TEDx North Manchester

Now Paul Coulton who is pleased that people waited until the last talk.

He gets cool technology and subverts it for his own amusement tells a room of geeks and they all think they’re clever! He’s saying that ideas spread from mind to mind… like memes on the internet.

More stats… 4bn mobile phones on the planet, more than half the world have them, but he has three on him! He repeats the more phones are sold per second than babies born stat. Not sure if it’s actually true though!!

He mentioned Gameswipe on BBC4 and the breadth of games and gaming, not just shoot em ups etc…

Games have become disolved from play, they are no longer linked which is sad. He suggests a paradigm shift which he calls…. when he finds the slides… pre-raphaelite gaming (not to do with Ninja Turtles) the re-examining of gaming as with art. Talks about games within society, pre video games. Also different types of games. Within games there is a magic circle, within that is a suspension of belief that enables you to interact more effectively.

On to games that have a political or environmental message. Bringing fun to serious topics. Sometimes not enjoyable but engaging and educational all the same. Mentions ARG across consoles, TV, film and mobile and real world… he forgot that! Talks about re-addressing who the gamer is and mentions a Nintendo DS ad that wants you to get your Mum to play and your Granny too! He saw an older lady playing braind training on the plane but she wouldn’t play Mario Kart with him!!

He doesn’t think social networks are new but extensions of existing practices. Social capital – bridging, bonding, grooming, gossip. He calls Facebook social grooming, letting your friends know you’re thinking of them. The voyeurism of watching your friends feeds.

How can mobile gaming influence play… ambient play, less tied to time… mentions the twitterfall became more active when it was on screen. Emergence… a game with a chat engine. Reappropriating spaces using mobile. Intimacy… touching peoples phones to pass something on (?), collective intellengence, LOLAPPS & NANOFUN, serendipity and physicality, not everything is digital, you can wear a badge that says what Wii Mi you are, moving from the digital world to the real world.

Is it me of does this guy remind you of Joe Pasquale? I don’t mean to offend!!

…design axioms… note to self… look up axioms in the dictionary!

Games can change the world! No questions… or perhaps one… he’ll be in the bar later!! Applause

Closing comments… and off to the bar.Thanks to all involved, plug a few things, blah blah, no more stats…

Thanks for reading (Petros!)

TEDx North Manchester

OK… got power and ready for the last session before drinkies at the Palace Hotel. My latest tweet just appeared on the screen in the front of the hall btw… it’s the simple things that make me happy.

We just had a nice chat with Dr Adrian Woolard from BBC R&D about trainee engineers and ambisonics and now I really want to go to their studio downstairs and see how it works! The troops are regrouping for the final sprint now which will start with another video talk followed by Rosie Allimonos from BBC Drama and Entertainment then Paul Coulton from Nokia. We’ve moved a row nearer the front each session and now we are sitting behind two rows of reserved seating in-which no one is sitting. I think one person sat there before so I’m not sure whether they are truly reserved or whether it’s to keep us normals away from the high brow speakers!!

Silence decends and Herb Kim is about to do the prize draw in which I have a card…. drum roll please…. not me for the first one!! and… not me for the second one… ah well at least there is a free drink later so everyone is a winner. Now we’re going to watch a 5 minute video from TEDglobal in Oxford. Seems to be on YouTube called One Love Playing for Change Song Around the World

Yay for Bob Marley 🙂

Connection is getting a bit flakey so fingers crossed for the last few talks. Actually they’re playing HD YouTube so that’s what us probably sucking up the bandwidth!!

Next speaker here is Hugh Garry who does interesting digital things for Radio1. Last minute entry I assume… yes he’s a fill in! He was inspired by the JJ Abrams talk and is not sure what to talk about. He’s got no power point but does have a film called shoot the summer that was shot by users on mobile phones. They shot the film and he edited it together and presented it at IBC in Amsterdam which was about HD 3D etc… and he presents film shot on mobile!!! He felt as if he was urinating on their chips to coin and northern phrase! But what is important is the pixel. He remembers grainy shots of key moments in recent history and youtube clips and not super HD. If it’s powerful it doesn’t matter if it’s super HD. You don’t think about the grainy picture of the planes hitting the WTC but the event in history itself. You make your own HD.

