Guardian blog has news on social media disaster three days later

Guardian Unlimited Talk deleted on  Friday, so far as I know the first explanation is this blog on Monday

http://www.guardian.co.uk/help/insideguardian/2011/feb/28/guardian-unlimited-talkboards

so far the Guardian public has been very understanding, no apparent resentment, quite unlike the flame stereotype assumed in various columns

but I think it is a disaster and that not reporting it is not the only approach from a Guardian point of view.

Jeff Jarvis, where is he now? It is a Monday but he is not in print. His point of view could be timely.   

Guardian Talk cancelled, no warning no backup

Just tried to update Guardian Talk. It has been terminated.

No warning. I personally think Guardian Talk has always been much more useful than Comment Is Free. We choose the topic.

Why not put it back for a week so we can copy the story so far and move it somewhere else?

Meanwhile Peter Preston states that "citizen journalists" are unreliable and it needs a proper war correspondent sent from London to anywhere in order to make sense of anything.

If they can afford journalists outside of King's Cross they should think about a talkboard instead. Just my opinion.

Vimeo Arts Council Creative Commons Isca Obscura Exeter Cathedral projection #animatedexeter

There is now a much better version than mine on YouTube. Seems a bit dark when viewed on Vimeo directly, but it can be downloaded then works fine full screen. You may need to register for Vimeo to get this option. It is clearly Creative Commons so ok to remix including the soundtrack. Official Arts Council policy so this is very welcome. Lots of people could have a version of this public event but few with the skills to get this result. Kevin Clifford has other work on Vimeo as well.

I have been thinking about a mix  with something more on the Green Man, including a different sound. The graphics change to a different mood but the sound is still the same.  So far I have asked Hum for suggestions and he has linked me to Gaia, but this is almost as long as the original. I don't mind the emphasis in the piece, just feel it needs a bit of a lift at the end. Not sure how many photos or video of the Green Man phase exist. Creative Commons source for the sound is welcome. Hum usually agrees to most requests. But I will take this a bit slowly. I don't have the skills really but may meet a VJ.

IDAT projection Exeter Cathedral, set Flickr slideshow to fast could be animation?

my photos from last Sunday. Tends towards animation if the slideshow is fast enough. Needs more work with the lighting levels. What else is out there?

more from Animated Exeter / Isca Obscura is turning up. Creative Commons is the way forward, I think. These also available in higher res, could be a CD somewhere in Exeter.

Arts Council backs digital future for Animated Exeter #AnimatedExeter #IscaObscura

Arts Council England’s South West Director Phil Gibby said: ‘Animated Exeter encourages new audiences to experience digital arts and is an important event for the creative economy of Exeter and further afield. I think that the historic cathedral building will provide a spectacular backdrop to cutting edge digital art, making an impressive start to an exciting programme of workshops, films and events.’

I have now got the email with some proper copy. Just cut and paste at the moment. There will be a tidy up version next week. But the support for digital is clear enough. Just visit Spacex for a solid set of video, each with digital process in the edit. Phoenix still in a book / illustration / model tradition. Nothing wrong with that but it is welcome for the digital aspect to be recognised also.

So next week back to Paul Gillard, Sundown and other aspects of digital animation in Exeter or nearby (Penzance is not that far and Paul used to visit) For this weekend I plan to concentrate on video. VJ on Saturday by which time there should be much online from the cathedral.

More cut and paste

EXETER’S incredible history, from the Vikings to Second World War bombers, comes to life with spectacular animation projected onto the Cathedral on the 18, 19, 20 Feb. The evening extravaganza, a centrepiece of the Animated Exeter film festival (14 – 26 February), lights up the historic building with jaw-dropping images with exclusively composed music.
 
Funded by Arts Council England, the free event is produced by internationally acclaimed London artists Tundra*, who are producing an incredible audio-visual celebration of Exeter entitled Isca Obscura. A play on words, meaning secret or hidden Exeter, with a nod to the Camera Obscura - Isca is the Roman/Celtic name of Exeter and means flowing water while Obscura (Latin) means dark. The work will be projected across the Cathedral’s north aspect covering up to 80 x 30 metres of the ancient building’s outer walls, while interactive projections take place on the West Front.
 
