Election Daze Long Eaton - What went down?

Open Space Hurrah!

• What is political power?
• How biased is our political system to protecting the status of a (real) ruling power?
• Is politics in the UK broken?
• Is political debate in the UK too narrow or simplistic to take in the dynamic of the wider world?
• How do we improve/raise voter turnout?
• Do we really have democracy in the UK?
• Is voter apathy used as a strategic tool in political thinking?
• What if we get a hung parliament?
• What became of the BNP?
• Is Politics too short-term?
• Why is politics so short-term?
• Do we need a new voting system?
• Did Brexit break tribal politics?
• Why isn't politics talking about the future impact of IT?

No planned test of the Fire Alarm today.

At a venue based event, 'housekeeping' tends to include 'there is no planned testing of the fire alarm system today', the location of the toilets, timings of the key elements of the day, invariably the prescribed hashtags and perhaps the wifi code.

TOP TIP:  hashtags, Twitter handles and wifi code should be on 'table talkers' on each table, printed to appear at the top of each page of the event schedule/programme or on an easy to hand out info flyer.

For the extended audience, it's one major thing, 'What to do if the internet goes down'!

Extending The Audience - Mind The Gap

Emerging out of the results and lessons learnt from the 2014 Arts and Audiences Conference in Rekjavik, where the Digital Audience Experience (DAEx) was conceived as a real time experiement to extend the reach of the physical event audience using digital tools. Extend The Audiences was commissioned by BAFA - British Arts Festivals Assocation's Mind The Gap conference in 2015.

Check out the legacy scrapbook webpage. It also hosts the audio of the talk I delivered to provide context to the initiative.

I wish to begin by talking about the finances. Essential expenses are non-negotiable, (travel, accomocation and the provision of a sensible meals allowence) a digital audience expeience can cost a little as you can afford. I remember well something I learn attending various business seminars, Marketing should be seen as an core investment not an extranious expense. The same is true of when considering an audience. What is the value of your online audience? Do you want them to pay for the online offering? Do you want them to subsidise the provision on the venue-to-web content? Is the content produced by a social media team as bragging-promotioanl-ambient-fodder or, Do you want to encourage the participation of those who wish to join an online audience 'experience'? Are you wanting an active or passive audience?

The pursose of both events (Arts and Audiences / BAFA's Mind The Gap) was to bring together like-minded professional working in the sectors of 'arts and culture audience development' in regards to the Nordic Councils' Arts and Audiences Conference and for organisers or arts, music, culture and science festivals in regards to UK based oganisation BAFA.

Ever since the conception of MediaCampNottingham which chose to run a business event on a saturday, my own audience demographic tartget has been those looking to continue their own personal and professional development, often refered to as CPD. Depending on where within an organisation you are employed opportunities to develop knowledge can be limited. Being a regular conference delegate on behalf of your employer is a privalege afforded to a few. That opportunity may require a report back to the wider employ in the department or it may be a peer privelige to provide opportunity to meet fellow professionals working within the sector in which you work. This tends to be primarily to share findings, research and resulting case studies. Influental people are invited to deliver talk, presentations and lead workshops.

A good conference can be inspiring, informative, enriching and instrumental to developing further from a knowledge and industry underderstanding and in networking with future project partners.

But not everyone gets to attend. Extending the Audience is about embodying that sentiment. With wifi and connected meeting rooms with projectors I've long been an advocate for streaming events into board rooms with refreshements, or groups meeting geographically to collectively watch a livestream of an event. Platforms like Appear and Google Hangout can take 8 connections. That can be single face to face conections or windows on entire satilite micro events or gatherings all connecting to the 'video room' for a untiting experience using the digital environment as the common space.

I'm always looking for organisation wanting to explore the digital potential of extending their traditional audience offering.

Using existing mainstream platforms and direct dialogue with the registered digital audience registrants I  create online audience experiences with real value to those individuals participating remotely. If you were wondering I am an independent social media practitioner and capable of operating independently of a venue's infrastructure. I require power and a good 4G mobile signal.
 
For BAFA's Mind The Gap - Extend the Audience the following apps formed a toolset shared with anyone wanting to take part.

1. Appear.in a browser based online video meeting space for post session discussion after watching live streamed presentations or for digital audience lounge-chat breakouts
2. Periscope/Bambuser to mobile livestream
3. Blab.im to deliver panel discussions with digital audience opportunities to join the panel and enter the discussion.
4. BEME to facilitate fly-on-the-wall, first person perspective video streams of the guided tour event elements independent of the fixed location conference venue.

