New interviews on YouTube

This post is in this blog because it covers the implications of broadband etc. some of it is animation but the animX blog will become mostly about content, especially next month as Animated Exeter gathers focus in real space and time.

So far I have been loading some test videos to YouTube as Will Pollard and developing script outlines for Rougemont Global Broadcasting. Exeter TV continues with the aim of a local cable or satellite channel. Meanwhile the samples on YouTube from Exeter TV show material that could be part of longer broadcasts.

I think there needs to be a step change so that Exeter TV and other people with cameras can improve quality. There is a gap between what turns up on YouTube unofficially and what is on mainstream TV. Support of various kinds from arts organisations would be a contribution. Exeter City Council may have a view on how the city is represented online. Reportedly there is no support for Flash on council screens at this time so awareness of YouTube is not what it might be.

Ahead of Two Short Nights I did get some press authorisation so was able to video live talk during the screenings and do some interviews with David Salas and Lee Morgan. I tried out four cameras, two for stills one with zoom, a Canon borrowed from Exeter TV and a disgo from Exeter high street costing less than 30 great British pounds. More on the stills later. The interview with Lee Morgan was in the cinema away from the noise in the bar which seemed a good idea at the time. However the lighting comes from up above and the results are dreadful on both cameras. So this is now sound only with some web links as text.

About the Two Short Nights events

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3


local media

David Salas part one in the bar

David Salas part two in the gallery

There will be updates so I think I will wait for new material before another edit. This is more like a record of what is available now than an edit. Exeter TV has a level of quality control but these are just intended to demonstrate a possibility.

Sometime next year there could be another interview with Lee Morgan in outside light. A trip to South Devon would be interesting. Apologies for the lighting this time and also to David Salas for introducing an extra L into his name. Too late now but the next edit will be more careful.

I think the issues covered could be commented on by many others. If you put a video response or text comment onto Youtube please keep a record somewhere. High definition media can be left at Life Bytes on Sidwell Street opposite the Odeon.

Answers please to the following questions

What is the consequence of Web technology for how content is created, distributed and marketed? Is there any sort of business plan that allows this to be viable? Can a news organisation integrate print and web?

see also previous interview with Dr Jo, using the disgo. He may have more to say so more than one final edit is required for balance.

Draft of story for OhmyNews. They may well change it. It has some opinion and several plugs around Exeter so as some may vanish later here is a copy.

BBC Trust cancels local video in the UK
Print journalists celebrate lobby success

The BBC Trust has rejected management proposals to spend £68 million on a network of local video for the UK. As reported by James Robinson for the Guardian, the budget will be removed from Nations and Regions, and handed back to "central control".

Robinson explained the concern of local newspapers, usually connected with national newspapers, on this issue.

blockquote

Battered by an advertising downturn that analysts predict will cause revenues to fall by at least 10% next year, newspapers were particularly fearful that the BBC's plan would hamper their efforts to retain readers by beefing up their own websites with video content.

endquote

Sly Bailey from Trinity Mirror was "delighted" with the decision. Michael Pelosi from Northcliffe Media saw it as a "victory for common sense". Earlier Alan Rusbridger for the Guardian suggested that funding could be available for video from networks of local newspapers from various sources as part of "public service broadcasting". This might include the supposed digital surplus from the BBC licence fee, a possible levy on broadband service providers, and assumed contributions from regional development agencies.

The term "public service broadcasting" is now used to describe a wide range of programmes that show no immediate profit. For example, Rusbridger suggests that ITV might stop regional news completely. UK print journalists are able to make claims on the BBC budget in the context of continuing concern about editorial integrity. Details on recent events around BBC Radio 2 are on the Wikipedia.

The Daily Mail reported on the John Sergeant decision to quit Strictly Come Dancing that "With many fans demanding a refund for the money they spent voting to keep him on the show, the BBC could also face a bill of ten of thousands of pounds...Millions of viewers have threatened to boycott the show ." The chance of positive reporting on the BBC in the Daily Mail is very low.

