Some links for you:

• Is social media marketing relevant to UK design and architecture companies? « – It turns out the short answer is yes. Useful rundown of benefits of using social media for this sector. Architecture is one of the two biggest components of Birmingham's Creative Industries (along with software). Hat-tip Lorna Parsons of Bryant Priest Newman
• A Birmingham scene – Multipack – Great discussion on whether Birmingham has a viable web development scene. Thoughtful contributions all round.
• Taking the Pain Out of Finding a Placement | Media Talent Bank – Media Talent Bank launches a section for placements. A really useful idea, especially given many students will opt for such placements in the summer while they wait for real work to pick up. BUT: this info shouldn't be behind a log-in section should it? Let's put it in an RSS feed and have it on the front page of Created in Birmingham. It would sit nicely beside the job vacancies info on CiB. I'm not sure what Media Talent Bank gains by making people log in.
• Twitter sucks and so do you. Probably – Rory Reid, Computing Expert – Technology Blog at CNET UK – From Febrauary but hadn't noticed this before: "Finally, Twitter is fast becoming the tech equivalent of a tabloid newspaper or celebrity gossip rag. There's no harm in that, people can read what they like. The problem is that genuinely intelligent friends of mine — people who scoff at OK!, Hello! and any other publication whose title ends in an exclamation mark — have begun following stars on Twitter, as if it's somehow different to following their antics in the gossip pages." Hat-tip Brian Homer.
• D’log :: blogging since 2000 » £44.5m boost to UK arts funding – D'log with a detailed run-down of the arts funding boost/cut – I can't keep up!
• £4m funding cut for Arts Council | Created in Birmingham – CiB picks up on the cuts to DCMS and their impact on the Arts Council. No word as yet on the impact on the West Midlands. RFOs will be unaffected it seems. Any more acronyms you need me to fit in…?
• Extenuating Circumstances – Digital Britain “Position Paper” – "A possibly idealistic, unrealistic but heartfelt position on the Digital Britain interim report in the style of a blog post. Bluntly: this is quite raw." Excellent post with some useful comments developing.
• Birmingham Forum – Indepth | THE DRUM – The following Birmingham marketing agency heads gathered to discuss the recession. Makes for interesting reading:
  Dean Lovett, chief executive, McCann Erickson Birmingham
  Paul Bramwell, managing director, Brilliant Media Birmingham
  Steve Price, partner, Unsuitable/One Black Bear
  Ollie Purdom, director, Pitch Consultants
  Julia Willoughby, chief executive, Willoughby PR
  Jacqui Lennon, managing director, WAA
  Andy Walton, managing director, Golley Slater
  John White, managing director, Madison Soho