Jeff Jarvis on Guardian and journalism

Jeff Jarvis has written in Comment Is Free soon after the Guardian Activate event. It starts with the situation around whistle blowers but contains a useful definition of journalism- 

journalism helps communities organize their knowledge so they can better organize themselves.

 
This is also covered in Buzzmachine, where he explains that there are no journalists as used to be understood. For the Guardian print journalists this may come as news. It may change the way that bloggers etc. are discussed. 

Vint Cerf on Libraries at Guardian Activate

“I am really worried right now, about the possibility of saving ‘bits’ but losing their meaning and ending up with bit-rot,” he continues. “This means, you have  a bag of bits that you saved for a thousand years, but you don’t know what they mean, because the software that was needed to interpret them is no longer available, or it’s no longer executable, or you just don’t have a platform that will run it. This is a serious, serious problem and we have to solve that.”

quoted in The Next Web .

This is very interesting but I think libraries are still developing as architecture. Here in Exeter we have a new building for the medical school where the library used to be. It is called Learning and Development but still looks like a library. The central public library is closed for a rebuild. I don't know how they will relate to the stores of data around Exeter in various formats. 

I think there could be recordings of personal memories as sound and/or vision. But where to store them? 

MOOC extension of print quality issues

The Futurelearn project for MOOC in the UK is getting closer to launch and some press interest. Through Twitter I found a link to BBC Newsnight . ( Skip to about 25 minutes in if you don't want the rest of it)  Rough notes without copying the whole script

Starts with Paxman comparing most student life with "some crummy bedsit in pot noodle land" compares with working online in comfort. David Grossman reports on the MOOC ( massive, open, online course ) as working in the USA, mentions Harvard, MIT and Stanford.

But in UK the biggest names are either "missing the boat" or "engaging in clever brand management. " . Interview with Dr Sally Mapstone who emphasises the value of the tutorial experience at Oxford and the preferred teaching ratios of 1:1 or 2:1 . no mention of Cambridge at all. My comment is that the British Library must be a welcome partner as they have a pretty good stock of books. Maybe Oxford and Cambridge are not essential.

Bill Clinton is quoted on the costs of higher education claiming that "the only sustainable answer is to find a less expensive delivery system". Someone from Futurelearn quoted "I am sure that a combination of online delivery and campus delivery can deliver some aspects of education more cheaply than a purely campus based experience." ( sorry missed the name) 

David Willetts still sees Futurelearn as a UK thing. There are now universities involved from Ireland and Australia. I hope there are more from Europe. Willetts also mentioned analytics, the use of statistics to improve future courses. I know from discussion on Networked Learning that analytics can be seen as fairy dust or worse. Some academics are not used to thinking about teaching as a mass process.

This is just one aspect where I think the quality issues I have been thinking about as part of the print industry will start to crop up in universities and education.  It may be easier to get attention for quality ideas as they seem more relevant.  The Newsnight intro compared the possible scope for disruption to the impact of mp3 on the music industry.

I am thinking about how to report this on a local level. I live in Exeter and visit Lancaster fairly often except in the winter. Both universities are part of the Futurelearn project. I don't know what this will mean for any changes in the campus design. Both are investing in buildings without any sign of slowing down. But there is some sign in Exeter that there may be too much accommodation for students. I think one site on Sidwell Street may be under occupied but two more are under construction by different companies. Both offer improved broadband, not sure how this compares with university offers. If the combination in future is more online and less on campus there may be less need for residence. As part of the new Forum Exeter University decided against allowing Blackwells any longterm space for a bookshop. This seems to have been a design decision about the look and feel of modern retail space. But if you don't need a bookshop, what is the case for a library or anything else?  

Continues as local chat. 

John Prescott and the UK constitution @ActivateSummit

The Guardian reports that John Prescott has resigned from the Privy Council.  The issue is that proposals on press regulation have turned up from some newspapers rather than as discussed in parliament. I have not seen this widely reported so this is something the Guardian and Observer do well. ( what print journalists write about bloggers can wait for another time but could be part of the Activate Summit also )

There is some confusion about whether we are citizens in the Uk or maybe we are subjects. There is still a monarchy with links to the Lords who also have connections with media organisations. 

Apparently John Prescott is no longer a right honorable. Surely some mistake? 

Help Please, clarity on music and content marketing @JuliaRamadan #JuliaRamadan

Previous post is the first music promo to reach me through Repost. I think this sort of thing is ok. I followed the Youtube link. I probably will listen more to George Benson but I'm glad I heard it. 

Maybe Youtube is now much like radio a while ago. Mark Coles ( documentary BBC world service) tells us that in the USA many young people do not have a radio. So full tracks on Youtube can be promoted. 

So I am still puzzled about Prince. As mentioned in previous post my video of I Wanna Be Your Lover covered by the Mama Stones House Band at Sidmouth last year. I suddenly got a really dramatic notice after it had been there for about ten months. Obviously Prince and Controversy Publishing have every right to object to performance of their content. But what to assume? If there is a cover version in most cases I assume it can be on YouTube if the performer is ok with this. 

Is Prince starting a trend or is this an intensified version of a policy suited to a previous time? I did email Julia Ramadan and also tried to follow her on Twitter. No reply so far.

Reportedly Nile Rogers has undertaken to tell Prince about Glastonbury and suggest he turns up one year. Maybe this should be soon. Eventually most of the audience will know about music through social media.