There is a case that the BBC has done well with Strictly Come Dancing and that this should be recognised. One of the hosts, Bruce Forsyth, once worked for ITV. As reported in The Independent he decided to quit after David Liddiment moved his game show to a teatime slot.

"Never in more than 40 years on ITV have I been out of primetime. This man has embarrassed me, humiliated me, and shown me no respect whatsoever."

ITV have made some bad decisions. It is possible that getting rid of regional news could be another as national identity has some value.

The BBC has also found it easier to relate to the Web than news organisations based in print. As online is global the BBC brand is an advantage for the UK so many people are prepared to support it. There is a sense that the BBC is aware of the value of content created by the public. Eddie Mair presents a teatime news program on BBC Radio 4. Recently they have started an open blog and short programs based on the blog at strange times of day such as ten to six in the morning. This has a small audience but clearly showed what the noise level was like near Heathrow Airport at a time when flights are not supposed to happen.

Living in Exeter, South West England I notice that some local video is possible, even outside the BBC. My opinion is that the growth in online video will continue and that UK newspapers need to face the implications. I have sometimes borrowed a reasonable video camera from Exeter TV based at Life Bytes, an internet cafe. I also post to YouTube with rough cuts from a camera costing less that $50. So the following examples include links to projects I am involved in. Other examples are available.

Exeter TV started with a wide brief but is gradually tending to concentrate on music video. The YouTube selection is intended to indicate the range of a future cable channel so usually there are no complete performances. However a recent set at the Phoenix by the Pyrates has turned up on their own YouTube channel. In theory any local news organisation could include material from local artists. Even if the BBC is not offering such a service the gap will be filled, probably by global Web companies such as YouTube.

In April this year an editorial in the Western Morning News , published in Plymouth, described local television in the USA as 'trashy'. My impression was that some print journalists just do not like video. Just because the BBC will not do local video existing newspapers have an opportunity if they understand the new area. My blog for wifiExeter includes the text of a letter to the Western Morning News from Jo Gedrych of Exeter TV. So far it has not been published as far as we know.

Exeter is one of many places with an icerink at Christmas. Last year it was at Rougemont Castle, an interesting location. Exeter City Council arranged sponsorship from the Express and Echo, a local newspaper. This allowed them full image rights so unfortunately it was not possible for Exeter TV to video the occasion. Unofficial video from phones has appeared on YouTube so there is no real problem. But there is also no evidence that local news organisations understand how to link with other sources. There needs to be some form of business model that allows for forms of citizen journalism including projects such as Exeter TV.

Meanwhile the Express and Echo has started a Youtube video channel but there are only three so far. The Ellie Williams song has excellent sound quality but I prefer the camera movement from the Phoenix.

In a related story Peter Wilby has recently considered whether newspapers could continue to be published with fewer and fewer journalists. The headline is that "small is inevitable". Wilby predicts a reduced role for subeditors.

blockquote

If subediting is drastically reduced, as it usually is, headlines may be less arresting, copy less polished, libels more egregious and errors more numerous - but nobody has ever demonstrated clearly that reduced staffing has these effects, still less that they cause readers to cancel their orders.

endquote

The business model for citizen journalism suggests a different possible future. Subeditors could work with various forms of contribution.

UK newspapers face many issues that need to be resolved. Beating up on the BBC will not buy unlimited time.

World TV now offer embed code so this is a test

Another take on wifiExeter being anywhere. These are videos around Tottenham Court Road. It may be easier to find people to talk about things here such as the Sony Reader. Eventually there will be an edit. Add a response video to YouTube if you like.
The basic route is a square, down TCR, across to Morgans, back up to Waterstones, back to TCR. There is a Sony Centre on the way.

