Mediasnackers | Report | December 2007

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Entries for December 2007

2007 Review : The Best Of

[SUMMARY—Thanks all round.]

As MediaSnackers closes out its first 18 months of operations a quick round-up is in order (and customary at this time of year). So, for the final post of 2007 we give you 'the best of…' (basically, things which have made us smile):

• our juicy clients list
• our trip to Africa
• growing the family
• having so many opportunities to speak
• celebrating our first birthday
• the Portland, Oregon, USA gig
• telling our story
• past collaborations
• future collaborations
• watching our meme spread
• being featured in a book
• holding our first development day
• (we're not huge fans of numbers but) doubling the unique visitors rate of our site to well over 40,000 a month in one year (and a couple of months it tripled)
• over 530 weblog posts
• producing 12 monthly vodcasts
• in fourteen months recording 99 podcast interviews
• getting over 2,700 subscribers to the monthly email digest

Here's the MediaSnackers family and their take on 2007:

Fully enjoyed 2007 with MediaSnackers, it's such a fun position to be in, knocking about around the UK (and Africa), meeting some great people looking to achieve some fantastic things within the youth media genre. The names and places I have to admit are all a blur, but the faces will not be forgotten. I hope that everyone we've met have enjoyed themselves as much as I have look forward to doing much more in 2008.

What can I say…? First year of MediaSnackers—it's been a real learning curve, met some great people opened my eyes to the possibilities of New Media (esp in education) and lots of fun.

Looking forward to MS developing into something really great in 2008.

2007 has been a great year for MediaSnackers—particularly, i've enjoyed all the great opportunities that have been coming my way: vodcasts, interviewing loads of industry professionals, getting a chance to do some hands-on filming, celebrating it's first birthday… hopefully more fun and exciting things are planned for 2008!

2007 has been a good year for me and my involvement in MediaSnackers, the highlight being the Showcomotion conference in Sheffield in July. It was great mingling with all the big cheeses in children's media and learning about the industry. Being a digital journalist allowed me to develop new skills and meet loads of new friends within the team, it was an exciting opportunity and hope 2008 is just as good. Hopefully for 2008 my involvement in MediaSnackers will grow and lots more opportunities arise which will rocket me further into the media world.

And from me, the richness of experiences which MediaSnackers has given is more than I ever expected. A personal thanks to all our clients, supporters, referrers, families, critics and mentors. Everyone of you have played a part in the achievements we have gained this year. A special thanks to the MediaSnackers crew above—you guys simply kick ass!

Bring on 2008—the year of MediaSnackers!

We'll be shutting up shop here for a week or so for the hoilday season. Wherever and whoever you are, hope you have a juicy festive break… see you in 2008!

Filed by DK on December 21 2007 | READ IT »

Stop The Press…

[SUMMARY—…the kids are creating.]

(WORLD) The few people have already covered this in depth here, here, here and here, but here's some tasty topline results according to a new study:

• 64% of young people online between the ages of 12 to 17 create digital capital
• 47% place it in public areas
• 89% receive comments on their content
• 28% have/has an online journal or blog (up from 19% in 2004)
• 26% remix content they find online into their own creations

Get the full Pew Internet: Teens and Social Media report.

Youth And Politics

[SUMMARY—Politics and youth.]

(GBR) Politics. Something kids shouldn't be interested in, but some are. It's true that many young people take no notice of the government or the countrys' leaders, but I'd say that some find it thought provoking and genuinely fascinating. I write this as I watch Nick Clegg win the Lib Dem leadership. I write this as I watch Ken Livingstone fly hundreds of miles around the world to "promote London" with an 80-person strong entourage (when Labour's primary point on the agenda is climate change). I write this as the HMRC has lost millions of details concerning the British public. I write this as I catch a glimpse of a Christmas card to my father from Boris Johnson (reading, "Merry Christmas and a Happy New Mayor"). So what is the main problem with politics and kids? People may say they don't mix, but can't we start voting at 18? And before that, do we not need to build a political opinion on party views and on leaders? And whilst this is happening, do we not need motivation to go out and physically vote for who runs our country? And what are the leaders of Britain doing to engage this potentially captive audience? Nothing to me, that's for sure…

