Candidate Statement - Venu Prasad Menon

The evolution of the Internet, digital convergence and the multiple ways that content is being created and consumed presents an amazing range of possibilities and opportunities. In the last 2 decades that I have been working I have been a dedicated follower and practitioner of conceptualization, creation and delivery of some great pieces of content and platforms that enable and facilitate content. I understand multiple domains and have worked across geographies with a vision to create and enable compelling and engaging content across domains spanning from K-12 to corporate sectors. Almost all the assignments that I have undertaken in my career have been either directly or indirectly linked to content and that has given me exposure and working knowledge of the domain and related nuances. I have personally and as part of teams created and deployed numerous innovative and effective content related products that have significantly enhanced revenues for my employers and created long term value for the end users.

Right from my days of association with Satyam Infoway (now known as Sify ) where I was part of the team that was set up to deliver content solutions to India as a market even when the Internet had not evolved I could quickly understand the reach and effect of good content. We then did a course correction and in early 2003 launched learning content solutions for the international markets. I had the privilege of working with content that was being used by Fortune 100 companies like GE, Cisco and Novartis to name a few for training their employees and customers. I had also built a few innovative products for all the above said organizations. These experiences made me a stronger believer in the value of good content and I took up an assignment with Macmillan in a very strategic role setting up a new media services team to work with global publishers to create great content products. In the period between 2007 and 2012 I was involved in creation of a quite a few products that made an impact globally. I also had the opportunity to deep dive into the nuances of technology for content, taxonomy, ontology and multiple formats and in the process a deeper understanding of the content creation and enablement process. In the last two years I have been working with a few large corporates to set up an entity focused on content and today I run Ingegno Transmedia (www.ingegno.in) with a team of experienced professionals who understand the content domain and related ecosystems very well.

To summarize I have proven knowledge and expertise in Content, Management and Distribution as separate domains and strongly believe that all these three contribute to creating value for Content. All these three areas will become significant in the coming years for good content stories globally.

The most important reason for my nomination to the Board is to create a representation for the Indian and SAARC regions in the IDPF. With the cultural and lingual diversities in these regions content owners will be forced to adopt best practices in content creation and delivery to create effective ecosystems. The change is happening and it is very critical that there are standards and practices that are established and enabled. A notable fact is that these are the economies that are growing rapidly and will represent a huge opportunity for global publishers in the coming years. I personally think that it is important to establish a consortium that enables effective content practices in these geographies. This would need a representative, who has a global outlook in addition to a strong understanding of the situation on the ground in terms of technology, infrastructure and best practices. I also share a common passion and interest in the goals of the IDPF and I’m sure that I can contribute my bit in terms of time and knowledge to enhancement and improvement of all the stated goals as listed below:

  • Running events in respective regions, conferences and forums to spread awareness and reach

  • Work on global standards; my team works closely with IDPF on the EDUPUB standard and also has detailed working knowledge of other standards

  • Championing interactivity and interoperability across platforms, mediums and technologies

  • Work closely on regional initiatives in accordance with global standards or vice versa

    About me

    Visionary, thinker, geographer (by qualification) and an astute manager who leads by example. Have been a speaker at multiple international events and forums and have worked with global organizations both corporate and public. Have a strong sense of cost, productivity and quality, a qualified six sigma black belt as well. Can speak, read and write six languages including international languages. Have been travelling internationally since the age of sixteen and understand international culture and related aspects. Effective communicator and networker which I think are very key attributes to making an initiative like this a truly global success.

    You can take a look at my profile at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/venuprasad74 

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