Goodge Street Station heading south



Finding Williams the newsagent



Turning into New Oxford Street



From Morgans towards Waterstones



From Waterstones towards TCR

October 22nd, draft format for training at Life Bytes to cover publishing around Acrobat and also how to be a critical e-citizen. Acrobat is not the only means of publishing, ePUB is through the Digital Editions Reader and the Sony Reader as well as others that could be searched for. The European Computer Driver Licence is looking a bit desktop bound as even Microsoft turns to the clouds. The "e-Citizen" content assumes people should just fill in forms more reliably. Am i being unfair? You can add a comment.

Probably 4 o clock and 6 o clock. Can both topic areas be covered in an hour or so? There will of course be future dates announced.

Opposite the Odeon, Sidwell Street Exeter.

Buzz Busby visits Red Lion Gallery in a sort of Second Life. That is to say there is a photograph. Previously attempts to get permission to set up photographs or video have met with some problems so Second Life has some benefits although there are costs in actual land. I realise this has been explained before but there are gaps in this blog so sometimes a recap is required for new readers. Mixing the avatars and actual photos is one approach till a budget arrives for Exeter TV and / or Rougemont Global Broadcasting. then there may be an island or some studio time. Meanwhile the RGB reporters are just for the photos.

The questions remain much the same, how do creatives adjust for digital technology. How to present, how to promote, is there a business model? For example, several images are available on the web for the Exeter Open Studios (7-9 November) which is good in itself and may also help to lift the prices for the postcard auction. There is a difference with hard copy, even a postcard so my guess is that the value of the original is not harmed by a reasonable definition of the image online. This is something to discuss later on.

Think local, act online or something like that.

I have done a rave about the Guardian, trying to establish that the Web is ok. Jeff Jarvis is about the most sense in a sea of evasion.

For example, headline for Roy Greenslade

Which regional group will collapse first?

But is there anything in the text to answer the question? Not that I can find.

In Exeter we have already lost all print production to Plymouth so it is hard to imagine how production costs could fall any further.

If there is a problem with regional news, then the role of bloggers, citizen journalists, YouTube experiments etc should be part of the discussion in my honest opinion. I tried to video the icerink last year for Exeter TV but was told that Exeter City council had arranged exclusive image rights with the Express and Echo. If regional news groups really do have problems there is room for some discussion here on how Web video could develop.

Meanwhile Michael Grade has warned that even national news may be a problem unless ITV can be given some more money.

Photos from the Wilton Music Hall did not come out well, not enough light. So i have started to try out ways of changing them in Photoshop. Elements 2 that is, nothing very complicated. There is a show by Christiane Baumgartner coming up at Spacex in December. She works on woodcuts from video stills. I will try to persuade others to do some experiments. I think there is an online space alongside galleries. See also her current show in London and a video interview. There could be more interviews in a gallery. Actually this one has no questions but it makes a point.

Rotherhithe Tunnel is now closed to pedestrians. I found this out during the Open house weekend. My information that it was open was based on a walk by a friend on the occasion of the celebrations for the hundred years since it started. Maybe there is no notice on the south approach. Not sure about this. I did meet people during the weekend who were not convinced about the air quality but others can remember times when walking through was possible and frequent.

If you a wondering what this has to do with Exeter, the thing is that "wifi" now covers a wide range. the "open house" approach is in Exeter one weekend, somewhere else the next. see story for OhmyNews.

It also turned out that the Brunel tunnel was closed. This line will be part of the Overground, not the Underground and could be seen as an extension of the North London Line. Someone from London could explain this better, I can only repeat what I was told.

I still think a crossing of the Thames is useful at this point. Walking a bit further East than Tower Bridge is possible but Greenwich is a long way if you want to get back again. Apparently by 2010 it will be again possible to get a train from Rotherhithe to Wapping. So investigations continue about the rest of the loop.

Sony Reader story submitted for Ohmynews

Yet to be edited, but here is a link

Still checking it out. there is a sort of keyboard when you change the date and time. The numbers on the side work as numbers. So simple forms or questions would be possible. Or ASCII codes to specify letters and about four words a minute. No, this device is about reading. So far this seems ok, I can find another instance of the document on another device if I want to edit.

