- Currently viewing:
- 2007 > October
Entries for October 2007
Oxfordshire Consulting
[SUMMARY—Exploring new media opportunities.]
(GRB) MediaSnackers is off to facilitate a consulting session for Oxfordshire County Council and a group of their youth workers.
I would like to commend the work of DK (Mediasnackers) in relation to training of staff in the use of new media with young people. During a recent one-day session, DK enthused staff, worked through practical examples, was alert to local, national and global issues; he has an undisputed wealth of information, knowledge and expertise about new media.
DK works with confidence, inspiring as workers as well as providing sound learning for staff, most importantly he ensured they had the tools and wherewithal to take the work forward in their work with young people and colleagues.
As a result of DK's input staff have more confidence and creativity in their use of new media and this has had immediate and lasting impact on enhancing meaningful access to young people that they engage with.
Ruth Ashwell, Service Manager, Youth Support Services
Filed by DK on October 31 2007 | READ IT »
Egyptian Youth Tackle Pollution
[SUMMARY—Power to the (little) people.]
(EGY) MediaSnackers is loving this story about a group of students in Alexandria, northern Egypt.
Their school was getting the direct pollution from a neighbouring factory—(after some training from InterNews) the students produced a newspaper with articles on the air pollution plus participated in a radio program that included an interview with the representative of the ministry of environment in Alexandria.
With a little help from mainstream media and government officials the factory is now cleaning up its act. Power to the (little) people.
Filed by DK on October 30 2007 | READ IT »
MediaSnack-snack-snackers#20
[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':
Thanks to cheap and easy-to-use recording devices - digital cameras, camcorders, camera phones - today's kids are forming the most documented generation ever, as parents, relatives and friends capture forever the first, second and hundredth smile.
Due to cheap cameras and online sharing/hosting platforms we're seeing a growing trend in digitalising childhoods.
Cyberbullying is a particularly insidious type of bullying as it can follow young people wherever they go, with no refuge, and the anonymity that it seemingly affords to the perpetrator can make it even more stressful for the victim. Cyberbullying takes different forms: threats; intimidation; harassment or 'cyber-stalking'; unauthorised publication of private information or images; impersonation; and 'happy slapping'.
Schools Secretary Ed Balls warns about cyber bullying.
So 'find, play, share' is the framework that we have used to assess the current state of our offer and will use to analyse our future portfolio and assess how effectively we are delivering our public purposes.
Simon Nelson, Controller of Portfolio and Multimedia, BBC Vision talking at the BBC Vision in-house Multiplatform Day.
MediaSnack-snack-snackers #1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 & 19.
Filed by DK on October 29 2007 | READ IT »
MediaSnackers Meme Explained
[SUMMARY—The little vid caused a ripple.]
(WORLD) The MediaSnackers Explained 90sec short (see below) which you'll find on the first page of mediasnackers.com has been used to start a discussion across other markets and operations.
Web strategist and Sr Analyst at Forrester Research, Jeremiah Owyang, featured our short vid in this blog post and used our meme to start a discussion about whether people prefer short-form media and if so, do the creators of such online fodder consider this in their production.
We've been following the discussion as it appears on several other sites like: Chris Brogan, Connie Densen, Clay Newton, Connie Reece, Lee Hopkins, Deborah Schultz, Steven Hodson, Geoff Livingston, John Johnston, Cathleen Rittereiser, Mark Cahill, Kevin Dugan, Kami Huyse (and again), Jane Quigley, Sarah Wurrey, Todd Defren, Kyle Flaherty, Gaurav Mishra, Drew McLellan, Andrea Vascellari, Beth Kanter, Ike Piggott, Jason Falls, Rob La Gesse, Doug Meacham, Chris Wilson, Meg Tsiamis, Elizabeth Dunn, Colin McKay, Tamar Weinberg, Martin Koser, Mark Goren, Angela Penny, Heather Yaxley, Sherri Lynne, Luis Suarez, Rich, Valeria Maltoni, Jim Long, Neil Perkin, Shel Holtz, Luca Vergano, Daniel Mejia—we're thrilled to see the meme explored in all these contexts and have enjoyed following the digital breadcrumbs.
One point has recurred (and it's one which has been highlighted ever since we posted the 90sec piece back in our first vodcast): you don't have to be young to be a MediaSnacker! We totally agree. MediaSnacking is not age-specific.
We focus on young people due to our background and experience but also because there are HUGE differentiators for this youth generation (please don't take it personally):
• they can claim to be the first to have a global voice instantly (even though they don't really care)
• they have ubiquitious access or ownership to technology which allows them to digest, connect, share, promote, interact, express etc. which they are not taught about but simply socialised into
• and most importantly, they don't know a world without a media menu of vast proportions across so many different platforms and mediums.
