Just been down to the Talk About Local Unconference at Staffordshire University Faculty of Arts, Media and Design.   A fantastic chance to meet lots of other like minded users of digital media. The Talk About Local event is about those who are involved in creating and contributing to digital media networks and in doing so, using those networks to bring our communities together.  We met to discuss our sucesses and failures, our triumphs et tribulations, our needs and our dreams for our future plans and to try to share with each other any lessons we might have learnt in the process.

 

I'm currently waiting for my camera to spit out the images from today onto my hard drive but 16 gig takes a while... there's other stuff on there too from the day before.

And they say this is not serious journalism    

Which brings me to my first point.             

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well maybe it's more of a wave. (don't mention wave  

we didn't get an advanced account either).

This is William Perrin...  We think he started Talk About Local.

 

The Talk About Local event drew together, somewhere over 100 people from all walks and areas of life. One common aim seemed to be a desire to bring our communities back together. Discovering ways to utilise the internet, the scourge of natural communication, to bring together people from around the country in one place, to discover and share ideas on how each of us tries to make that change and how we can learn from those who've been before us.

In talking to other online community conversationalists, we found such a varied group of extraordinary people were using their spare time to learn how to create and develop their own groups based losely around their own sphere of interest and in doing so, discovered other like minds within their own communities. No longer we're you watching the clock to see when the time zones between you and tokyo were in sync. These conversations were no longer stolen by candlight at unearthly hours of the night, with an online friend who plays the blues in louisiana...  No!  These people lived just streets away and everyone seemed to have a unique skill or a reasonable usefullness about their spheres of interest and so within minutes of meeting someone, heads would start to spill with ideas for the future. As people met and talked, we found many who shared a genuine common interest in what the other was doing. Collaboration ideas and skills we're being shared out like Smarties.

We met men and women from virtually every city in the UK and as the day grew on, it was easy to see how friendship and future work partners were naturally finding themselves. It was impossible to meet everyone in 1 day but next time there's a gathering, you'll be bound to meet friends who met other people from the previous get togethers and so new introductions could be so much gentler and easier in the future. This wasn't speed dating... this was proper people having a chance to chat in person about the thing they cared about most... People.

 

For a while now there has been a tribe of unity-activity, secretly and slowly working amongst you. Some of you reading this may already be aware of what I'm talking about. A tribe of people who get a buzz out of creating communities that are dedicated to their local area, such as Talk About Local, culturingstuff, blurbonline, Pits n Pots and the Creative Communities Unit from Staffordshire University.

The Creative Communities Unit will be providing accredited short courses during 2009 - 2010 to assist those who work or volunteer within the community.

Short Courses for 2009 - 2010 include:

• Getting Communities Involved
• Making it Happen in Community Arts
• Get Talking: Creative Community Consultation
• Project Cycle Management
• Partnership Working
• Evaluation in Community Programmes
• Performance in Community Programmes
• Developing Arts for Health
• Performance Coaching and Mentoring
• Community Arts in Global Perspective
• Equality and Diversity

For more information go to www.staffs.ac.uk/community

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Andrew Stott Director for Digital Engagement came to chat with us and share the governments standing on their approach digital media and its use as a tool in promoting community. I was a little let down by this seminar/chat. Either the style of content wasn't suiting me or the government angle seemed locked onto the mechanics of community rather than its heart. Whilst I found Andrew Stott to be a lovely bloke, his discussion slides and material pointed more towards gathering stats and trying to work out what direction the people might drive the internet next. Either I come from another world or the other folks in there seemed to be fixed on the same kind of agendas, and so questions and discussion hovered around these statistical discussions, whilst I would have prefered to discuss the social effect and direction of support the government might want to give. But the Unconference was a very free, organic feeling event, with people allowed to wander if they thought a subject was not what they thought it might be about and told not to worry about the speakers feelings, if they decided to leave. So once I was convinced that I was not so interested in stat collecting and protection of data, whilst sharing it, I slid out the door and across the street to find another discussion session on funding your community enterprises.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you'd like to get involved with government policy on digital engagement, please follow these text links:  PREVIEW http://bit.ly/QfiLQ The UK Gov is looking for developers to help refine their open data sharing techniques.

Follow Andrew Stott on Twitter Director for Digital Engagement.

Email Andrew Stott dirdigend@cabinet.offices.x.gsi.gov.uk  I'm sure he'd like people to share this info but if you are going to contact him, please don't spam him and keep it relevant, I'm sure he's a busy man.

Please respect the openess.

 

 

Also the geezers from Pits n Pots gave a great conference discussion on the role and current standing of community journalism. 

One of the discussions raised was about the distinction between NEWS & BLOGGING... Is there a difference? 

Is Blogging seen as the lesser sibling to the respectful news?

It seems so but for now I'll take my personal opinions back to the conference (well the pub now, for apres unconference jestings). Later I'll ad some further thoughts and pics... Can't do it all at once, that would be too pro and too organised.

 more later... Grand Prix calls

x

 

 

 

Ok I'm back... time for more serious journalism. hmmmm? Need a cuppa first before I do any thing... brb

 

Now where were we? Oh yeah blogging verses THE NEWS.

Well I'd like to start by slightly altering your perception, if I may?

Imagine we call THE NEWS, the established or accepted format of news. What happens then?

I get the feeling that most people assume that the NEWS as we take it in, is the ACTUAL TRUTH. All the repetitive images and the constant blabbing on about the same stories on each channel. No wonder we turn to more varied forms of information but it's not really about the repeats.

 

Pic: Matt Taylor discussing the merits of Community Journalism (Pits n Pots).

