Catching up with friends to talk tech is a boon for me and being able to share those conversations with a wider network is why FibreCa.mp is a concept to be embraced. It's been a year since the studio was fired up in a small box room in Lace Market House and now it's headed down in to the basement. It's a Bat Cave of media making with its own super hero! Tirelessly making media and networking to kick start the studio in to thriving business. I think t's called Boot Straping. At PCM we are bit more like Shoe Lacing! Enjoy this weeks show. Thanks to KuKuAps's @LucyHG for joining me again in the studio.
Wow, where do I start? My co-colaborator and epic media maker @PhilCampbell is at SXSW (south by southwest) I am here in the UK going about my day to day at PCM creative. SXSW is the world stage conference for technology and more specifically the interactivity with technology. Twitter made centre stage in 2006 to become a global phenomenon. After listening to SCVNGR's Seth Priebatsch keynote introducing me to his concepts of 'the social layer' and 'the game layer' of the Internet's interactive evolution my SXSW engagement has been valuable even if its been from afar. Pepsico have been live streaming a selection of the keynotes and panel sessions through out the conference.
Not attending has had its plus points believe it or not. You may be aware of my event and online network curation activity. Essentially it is about focusing web activity and filtering relevant and interesting content to a location where it can be engaged with. More importantly it is the potential to provide a point of engagement with others who are accessing the online experience. Media only becomes social when it is sharable and the audience tangible. Gathering around a collection of media so people can reach out and exchange views, opinions and comments in real time is the legacy of web 2.0. Well that's what I think anyway.
SXSW has generated a Tsunami of Twitter activity. I have wrestled with my conscience about using the term Tsunami in the light of recent events in Japan and I intend no detriment to the tragedy that is unfolding which is truly incomprehensible but its the over riding and overwhelming visual cascade of chatter I have witnessed. As a social media practitioner specialising in filtering activity for an online audience being one step removed has meant I can consider the best way to syphon and distill a coherent media stream in order to interact with the event taking place in real time.
Mixed in the unfiltered stream is captured visual and audio media, observations, location announcements from individuals and shout outs for imminent happenings, local facility recommendations, event back-channels where teams or groups communicate and stay in touch with a collective using social mediums. It's a noisy information highway.
So how do you make sense of the stream of consciencness that spews from an event like SXSW? Writing down my processes I find hard. I visualise and filter. I am determined to share my discovering. If I can't blog what I do how can I get people to engage me to do this for future events.
I am compiling a collection point, an active and constantly updating noticeboard. Anyone can access it and consume. The lagacy of web 2.0 is the social, the conversation it is this element I strive to facilitate to provide, an entry point to experience for those who are unable to attend in person.
I was there with Phil Campbell @philcampbell for Architects Journal to live stream the winners announcement for Isover's Multi-Comfort House competition. The announcement lasted 20 minutes but you can't let mobile media makers loose on such an event with out them embracing the opportunity to share what they experience. In addition to the live stream (now availible to view on demand on Bambuser) we delivered live podcasts via AudioBoo and photos via Instagram capturing the essense of the largest eco and sustustainable construction-industry exibition in the UK probably Europe. EcoBuild in the US I imagine is stupidly big so I won't say "the world"!
Using social media platforms, mobile devises and tags it was possible to capture and post directly to the Architects Journal website in real-time.
I really want to do more work like this. On the ground real-time engagement at events. The preparation of the physical event is all consuming for organisers. I know I've been there. What social media practitioners like Phil & I provide is a window on all the hard work that results in successful events. Sharing the buzz and offering an alternative experience is what PCMprojects does. The potential of this coverage with considered social media engagement, matched with accomplished practitioners adds a dimension beyond the physical as well as creating a legacy archive of what took place at little or no extra cost. Cool eh? I love working on cross platform, digital curation, event amplification projects.
Must find more.
Even my photo montage edit was done on a mobile devise using an app called Slice.