We're looking forward to following our meme spread further.
The MediaSnackers Meme was also used in a Wired article back in March 07—we were trying to get a podcast interview with the editor, Chris Anderson for about 6 months previous and like to think we influenced the seeding of the feature :-)
Related posts: The MediaSnackers Meme #1, #2, #3, #4 & #5
Filed by DK on October 26 2007 | READ IT »
Wales Media Literacy Network
[SUMMARY—A launch.]
(WAL) MediaSnackers were invited to the launch of the Wales Media Literacy Network (website to launch) which is funded by Ofcom. Here's some notes from the evening (forgive the lack of depth but I was listening and watching):
Professor Mike Wilson talked about the venue (the University's brand new School of Creative and Cultural Industries' ATRiuM building in Cardiff) plus the sponsors of the event launch (RTS Wales Centre and the University of Glamorgan).
Rhodri Williams, Director of Ofcom Wales discussed the definitions of media literacy and it''s role in how it shapes the network plus it's plan for an online network and a map of case studies.
NIACE Dysgu Cymru showed a short film about their adult learning campaign.
Gareth Morlais spoke brilliantly about the BBC Wales digital storytelling project and showed a great film illustrating their work.
Canllaw Online is youth focussed like MediaSnackers and runs the 112 digilabs in and around Wales. Each center has two facilitators and equipment through a partnership with Fujitsu. use the net with support and offer them a platform to show off their stuff. credu (sp?) portal.
Sean Hughes was there from ITV Wales showing a short on their little project enabling people to give reading the news a go on a mock set.
The Merthyr Media Project was last up talknig about their work on the Gurnos estate. Their biggest historical problem is engaging people. What started as a little animation project aimed at 5-11 year olds became really successful and now have the support of two multi-media artists and have been running about 18 months.
To wrap up proceedings was Alex Woolley, Wise Kids talked about how the internet has evolved and has challenges plus opportunities. Mentioned web 2.0 about the creative element of being online, social networks, read/write web and listed opportunities.
Was great to meet some media focussed peeps and we'l watch this emerging space/platform/network with interest :-)
Filed by DK on October 25 2007 | READ IT »
Be Very Afraid Part Two
[SUMMARY—Short video review.]
(GBR) At the beginning of the week MediaSnackers attend the Be Very Afraid 07 event in London (part of the London Games Festival)—here's a short video review:
The whole event was inspiring and fun—thanks to those who took the time to speak to MediaSnackers and thanks also to Stephen Heppell for the invite. Full list of participants to follow.
UPDATE: Schools/institutions involved in the day:
• Whitmore Junior School, Basildon
• St Columba's School, Dundee
• Dhoon School, Isle of Man
• Capel le Ferne School, Kent
• Blackheath School, London
• Lampton School, Hounslow
• Stepping Stones, Sussex
• Notschool.net
• University College for the Creative Arts, Maidstone
• Bournemouth University
Related pos: Be Very Afraid Part One
Filed by DK on October 25 2007 | READ IT »
Digital Journalists For The Digital Media Literacy Summit
[SUMMARY—Makes sense really.]
(GBR) MediaSnackers has been commissioned by the Media Literacy Task Force to provide training and support for young people to become digital journalists at the Digital Media Literacy Summit 2007 event, hosted at Channel 4, 8 November 2007.
Filed by DK on October 24 2007 | READ IT »
Be Very Afraid Part One
[SUMMARY—Or very inspired.]
(GBR) MediaSnackers has been invited to attend the Be Very Afraid event in London today (we're very honoured as only 200 invites went out)—it's part of the London Games Festival.
Hosted annually by Prof. Stephen Heppell (check out our podcast interview with him) we'll be hopefully capturing some sweet footage for a forthcoming vodcast episode:
"Be Very Afraid" annually brings us all up to speed with what our children are capable of, when you add inspired teachers, new technology, imagination and a little space into the mix. It has become a major fixture for senior policy makers and for those who care about the future of cinema, television, games and learning. nowadays, they are afraid to miss it!
Related post: Be Very Afraid Part Two
Filed by DK on October 22 2007 | READ IT »
Possible Partnerships
[SUMMARY—International collaborations.]