Sony Reader arrives in Exeter

As predicted, both Waterstones have stocks of the Sony Reader. Not much excitement though. There were no queues, no special events. The Apple Store would have made a bit more of it I think but maybe consumer electronics is a bit unusual for a bookshop.



Other e-book readers are available, but not in Exeter shops. The Amazon Kindle is not expected anytime soon outside the USA. It is pretty much a mobile phone so loading files in is fairly easy. After a few hours trial at Life Bytes I find that downloading titles is not too hard. The Adobe Digital Editions library shows the Sony Reader in the Libary where "drag and drop" works ok. There is also eBook Library software supplied by Sony with similar functions, also a Reader for the content that works on the computer.

The Sony sortware is only for Windows. Also there is no credit I can find for Linux, though the Wikipedia claims that is what the Sony Reader is using. The impression is that the complexity is all in the loading of content. The Reader itself just runs. There is a well hidden hole in the back for a reset, something we will never need.

I was worried about how to create an ePUB file but it turns out that (Rich Text Format) RTF works ok. The public information states that Word files are accepted but it seems they are translated to RTF. I saved some text from Open Office
as RTF and it displays ok. It would still be good to find out more abouthow to go from open documents to ePUB. But meanwhile PDF is ok for the Digital Editions on most computers and RTF is ok for the Reader. Sorry if the words are overlapping in meaning. It may make more sense later.

WHSmith are stocking the iLiad online but no promotion in the Exeter shop. This has wifi like the Kindle and also a keyboard. It is useful to make notes on a text or order more titles but at the moment the Sony Reader seems ok just as a Reader. The only interaction I have found is the option to add a bookmark. There could be notes added on another device later.

Also it works for sound and viewing photos. The greyscale is lacking something but it will be interesting to see what combinations become available. The books could come with photos and sound.

These are still early days. There will be devices later with more direct links to wifi or whatever links to content. But this is an interesting phase. A laptop with wifi is enough to speed things up but it seems to go against the point of an e-book. I think I will next take just the Sony Reader and find out what they thnk at WHSmith, the Apple Store and the Phoenix. The Phoenix Arts Centre usually attracts Mac fans so I don't suppose they will like the Windows bias. Steve Jobs has suggested that eBooks will struggle as many people have moved on anyway to sound and video. The Sony Reader is mostly text in shades of greyso this may explain the limited interest.

epub on sony reader in Exeter

I will be at Life Bytes on Sept 4th to discuss the Sony Reader and the ePUB format. My guess is that this could be an "event". eBooks may get some recognition in the UK.



I am claiming to definitely be there for "late afternoon" but may be other times as well. I will visit a few times before the actual arrival of the Sony Reader so somebody behind the desk may have a view. In other words, drop by at any time, something will be happening. Or add comment. more later.

Sidmouth as an inspiration for local video.

For some reason it seems possible to video stuff in Sidmouth. This is year three or four of the YouTube etc. approach and so far there has been no problem. Melonious Funk have requested that Exeter TV drop one video but there is now another with better sound, even though it is from somewhere else. I don't think it matters too much if the essence of a place is represented. So in Exeter there is now a loop going round the centre with the possibility of dropping in interviews along the way.

For Sidmouth things are even better as there are already videos for the locations. Here is a version. (Better linking guides to directions welcome for the future)

Starts from Bedford Hotel to Dukes (will return later)



Recording from Dukes is rare for some reason but here is a video for Hannah and the Madding Crowd



Dukes to Market square



Dancing from Market Square, 2008, with an intro of other scenes



There is no video on how to get to the Anchor from the Market Square. It should be easy enough. Next year there will be a route via the Swan and Volunteer and back by bus.

From the Anchor Garden



From Anchor to bus stop at Triangle



From bus stop to Bedford Hotel



At Bedford Hotel



also seems to fit in here although from somewhere else, Wellington



So this seems to hang together well enough. Production levels are pretty low but it can mostly be done again. so maybe there will be a budget eventually. Suggestions to Exeter TV c/o Life Bytes opposite the Odeon Exeter. There may be a plan going forward.