I turned 18 this summer (i.e., I am now legal to vote in elections) and did I receive any information on voting or party propaganda? Not one little leaflet. Instead, I have to rely on the ever-unbiased news (note the tone of sarcasm) and material posted through my door, addressed to my Tory councillor father—so any information I DO read is Conservative based (perhaps, why I am so bitter towards Labour?). Are the politicians reaching out to the kids? Well, I would say they are getting better. Some consciously (namely Cameron—remember him supporting "yobs and hoodies" along with the number of politicians who revealed they took drugs as a teenager…) and some are naturals at reaching out (namely Johnson—his eccentric personality and controversial views on sensitive topics, (I told you I was a Tory girl.))

I was watching a news report on Nick Clegg's leadership victory, and the reporter looked at his background via his Facebook profile. Is this ridiculous? Although this is all fine if politicians don't actively use their Facebook (and so, they shouldn't, they should be more concerned in running the country…?) but it goes back to a past article I wrote about digital breadcrumbs. We are learning obscure and comprehensive details on a potential PM's favourite bands and books. Sometimes politicians shouldn't try and be "in with the kids"—wouldn't this just ridicule their reputation amongst serious MP's and cabinet members? Perhaps there is a point where young people can be included (without being patronised) and politicians can be taken seriously amongst their peers. Getting a balance is difficult, and I believe there should be a line where politics and new-age media can't, and more importantly, shouldn't mix?

Contributed by Jess

Filed by DK on December 19 2007 | READ IT »

The Media Summit

[SUMMARY—16th January 2008.]

(GBR) The Media Summit has a delicious line-up of speakers and subsequent programme—to ask the question: Who Controls the Future of Creative Content—is it in the hands of the industry—your hands?

Shame the price-tag is set so high.

The World Has Changed…#17

[SUMMARY—Illustrating the ever-changing media menu.]

(WORLD) More evidence that the world is changing for MediaSnackers everywhere from these recent articles:

• After a lecture, students can play it again on their laptops;
• NASA attempts to attract a younger crowd through social networking;
• Looking for music videos? Here's what MySpace offers;
• Email is for old people (not our words);
• Stealing is stealing, even if it is virtual;
• Buy the Facebook book.

Related posts: The World Has Changed#1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16.

Filed by DK on December 18 2007 | READ IT »

Viral About Virals

[SUMMARY—How many did you recognise?]

Via Alec Couros

Filed by DK on December 17 2007 | READ IT »

Mission Change

[SUMMARY—Subtle but important.]

(WORLD) This morning a subtle but important change occurred on the MediaSnackers site. Our mission statement has been tweaked.

It used to read:

MediaSnackers is a site/weblog/project/call to action for people interested in how young people consume and create media across the globe.

The issue related to the "how"—we're actually interested in the what, who, where, why, when and the how, so now it reads:

MediaSnackers is a site/weblog/project/call to action for anyone interested in young peoples' consumption and creation of media across the globe.

There will be less subtle changes in the new year as we continue to sharpen our focus and current online offerings.

Filed by DK on December 16 2007 | READ IT »

The MediaSnackers Meme #6

[SUMMARY—Keeping track of the growing MediaSnackers Meme.]

(WORLD) We probably weren't the first to apply the 'snacking' metaphor to media, although there seems to be a growing adoption in terms of describing the new youth-media landscape—we thought it would be good to keep an eye on the growing MediaSnacking meme:

People are becoming accustomed to consuming large amounts of 'bite-size' content rather than the longer-form stuff of traditional media. Online video clips, the iPod Nano, pay-per-view TV shows on iTunes, short games played on handheld devices, the list goes on.
One of our favourite trend agencies talking about snack culture.

Children are fearless. They are using all the new technologies. They are very adept from an early age at accessing content when they want it and where they want it.
Sounds like mediasnacking to us from this article.