YouTube combined with phone cameras has been revolutionary. Like Kodak turned everyone into photographers, YouTube has turned everyone into film makers. He thinks users are happy to accept lesser quality images, and they are, but traditional media have trouble embracing this concept. This led to the creation of the mobile film, shooting the summer, and it was showed at the electric proms and won and was nominated for many awards.

Play the movie…

They covered a festival from each BBC network to create the film to be representative which is a tough thing for the BBC to achieve so hats off for that!! The quality… he wanted to know that it was shot on a phone but you forget quickly that is is phonecam quality because some of the footage is so good. The final scene where the camera falls over, the editor was trying to take out imperfect clips where there were missing heads and the footage was shot on it’s side but he felt it important to leave it on to put across the language of filming (by youngsters) today.

I think people should strive for imperfection, there is nothing wrong with that!! He agrees and uses photography at the turn of the last century as an example. Basic ideas of young people who are doing things carefree and accidental should be embraced by programme makers and artists alike. Making films on mobile allows you to get close to the filmmaker. They gave a camera to Jo Whilley to film stuff, she filmed the Kaiser Chiefs before they went on stage and cos it was just a camera they were more inclined to let her closer to their pre show experience (there is more but it’s grim!)

They sent a couple of people to Bestival with the cameras and they get trashed and forget to film. At the end of the festival so they try to sell the phone and film their experience and they try to sell the phone on ebay to raise money for next years festival, showing that they actually thought editorially before shooting their film. He compares this to the first days of wedding videos where people didn’t know what to do in front of the camera.

He ran over and we wants to tell the JJ Abrams story… he went to Bebo wanting to take over their homepage, they said it was £100k and laughed him out of the room. He said there was a project at Radio1 when only 4 people know about it and it was to do with the Black Box – He recounted the story of JJ Abrams Mystery Box and this was enough for them to hand over the homepage!! He recommends Benjamin Zander on TED.

TEDx North Manchester

Prof Ben Light and is talking about how technology works in social media. Sometimes technology doesn’t play out in the way the designer intended but in the way we, the users, shape it.

He is interested in the users of technology and the non users too! There are a lot of single site studies but he’s interested in what happens when these studies come together. He’s going to be looking at Gaydar as an example and how they comodify the difference of their users. (whatever that means… I’m sure I’ll catch on soon). This is about niche social network sites and what happens when they collide with mainstream sites like Facebook.

He shows a pic of him at an event (work) and another with his partner on Facebook (social). He shows us his profile pic on Gaydar and how this might effect people view of him. He also says that he’s not like the advertising imagery of muscley men. Mentions that a lot of the interfaces on Gaydar are quite old technology compared to other social networks. He talks about how people profile themself on this site in many respects and what their interest are in terms of potential partners. What is not included in the options are people who are camp queens (his description not mine (like Mr Humpreys from Are you being served!). This site is all about personal ads rather than groups that exist on Facebook. People seem to move to Facebook to overcome some of the limitations of Gaydar. This generates stats about the gay audience regarding technology and spending etc… and this produces market data and the classifications are required in order for people to be marketed to.

He searched Facebook for Gaydar to see how this sector uses a different social network. There seems to be a feeling that people done feel that Gaydar doesn’t represent them to they have moved on to a different place. He says that mentioning Gaydar on Facebook opens Gaydar up to a larger audience and increases the visibility of Gaydar.

So now niche sites are being linked into other social networks like Twitter and enables people to access them via other platforms and events enabling people to become more immersed in the brand. Finished and questions…

Ben is worried about the interrogation… How does Gaydar differ in purpose to other sites, he names one… an adult dating site… it’s all getting a bit filthy to be honest… back to the point… they are talking about how public people are about their used of various sites. Ben thinks there are different sorts of people on these sites and they appeal to people on all levels. Someone now posts that they have gone to FB where they can discuss things they can’t on niche sites (in this instance it’s a parenting site which is refreshing!).