Over the three February nights fantastical imagery will illuminate the cathedral with the city’s history, fables, and poetry, drawing on ground-breaking techniques, ranging from shadow-theatre, paper cut-outs to groundbreaking CGI.
 
Exeter sources have been used widely to produce the narrative. Examples include the 10th Century Exeter Book donated to the city by the first Bishop of Exeter, Leofric. The work is an ancient cannon widely regarded as the largest known collection of Old English literature, dating from 960. Other sources include local literature – such as Nicholas Orme’s Cathedral Cat, Death and Memory in Mediaeval Exeter, the Exeter Book of Riddles and Ghosts of Exeter.

 

Printweek still moving online but Haymarket bans "routine" Facebook

As far as I know there is still very little coverage of the Printweek redesign that marks a distinct move online. Search on Google blogsearch finds me and me linking to me from another blog. The print journalists on Observer business pages or Guardian Media have not mentioned this so far.

Edition two of the new look print version has now arrived. Still looks fairly thick but no Jo's Helpline and "Seven Days in Print" is very brief items with bit.ly links to the website.

Maybe the news is not reported because of the balancing items. There is limited enthusiasm in a briefing on social networking, seen as "all the rage for the under-30s" but unproven viability for B2B. Jo Francis mentions one reason marketing through Facebook might fail - that "plenty of companies, Printweek's publisher included, do not routinely allow staff to access Facebook on their work computers."

There is no link to the blog on Printweek website. And no mention in print of the Twitter feed (presumably also banned at Haymarket except for the person who sends out Tweets)

http://twitter.com/#!/printweek

This Posterous site is set up so that each blog post starts as email and sends the subject as a tweet, Facebook update. The Printweek blogs could do something similar. Only Jo Francis seems to be posting at the moment. What is the current Matt Whipp take on video?

The briefing mentions LinkedIn and is a bit more polite. The IPEX pages include a topic around B2B publishing but I cannot find this at the moment. May turn up in an archive later. So i have started a new topic meanwhile

http://www.linkedin.com/groups/Printweek-moving-online-week-two-1809557.S.44183921

more later

Virtual Dance Venues, moving ahead with 2008 #animatedexeter #xtreamlab

The elements of Will's Wonderful World of Digital Music Video are now falling into place.

Official promo on YouTube from Exeter City Council. there is nothing left for a blogger to rave on about.

So time to go back to the marginal elements that have not yet been fully considered.

http://www.xtreamlab.net/live-video-streaming-portfolio/

 In 2008 there was a VJ event in Bristol and in Second Life. On screens at Trinity Church. and recorded for YouTube etc. I know there is similar content from Twinity where I have spent more time as I like the connection with real places.

But I have not heard more on this recently. Not sure what is happening with Xtreamlab.

Is it time to go back even further, to the '80s? I still think about a development from the Failure Celebration, Laura Kikauka at Spacex. Disco was part of the failed public taste but I think there could have been a  related temp club, not a gallery of course just a design application. Rights to record a chat show could contribute to costs. The music era where nostalgia kicks in has moved on. Maybe Twinity Berlin is a location, it is where Laura is based. Maybe someone else could think about it. Princesshay could be open space in the summer. It is designed for ease of Second Life / Twinity replication, something about the computer models used by architects nowadays. So another mix possible of online and actual?

Animated Exeter #animatedexeter official YouTube video, official Twitter tag

A search on Twitter reveals that the City Center Manager has started a proper #tag - #animatedexeter

And that finds an official promo video on YouTube. 

OptixSolutions 
Exeter Cathedral as you've never seen it before

 

#animatedexeter  

So although for bandwidth reasons Exeter City Council is not a Flash haven, atleast Youtube is somewhere in the scope

So that's alright then. 

blog updates - animX - animation and wifi in Exeter

Two blog updates

http://animexeter.blogspot.com/2011/02/digital-music-video-update.html

http://wifiexeter.blogspot.com/2011/02/youtube-on-mobile-devices-seems-to-be.html

"wifi Exeter" needs an update. Getting better but still no change on Flash policy from Exeter City Council.

May not matter if Facebook links are an option.

Animation talk now an "event" .