The migration to shorter conversation bursts (140 characters or less on Twitter) is evolutionary and is also indicative of our insatiable appetite for both media snacking and also a sense of community. On any given day, I see more response in Twitter or Facebook than I do on PR 2.0 or bub.blicio.us. But that doesn't mean that blogs are slowing down. It just represents that people share and discover things differently.
Interesting insights from Brian Solis

The MediaSnackers Meme #1, #2, #3, #4 & #5

Filed by DK on December 15 2007 | READ IT »

Development Day Part Two : A Review

[SUMMARY—DK, Barney and Mark plus a big dollop of creativity.]

(WORLD) First off, thanks to all those people who took the time to respond to our feedback request—your comments, ideas and critiques really did add some fresh flavour to the discussions. We truly appreciate your input.

As for the development day itself—simply awesome!

Total energy and enthusiam. We kicked it old school with paper and pens (don't tell the clients) and six hours later we had produced a shed full of insights, ideas and thoughts to digest over the coming weeks—all with the focus of moving up a gear with what we do and offer. Stuff like:

• events / campaign
• innovative promotions
• recruitment drive
• expanding services
• new uniform

Here are some pics from the day:

Filed by DK on December 13 2007 | READ IT »

Civic Web

[SUMMARY—Young people and edemocracy.]

(EUR) Civic Web focusses on civil society and whether technology and the web has a role to play to engage young people in the political process (we did a podcast interview with the Director, Prof. David Buckinghamhere).

MediaSnackers was interviewed for a special 'producers report' which will be presented back to the European Commission. Check out the Young People, the Internet and Civic Participation report which will give you a flavour of what they are all about.

Special thanks to researcher Dr. Shakuntala Banaji for the interview.

Filed by DK on December 12 2007 | READ IT »

MediaSnack-snack-snackers#23

[SUMMARY—Quotes which illustrate.]

(WORLD) MediaSnackers are being served more and more ways to snack on their chosen media than ever. It's hard to differentiate between companies and start-ups enabling snacking or the snacking trends driving media platform development, but here are a couple of quotes from the 'experts' to sum it all up for any 'MediaSnacker-virgins':

From our research we predict that up to a quarter of the entertainment being consumed in five years will be what we call 'Circular'. The trends we are seeing show us that people will have a genuine desire not only to create and share their own content, but also to remix it, mash it up and pass it on within their peer groups—a form of collaborative social media.
Mark Selby, Vice President, Multimedia, Nokia, talking about how social media will become commonplace.

Remarkably, half of Japan's top-10 selling works of fiction in the first six months of the year were composed the same way—on the tiny handset of a mobile phone. They sold an average of 400,000 copies.
President of Goma Books, Masayoshi Yoshino, describes it as not a fad but a new kind of culture.

In March this year, the scruffy primary became part of a remarkable experiment. It was the first in Africa to get its hands on the so-called $100 laptop, a rugged device aimed at helping children in the developing world get the most from their education.
The world watches as this project takes its first steps.

This past Friday we had our monthly meeting of the youth advisory, during which we really delved into the process we started last month of creating a series of teen focused workshops on issues related to digital media. The driving question behind the development of these workshops: What do teens need to know about digital media usage that they do not?
The Global Kids' Digital Media Initiative design a great programmes.

It will allow viewers to experience the breadth and depth of the content they love in a convenient form. This is a drive to provide a single place to access that content. If you love TV you will go to it.
David Moody, managing director of digital media and director of strategy at BBC Worldwide, talking a new video-on-demand download service designed to take on the US competition.

MediaSnack-snack-snackers #1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 & 22.

Filed by DK on December 12 2007 | READ IT »

Development Day Part One : Looking For Feedback

[SUMMARY—Help wanted.]

(WORLD) MediaSnackers is 18 months old—still in its nappies—a perfect time to get the family together for a "development day."

Next Tuesday we'll be exploring what we've done so far (the good and bad) plus what we can do in the future.

We would love some help and to hear what you guys think. Here's your opportunity to shape the discussions and formulate the future strategies/operations of MediaSnackers…

We've made it easy: just click on and mail us your responses to the following three questions:

• what do we kick-ass on and why?
• what do we suck at and why?
• what other things should/could we be doing and why?

Alternatively, just use our contact form.

Looking forward to hearing from you and thanks in advance for your time.

Filed by DK on December 8 2007 | READ IT »

Students 2.OH

[SUMMARY—Nice.]