What I mean is, most people believe in the journalistic stereotypical image of the hack, trudging through the wind and rain on a dark New York Street, upholding the TRUTH... No matter what the pay. The idea that we're reading the truth, isn't necessarily the truth. You'd would hope that those who control our news content and the stories that get aired, would only have one consideration... THE TRUTH. Unfortunately in life, once money becomes involved, the initial foundations which drove us into action, then become secondary, as our need to survive takes precedent over our need for the truth. Take an established example of a large media production company and you'll find shareholders etc... People who've invested and now want their repayment; naturally. My problem isn't with the journalist, my problem is with the subtle nature of influence over intention once money becomes part of the equation. Once a journalist accepts payment for a story. Is the truth lost?

We are all technically share holders of the BBC. We pay our licence fee and now we want good programs! We're just the same as our share holder counterparts in the fact that we demand good, high quality programing. Results, now that we've paid our stake and now that entitles us to moan. And when we moan... heads roll. So there's always a latent pressure on the production staff of such programs to perform well, all the time and in the case of NEWS, also to entertain. When I talk about money, I'm not referring to back handers, corruption or ridiculous bonuses. No I mean that the truth becomes distorted as each individual tries to keep to the deadline of modern life, whilst trying to retain as much truth, credibility and dignity that the format will allow. But what's this got to do with Blogging?  

Just lately it seems as though every institution we hold dear, has some kind of skeletal defect waiting to be discovered if we decide to open the cupboard door. So with this in mind let's revert back to the point... How come blogging is blogging and the news is THE NEWS (all official and truthful) and is Bloggin seen as a lesser being, just because the format has no established rules or code of conduct?

And on that cliff hanger... I'll see yer tomorrow, there's a lot more to say about the Unconference itself. So please check back to see if I've added more, probably wont get chance till late on tomorrow. You can see how these events can stir up all manner of discussion.

I hope you'll join me tomorrow ...

 

It's tomorrow 4.29 am to be precise.

Those who know me, know that this is quite normal for me. One of those stolen moments last thing at night, promising myself I'll get out of this habbit of falling asleep whilst watching telly, only to wake around 3am, all crumpled up and cramped and woken by the sound of late night drag racing, all sweaty because I'd left the heating on full wack.

Now you know where I'm at...

let's get back to blogging versus the NEWS oherwise known as, established journalism. The discussion raised at the unconference, was with regard to the question;

Is blogging or are bloggers, respected members of the journalistic community?

At the moment I feel bloggers are seen as a bit of an unruly pest. Some might say "a bunch of folks who think they're journalists" others just choose to ignore the blogging community. Believing they might just go away. The truth is, the blogging will not go away and more and more people are moving back to the old oral, or in this case written tradition of information exchange. A classic personal recommendation, like the one's we use to have, when we used to meet in pubs. The blog is seen as an honest product, free from the stain of financial gain. Free from the pressure of finding an angle and therefor naturally more objective. Yes a little uninformed sometimes, maybe even libellous on occassion but mostly an honest reaction of a human bieng with regard to an injustice they feel aggrieved to. There is a feeling on our streets, that we can't trust those who've been given the priviledge of serving our communities. We dare not place our dreams in banks and the rainy days are everyday and so that resource has already been stripped away. In a world where our establishments have become corrupted by self service, our desire to trust in something, still looks on in hope.

The Blog, with it's spelling mistakes, it's sweeping accusations and it's legal naivety is here to stay... An institution in it's own right. A source of information, gossip and sometimes unintentional comedy. When someone reads a blog, they usually know, that this is the work of one individual. No deals have been struck, no pressure to perform. Just a rant. Some rants are a little more thought out than others and some bloggers, it's clear have had some form of Journalistic training. The NUJ National Union of Journalists works to protect and fight for the legal rights of journalists and the public in the process of their work. They not only fight for the freedom of speech but also fuel the debate to uphold the correct way to interact as a journalist in the greater world. Part of their programe of journalistic training includes the study of those ladies & gentlemen who founded the traditions of good journalism and inward reflection, hopefully creating a more respectful, thoughtful story teller. Someone who connects with their heart, as well as their camera or pen. Just because there's no NB National Union of Bloggers (or is there?) it doesn't mean there are no rules... Let the community decide.

As with most new ideas, there will always be resistance to bloggers, by those who have secrets which they would prefer the rest of us not to know. But I suspect we will grow to love the blog and all of it's unsophisticated power. The ordinary man has once again found a way of making individual change. On mass, well you know what happens there. A simple piece of text can create a snowball so large that it brings a country to account, usually started by "the little guy". As with everything currently, we are taking these concepts of news and media and having a reasonable amount of technical skill and a video camera/phone, we're making our own news, our own music, our own art. We're turning our backs on paying for things and sharing skills and knowledge for free. Our payment just a smile or a better more thoughtful future...  Community.

 

Want to find out information about your council? Ask this chap at Openly Local. Sorry we didn't catch his name, maybe he'd prefer it that way.  This idea of bloggers causing trouble for the establishment with their unprofessionalism is an argument that will not sustain. First of all we used future technologies to reach out across the world as we marveled at a geezer playing blues across a pond. But we became disengaged with our neighbours as we sat entranced by pixels of far of destinations. We stopped talking to our friends face to face because the established media told us it was dangerous to go out. Then one by one we came to the realisation that the air was sweet outside, despite the bright light and the out of control yoof. We used our computers to seek out like minds, had conversations to the contrary and went boldly where someone might have been before.

Now we have started to embrace the niceties of the past again, such as sharing and giving and the feeling of being local... Respect and self respect. The feeling of belonging, to a street, a community and a family of friends. We're making this environment of binary numbers a more human place to be.

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