Just got back from the meet up at Rooty’s, going to write a very quick one before bed. It was a great evening - really good fun and loads of good ideas to think about.
I think the Brum social media cafe idea that was coming out is killer. I’d definitely join and will help out if I can. A few more thoughts have come to mind but I’ll post these later when I’ve thought them through.
It’s great to see such a thriving social media community in and around Birmingham. Loads of interesting new people to meet - see everyone next time.
If you’re not familiar with the goings on in Digbeth, Birmingham then the basic story is that a few residents of brand new flats in Digbeth (well known capital of the Brum music scene) are complaining about the noise. The Spotted Dog is right in the firing line and is under threat of closing.
It has it all: An ambitious idea way ahead of its time; an eight year story from idea through to conception; a fascinating mix of world-wide collaboration, physical devices (a handheld species identifier if you can believe it), totally unique data visualisation techniques; and at the end of all this we end up with something that is going to add a rather significant amount to the sum of human knowledge.
In short, a story of "how big things get done". Inspiring.
Mark McGuinness’ new project is a must for anyone working in the creative sector.
I’ll let him explain:
I’ve just created a new blog, Wishful Linking, to share links that may be useful and/or interesting to you as a creative professional. So if you’d like me to send you links to web pages about creativity, creative careers, managing creativity, intellectual property, creative industries, blogging, marketing, time management etc, then sign up for the RSS feed now.
If you don’t know him, he’s the guru when it comes to stuff like this. Get reading!
I went to a C4 event last week about the legal issues around collaboration and Intellectual Property.
Nothing particularly earthshattering to report; however I must say I was surprised with what seemed to be a rather negative attitude towards Creative Commons (a new set of alternatives to Copyright, some of which allow others a greater freedom to distribute and re-use content).
Maybe it’s because the debate was dominated by a lawyer, but for me the prevailing question seemed to be "why would anyone want to give their rights away?"
Specifically, a number of people seemed to imply that putting any of your content for free devalues everything you do in the future. Excuse me? What?
As far as I’m concerned it’s going to get harder and harder to sell content direct. In fact it’s going to be hard enough just getting noticed in this world where everyone’s producing. Any promotion is good promotion. Getting your stuff out there is totally vital to building a name.
Creative commons means that, if I choose, I as a producer have a way of legally allowing others to remix, copy and do whatever they want with my work. If it’s done properly however, I can request that it’s always be attributed to me.
I think.there’s something really important about this. Going back to my last post - remixing, copying and attributing is vital to social media. We need to have a way of telling people what they can and can’t do with our stuff. Hopefully most of them will take some notice.
Yes, people can exploit Intellectual Property, but they’re going to do that however you license it .
And as MC Paula LeDeau pointed out: "As a creative person you’re at far greater risk of obscurity.". I couldn’t agree more.
A concept I use a lot in my work is that of the Global Microbrand, a company that "stays small but sells all over the world".
Working with social enterprises and other socially focussed organisations I started to realise that this concept could apply quite neatly to an organisation’s social impact as well as its financial success.
Put simply, instead of "stay small but sell all over the world", an organisation can now use the web to "stay small but influence all over the world". This is good news for organisations that want to remain small, nimble and innovative.
Instead of growing in influence by growing in size, organisations can now use the web to tell the world what they’re doing in great detail, start discussions and show others how to get things done effectively. Meanwhile they’re working on the next set of ideas. I mentioned an example of this in a previous post about my work with Impactt.
These ideas aren’t new, but I’ve found this to be a great way of encapsulating things when talking to socially focussed organisations about their web strategies.
I’m not often really blown away by a new site but this one has really impressed me. Jumpcut is a system which allows users to create their own videos online quickly and easily.
To make a video you just need to:
Upload titles and imagery.
Upload your video clips (it doesn’t seem to complain much about formats which is nice).
Upload background music.
Whack it all together using a very simple interface.
I managed to put one together in five minutes flat - and the best thing is it’s already up on the web ready to add to your site. None of that waiting three hours for it to upload nonsense.
It’s beautifully made, ridiculously easy to use and is something I’ll definitely be using for projects in the future.
Sites like this are another step along the road to allowing anyone to create without needing a ton of equipment. Good one guys.
UPDATE: Also just found Eyespot which does a similar thing; will let you know how I get on with it.
If you’re interested in reading, take a look at Library Thing. It’s a social networking site based around books, enabling you to hook up with others who are interested in the same sorts of things as you are.
One nice feature is that they’ve encouraged a number of authors to sign up. A good example of how content creators are starting to connect more directly with their audience.