(WORLD) Can't wait for the launch of the Students 2.0 collaborative blog:

Filed by DK on December 7 2007 | READ IT »

Trendwatching Briefing

[SUMMARY—MediaSnackers featured.]

(WORLD) MediaSnackers has been featured in our favourite Trendwatching Briefing—scroll down to section three and "Snack Culture"…

Thanks Reinier and the gang for the feature.

Trendwatching

Filed by DK on December 7 2007 | READ IT »

Education Not Legislation/Play Is Good

[SUMMARY—An interrelated double post.]

(WORLD) There is justifiably a lot of discussion around safeguarding young people online—ensuring there is an environment and level of digital media literacy in which to practice safe surfing.

Our clients commonly ask the following after we've introduced them to the fantastic online tools and platforms:

• What policies or safeguards do we have to put in place to protect us as a organisation/school/service/agency/brand?
• What policies or safeguards do we have to put in place to protect (our) young people?
• Are there any examples of good practice?

Relevant questions. Important stuff. Right questions, just at the wrong time.

As a professionals working with young people we must understand the possibilities and pitfalls before putting any frameworks in place. The problems many organisations face is their knowledge and media activities does not mirror what young people know or are doing. Add to this the mainstream media and their usual negative feature of anything to do with technology and young people then this discrepency gives rise to fear and in turn to frameworks of control (or sometimes simple blocks).

The problem is, the people who (attempt) to create leglisation are usually those who are far removed from the delivery—case in point:

So what to do?

Let your staff play. As children, play is the powerful mechanism by which we learn. As adults, play is something very separate from our professional lives—it is confined to leisure pursuits or activities.

Playing is essential to frame and contextualise our understanding of something. It's the best teaching tool. It's what we do in everyone one of our MediaSnackers training sessions—we create a space to play and question.

So when was the last time you played on a new website, an online platform or a piece of technology? If you're a manager, when was the last time you created time and space to enable your staff to play and gain a greater understanding of whatever it is you're responsible for?

The best way to understand something is to play. We become 'educated by stealth'. At least then, when it comes to providing answers to those important questions around safety and frameworks you're making a decision based on the actual rather than the perceived!

UPDATE: Just been sent details of this conference by a colleague—maybe it should've read: How do you balance safe and positive use of digital technologies with a EDUCATED approach?

We did try and contact the event organisers on the advertised email but it got bounced?

Filed by DK on December 5 2007 | READ IT »

Birmingham Youth Service Conference

[SUMMARY—Speaking gig.]

(GBR) MediaSnackers is heading on up to the midlands to speak for Birmingham Youth Service and their 'Aiming High Within the Bigger Picture' Conference.

DK from Mediasnackers provided an enjoyable and challenging session for youth workers at our service conference. It was the after dinnere session, and was just right in provoking discussion and ideas in an enjyable way. Colleagues were still debating the issues raised long after the conference was over. It has made us think differently about how we communictae with young people, and how we run our service.
Harry Fowler and Dave Foster, Joint Acting Heads of the Birmingham Youth Service

MediaSnackers Speaking

Filed by DK on December 3 2007 | READ IT »

MediaSnackers Vodcast | Episode#012 | December 07

[SUMMARY—Another mouth-watering MediaSnackers Vodcast to devour.]

The MediaSnackers monthly vodcast is a fifteen minute shot (more or less) of yummy-youth-media-goodness. Featuring content made, produced or focussed on young people and media from around the globe.

Click To Play

Featuring: : Another Love Story by Floris Emanuel theoneminutesjr.org; The Stranger Festival promo by The Stranger Festival: My Life As a Child by Alaa: class326.com; Home Again by Attack!Attack!.

Subscribe directly to these podcasts through iTunes by clicking the 'subscribe' icon opposite (download iTunes for free here).

Not using iTunes? Then just copy / paste this feed and drop it into your podcast aggregating software.

If you have any short video content (under two-mins) relating to youth media projects, are involved in any aspects of youth media or are a young person producing digital content (audio/visual) and want to discuss submitting pieces for consideration, please get in touch.

Watch the other MediaSnackers Vodcasts.

Filed by DK on December 2 2007 | READ IT »

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