I hope this finishes soon cos I need the loo! Crosses legs and hopes!!

I think we have another 30 minute break soon then we’re back with Ubiquity and Behaviour, a video TED talk then Rosie Allimonos from BBC Drama and Entertainment.

TEDx North Manchester

Marc is coming to Manchester with the BBC he tells us. Good luck with that then. We hear a bit about his background in ‘adult television’ but nothing untoward!! Marc works for BBC Childrens interactive and talks about a show in 97 called Sub Zero trying to find out how children were engaging with the web. Ahead of it’s time perhaps? Now there aren’t that many shows that have that level of interaction. So how much has actually changed?

There is still a separation between traditional media and new media. He wasn’t sure what to talk about, perhaps children of the future (tried and tested) but decided against it, so the question is ‘What can children teach us about the future?’

Now he’s talking about putting content in buckets… now we shouldn’t use the word content but call it stuff cos that’s what children call it and they have a very good point. We go thorugh some stats about children’s online usage and how. (data from Childwise report 2009) There seems to be a lot of access and interaction via online some of which takes place at school, but all of which, perhaps, sucks up time from other things. We compare this to children’s TV consumption and it turns out to be higher than going online. He says they want to be part of the social experience of TV in the lounge. Console feature lower than online apart from 9-10 year olds. But Children spend more time on games and online combined than on TV and this makes people worry. But they shouldn’t worry cos they’ll end up listening to the Today programme when they’re older. This is the first audience that can expect video to work on something other than a TV. There are changes afoot. Less children are reading for pleasure than the other three…YIKES!

More stats are being flashed up in BBC powerpoint stylee but I don’t think this is in the true spirit of TED and there is not a lot here that we don’t know. We started well and he’s reverted to a classic BBC presentation. Oh dear, we expected more and this isn’t very inspirational. Highest marks goe to the non BBC speakers and the videos so far. Shame really.

Stats, stats, stats. Mark Thompson would love this… then again I’m sure he’s seen all of this before. Now he’s talking about the shared experience of Spongebob, or maybe not, because it’s available on a lot of different channels so the experience is not truly shared. This drives kids to places like Club Penguin for kids to have shared experiences. Stats are showing how children consume media.

Kids expect their stuff to be instant, interactive, everywhere (on TV, online, in the shops, at school), in endless supply. We’re skipping some slides, probably of stats which is good, onto what he’s learn from the kids. His view is that childhood and their environment have changed but children themselves are the same. Remember what you did as a child and kids today do the same. It’s not so much that kids act differently. We all want a voice and are social animals and they don’t need permission to play.
Questions for Marc… What is the next big step for kids online… Changes to the interface, everyone is delivering great content (stuff) on the PC on a qwerty keyboard which is tough for adults, people are pushing boundaries on interfaces like webcams (points to the Wii as examples) They have looked at what is difficult for kids to do, like scrolling. Not a lot of innovation cos there isn’t money in it. Next questions talks about the web as a textual medium and how the BBC will encourage people to engage with the web without using text. Marc says kids use coping mechanisms to communicate, the patois of the web. Children do things by mimikery and kids like to use google toolbar cos they’ve done it before, by typing C, Cbeebies or CBBC will pop up. They want what they want to come up first time and being almost right almost all of the time. All done. Thanks Marc.

Last on is Ben Light

TEDx North Manchester

OK… I’ve powered up a little and am going to attempt the second part of the day. Hold on to your pants!

Drew informs us that it’s bad to make jokes about housekeeping and what happens in the events of a fire alarm and that we’ve got another piped in speaker. Alain De Boton. This talk can be seen here…

I have a question… is it wrong to applaud a presentation on a screen that is pre-recorded!?

Now we have Dr Marrian Hardey who does lots of things and is a social scientist. We are now in the perspective and knowledge section of the day. She has admitted to being a social media-holic (is that a word?) and is talking about web2.0 stuff.

