Monday 12 March 2012

Elite Professionals Archive: Tech Stars Under 30 - Hugh Hopkins and SO News

It's March! So it's time for my next article for http://eliteprofessionals.org/ on UK based young professionals. This time it's Hugh Hopkins and Selly Oak News. Are you from a Brummie business looking to target advertising at University of Birmingham Students? Give them a shout ;)


If there is one thing that my generation have had relentlessly drummed into them it’s the amazing potential of social media. Yet actually meeting young people who have turned this potential into a viable business is a surprisingly rare experience. This is where Hugh Hopkins and Selly Oak News come in.
Hugh (the one in the pink), was in the same halls of residence as I was in my first year at uni. He’s always struck me as a highly ambitious and capable future businessman, so it was no surprise to me when I heard that, together with co-founders Nick Day and Jonathan Craven, he had set up his own business. And, unlike many student businesses, it was going places.
Selly Oak News is an online platform for student news, media and opinion. It started out as a twitter feed and now, just over a year later, it’s a fully-fledged online service complete with a vast and ever growing following.Not bad for a bunch of university students.
So, eager to find out what’s next on the agenda, I caught up with Hugh earlier this week.
Tell us a bit about you and your background, what are your main interests and aspirations?
I’m in my third and final year at Birmingham University reading Business Management with Communications. In my first year I was elected the Entertainments Officer for my hall and it started a growing interest, as well as my confidence, in starting large projects and seeing them through. This also intertwined with my interest in the News and Media industry and how the internet is revolutionising the production and communication of content.
I have big aspirations, perhaps some of them are a little crazy and I’m cautious of actually listing them. I can say that it involves the creation of an international business.
In a few sentences, sum up what your company does and your role within it
SO News provides instant news tailored to University of Birmingham students on an interactive and unbiased platform. Nick Day, Jonathan Craven and I founded the business about a year ago and we’ve already managed to turn a profit. We each have specialised roles but mine is to run day to day operations of the news and just push the business forward.
Where did the idea for your company come from?
The idea came to us in a fast food shop. We were just chatting about Selly Oak and how information for students is fragmented and often out of date. Starting a news site to solve this seemed simple and since then the initial concept has grown significantly. We’ve created a platform on which we can create some truly great services and SO News is just the start.
What would you say has been your single greatest challenge in getting this far?
It’s hard to pinpoint a moment but at times it has been a challenge to keep momentum. All three of us are still students and apart from our own desire to create a great service there are very few reasons why we should start and run our own business.
What’s been your high point?
When we were awarded a £2,000 grant from Birmingham University’s Entrepreneurship and Innovation centre it transformed us into a serious business. It gave us a huge moral boost, meant we could invest in producing better content and organise ourselves as tangible business.
Where do you see you and your company in five years time?
The future of SO News is highly dependent on the next few months but we aim to be the most innovative source of high quality news and media. We would have established offices in Shoreditch and launched our side projects SO TV, SO Film and SO Music. We hope by then for SO news to have gained an international audience and we would be considering expansion outside of Europe. As for myself, remaining instrumental and innovating the business.
If you could give other budding professionals one piece of advice what would it be?
Be part of a business you enjoy.
For more information on Selly Oak News or to request some advertising space check out http://www.sonews.co.uk .

Saturday 10 March 2012

What's so great about a Young Mayor?

Well, as some of you probably know, I'm currently part of the UpRising Alumni Advisory Board's campaign to get a Birmingham Young Mayor. A couple of weeks ago we had an open letter published in the Birmingham Post and are now working on building up our campaign, sorting out our website (www.yestoabirminghamyoungmayor.wordpress.com) and scouting out potential supporters ready to set up a steering group. 




Now, right from the very first tweet about the possibility of creating a Young Mayor I've encountered a bit of cynicism - 'what's the point?' some asked 'it'll just be a waste of money'. I've got to admit, when I was first asked whether I thought campaigning to get a Birmingham Young Mayor was a good idea I was, shall we say, unconvinced too. ‘A Young Mayor?’ I thought, ‘Isn’t that just nominal role local councils employ to give them the appearance of tackling ‘youth issues’ without actually having to bother engaging with the people and problems?’. But rather than just shoot down the idea I agreed to do some research and, much to my surprise, I’ve found myself a convert.