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=141053819290118&index=1 

Twinity London links to Berlin

Mostly London but a few back in Berlin. Will still has a place near the Sony Centre in Berlin. Some film content there but not sure how it links to the Berlin Film Festival.

Dubious Source is a new recruit for Rougemont Glogal Broadcasting. His flat on Fleet Street has not been decorated but he can find st Pauls which is fully developed. There are still some gaps in London.

Bitropolis works as far as the Animx booth but the main area scrolls past too unstable at the moment.

More in Twinity later.

Sample photo from Ben and Lex , could be part of a VJ edit - animated exeter

From a previous event. Future video could edit in from various sources.

Imagined Facebook Meeting re Video starts with Spacex and Animated Exeter

Not sure how to prepare for a talk about Will's Wonderful World of Digital Music Video. It will not happen for a while, till the launch of Creative Tuesdays. But the basis for something during Animated Exeter is becoming more clear.

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=141053819290118

Spacex Landings works well as a digital show, mostly online as well. Animate Projects has a base with Channel 4 so TV screen resolution is one reference. (How TV works in future, social media and formats is another question) Animated Exeter, like Spacex, has a Facebook Page with links to YouTube. Previously Exeter City Council has not supported Flash so no youtube or even animation on official sites. Facebook is one way round this. you don't have to click on video if you don't want to.

Basic links of visual music and the demoscene are well enough understood by the group of people I have been encouraging towards the talk. slides good enough to scale up later. So the next phase is how to relate to music video, including performance. Rougemont Global Broadcasting / Exeter TV need a flow of content, some as broadcast TV. Various edit budget levels have been discussed.

Isca Obscura and the VJ event are both open access for image rights, as I assume it. the castle event last year was such. Beatz and Bobz photos turn up on Flickr. I think it should all be Creative Commons so it is very clear. First problem is that it may not be possible to use the Beth Gibbons song. It will be played but if you happen to include it in a video of the graphics there could be an issue in what you do with the video. Just my impression so far. could be wrong about this. Universal Records quoted in Media Guardian today as concerned about the end of Top of the Pops, Electric Proms etc. Well, long ago there may have been a VHS tape of Top Of the Pops. So I don't see the harm in a minute or two of Portishead somewhere on Youtube. Still we should all try to stay inside the official guidance.

The cathedral projections look like being wonderful. One sample photo on Facebook so far. Other graphics could be mixed in with a video. also music from other sources, especially if the performers encourage it.

The VJ evening will probably use related software. The castle last year was done with screens and speakers controlled by VJ software.

I found some video of Xerxes at Breakpoint where there is abstract animation in background. They have continuity of video but I am also interested in how to edit round problems. Low level production escape routes are well within my scope (Exeter TV don't have this sort of issue, but they start with a budget hurdle....) If you have the original animation it can be edited in to cover the gaps.  there may be a chance to try this out with VJ but probably works better with performance.

So by the end of animated Exeter there will be some video and some discussion re how to end up with music video and what to do about rights issues. The "meeting2 is expected online but may continue through Analogue 2 Digital, a music technology event. The issue there is also what can be done with consumer electronics? do we really need expensive kit? the video I gather will be from a Kodak Zi8. The interest will be on multiple versions. Of course a really good soundtrack from Radio Devon would help. Please leave it on the red button at full length. A news clip is not really enough.

Nokia N8 what choices for mobile video #likeminds animated exeter

I am thinking about the Nokia N8 and the discussion at #likeminds Exeter towards the end of last year. The Nokia N8 was promoted as a phone with video camera alongside new Kodak video camera (not a phone). I use an old nokia phone that has almost no extra features, also a Kodak Zi8 for video. I take the card to a desktop, then load to YouTube.

So the idea of the Nokia N8 is very interesting. In theory you could video and load online almost at once. I have spoken to Apple phone users who find the wifi option is viable. But my guess is that file sizes are too big for most phone bills.

Also the N8 presumably will be replaced with something Windows now that Nokia has decided to change the operating system. It is not clear how this will work out. I am a bit surprised that Android was not the choice. Apparently  it was considered. 