All the apps in the toolkit for that event are details on the scrapbook page along with download links for iOS and Android versions of the apps where availible. Its also about enabling the audience you have geographically being able to share with ease with thier own networked audiences too.

Interested? Get in touch through the PCM contact web page or Tweet me @pcmcreative

I have so many plans for this initiative. So much potential for audience reach as well as legacy documentation.

 

Is Digital Resistance Ultimately Futile?

This is about WORK / LIFE balance. What what???

We are all familiar with work and its lovely if it comes hand in hand with pay but 'life' and 'balance' are trickier beasts to lure. Have you had your future changed by the career path you chose? Do you have children? Did children never happen? Did you ever think children would be part of your future? Has having children changed the way you are perceived in the work place? On 28th September Equity hosted a meeting to discuss the event and the new campaign. From the table discussions its seems certainly a YES that many parents are seen differently post child arrival.

Stagemanagers - PIPA meet up

LEFT: photo taken from a remote access location showing the view of the online host.

Providing attendance options other than traveling to venues, especially for meetings that take as long to travel to as the event duration itself is a digital reality with the state of current social technology right now.

As an advocate of 'making good use of the things that I find' hence my other online persona; The Social Media Womble, it is Google's suit of apps that holds great promise especially for collaboration and cross compatibility of most existing mobile and desktop technology hardware.

Google Hangout is Google's video chat and meeting app. For the PIPA Equity Info meeting this facilitated 2 connections with 9 participants (7 at the venue and 2 remote connection visible just within the shaded lower title box in the photo to the left)

Over the last year I've hosted Hangout to run along side Equity events and meeting as well as a series of sessions called 'Meet The Moderator' inviting Online Branch members to login and share their hopes, frustrations and expectations regarding Equity's online and digital offering in an attempt to conceptually establish an online spacial presence where members can meet and connect both socially and for industry sector knowledge insights.

Can we let go of our physical necessity to attribute meaningful experiences to 'being there'? Can we envisage participating remotely with each person being physically located not where the experience is unfolding and recognise the collective propinquity of 'taking part'? Is the disappointment of not being somewhere or the envy of physical experience a human factor we can ever over come?

I proposed a remote audience access option where this Hangout (see photo above) was part. After all the nature of parenting often exclude mums and dads from attending events directly because of childcare responsibilities. The mind set of the venue technical staff closed down the possibility of this being realised at the launch on the 16th resulting from the misleading self determination of the potential of modern social technology provision offered by practitioners such as myself.

I have host live theatre livestream with chat rooms running and been delighted to discuss with viewers the experience of one lady watching theatre while stroking her cat sleeping on her knee, And a couple watching from home with their newborn sleeping soundly. These audience experiences touch me deeply and as a theatre practitioner audience stories in the age of social are what drives every social media platform from Twitter and Facebook to Yelp and YouTube.

It is all to easy to focus of capacity for box office break even but what about the reason we create and perform? To entertain and inform. As a technical arts practitioner and stagemanager I delight in providing access being to the suspension of disbelief on stage with props, lighting or sound to the facility to open the production doors wider than ever before and welcome in the digital viewers and provide more than marketing or web design but a hosted social experience where attending from home or remotely organised satellite event can be as meaningful and being a 'bum on a seat'. 

PIPA - Parents in the Performing Arts Campaign Launch

16th October at Young Vic Theatre, London

Website: http://www.pipacampaign.com/

Manifesto: http://www.pipacampaign.com/manifesto/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/PIPAinfo

Equity Childcare Motion at TUC 2015: http://www.pipacampaign.com/equity-childcare-motion/

#FutureFest - paperless

Do you have a QR code scanner of choice? Do you have a QR code scanner at all? What about creating them? If you don't use QRcodes what about link shorteners like bit.ly? For the leap of uber geekery, where do you stand on augmented reality?

I am always looking to optomise and declutter, part of that is not acquiring more. 

Heading to FutureFest on Sunday my thoughts turn to packing and preparing to be present. Business cards are a staple, but if my card collection and networking experience is anything to go by I tend to exchange tweets, exchange email via DM (direct message) and meet for coffee if a work collaboration is really on the cards.

I do like cards and have quite a collection! I tend to attend events in many capacities so getting a one size fits all card is always problematic.