(WORLD) After our podcast with Cathy Davidson, the co-founder of HASTAC and the guys who are administering the new $2 million Digital Media and Learning Competition, MediaSnackers was honoured to be approached by two organisations to become a delivery partner in their proposal to the competition
Not only have we featured these guys work on our blog, but we have conducted podcast interviews with them and simply admire their focus and operations:
• Global Kids Inc (podcast link)
• Project Happiness, part of the Dalai Lama Foundation operations (podcast link)
The competition has had 1010 entries and we'll have to wait till February 2008 to find out if the proposals are successful—we're just chuffed to be asked.
Digital Media and Learning Competition
Filed by DK on October 19 2007 | READ IT »
The MediaSnackers Meme #5
[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:
To cater to what it believes is the short attention span of online audiences, the network today is launching CBS EyeLab, a digital-production studio that will create and distribute short clips cut together from the network's most popular shows.
Attempts by one of the biggest TV netweork to win back viewers through the web.
If velocity is indeed one of the prime attributes of Social Media )you can argue the point—but heck, speed is screamingly important these days) then Snackbytes are my way of ensuring that I share my thoughts in the moment so that they retain relevancy with the many topics and conversations I follow and engage in on-line.
From the weblog from Deborah Schultz.
Tweets keep everything short and sweet, perfect for sound-bite nation or media snackers.
John Johnston about his experiences of following a presentation via Twitter.
The MediaSnackers Meme #1, #2, #3 & #4
Filed by DK on October 19 2007 | READ IT »
IT Departments
[SUMMARY—Regain control.]
(WORLD) One of the biggest challenge MediaSnackers face when delivering (or attempting to deliver) our training are the IT departments. Some have been simply superb whilst others plain stubborn.
One of the biggest challenges our clients face when discussing using technology and new media in their organisation is their IT departments restrictive policies. We always tell them:
The IT department works for you and not the other way round.
Something which Hugh from GapingVoid illustrates beautifully in his image above.
Filed by DK on October 18 2007 | READ IT »
AMA Features MediaSnackers Interview
[SUMMARY—Nice change.]
(GBR) AMA (professional development body open to all arts professionals passionate about bringing arts and audiences together in the UK and internationally) interviewed MediaSnackers and has featured it in their latest issue of JAM (Journal of Arts Marketing).
Download the interview: LINK (160KB PDF).
Filed by DK on October 17 2007 | READ IT »
Information R/evolution
[SUMMARY—WOW!]
Filed by DK on October 16 2007 | READ IT »
Plugged Into Uni
[SUMMARY—Reflecting on uni web-life.]
(GBR) A month has gone by and I'm suddenly a different person. I've thrown myself whole-heartedly into university and straight into Freshers' Week—a week of partying, dancing, drinking, socialising, not remembering people's names and more dancing. It's a scary prospect to leave the comforts of home and study at university. I didn't realise how good I had it until my parents actually drove off and I was there, all alone. No-one to do my cooking, cleaning, washing or ironing. No-one to tidy after me! I'm my own person now and THAT is something to be afraid of.
I've said goodbye to all my friends, my boyfriend, my home, my school and everything that I've known to start a different life. It's been a big jump. Everyone was so depressed in my hall to find that there are no wireless facilities (however, I've managed to pick up a signal in my room… yes!) and scrambled to the bar downstairs where there is wi-fi, adding new friends and next door neighbours on Facebook, exchanging emails and phone numbers. It makes me wonder how people coped 'back in the day'—socialising has becoming so easy and accessible for most people but a few decades ago (not that I was alive) there was no Internet, no mobile phones, no Facebook (thinking about it makes me feel ill). They had carrier pigeons (haha) and messengers on horseback (of course I know that's a long time ago!), but seriously, how did they cope?! I've asked a few friends I've made here to talk about what a world without checking inbox's and broadcasting your face to millions would be like.
It sounds like a world I don't want to live in. It would be boring because there'd be nothing to do! Procrastination is key and it's something to distract me from the stresses of the real world.
Naomi, 18 (roommate!)
I think I would cope fine because it's only there to waste time and you'd probably find something else to waste your time on. I'd much rather we didn't have technology because I'd have better, more intellectual things to do, like reading books.
Jess, 18 (course buddy)
I think it would be particularly difficult for me, living so far away. Because the only way I can keep in contact (I live in the States) is through email and by phone. It makes life a lot more easier having these things to use. However, it does stress me out a lot because when you email a friend, and they don't respond immediately you start to think, 'What am I missing out on? What's so exciting back at home that they can't back to me?'
Rosamunde, 17 (two doors down)
However conflicting some of these views may be, we've just been sitting here for a few hours or so, replying to emails, uploading photographs from the night before and writing comments on friend's walls. Even though we may say that we could deal without many of these things, we would obviously rather not go without. I would even go so far as saying that the Internet and everything that comes with it has become saviour. Geek? Me? Never.
