Author: james

Mobile phone Footage of the Indian terrorist Ajmal Qasab being captured and beaten by Police. He is thought to be the only terrorist who survived the attacks that killed more than 170 people in Mumbai http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boDL-hQfKKM

Today’s Olympic opening ceremony left me both impressed and confused. The two year rehearsal period paid off and produced the most visually impressive performance that I have ever seen. Ironically the controlled manner in which the performance was carried out mirrors China’s total control over its own and the Tibetan people. However the chineese also encouraged people across the globe to submit online posts and content relating to the Olympic Games.

By adding the tagline #080808 to users content the information could be easily retrieved and then syndicated across multiple official and unofficial sites.

After watching the opening ceremony in Trafalgar square and then examining the sheer number and diversity of messages escalating around the blogosphere a true online community was formed and in full swing.

Hopefully due to the huge number of posts that were being published every second a substantial amount made it through the great firewall of china.

Two years ago I saw a young teenager who appeared to have stolen 2 DVDs receive OTT manhandling first by a security guard and then by two Hertfordshire police officers. Due to their lack of care and their insistence in holding on to his body a number of struggles soon led to the child being forced face down on a busy Watford high street as the frantic police officers awaited further backup! At the time I complained to the policeman who was brandishing most of the punishment. He took immediate offence and directed some of his rage in a mumbled outburst towards me. This led me to brandish my first video Camera phone (a Nokia 7600). After about 10 seconds of filming I was told by a different officer that I was not allowed to film the incident and if I didn’t leave the scene I would be arrested! Despite other citizens also kicking up a fuss none of our comments were listened to.

We were also told that we could only make a statement if we made our own way to the station. (Regrettably I did not find out where their station was and make a formal complaint). Since then I have been increasingly fascinated in how mobile UGC (user generated content) can help/hinder police investigations and trials. A few months ago I brainstormed ideas surrounding a mobile video upload site for a neighborhood watch campaign. However I disregarded the concept due to the fact that someone filming an incident could easily become a victim if they were seen. Therefore I came to the conclusion that such a campaign would never take off in the UK.

In New York however the police are actively encouraging citizens to stand up against crime and use their phone for the good of their fellow New Yorkers. “We’re putting technology in place to enable us to do that. It’s a fact of life, everybody has a camera in their telephones. When people can record an event taking place that helps us during an investigation, it’s helpful.” (New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly) Furthermore the NY police are actively encouraging citizens to film any wrong doings by the police. It will be interesting to see the success of this project and whether such a scheme ay e day be embraced in the UK and across the Globe.

Here is a recent mobile phone video of a NYPD officer assaulting a cyclist. It has already received over 1m views on Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAkRweEQxxI

Grand Theft Auto has been blamed for the killing of a taxi driver in Thailand. Plice chef investigator Veeravit Pipattanasak said the 18 year old student “wanted to find out if it was as easy in real life to rob a taxi as it was in the game,”
New Era Interactive Media, have now stated that they were “sending out requests today to outlets and shops to pull the games off their shelves and we will replace them with other games.”
Chief police investigator Veeravit Pipattanasak said, “[The teenager] said he wanted to find out if it was as easy in real life to rob a taxi as it was in the game.”
GTA has been taken of the shelves across Thailand as the student awats trial and a ossible death penalty.

Marketeers have been harnessing the power of video on video sharing sites for years. However submitting videos to sites such as Youtube, Yahoo Video, Metacafe etc is now widely embraced by smaller charities and organisations in order to help further their cause.

Small scale Youtube marketing strategy

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oaF6oFmZ_qw 

 
Ø Watch and research other charities videos
Ø Make your video interesting
Ø Include a call to action at the end
Ø Seed the video using relevant (Meta) keywords and descriptions
Ø Let your user base know that the video exists by sending out an email with a link to the video
Ø Once you have the embed code seed it on Social networking sites (Facebook, Myspace, blogs etc)
Ø Encourage people to share the video
I have helped numerous charities market themselves within video sharing sites. I am happy to give free advice and recommend a bespoke strategy over the phone.

Last Thursday I attended the first ever Catalyst awards ceremony at the Imagination Gallery. The Catalyst awards is a new awards ceremony that recognises the outstanding use of Social media and technology that leads to social change.