Found this blog about African festivals, looks interesting. Is it folk music? Sidmouth has now started so my confusion returns as to categories. Buskers are playing Chuck Berry but it seems to fit together.

In a few days Sidmouth folk week will start in analog mode.

Kathryn Tickell Band form another time and place.



There may be some techie links soon or maybe later.

I have found a photo site - panoramio - that links to Google maps.

My account, one photo so far, statue near cathedral.

This could be a use for wifi etc. Not sure how this would look on a phone as a screen but the photos would be ok.

When I cannot get back to sleep at night I often find the World Service is a good solution. Nothing against their programs, they are quite interesting, but in a regular carefully constructed way that after a while is reassuring enough to merge into dreams. So I have no clear memory of their item sometime yesterday on a new city near Incheon Airport. However, thanks to OhmyNews I did visit Incheon briefly a few years ago and it all sounds the sort of thing the Koreans might do.

So far I ahve found this link for Songdo Ubiquitous City and more will follow. Here in 'wifi Exeter' we need all the benchmarking inspiration that can be found.

The scope of this blog varies over time. If you think about wifi as normal then the content and use becomes the most interesting aspect. Another blog concentrates on Animation, so this blog will cover other forms of media sometimes.

Couple of things happening. Exeter TV has not reached a new level where resources are available ahead of Respect weekend and Sidmouth Folk Week, the two events when copyright and permission forms issues create the minimum restrictions. Something may still happen but it seems to me that there is no difference to last year even though much evidence exists of what is possible. Maybe the way ahead is just to link to what turns up, mostly done without much planning or asking for permission. This is ok but production standards are unlikely to improve.

The other thing shows me what a difference broadband can make to culture and politics. I have written stories about the UK for OhmyNews International (OMNI)and a couple of years agao they invited to visit Seoul for a conference on citizen journalism. The Korean language OhmyNews is accepted as a significant part of Korean media. They have had broadband for ages, light years at Web speed. The next conference is today or tomorrow. I am confused as they put times as if I was in the USA. Stream (Thursday 26th 6:00 P.M. PST 9:00P.M. EST)

The theme is around the candle light protests at the government agreements on beef imports with the USA. The claim seems to be that the events show a new level of democracy through Web media. I do not understand the full background but this could be true.

Some of the issues are described in a blog by Danny Kim.

The scale of what is happening also comes over through Tom Walsh in the Detroit Free Press -

Web hysteria a danger to Korean deal

More than 100,000 people, many of them teenagers in school uniforms, clogged the streets of Seoul in massive candlelight protests against U.S. beef imports last week -- and 1.2 million viewers tuned in to a live Webcast of the scene on OhmyTV. It was a different reality unfolding that threatens to roil not only U.S.-Korean trade relations but the world of global diplomacy as we know it.

....................

OhmyTV, the Web casting crew of OhmyNews, a pioneering South Korean online newspaper, began filming and airing the candlelight rallies in Seoul, which began after Lee lifted the beef ban. As the size of nightly rallies grew, so did the audience for Webcasts.

The result: a little-used OhmyTV media server logged a record 1.2 million unique visitors in one spurt on June 1, according to OhmyNews. That drove the network cost of the media server to $80,000 a week, more than 27 times normal, said OhmyNews finance director Bang Ki-kwan.

OhmyNews, which provides the service for free, revealed its plight to its readers, 34,000 of whom made donations -- via mobile phones, credit cards or bank transfers -- totaling $130,000 in a 10-day period.

The implications of this are mind-boggling. South Korean high school and college kids, passionately spouting gibberish yet covered live by citizen media that's funded on the fly by viewer donations, have hijacked U.S.-Korea trade diplomacy and rendered Korea's president nearly impotent.

Apologies to Tom Walsh for copying so much of his material and then I am going to take issue as well. Describing the "college kids" as "spouting gibbersih" is not really going to help the spread of understanding. It is rather like the Western Morning News editorial claiming that in the USA, local TV is "trash".