I do meet people who are far more interested in the projects I've worked on and supported rather than me so I used to carry a few project packs or booklets in a folder.

Now I carry a key ring. (see picture above) I like to share and distribute the project findings, especially in same sector conferences.

On the digital key ring are the following

The TLOEOLT - The League of Extraordinary Online Talent - Brochure on Scribd

@pcmcreative - @PhilCampbell - @DanielRoseArt ... The Team 

The Great thing with these is I can update the brochures, even change the links at not extra cost.

There is also a geo-location feature that enables me to see where the scan was made. This is particularly useful with unique codes on posters or printed materials. 

PCM social web assistant program - MONICA brochure on Scribd

 

This would be brochure number two I'd be carrying around. Its the consultancy service I offer and I tend to be at conferences to represent client projects and not to promote myself. If anyone asks I'm prepared if I have a code that can be scanned. I'm looking for clients with a spirit of tech adventure. It they have a scanner it tells me a lot about their mind set.

The 2014 Audiences Europe PDF case studies to share the Open All Areas audience development research findings resulting from the Creative Europe Grundvig Funded program. 

There are 13 reports in this set of PDF's they have been collected on ISSUU in a 'stack'. Access and downloads can be tracked. Data and use stats can only be a good thing?

Casestudies

NORWAY
Performa 
Oslo Atlas 

NORTHERN IRELAND
Belfast Murals
HitchHickers

BELGIUM
BXL NORD
WIELS

 

ITALY
Intercultural service, Biblioteche di Roma
DIAMOND

NETHERLANDS
Museum Rotterdam: the Visitors Matrix
Theater Zuidplein: co-creation

SPAIN
Apropa Cultura
Museum, a place for all

Denmark
In Copenhagen, I Belong
SKIS

 

A QR code makes sharing so much easier!

 

I also have one with my contact details, including a follow link to Twitter and G+ plus a YouTube video showcasing the Livestream continuity studio, which is part of the Digital Audience Experience I'm working on right now.

 

I've got a few more QR codes... There is also the event app for Arts and Audiences created with Bizzabo and a code for the Bizzabo app itself. Only thing I can't have a code for is a QR code reader!

 

So I wonder if anyone at #FutureFest will have a quick draw QR code reader?

#FutureFest - On your marks...

NESTA asserts to be the UK’s innovation foundation. They say it “uses FutureFest to gather some of the most radical thinkers, makers and performers together to create an immersive experience of what the world might be like in decades to come.” Is it audience or participants they want? Where does the line get drawn between speakers sharing, industry networking, sector research, practitioner showcases and the general attendees experience?

FutureFest is designed as a multi-format festival, which gives visitors ample opportunity to take self-guided journeys. Is life not a self guided journey? This event, like any event needs linear thought. Conferences do tend to run multi-threaded programs. You can't be everywhere and as nice as the OpenSpace ‘rule of two feet’ is, it isn’t a solution for indecision.

FutureFest tell us on their site "The programme will span discussions, performances, installations and interactive experiences. Attendees will be engaged as active participants, informed and challenged to explore and formulate their own vision of the future.” So we are promised engagement, information and provocation encouraging us to determine what the future will look like from where we stand today looking forward with the explorations that are taking place.

This position is important. Where we are now. This impacts on the understanding we have in the future. We are all aware that the generation classified as ‘Millennials’ are categorised by their perspective on technology, that they don’t know what the world was like before the dawn of the pervasive web. A similar generation would have been those who had no living memory of life without the electric light switch. Going forward a defining era will be that a generation will emerge with no living recollection of a time without augmented reality.

The physical senses are important and this is clear to me as I look at the FutureFest program and plan out my time. How will they, the organisers engage me in these sessions, in the event itself? What information will they provide? How will they challenge my perspective? Will they shape my thinking? Will it impact my work? Will it help me?

I have a ticket for the Sunday only thanks to Body>Data>Space

This is where I plan to be (defined by the purple outlines).

The Digital Audience Experience - Continuity Studio

For Arts and Audiences this consisted of a comfortable seating area in a circle formation. Below is a selection of photos from the DAEX Arts and Audiences continuity studio. 