When we get up in the morning the first thing we do is connect and points to us lot twittering to let people know what we’re doing, later when we’re exchanging business cards we’ll be networking etc…. When we are living in the real work we are channeling information. There is a quote on the screen that I won’t have time to type cos this gal is superfast in true TED style. She must have a lot to pack in.

She tells us that we are used to the information pipeline and this connects us to people like us (the point of social media). Although the platforms are diverse they connect us to people like us so this doesn’t expand our horizon at all. Blogging and twitter is self archiving and self sorts and she compares this to ‘airing our laundry’. Before we were on or off because of modems and slow technology but now we are on all the time and it’s difficult to switch off. She can’t twitter cos she’s talking at TED. So she needs to let the social network know that she’s not available.

Etiquette 2.0, how we interact within our social networks. It should be easy, widens network and participate and  be a part of something. It’s not Web2.0 but WebSquared. Why don’t we turn our phones off, because we think we might miss out. These are new social anxieties.

Social balancing. We appear to modify social status spontaneously. Writing for ones self and for others to interact with to enjoy successful interaction and ensure future interaction.

Longtail effect… can we social media degrade. She had mySpace but doesn’t use it as much. More a Facebook person and has lots of things where the passwords no longer work. There are lots of hits on Google for her name, and previous nicknames. This will not degrade and the information will be out there for ever!

We are obliged to follow others, to reciprocate and respond. Daily life is measured by the amount of information we send and receive. We need to participate in the network to let people know we are here.

Very good and speedy talk it met with a good response. We have a few questions coming up… About social interaction that isn’t online and about split identities online between LinkedIn and Facebook for example, between business and social etc… Answer is about platforms and data and how we access the information. Multiple identities whatever they are always lead back to you whatever they are. You can separate spaces but you are still immersed as yourself, whatever part of yourself. Next question from the middle…Observations about how brands work in social media. She says… We are branding ourselves, versions of our own identity on different platforms. We are advertising and marketing ourselves through social networks, fan pages and group pages on social networking sites. This brings this talk to a close. Next… Marc Goodchild from Childrens BBC.

TEDx North Manchester

Feckit… lost the last talk and I think the connection is b0rked. Gonna hold off for a bit and just listen… sorry!

TEDx North Manchester

And we’re back in the room for some live speakers… first up is Matthew Postgate who heads up BBC R&D. Apparently speakers all get 18mins but these get 15 minutes plus a few for questions. Matthew is keeping his time to 10 mins with another 10 for questions… what a mensch…. round of applause. Following JJ is a big deal!!

What is Broadcasting? He was told to come and talk about something he’s interested in so he’s talking about Broadcasting. But he’s intersting in hearing what we’ve got to say…. His story starts in 2008 when the BBC was considering these things and all the ideas he comes up with ends up in notebooks becasuse there is never enough time to transfer into electronic devices. There are a few quotes some of which are not attributed that answer the questions what is broadcasting.

Why is the question intersting? We understand the B for British and the C for corporation but what does the B in the middle mean? Wednesday 29th September 2009 – online advertising in the UK exceeded TV advertising – is this an epoch defning date? Typewriters are interesting… the only technology that was completely superceeded by another one. Others generally complement. Will there be a balance between traditional and online/mobile broadcasting… so many questions Matthew!!

Here is a quote from Edward Pawley that is too long to type. He wrote a book that is know in R&D as The Bible.

‘A service using electromagentic waves of frequencies lower than 300GHz, propagated in space without artificial guide, for transmitting sound, television or other types of transmission intended for direct reception by the public’ phew that was close!! I apologise for any typos!!

BBC Policy Description

‘Broadcasting is the set of responsibilities agreed in exchange for a monopoly of control over a mass communications medium’ man my fingers are on fire!!

Creative Conceit

There is more but I can’t type that quickly… my finger fire has been cruelly snubbed out!! Perhaps this talk will make it onto the TED site although it’s not as dynamic as JJ Abrams and his Mystery Box!!

