canal 2012 blog updated - BBC is on the case

http://canal2012.blogspot.com/

The canal2012 blog is updated with a link to the Flickr photos, see previous post. This cross linking is to cope with the change to this Posterous blog. After almost a year I think it is working as a way to integrate various blogs but it sometimes helps if I keep the other ones updated also.

Meanwhile BBC 4 is broadcasting Julia Bradbury with four canal walks.

Two to go, previous ones still on iPlayer. I think social media can add to this with a bit more detail and some other opinions. She is much stronger on industrial history than current uses, cultural enterprise linking to the canal as urban space. The one on Monday from Birmingham to Worcester was not very clear on how to get from one end of the tunnel to the other. This could be done as a map or an aerial shot. There is a photo of Julia in Regent's Park in the Radio Times but this may be because this is close to the BBC. Not sure where the fourth will be.

Will there be another series? Will it include the route to the Olympics? Could we get a research fee? To be continued.
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Critique, "reasonably cheap" compared to what?

In Lancaster I visited the campus Waterstones and bought a book by Chris Grey described as "reasonably cheap". That is almost £15 for a short paperback. But then I realise this is cheap as compared to other academic product. I am interested in the Network Learning Conference and the proceedings may have additional content or guidance. But looking at the Springer website I find that such a book could cost around £70

Sustaining TEL might be about sustainability but finding a public audience for such concerns might include some cheaper options. this may not be the full text but some sort of manifesto or explanation of change in a manifesto could be short and public and free.
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Future Manchester and Science in East Devon, possible exchange of recipes

I am back in Exeter after a visit to Lancashire. Photos on Flickr from a canal walk from Salford to Manchester. Tram journey the other direction, the order is now a bit muddled. Links to other photos are welcome. There may well be better routes, or different results on other occasions.

Plan A is to stay in Exeter for a while but there are still photos to load later. Next weekend is the start of a "recipe exchange" based on Woodbury Salterton, Farringdon and Spacex Gallery. Seems to be an exchange of procedures. Not sure what a gallery is in this context. Could be a studio. More later. I have added one on walking to a pub via a bus trip. There is a slight misinformation included, that the area around Woodbury is more or less flat. Still, it should be possible to walk from Woodbury Salterton towards the river Otter and if so to follow to Budleigh and the coast. Sidmouth is over a hill but there is always the 52 bus.

The latest Exeter building project is a science park between the motorway and the airport. Nothing there yet but it is something to talk about. Other than the current craze for science it would be hard to get planning permission for more offices beyond the motorway. Last night on BBC World Service I heard about a Square Kilometre Array, proposed telescope. 

The bandwidth implication is amazing. Why not spend some money on bandwidth in the centre of the city? Is the Manchester science park helping the local area?

Spacex show some issues for meetings on the website that are not clear yet on the recipe exchange. 
These will explore subjects such as digital aesthetics, ‘Open Data’, and how open digital cultures can lead to positive transformations in our individual lives and societies. Issues covered during the exhibition will feed into current debate taking place across different sectors about the democratisation of data and the social potential of using open source methods and technology.
Through open source and open data networks, information about our communities and lives is increasingly available. The Recipe Exchange presents the opportunity to debate ‘being open’ as a way of ‘being together’. 
http://www.spacex.co.uk/pl102.html

This will emerge over the next few weeks. One of the speakers is from Manchester.
Open Data Cities
18 June 2011, 3.00pm
Saturday 18 June, 3pm, free
Julian Tait of FutureEverything discusses the creative and social impact of making national and publicly owned datasets open, with reference to Manchester as Britain’s first Open Data City.
There may be a connection with critique but I am confused about several aspects of this sort of thing so there will be another post sometime soon.
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Creative Commons approach to election results from Exeter City Council

Back in Exeter in time to vote yesterday. Found the Heavitree result online about half an hour ago. This Is Exeter had nothing obvious about the election. BBC Radio Devon had a story about Exeter and then a link to Exeter City Council where there are detailed results.

