that one in five searches through their Android app came through voice search, and consumers are now asking more natural language long tail questions.
For financial services businesses, where everything is highly regulated and it takes time to implement changes, the focus should be on the customers in a decade from now – Generation Z. 24/7 connectivity means that they have no time to spare and won’t wait for you to catch up.
Kate is passionate about diversity in the workplace. She would love to see more women in the IT industry and thinks brands without a representative staff don’t appeal to a broad audience. She feels that diversity in culture is equally important, as is employing people on the autism spectrum.
Her advice for female speakers: Build your confidence by speaking at careers events at your old school. Find conferences you’d like to speak at and pitch to the organisers, or speak at smaller, free events and film yourself to create an online portfolio. Be proactive in finding opportunities, and after the first couple things will snowball.
And finally, Kate shared a great example of social listening: A US woman chose the Twitter handle @theashes and was bombarded with tweets about the cricket series. She had no interest in cricket but turned her initial frustration into branded T-shirts. The international media coverage was spotted by Qantas, who paid for flights to Australia to watch The Ashes.
Links:
Recommended Books
Kate doesn’t read business books or self-help, conceptional idea books, as she doesn’t find them useful. She reads fiction or fact and believes there’s a skill to engaging narrative and storytelling, and make people interested in what you’re going to tell them.
If you enjoyed – Kate Russell on FinTech and diversity in the workplace – please leave a comment or a review on iTunes.
And if you know anyone who would enjoy the show – please share it with them. You can use the buttons below to share on social media.
Don’t miss an episode of the MAF Podcast – subscribe now.
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