The Market Mantra

Something that delivers mass adiences

Broadcasting in a Monopoly

Defined by Scarcity

The Medium’s Message

Is broadcasting the sum of the people who make it? Is it to do with it being continuous as a medium and being editorialised. He’s not a fan of passive consumption that appeals to some sort of human desire. Someone said it’s when you can’t pause it and see your favourites… which has a certain ring to it.

Is broadcasting a medium and a brand in itself? Consumers are proud to be involved in it perhaps? It should be something that brings people together and allows people to conduct a national conversation.

Matthew thinks it’s one end of a pendulum swing from traditional to on demand. It’s about now(ish) and also the second hand of history (I like that too). In the future it’s on all devices and will be balanced between technical inovation and editorial evolution and part of a larger gateway and will become the pulse of the nation in the digital age.

Another quote from Edward Pawley and says if he ever comes up with a firm answer he’ll come back and tell us.

The floor is open to questions… from a BBC hater!! He is shocked at how bad the BBC is!! (gasp!) He doesn’t think the country has a particularly sustainable future and how the old class system operates within the BBC and throws down the challenge to them to get back on track. Matthew responds that we all could be moving faster and that the BBC is very broad and diverse. This event can go someway to help re-inventing the BBC… The questioner says that it’s a corporate response. He says the corporation moves to slowly and he’s absolutely right but it always has and it will take a bigger man than Matthew to speed it up, no offence mate!

The next questions says ‘broadcasting is dead’ well not entirely and says the BBC is moving away from traditional broadcasting with a big up for Ian Forrester and BBC Backstage… on to the final question mentions the Tory conference and the BBC Vs politics and the risk that the BBC’s time is almost up. Matthew is instructed to answer the questions briefly (to a ripple of laughter from the audience).

He refers back to Pawley to see how far the BBC has moved on. Personally I think it’s a little unfair because these guys seem not to know about alot of the innovative things the BBC do and while they do move extremely slowly, if they spoke up a lot more and shouted about their smaller achievements these people would be happier!!

We thank Matthew and welcome the next speaker Phil Griffin.

TEDx North Manchester

Hello from TEDx North in Manchester. We’re in the ‘old’ BBC building on Oxford Road for the TEDx event (where x=independently organised TED event). Herb Kim is telling us his TED story but we are going to watch a film from Chris Anderson first…

Just an intro to TED available on their website. TEDx makes the TED online experience more of a group one where local people can make the event more focused. Al feedback on toady’s event can be directed to tedx@ted.com. As the film ends we get our eardrums blasted!! Herb is back and so is his slide show telling us what happened to him in 2005… many things including picking up the Guardian where he learned about the TED conference in Oxford which he attended and was inspired. He wanted to find a way to bring it to the UK so he pitched it to people at TED (they didn’t laugh him out of the office but all the same…) so he set up Thinking Digital then doing TEDx North of which this is the biggest and the last of about 5 events over the last few weeks.

Talks us through the running order for the rest of the day here including a prize draw then a free drink at the Palace Hotel after the event!! A little bit of housekeeping incase there is a fire and some hastags. I’ll use #tedxman if I get to Twitter at all. Sponsors thanked once again and personal thank you’s and a plug for Future Everything on teh 12-15 May 2010 which is a little way off! Thinking Digital is on 25-27 May 2010. Plugs over!

First talk is a video talk from JJ Abrams…

I’m sure some people thought he was actually here!! This is from 2007 in Monetrrey and he kicks off talking about LOST and how he was advised to be profound! He talks really fast and says he is inspired by his Grandfather who died in 1986. He loved the curiosity of electronics and find out how things worked. His Grandfather got him into printing and bookbinding.. even took apart the tissue box to see how it fit together… scoreing, printing, glueing… he loved boxes. He got a super 8 camera when he was 10 and aa synthesiser when he was 4 that let him make things. Now he’s on to magic and he’s moving really fast.. not sure I can keep up.. he’s actually doing magic now… anyway the talk his here