But anyway I am going off my main topic. Can you imagine £70,000 being donated in the UK over ten days to cover server costs for a free online TV service? Not easy at the moment. Video technology is available fairly cheap, but there is no business model.

My guess is that there are further shocks to come in the world of TV. What to do about it? Well, summer is here so I expect some of us will visit Sidmouth, sample the real ales and continue the discussion.

Somehow this week seems to mark a change in what is possible. As if the time spent looking at wifi in Exeter has reached a new stage. Not because much has happened in Exeter but just because things change around us anyway. Let us face it, Exeter City Council still has a policy not to host anything Flash on the official website or allow staff to access Flash on screens at work. So the possible connection of wifi and media during festivals is still a bit obscure.

But in the UK, mobile phone companies now support web access and this is becoming better known. Today, Victor Keegan writes about his own experience and he seems happy enough to pay a monthly fee and avoid the crazy charges of all the cafes and hotels who have failed to regard web access as a free offer, like a newspaper. By the way, on a visit to a part of Exeter University thought to have wifi, I noticed that the only person checking email was using a Vodaphone connection. So my impression is that the experiments around Alt-C a few years ago have not made a lot of difference to Exeter but something has happened in the UK.

The most alarming aspect of what Victor Keegan writes is some possible bad news for Life Bytes and other places where web access is sold by the hour to include a device.
Just before dealing with the ridiculous charges for leaving the UK and visiting the continent, Keegan writes-

I was about to become a dongler to avoid having to go to the tourist office in France every day on our holidays to check emails etc at £3 an hour.

Well, is £3 an hour unreasonable for web access? It happens to be the rate charged at Life Bytes, on Sidwell Street opposite the Odeon. Personally I do not see how they could charge much less and continue to exist. Radical rethink may be timely on what internet access resources are about. My own experience on a visit to Koln and Brussels was that one euro for twenty minutes was enough to catch up on email and this was for a full keyboard and large screen. Gmail and Blogger both worked ok. So I did not carry any devices. Downloading photos for editing online might have taken longer and got into the hourly rate as an issue but I decided not to bother.

More on the blog about reading the Guardian.

Following an email from Norman Leto I am experimenting in the wifi Exeter scope. It may not just be Exeter but the animation will still mostly be in animX.



This gallery might as well be in Exeter or at least on local screens. When the Western Morning News is concerned that local television might be "trash" they perhaps do not consider that local video comes from many localities.

There may be more of this sort of thing. Rougemont Global Broadcasting reporter Buzz Busby has been visiting another part of the gallery. There may be a report later in the summer.

Not sure what this is but it is worth checking out again on Sunday. Free offer. No sign yet where the link is but it may be sounds.

There is a meeting going on in Manchester today and tomorrow, called Futuresonic. Discussion includes open source software and creative commons content. So I hope there will be a record somewhere of what they come up with.

Meanwhile Adobe have announced a project for Open Screens, based on Flash and AIR. The Adobe idea of what "open" is may not be the same as the people in Manchester but the idea is worth exploring. They claim that 98% of web browsers already are capable of displaying Flash.

So the 2% could be mostly screens in government such as Exeter City Council.

Joke, that was a joke, though it is based on something true. Making a link between what is happening online and what happens in Exeter depends quite a lot on being able to assume that Flash is understood, at least in theory.

OK this is from Canada but I see no reason to believe that local TV in the USA is significantly different. In any case this is an example of what local TV could be like in the UK.

The London Mozart Players will be in Exeter cathedral on 14th June. This blog will link to any video suggested. If they do some busking before the 7.30 start, maybe it could be loaded up from a camera phone.

in today's print version of the Western Morning News I cannot find any letters in response to the editorial on allegedly trashy local TV in the USA. On another visit to Life Bytes on Sidwell Street opposite the Odeon I discover that Jo Gedrych did send a letter for publication by email. He has allowed me to quote this in full for the blog. So if the spiders find the YouTube video as well there may be further comment.