The attendees demographic included a good mix of techies, innovators and social media folk.
An hour and a half after the 8.30am champagne reception had started Gordon Brown (Chairman of the Council on Social Action) delivered an articulate and thoughtful speech. Soon after he presented the first award. Once the presentations was over a speed networking event took place in order to help form friendships and future collaborations.

• Community Award – Savvy Chavvy

• David and Goliath Award – Liftshare

• Chalk and Cheese Award – FreqOUT!

• Enterprise Award – Slivers of Time

• Revolutionary Award – Wheelies

• Self-Help Award – School of Everything

• Individual Hero – Helen Anderson

• People’s Choice Award – Freeconomy Community

For more information about the winners projects go to the Catalyst awards winners page.

Contact a family has recently opened up a new virtual drop in centre within second life.

Contact a Family is a government funded initiative. They have embraced the platform and created a digital office for the parents of disabled children. The office opening times are 10am-4pm, Monday to Friday. However resources and information can be accessed out of hours. It allows parents of disabled children who are often homebound to meet and interact in real time through their avatars.

Contact a family have embraced the full social media spectrum with accounts and applications on Facebook, MySpace and Bebo, Youtube, Twitter and its own network, makingcontact.org.

The continual humanitarian struggle within Burma has been well publicised over the last few months.

However I thought it would be a good idea to highlight a number of recent events within the country that specifically relate to sharing information within the digital sphere.

Author and blogger Nay Phone Latt who has been in custody for six months has had the charges held against him changed from the crimes against ‘the video act’ to the ‘Emergency Provisions Act’. The hearing was due to be held this week and he now faces a maximum of 7 years in prison. Latts lawer claims that the Burmese law enforcement agencies “do not respect and abide by the law” as they “change their charge sheet again and again”. Meanwhile Latt’s eye condition continues to deteriorate and his mother fears that her son is slowly going blind due to the nonexistent medical treatment.

Meanwhile the famous on/offline human rights activist (and previous heart patient) Suu Suu New received a head blow whilst arguing with prison authorities in late June. She is currently suffering from high blood pressure as she sits in solitary confinement. Medicine has been sent to her however there has been no confirmation from the authorities or Suu Suu that they have reached her.

(Informaiton via Mizzima News)

Just over a week ago I participated in an interactive event/conversation that cross referenced using performance and art with that of human rights.

The key topics revolved around the issues, roles and responsibilities that artists, activists and those within the media can and should embrace. The basic concept of the event allowed members of the auditorium to interact with the event only when sat on the large table in the centre of the room.

The events concept was conceived by Lois Weaver one of the founders of This is Live Art. The event explored the relationship surrounding art and theatre poverty from a number of angels and perspectives. These ranged from heartfelt personal experiences to wishy washy statements and points of view. The diversity within the crowd allowed for an interesting debate however there seemed to be a divide between those who wanted to make beautiful and interesting theatre and those who thought more pragmatically about how theatre and art can be used in order to evoke change. This divide seemed to stop the debate progressing and the conversation occasionally went stale in anticipation for a new subject matter or a controversial statement.

At one point I was gunned down by a theatrical purist seconds after suggesting the use of YouTube as a tool that the arts may wish to embrace in today’s video enriched society. Anyhow overall it was an interesting event with some interesting areas to take influence from.

This debate will explore the recent change in behaviour and attitudes towards privacy largeley evoked by Social media and technology.

These social and technological developments include new mobile technologies, self-publishing tools and social networking sites (Facebook, Bebo etc).The conversation will explore perceived privacy issues between the younger and older generations? Are we naive by putting so much private information online and unaware of the consequences in later life? Will we all have to get used to a world where there is almost no boundary between public and private life? What are the implications for society when people reveal so much about themselves to the world?

The panel of expert judges includes, Matthew Taylor, chief executive of the RSA, Claire Fox, director of Institute of Ideas, Iain Dale, one of Britain‘s leading political commentators and Stephen Whittle, visiting fellow at the Reuters Institute of Journalism at Oxford University. The Panel will question expert Witnesses from the personal, the political, the virtual and the academic worlds, including: Camilla Wright from popular blog Popbitch; Jean Seaton, Professor of Media History at the University of Westminster and Official Historian of the BBC; Dr Tanya Byron, child psychologist and author of a governmental report on the impact of the internet on children and Tom Ilube, CEO of Garlik, the online identity experts.

This should be an interesting debate and it will be fascinating cross evaluating the thoughts of those within new media against that of a political commenter.

Let me know if you are going to come along! Tickets are free and still available here