So, for all you other sceptics out there here are three excellent reasons why having a Young Mayor is a great idea:

Kieza Silveira de Sousa,
 Young Mayor for Lewisham 2010/11

1)      They have real influence over the Youth Agenda

Young Mayor’s already exist in the London Boroughs of Lambeth, Lewisham, Newham and Tower Hamlets as well as in North Tyneside in Newcastle. The age range of Young Mayors varies from location to location but generally falls between 14 and 18 years old. In each case Young Mayor’s function as far more than just a nominal role and many have real influence over the youth agenda. In Newham, for instance, the Young Mayor and their team have an annual budget of £25,000 to spend handling youth issues. Newham has a population of around 240,100. Birmingham has a population of approximately 1,036,900, over four times that of the London Borough. The equivalent budget, then, of a Birmingham Young Mayor could be in the region of £100,000, giving them real potential to make a difference to the lives of young people in the city.

Now, given that if we are successful in getting a Birmingham Young Mayor we don’t actually know what budget they will be given by the powers that be it’s also important to make clear that a Young Mayor’s influence goes beyond just their financial resources. In Lewisham the Young Mayor is regularly consulted on a wide range of issues from regeneration of the area, to homelessness and the borough’s customer service strategy to electoral services. The Young Mayor’s voice counts and they have a real say in the council’s decision making process.

       Wilf Petherbridge, (former Young Mayor of Lewisham)


2)      They have a vast support network


Young Mayor’s don’t act alone. In Lewisham, for instance, the Young Mayor is supported by a Deputy Young Mayor and 25 Young Advisors. There is also a Young Citizens Panel consisting of over 600 members who discuss issues on online platforms and are regularly consulted on various subjects and invited to attend an assortment of events and training opportunities throughout the year. There are also two full-time adult members of staff in the Young Mayor’s Office including the Advisor to the Young Mayor who supports the Young Mayor, co-ordinates their diary and helps them achieve their goals during their time in office. In short, far from being just a random young person sitting in the back of council meetings, a Young Mayor is surrounded by a vast support network which aids them in their bid to improve the lives of young people in their area.

Nahimul Islam, Young Mayor of Tower Hamlets


3)      It’s a great way for getting young people involved in politics


Right now most under 18’s don’t really care about politics, and why would they? They can’t vote and rarely see MP’s and decision makers that they can relate to. In recent years we’ve seen a worrying decline in the proportion of citizens voting in local and general elections. If we wish to continue to say we live in a democracy where the views of the many, not just the engaged minority, are heard something must be done to reverse this trend.

Young Mayoral elections generally have a voter turnout of around 50%. This is well above many local election turnout rates and even many full Mayoral elections. In many areas all local residents aged 11-18 can vote. Most voting is done through schools but provision is made for young residents who either go to school outside of the area or are not in education to use postal voting.

In Lewisham the elections are run in a way which mirrors adult elections with voting booths, ballot boxes and electoral staff stationed at each school and college during voting day. Their Young Mayor elections also take place during Local Democracy week each year and Voter registration, for 16-18 year olds, is promoted at the same time.

The aim is that, through getting young people interested in and used to taking part in voting whilst still at school, they will continue this interest into their adult lives.

On another level Young Mayor schemes offer a fantastic opportunity for a selection of young people to take on real roles of responsibility within our city's decision making bodies. It gives young people a chance to become part of the establishment and a chance for their peers to see figureheads that they can actually relate to. By getting young people involved in politics in this way we hope to see the Young Mayors of today become the Mayors, MP’s and Councillors of tomorrow.


Sir Steve Bullock, Mayor of Lewisham, 2006


For more information on existing Young Mayor models check out:

Or for information on the Lewisham model:

or


Given the increasing momentum of the Yes To Birmingham Mayor Campaign now is most definitely the time to push for a Birmingham Young Mayor too. If you’d like to get involved, join the steering group or just offer some advice or support please email us at yestoabirminghamyoungmayor@gmail.com.

  
Since London already has four Young Mayors to its name isn’t it about time that Birmingham, Europe’s youngest city and largest local authority stepped up to the mark?

H.B
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