I saw your piece in the opinions page yesterday following the report of the Tories belated endorsement of 'ultra-local' TV.
This policy statement is a somewhat half hearted and very late endorsement of the very real fact that in the UK the established broadcast media only half heartedly, if at all, reflect local events. Here in the South West if you disregard the news broadcasts, effectively 45 minutes a day, there is only one hour of local programming per week across 80 channels. Digital television and broadband offer an affordable opportunity to establish local tv and radio at a very local level. There are already many local tv channels in the UK - some on satellite, some on the old analog network and some on digital freeview and cable. To assume that all this is televised trash is to denigrate the efforts of local broadcasters to serve the needs of their area. Surely, given the amount of US made television we already consume, it is time to dump this outmoded idea that volume equals low quality? Your editorial demonstrates an unjustified sense of British superiority and a total lack of knowledge about what is going on in local broadcasting across the globe. I would ask you your question - have you watched any of it?

Time to wise up and look around.

Jo Gedrych
director, the Exeter Television Company.

The Western Morning News has a report about Conservative plans for local TV.

The editorial claims that local TV in the USA is "trashy" so such an option would not be welcome in the UK. I discussed this with Jo Gedrych of Exeter TV, based at Life Bytes on Sidwell Street. He has lived in the USA and studied local TV there. He wonders about the basis for the editorial view and points out that there are already several examples of local TV in the UK, an aspect not mentioned in the editorial.

I have put a very short video on YouTube as a hook for more comment and maybe some examples of local content.

I have done a new video of the route from the cathedral to Princesshay. Just before reaching the Apple store. So no unapproved use of the logo. But linking to other sources through YouTube seems ok to me. The loop now works even though the quality is variable. Second Life seems much the most polished, and there is a soundtrack.



Through the wonder of World TV, each bit can be replaced. The basis is a route round from Princesshay to the Castle, to the Phoenix, to the Cathedral then back to the Apple store. Two sites as content, two as technology. More or less. The question for dsiscussion is what changes are possible through technology and is there a business model? Interviews can be added in later. Put something on YouTube if you like, it could be added in.

There is now a sequence of video from central Exeter as part of a loop for Rougemont Global Broadcasting. This covers a route from Princesshay to the Castle, to the Phoenix, to the cathedral and back to the Apple shop in Princesshay. Eventually the sequence could include interviews about the use of technology in media. Unfortunately it wss not possible to get permission to video either in the Apple shop or the ice rink . However others have posted on YouTube so there can be links. I did a very short one of some Second Life at the Phoenix. There is also Second Life of another Apple shop. The future could include quite alot from SL or mash-ups with real backgrounds for SL characters. It really is very unlikely to get permission for video if requested. But it seems to be that something turns up later anyway.

Jeff Jarvis has conjured up a vision of coffee culture in the future, writing about how companies use blogs to get ideas, for example Starbucks-

"Use the power of media and wireless new media in particular to foster a sense of conversation about the arts, current events, etc," one customer proposed. An enthused commenter responded: "Great conversation will also renew the image of Starbucks as being not only a coffee community but also a global community where humanist ideas and great artists, writers, comedians etc could also attract a lot of people and turn Starbucks into a cultural, humanist hub!"

Well, there are a couple of Starbucks in Exeter but lots of other coffee sites as well. As shopping moves online the high street may turn out to be mostly about eating and drinking and meeting in real space. wifiExeter is less about Exeter also as there is quite a lot in the blog about other places.

Maybe future posts will try to cross over actual Exeter and online links to wherever. Second Life is one route to this but as the City Council do not support Flash yet the bandwidth concerns are real.

Tom has left a comment so here it is as a quote in case you missed it.

I am actually writing this comment from the libary in Exeter. A free (3meg ish) hotspot, and if you need mains power it's a quid a day.

I just find it's easier to come here than to give my notebook a shroud of grease in Macdonalds... In fact, I've never seen anyone use their computer in there...!

I might try Starbucks soon, I'm a T-Mobile customer so I think that makes it free?