“We explored the Google ecosystem. There are some attractive elements to the system, however we felt that we would have difficulty standing out of the crowd.”

http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/38487/nokia-android-too-many-players#ixzz1Dw59t4m4

So it will be interesting to see what they come up with. Meanwhile Adobe is promoting Flash for Android and expects a volume result. “We are thrilled to see mobile adoption of Flash Player and AIR exceeding even our own expectations, with much more to come in the months ahead,” said David Wadhwani, senior vice president, Creative and Interactive Solutions Business Unit, Adobe. 

Barcelona this week coincides with animated Exeter so some links and quotes seem to fit in. Next weekend there will be projections on the cathedral so lots of content for phone cameras etc. Delay for a few days won't make a lot of difference but there will be something fairly quickly.

Nokia may turn up in Exeter for the next #likeminds . Meanwhile question through blog is where the N8 is positioned at the moment.

My guess si that Android and Adobe are looking for a standard solution that will work on a large scale..

Printweek is News : surely this story interests some other blogger

Can't find much about Printweek / Haymarket. I rely on Google blogsearch. It turns up news sources and direct releases. Not so many blogs as some time ago, meaning reflection from an individual source. Just to recap, Printweek is the only UK weekly print publication for the printing industry. It is clear from the issue last Friday that Haymarket intends to move mostly online for detailed news and blog comment. For UK print media this is a significant event.

http://www.printweek.com/Business/article/1054331/printweek-online-new-look/

But I have studied Peter Preston on Sunday and the Media pages in the Guardian today and there is nothing about this item. Print journalists writing about print tend to avoid any alarmist conclusions. "The world is not coming to an end". "Print still has a pulse" etc. I am looking for some sort of event that would move the discussion onto some sort of urgency or development. Peter Preston seems to think the circulation numbers for newspapers are a positive story.

Less confidence in the regional press. Media Guardian reports that Daily Mail and Gerneral Trust have announced that the regional titles are up for sale. There will be no "fresh capital". Sean Dooley comments on the regional press that "few readers are seeing any mitigating circumstances as their cherished local papers are printed earlier and earlier, further and further away from home, carrying less and less news of any relevance to their communities."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/feb/14/local-newspapers-northcliffe-media

Here in Exeter our local paper is now printed in Didcot. An election on a Thursday will be reported on a Saturday. We discover the results by word of mouth.

Strangely neither Mark Sweney's main report or Sean Dooley's comment make any mention of the internet or social media. My guess is that regional newspapers will not invest in social media or video on a scale to survive. Daily Mail is a global website with mostly celeb stories. There may be an overlap with the Western Morning News but it need some search skills to discover on a regular basis.

So back to Printweek. Whatever the content claims about the stability of print media, and these will probably continue, the actual form taken by Printweek shows a  readiness to experiment and change direction. Also there is an explanation and encouragement for readers to be involved in the website.

The Guardian rarely explains what the policy is regarding print journalism. It is mentioned that regional titles were sold to Trinity Mirror, but no explanation as to why. Or what they think about instead.

drupa blog on Printweek move to online - this is a significant event

http://drupa2008.blogspot.com/2011/02/haymarket-morphs-printweek-online.html

Printweek is the only weekly for the UK print industry. So a  move online and an editorial about "cross-media" is significant.

The redesign of the hard copy version is intended to continue but time will tell how the scale works out. Most news items are short and link to the web.

No space for Jo Francis with extracts from the Printweek blog. Time was when Lawrence Wallis had a secure spot. Not that he was a blogger of course.

Exeter Cathedral as animation screen, test photo and YouTube comment

A sample photo has appeared on the Facebook page for Animated Exeter. Not this weekend, the one after, much content projected onto the north wall. Check the Facebook page for details.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150089480316375&set=o.192968934682&theater

Also my YouTube clip based on stills and sound from Wheely Wild on Phonic. Last week I was a bit off the point with a mention for Kalendar Lane. This is the way to the front of the cathedral for wheelchairs. The paths are blocked with building works at the moment. But the best view will be in the other corner.

Next week on Wheely Wild, a guide to the toilets in St Stephens House. It is a specialist show though this item may have to be quick to fit in all the music.

Online Information Asia jogs memory of previous winterludes and autumn conferences

The winterlude must be coming to an end. The Chinese New Year is also a Spring Festival. But I am still feeling the cold and a lack any conclusion from the shows and conferences. From Online Information through Learning Technology it seems that there is now a definite momentum. But I still can't find any statement event. I am working on "an English sputnik moment" based on awareness that something already happened somewhere else.