 Although I have had a problem with Exeter City Council around YouTube ( they don't support Flash so nobody knows what you are talking about) Greg Sheldon has allowed recording on a couple of occasions. So the video possibilities may be explored in the future.

There is a Creative Commons licence for the info on the results. So the web design people are aware of some concerns. This support for open data could be developed without any major budget. There is something happening at Spacex around open data but I don't yet understand how it fits with a gallery.

I think the print news will arrive on Saturday. It has to travel the M4 and M5 so takes a while.

Still can't find many links to debate on local media during this election. 
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South Devon found in search for the UK local media story

http://www.peoplesrepublicofsouthdevon.co.uk/2011/05/04/rough-and-ready-reckoner-on-devon-local-elections/comment-page-1/#comment-187147

Another search of Google blogs finds almost nothing on local media. There is probably a lot of social media around local debates. But this is hard to find and there appears to be not a lot in national media about it. And nothing from the candidates or national politicians. Perhaps they think that all votes are decided through national debate.
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Local Media not much of an election issue - Lancaster Museum what is going on?

I am in Lancaster trying to get out of drift mode from the various holidays. Several photos toload up later,but meanwhile thinking about local media and the local elections. (I will catch upon Exeter local media later in the week.)

Jeremy Hunt has an enthusiasm for local TV but it seems to have stopped as an issue.I have not been paying much attention but I think there has been almost nothing about local media during this election period. Searching Google News finds that Sheffield is supporting a Local Media Action Plan with support from the city council and universities. I will try to find out if something similar could happen in Exeter.

http://www.thedrum.co.uk/news/2011/04/12/20619-sheffield-consortium-lends-support-to-the-local-media-action-plan/ 

But Hunt is only found in a story about the billions watching the royal wedding. The phrase "local media"in the FT means the BBC, ITV and Sky.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/51e76d56-71fa-11e0-9adf-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1LIDh4tiv

Maybe I am being unfair.There may be a lot going on, so links welcome.

In the Castle Ward the Lancaster Labour Party has put out a leaflet claiming that the Green Party,supported by Lib Dems, have proposals that the indoor marketcould be moved into the City Museum. "Save our museum"is the headline. But is there any such proposal?


The Lancaster Guardian reported a proposal in February. I will try to find out more.This is an example of a local story.

http://www.lancasterguardian.co.uk/news/lancaster-and-district-news/market_on_move_to_museum_1_3064851?commentspage=2

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University Buildings Still Booming

In Lancaster for a while and visiting the campus yesterday. There is still a lot of building going on. The central square is almost finished but still blocked off. Bowland is next so there is no refuge.It seems like building is a news event, There has to be another one.
 
However the IAS seems to have vanished. No trace in the building I would expect except a notice to an upstairs meeting room. There is still a website but no new conference announced. The notice board has information on new PhD options and the new buildings may be impressive for a global audience. But I think the IAS projects help the profile also.
 
I also got a train the other day to Manchester and looked at Media City.Salford University will be in one of the spaces.  
 
 
Googling news finds that there are jobs at risk as well as investment in the site. Media City is very impressive though. Definitely a place to visit. The canal walk back towards Picadilly is not yet clearly marked.
 
More on this when I get back to Exeter. There the centre of the campus is a building site still, later to reopen with new retail features. Some peoplein Exeter just want to be able to get into the GreatHall once again.
 
What is the investment in web sites etc? Could be a cheaper option. There is something about the building boom that is a bit of a worry. It will take a lot of PhD fees to pay off the investment. 
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#ex1to4 video script as text, time travel, chat show can be very slow

Previous post was about video on sites for academic conferences and connected to text in books and journals.

It may be that an open approach is what matters. The classic journal is closed down, it is a limited edition and copyright protects it from being reused with other content. The mix with video etc could happen outside the print format, not waiting on new digital devices.

Local media may develop in similar ways. Social networks assume that words can be copied. There can be links to video but this is not essential. Script ideas or questions can be in text form.

So far the questions raised in the Castle Beer Festival are slowly getting an answer. Image rights are gradually being relaxed, as shown by Spacex allowing photography at the current Tourist show. No comment yet to camera but this may come later.