 

 

The Continuity Studio

 

The Continuity Studio and Bloggers Lounge are audience facing spaces. The Continuity Studio ideally has 2 screens, one relaying the live-stream feed and the other, aggregated social media activity. One immediate benefit of this is for the event team and those not in the auditorium ‘on the ground'. As part of the 'Camera to Cloud' solution the continuity studio has a live camera and an anchor presenter. This is the entry point for the audience attending online, 'In the Cloud'. The result is presenter hosted live participatory webinar. When available the host receives data showing how many are watching and for those with tickets, identifies to the presenters who is watching.

 

An established, well appointed and publicised continuity studio will be able to chat and take questions from the 'in the cloud' audience connecting them with the venue, the program and the 'on the ground' attendees. Social Media outreach engagement continues beyond the pre event promotion through the continuity studio using the apps adopted by the event organisers.

 

If there is not a speaker or live session on the stream, then the continuity studio takes over. Speakers can be scheduled to be interviewed as live stream content during the breaks. For Arts and Audiences additional guests were scheduled and displayed on a screen via skype. The studio team behind and in front of the camera work to a floor-managed production schedule and remain in voice communications using radio communication. The floor-manager works closely with the 'on the ground' events team.

 

Check out the live streamed content. It has had a little bit of post production trimming and is available to watch on demand. 

 

The Digital Audience Experience - insights

In October last year I was invited to create an online audience experience for the Nordic Nations' annual conference Arts and Audiences being held in Reykjavik, Iceland by the host organisations Audiences Norway and the DCAI (Danish Centre for the Arts and Interculture). Both organisations had worked with me previously as they are partner members of the Audiences Europe Network where I have been a digital audience adviser and content producer since 2011. 

 

 

For Arts and Audiences we used many social technologies in the final event delivery. With the live-stream they wanted to engage that audience as an entities in their own right. One audience attending at the venue and one not able to attend the venue in person but wanting to take part. To be there or not to be there, that is the question.

 

The human connection is essential in the creation of experience. Its not the apps its the people posting and for a live-stream to succeed I believe the people hosting are key to the experience too.

 

DAEx - Digital Audience Experience was born

 

The provision of watching a live-stream from experience and anecdotally is not a comparable option to attending 'in the flesh' or as I have come to refer to it, being 'on the ground'. 'Sitting' on the livestream can be a lonely experience. You have to physically set yourself aside and use headphones, especially if you are at work in an office environment. You have to be separate to listen out loud. You don't get to chat to fellow delegates, you don't get a goodie/swag/bonus bag and you don't get the change of scenery. A change is as good as a rest so the adage goes. You also get resigned to the back of the auditorium to watch from the sidelines. Long camera shots, zoomed in head and shoulder shots, picture in picture slides presented in a faux news reporting style crossed with an agonising realtime PowerPoint. Then there is the question of audio, picture quality and buffering speeds.

 

It was a dialogue along these lines that formed the foundation of the Arts and Audience's Digital Audience Experience. It became clear that a new lexicon was essential to establish a common understanding of the experience we were trying to achieve. IE. Not the above! We didn't want to keep reiterating what the DAEx (Digital Audience Experience) wasn't.

 

Finally, and above all the Arts and Audiences team were insistent that there should never be a "Be Back Soon" holding slide… ever.

 

These screen shots were taken only minutes apart as I watched the TEDxBaltimore event a few weeks ago.

Great speakers, but also a perfect illustration to why a continuity studio is so valuable.

 

Our terminology

• The Event - A programmed 2 days of conference speakers with breakout workshops and smaller discussions following a module theme. There were 4 modules, each had a keynote speaker, a case study presentation and a selection of theme related breakouts.
  
  
• The Audiences - Ticket holders who turn up physically or digitally
  
  
• 'On the Ground' - Ticket holders' environment for those who travel to the venue to attend
  
  
• 'In the Cloud' - Ticket holders' environment for those who attend online
  
  
• Camera to Cloud - the technology infrastructure delivery expectation required from the Livestream provider, including vision mixing, camera operation and audio channel.
  
  
• Continuity Studio -  the social technology hub of the event 'on the ground’, the eyes and ears for the audience ‘in the cloud’.
  
  
• Bloggers Lounge - the social media hub of the event, providing a working space with power, water and wifi to ‘on the ground’ attendees to engage with the ‘in the cloud’ networks.
  
  
• Live-streamed Linear Event Path - A predefined simplified event program offered to the audience 'in the cloud' providing an optimised produced event experience.

Check out the live streamed content from Arts & Audience in Reykjavik. It has had a little bit of post production trimming and is available to watch on demand.