Filed by DK on October 15 2007 | READ IT »
The World Has Changed…#15
[SUMMARY—Illustrating the ever-changing media menu.]
(WORLD) More evidence that the world is changing for MediaSnackers everywhere from these recent articles:
• young people using Bebo to become activists;
• if you have a mobile phone you can now launch you own TV channel;
• MySpace is getting into documentaries;
• get academic credits from watching YouTube;
• you no longer have to attend a film festival to attend a film festival.
Related posts: The World Has Changed#1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14.
Filed by DK on October 13 2007 | READ IT »
The Fourth Screen
[SUMMARY—Nokia short.]
(WORLD) "Archived from Nokia's press material for the Go:Play events, this short video is truly inspirational and applies to all true smartphone and next generation mobile devices."
Filed by DK on October 12 2007 | READ IT »
CTAM Europe Conference: Part Four
[SUMMARY—What the young participants thought.]
(SPA) We were editing down the video footage from our speaking/moderating gig at the CTAM Europe conference in Barcelona and thought we'd share with you what the young people thought of the experience of being on stage and being quizzed about their media habits:
Extended highlights from the conference will be featured in the MediaSnackers news section of our next vodcast episode.
Thanks again to Abel, Loreto, Marc, Maria, Maria, Narcis, Nuria and Stefano plus teacher Marta!
Related link: CTAM Europe Conference: Part One, Part Two & Part Three
Filed by DK on October 10 2007 | READ IT »
Futuregazing
[SUMMARY—Please stop.]
(WORLD) Along the lines of our consultation is dead mantra, here's another one we throw around—you're in a some kind of meeting or discussing the development of a youth-specific project/strategy when someone says (as justification for doing whatever it is you're doing):
…young people are our future…
MediaSnackers (politley) challenge this everytime we hear it.
It's simply wrong and also shifts the focus away from the present!
It should be:
Young people are the active citizens of today!
We (adults) have to find ways to enable them to be.
If you start from this point the horizon doesn't seem as daunting or far away.
Filed by DK on October 10 2007 | READ IT »
Is The Internet Bad For Kids?
[SUMMARY—Or is it just parents don't know enough?]
(GBR) The UK government is launching an independent investigation into the effects of the internet on kids. It's being led by psychologist, Dr Tanya Byron and they are calling for peoples' views on…
the risks to children and young people of exposure to potentially harmful or inappropriate material on the internet and video games.
It's a crucial question to ask but surely it has to complimented with another review on the positive effects of gaming and the internet (something we talked about here). To be fair, Dr Byron is referenced talking about the positive espects of such use, however, maybe the focus on the knowledge vacuum between young people and their parents…
You can find the review here.
MediaSnackers has already responded to the call via email and hoping to hear back on how we can be involved.
UPDATE (24.11.07): MediaSnackers got an email back today although we think we're the 'victim' of a cut and paste and general email response response as no-one here is called 'Hilary' and none of the questions were answered… ah well!
Filed by DK on October 9 2007 | READ IT »
Dubplate Drama
[SUMMARY—Interactive online tv series.]
(GBR) Dubplate Drama is weekly cross-platform drama where the viewers decide what happens next. You can check out a couple of their episodes on their myspace page but it's also available on your mobile plus through MTV and Channel 4 (this project has an amazing array of partners involved—check the bottom of their homepage).
However, they're not the only ones operating in this space and creating content specifically for the viewers to shape: Warner is busy developing their strategy and then there's MySpaces' quarterlife.
Mediasnackers is thinking this space is going to get very crowded very quickly.
Filed by DK on October 7 2007 | READ IT »
Subscribing To The MediaSnackers Vodcast
[SUMMARY—It's easy when you know how.]
(WORLD) In case you missed it in the last episode, here's how to subscribe to our vodcasts for FREE:
Filed by DK on October 6 2007 | READ IT »
My Mates Are My Media
[SUMMARY—Media and youth, youth and media ad infinitum.]
(WORLD) MediaSnackers has a simple focus: how young people consume and create media across the globe.
There are a vast amount weblogs, organisations and businesses out there focussing on this topic; some just on the technology aspect, several around the education arena, numerous on the marketing subject and others on new media platforms—but one HUGE constant keeps repeating for us:
You can't explore the impact of new media and technology on young people without exploring the impact of young people on new media and technology (and vice versa and so on and so forth).
In the 1950s a programme called Winky Dinky and You invited young people to participate in their show by using acetate and drawing the characters off the television screens. Over half a century later we have a generation interacting, creating, producing, owning, sharing, influencing all forms of media through the pervasive technology and devices they own or have access to.