The next series of events will be around the Recipe Exchange and Woodbury Salterton / Farringdon. I have posted a recipe or procedure for catching abus and then walking to a pub. The reverse to go home. I think this is within the scope and it should be possible to video conversation along the way. Something will get to YouTube before the summer light fades.

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Video may follow open approach to learning @tryberg @gconole @francesbell @joostrobben next local media?

Yesterday I was concerned about video and shown a link about open access to 
So journals will move on from just pages of text, but partly because the content can more easily be taken into other formats and combinations.

I still think it would be good to be able to embed video into most blogs and the messaage boards for conferences. But this may come eventually.

On Cloudworks I found a discussion about how multimedia fit with a culture of openess

Creating video from photos and sound clips is one way to respond on YouTube etc. I think video can be used for conversations as well as text.

Reviewing The Cookbook Collector for the Guardian Francine Prose  writes that

among the novel's astute observations is the curious fact that, at least for the privileged, one perk of contemporary life is a certain fluidity about which century one can live in, from moment to moment.

The novel is set during the dotcom boom and bust but it is probably still true. You can live with books that are text or some combination of text and video.

Local media in Exeter could be similar. Projects to launch a local TV channel seem to be getting nowhere. Exeter City Council do not support Flash so there is apparently no YouTube viewed by staff. The website for Animated Exeter is static. But there is a FaceBook page with some video links. Over time things change. During the elections there will be some social media and maybe later in the year video will become more normal.
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@Sumobert Video, should every book have some?

Geoff, I tend to do a blog post and put the tweet in the title. All this things seem to feed into each other. I listen to songs on mySpace and that sets off a Tweet. There is no hiding anything. I will post later on what I really like as music.

Your streaming link worked fine. Quicktime for Windows and people like me. Youtube is good for clips but you have to choose which bit.

Acrobat X is about how to embed video inside a PDF. Flash everywhere just as the IT Department thought that PDF was safe.

I have not seen any examples though. maybe one or two trials but not the sort of thing that turns up.

Meanwhile Mac people seem to favour music and video anyway. Of course  text is possible but it just seems not in the scope somehow. 

I am trying to learn more about video edit, Premiere Elements but it is quite complex.

More musings later. Hope you're well

Will
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Video as part of print culture, a view from IPEX

An email links me to a list of video suppliers on YouTube. The source is IPEX, a UK print show with a global reputation growing through LinkedIn.

I am not sure when academic journals and websites will think it normal to include video. There is still a strong print culture and an authority to page after page of text.

But even if video is not part of the book, as promoted by Adobe for PDF or in the new EPUB features launched at the London Book Fair, there is now so much video available that the book has to be designed with that context. Quite when this suits most people is still an open question, but definitely worth asking.
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#guardiantalk OU reputation thread recovered

I am still finding some backup from the Guardian Talk. I never did a regular process on this but a search will find things.

As with previously Acrobat thinks this is a form because of the comment field. Not sure how to get rid of this.

Today the Guardian has a bit on blended learning. Towards the back but it is in there.

The OU turns up again. If they have a method that results in less debt than other methods this is worth some attention. The story seems to suggest that most elearning energy is coming from new initiatives, not the older universities though they probably retain a research reputation.

More later from the Guardian Talk archive. On Saturday the Review announced all sorts of new features on a website. I am very reluctant to trust much of my own words to such a venture. But I may try some versions of a story.

A doomed enterprise tries to continue without a change of course. There will be no happy ending. A crime is in the background.
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@tryberg @gconole @francesbell @joostrobben Network Learning video in books, what time is it?

There is a new Network Learning site so the link to previous discussion is a bit hidden. Maybe Twitter will find a response?

Is the academic journal still in text mode? Mostly digital now but not much mix of media. The sandpit was started to try out how to link in graphics. Eventually I gave up and linked to Cloudworks.

Later video appeared on the front page, but only as a link. Will the new site be able to embed video and graphics as on Blogger etc.

Meanwhile at the London Book Fair it was announced that EPUB will be updated to embed video etc in ebooks. Through HTML standards. Previously I had thought Adobe were wasting time trying to get video into PDF. I have never seen any examples of this apart from tests.