The big advantage at the libary is the mains power though...

Oh, and when I'm out of all hotspots I have the HSDPA modem in my phone - the complete wireless solution!

Anyway, try the libary - just a thought..

Fair comment, good to hear it. I am a bit conflicted as I am often based at Life Bytes on Sidwell Street. Web access is the only local industry where the council competes. Apart from DVD hire I suppose. Maybe the time for internet cafes is coming to an end. Still I do hear that librarians cannot offer much support for disaster recovery in various forms and it has been known for the difficult enquiries to be sent along Sidwell Street.

Meanwhile on Queen Street



Apparently BT have arranged for a free coffee voucher if you buy some time online. This makes very little sense. Would you get some free toast with the Western Morning News? I think free wifi is the future.



Meanwhile at the university library wifi is all over the place. The journals seem to have vanished to make way for some comfortable seating and casual locations for mobile devices. The journals are still available upstairs on the shelves but they have lost their place as a feature on the way in. News now comes through Google Scholar presumably.

This post is for both animX and WifiExeter. I am still getting used to the events of last week, the outstanding Second Life events and the video on YouTube from Prados Azules. i think this means that bandwidth is ok. There are enough people in Exeter and Bristol or at least somewhere online for this sort of thing to be viable. So other forms of files such as work with hard copy should be ok. A lttle slow maybe if TIFF-IT is still required but definitely possible.

Meanwhile Google have launched a service around Sites for collaboration. seems a little too controlled for public use but the elements of Docs and video can be widely available. I have an account for Internet Express so have started a page at InXpress/landofGoogle or something like it. Actual url is too long to remember so best to bookmark this page.

In the USA things move forward. Wifi is to be free in Starbucks for some of the time anyway. This follows the big Mac decision.

Why did it take so long. You don't pay for a free newspaper while you drink coffee. Charging for wifi is nonsense. Some hotels still don't understand this but a Starbucks is never far away.

Except that plans for UK wifi are not yet announced.

Meanwhile in Exeter LifeBytes on Sidwell Street still seems fairly busy. There is still a need for professional support and large screens. Mobile devices are not yet combining portability and function.

Bristol Wireless are hosting a day on Open Source in Feb. Open Source is part of the wireless debate as it is another aspect of easy access.

There is also a graphics meeting coming up in Poland. this includes some animation but covers requirements for print - page layout, illustration, photography. Poland is a way off but the web links can be followed.

Guy Kewney has a theory about wifi as a benefit in the struggle for coffee identity.

Maybe free wifi would switch people from Starbucks to MacDonalds. No sign of this yet in Exeter but worth following.

I have done a story for MyNews India ahead of BETT about the suggestion UK parents have to sort out the broadband gap to help the children get educated. Maybe there is a point to this but it is also the result of a failure of the government to do much about the UK situation as a whole.

There is also a Talk topic at the Guardian.

It is a business problem, not just educational. There is a competitiveness minister who has some interest in this amongst many other duties. Google finds not much, but there is something on YouTube.



My own impression is that claims about UK "leadership" in broadband have not much connection with reality. OECD numbers for broadband subscribers per 100 population show the UK just outside the top ten. More disturbing is that the number for fibre subscribers is zero, so there is a limit on future forms of content.

However, the recognition for the contribution of the Web for education is welcome. Presumably this includes direct access to the Web with none of the limitations sometimes found in schools.

As far as I can tell, comments on YouTube have been disabled for this video so further comment is welcome here.

Davos Question, the answer is "Act Local"

Jeff Jarvis has started to relate to the Davos blog again. This sort of thing could use up quite a lot of energy. The BBC World Service has started to invite more podcast contributions from the listeners as part of "the new world of open news". More likely could be some form of local conversation in real time, even on a small scale.

so the answer to the question "what to do next" is probably "Act Local". There will be enough thinking globally on other blogs to link to.

Specific point is what to make of Exeter TV. If not now, when? The UK bandwidth seems adequate for something fairly soon.