Printweek looks like announcing something later this week about the balance of web and print publishing. This could be a significant event for the printing industry. Haymarket is a credible source. But there are still a lot of objections to digital within print culture around literature and education.

Email came today about Online Information Asia,  March in Hong Kong. I am going to explore how much this can be followed online. I can maybe guess at some of the context based on previous events in London. I never go to the paid for conference anyway. Some of it slips through to blogs after a while. Maybe this could start soon as some issues are clear enough now, at least what the question is.

Bonnie Cheuk will speak about leadership and social media.

We are facing a dilemma with the Enterprise 2.0. Prior to its arrival, senior leaders tend to be the group of people with a voice and top-down communication approach dominates. Business leaders recognize that this approach does not work well in the complex business environment. With E2.0, new communication channels have now open up for employees to have a say and make their voice heard

http://www.online-information.asia/onlineasia2011/conference/biog_detail.html?id=4037

As it happens Bonnie Cheuk is based in London and has a blog with related content

http://bonniecheuk.blogspot.com/2011/01/social-media-challenges-for-leaders.html

I remember a previous conference when Will Hutton from the Work Foundation made claims for the Knowledge Economy and suggested leadership styles needed to adapt with a "different psychological contract with employees". This was Changing Forms of Organisation in Sept 2007. However I found out a bit later in Exeter that it was still thought possible the Knowledge Economy was some way off.

http://www.inter-logics.net/CFO/default.aspx

About a year previously there was a conference in Lancaster about the Knowledge Economy where the dark side was fully covered. I am still not sure where "critique" is heading in relation to e-learning etc. There are still concerns about the conditions for dialogue but social media seems to be strong enough anyway even if the design has not been approved.

http://www.lancaster.ac.uk/ias/annualprogramme/kbe/conferencereport.htm

Online Information Asia is based on a trade show so clearly there will be a bias towards something practical. But there is an overlap with academic research and there could be enough to think about in time for another autumn conference. Not to put off a conclusion that information online has arrived.

Will's Wonderful World of Digital Music Video, talk now mostly online

The central weekend for Animated Exeter is now getting crowded with events so I have decided to cancel the talk intended for the Saturday morning. There will still be chances to discuss the issues arising. I have some CDs with the main examples. I will use the Animx blog to continue a conversation. Some of it will turn up here also.

This evening there is the second review group at Spacex. I am trying to interest them in the demoscene and music video. There are AVI files of Xerxes at Breakpoint in 2008 and 2009. The animation is projected on a screen behind the performance. It is not that distinct in shape and very abstract. The edit only shows the images on a few occasions. Maybe so as not to distract from the music performance.

The Animate Projects work at Spacex has indistinct sound. More variety may turn up. Landings will have closed before the analogue to Digital event so musicians should have a look soon.  

Animex blog shows links to Spacex Landings online

I have started posting to my Animex blog again. There will be much stuff over the next few weeks so could get out of balance on this one.

http://animexeter.blogspot.com/2011/02/spacex-landings-is-test-case-in-online.html

The Spacex Landings content is partly online already. Animate Projects started with TV in mind. I though there was a link to Inger Lise Hansen work but it seems to have gone. Maybe something will turn up. there is a DVD from the Animate Projects site. I think some combination of free access online and DVDs may work better in future than festival shows. The hire charges are not easy to match up with current funding.

Exeter Year of the Rabbit continues, short video and Flickr link

This was a very solid event, the best case of university connection with the city that I can remember and I do have a bus pass. The long dragon was students and the lion was from Southampton. Started at Buffet City near the Corn Exchange. So the city food support was strong, other venues supplied meals later at the Business School on campus. Apparently the Chinese are now a large part of the postgraduate scene so there is a base for all this. It could get stronger over time. There was a lot of leafleting so I think people just followed up to the university for the stalls and the fireworks.

I have a lot more video but it takes a while to edit. I will try to place some DVD copies with other people who might mix it up. I think we need a new stage in social media.

Also, what is happening with Holi? Think it could be in March. The Hindu Temple have celebrated two events indoors but with mobile phone level cameras it could be a sign of spring if they moved into the sunshine.