But the consumer electronics sales show growing interest in tablets etc. Apple devices are mostly used for sound and images. The text is  only part of the content. So the book is in a context even if it stays as text.

I think this is a technology issue round about now. A lot could happen over the next year or so so maybe the website design for the conference will change.

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#inxpressip Exeter local elections YouTube Facebook Twitter @cllrmartin

After a bit of searching I have found the Mayor and deputy Mayor on Facebook and Councillor Martin on Twitter.

I realise this is a bit of a Labour bias but I have tried other parties as well. Maybe more on a future post.

This starts with the www.inxpress.co.uk domain. There is an attempt i think to use Trade Marks to close the use as an archive for the first Exeter internet cafe.

Why would the web be of interest as local history? I think it should be in the same way as print history. this is well recorded in local studies and the museum.

The inxpress website has been updated sometimes so has links to Hyperactive and Life Bytes, two later resources. No internet cafe at the moment though there is St Sidwells and the library. Wifi is taking over the role.

Meanwhile what of social media such as YouTube during the local elections? I don't think Exeter city Council will suddenly decide to support Flash but there may be a few links to video on Facebook that somebody may notice. 
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#inxpressip wayback machine to Life Bytes and Hyperactive @tom_watson @BenPBradshaw @Jeremy_Hunt @vincecable

More from the Wayback Machine

these are links through the www.inxpress.co.uk site to other internet cafes that in some ways continued from Internet Express.

This is local history. It should not be possible to close down the Internet Archive pages because the url contains a trade mark from a lter date. The Digital Economy legislation seemed to be about copyright protection and large scale organisations. Is there some support also for local stuff and social media? It could be a sound base for local news.

Later posts to look at video etc. the inxpress website is the base for Rougemont Global Broadcasting. 

Tweeting to MPs may work just as well as filling in the forms online for gov sites. no response so far.
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Trade Marks Act 1994 predates Web urls #inxpressip inxpress @tom_watson @BenPBradshaw @Jeremy_Hunt @vincecable

No reply yet from the departments for Culture or Biz. The office of Ben Bradshaw MP has checked I have an Exeter address.

No reply from Inxpress Freight about the sector condition on their trade mark. Maybe they will just leave it alone. But my guess is they may try to register another mark for a sector they are not yet active in.

I realise this issue is of limited interest but I think the use of the Trade Marks Act to limit web domains that pre-exist the trade mark is a bit of a problem. As I understand it there is no procedure to inform web urls before a trade mark is registered. The Act was in 1994 before such things mattered much. Is there any international discussion on this?

Next, a bit more on Internet Express and local elections.
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how far behind is London digital publishing?

Still trying to get a grasp of the London Book Fair by searching blogs.

This sounds all too likely. US publishers a bit ahead of London.

The problem likely derives from a lack of concrete data that supports spurs enthusiasm and, more importantly, decision making at the highest levels of publishing.

In other words they will wait till there are more figures on actual USA sales. Or maybe wait till there are actual figures on UK sales.

I wonder what the agents make of it all?

No sign of Scribd in London. It is taking a long time for them to offer revenue outside the USA. A couple of years ago there was quite a lot of rudeness about piracy and so on when they did attend the London Book Fair. Maybe there should be some special invite to encourage them back.
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#inxpressip class 38 inxpress.co.uk is the trade mark act web ready? inxpress

I have been informed about the sectors for trade marks and think an internet cafe is class 38

Class 38

Telecommunications services; chat room services; portal services; e-mail services; providing user access to the Internet; radio and television broadcasting.

It seems possible to me that InXpress Global Pte Ltd might think it worthwhile to register a trade mark in this class and then try to get the use of www.inxpress.co.uk. Am I paranoid? This may be speculation on my part.

But just suppose such a thing was possible. Should there be a procedure such that existing web addresses with similar words to proposed trade marks were at least notified? The Trade Marks Act 1994 was previous to widely used urls.

Also, if anyone knows of a UK trade mark proposal for InXpress in Class 38 please let me know.


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