We have also reached an unparralleled level of information and media in our society. Advertising has become more directive, aggresive and also ubiquitous. It's essential to challenge and ascertain any harm the media having on young people and ask those questions regarding responsibility.
Is it about technology, access, psychology or a deeper paradigm shift in empowerment and creativity?
There is a kick-ass quote from a young person in the Circuits of Cool research by Microsoft/MTV 2007 which goes:
My mates are my media.
Wow!
In our training, speaking and consulting gigs we share fantastic stories about young people creating and using new media and technology in a pro-social context—illustrative case studies which got no or extremely little mainstream media coverage. We also educate our clients and the young people we work with on how to define their media menu and of course create their own (plus how to share and disseminate it).
This new media climate brings about a new set of questions relating to who has the greatest capacity, reach, impact etc.—the young people or the media?
The answer(s) keep changing along with the evolving mediascape but we have the passion and enthusiasm to keep asking the question. More importantly the understanding to explore how the media is shaping the youth of today whilst exploring how youth are shaping media.
MediaSnackers is currently working on a project which brings these all too often separate discussions together.
Filed by DK on October 6 2007 | READ IT »
SEYP Keynote
[SUMMARY—A great speaking gig.]
(GBR) At the beginning of the week MediaSnackers delivered a keynote presentation at the South Est Youth Partnership AGM in Guildford. The partnership comprises of all the 19 Local Authority Statutory Youth Services and Councils for Voluntary Youth Services and the theme for the AGM was Communication.
We met some great people and would like to thank them all for their hospitality and warm comments:
DK presented to the South East Youth Partnership AGM and turned it from a meeting into an event. He was challenging, thought provoking and his enthusiasm was contagious. We are now all aware of how much we did not know. The room was buzzing with ideas these managers were going to take back to their work place and their workers to improve and facilitate the conversations with young people.
This was one presentation that really will make a difference.
Hilary Lewis, Chief Executive, South East Youth Partnership
Filed by DK on October 5 2007 | READ IT »
MediaSnack-snack-snackers#19
[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':
More than 80% of mobile users have downloaded songs or comic dialogue to be used as their ring tones. Downloading ring tones has become a representative for your individuality and image with hundreds of websites to download ring tones. There are two types of ring tone categories: Songs and Character Ring Tones. The first includes English and Chinese pop songs, classical music, and even the national anthem. Character ring tones can be sounds of animals, nature, and funny things or dialogue from a movie or play and amusing phrase or short talk. In Guangzhou, Cantonese pop songs are one of the favorite choices. 41% would change their ring tones within a week and 42% would change within 2 weeks.
An insighstful article featuring the trends of Chinese young people.
Alex Bookbinder, 19, is the creator of the "Support the monks protest in Burma" campaign on the Internet social networking phenomenon Facebook. It has attracted nearly 140,000 members since being launched on September 19, and thousands more are joining each day.
How certain social networks are giving young people a platform to mobilise.
Nearly two thirds (62%) of networking sites users say they are worried about the safety of their personal data held on these sites, reveals a survey conducted by email research specialists, emedia, using its RapidResearch service. The concern is so high that almost one third of users (31%) have already entered false information about themselves to protect their identity.
Protecting your identity online means lying.
MediaSnack-snack-snackers #1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 & 18.
Filed by DK on October 4 2007 | READ IT »
Confusing Research Results
[SUMMARY—Or should that read 'confused parents'?]
(USA) Here's some latest research which had us scratching our heads.
Conducted by Common Sense Media with parents of 6-18 year olds, the phone survey explored their attitudes and feelings towards their kids online use.
Here's what they found:
• third believed their kids spend too much time online although four out of five say it has helped them with their school work;
• three out of four state they have an issue with 'excessive exposure to advertising or commercialism online and exposure to coarse language, or sexual or violent content online' but majority of them have checked out the sites to ensure they meet their approval;
• creating searchable online profile or site was in their view innapropriate however the majority believed it has helped their kids to 'understand current events, express their creativity and connect with people with similar interests'.
Maybe we should start developing training for parents…
Filed by DK on October 3 2007 | READ IT »
OLED
[SUMMARY—The glimpse of the future.]
(WORLD) Check out this Sony's new flexible OLED display—only 0.3mm thick and fully flexible.
OLED stands for Organic Light Emitting Display and it's the future:
Via Influx Insights
Filed by DK on October 2 2007 | READ IT »
Viewing a list of entries for October 2007, you may also explore current and other entries, search or get our newsreader feed.
