Archive for the 'ZenGuide Projects' Category

Here are the links to articles and other resources on the web which formed part of my research for the Digital Spaces Panel discussion at the Bookseller’s Digitise or Die conference today. The list shows only the latest 30 items - to see more items, click on “Digital Spaces Panel - links” to be taken to all my research items on this topic.

I’m also grateful to the following people who kindly shared with me their knowledge about the use of digital spaces in publishing:

Ian Metcalfe, Hodder Faith and Hodder General - Publisher, Bibles and Digital Media

Lucy Luck, Lucky Luck Associates - Literary Agent

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I’ve been invited to join a panel at “Digitise or Die: The conference for the book industry in the digital age” on 3rd July, held at the London Stock Exchange. The conference is organised by The Bookseller, the trade journal for the book industry in the UK. The blurb says:

The Bookseller is going to get to grips with the digital questions for the book industry once and for all.

Is the digitisation furore just a nervous reaction to experiences within the music industry - or is the heightening concern very real? Is eveyone prepared for the digitisation of the written word? What are the new technologies that publishers should be thinking about that could improve their online presence?

How can digitisation sell more books? What about digital rights and digital copyright? How do you find and develop communities of readers online? What are the differences in digital strategy of trade and non-trade publishing?

With e-books about to take off in the UK, isn’t it time the industry faced up to the changing consumer climate and technology?

These are just some of the questions that will be addressed at The Bookseller’s Digitise or Die full-day conference on 3rd July in London. It is fair to say, that you will definitely miss out if you are not there.

I’ll be on the panel discussing Digital Spaces, alongside Andrew Keen (author of The Cult of the Amateur, I think, though it’s not clear from the draft programme yet) and Kieron Smith, managing director of BookRabbit, which is a cross between the book social network LibraryThing and online bookstore Amazon. The panel will be chaired by Jeremy Davis of Chameleon Net.

The panel topic will be:

Different kinds of digital spaces: @ home on PC, out on the mobile, paid for content, UGC what works on different platforms? To what extent do digital platforms fit into each other to enable content to live across hardware boundaries? How do young people in different cultures interact with digital platforms? (itunes, phones, PC, online etc…) and how does this culture affect the use of such devices?

This invitation came via a non-blog related route shortly after my series on audio downloads and ebooks so it feels to me as if there is some synchronicity going on right now. Given my background as a novelist and my current explorations of the social media sphere, what I’d like to contribute to the discussion, I think, is the use of digital spaces by writers and storytellers from a creative perspective. How can we use the new media to enhance the way we tell stories? How might the stories we tell evolve with new media channels? Is creating a story for online reading different from creating one for a physical book? Is it different for e-book reading? Is reading passe in the face of YouTube and Flickr?

I’ll be making notes and researching all this in preparation for the conference over the next few weeks.

If you have any thoughts, ideas or experiences of storytelling in digital spaces, please do get in touch so I can share your views at the conference as well. I’d also love to hear from you if you have views about ebooks and the current state of ebook publishing - and any thoughts about what you would like to see evolve in ebooks and digital publishing in the future.

You can get in touch by leaving a comment to this post, or emailing me via the Contact link above, or by leaving me a voicemail at http://www.jaxtr.com/yangmayooi. If I use your contribution at the conference I will of course give acknowledgement to you for the contribution so do leave a name as well.

If you’d like to come along to the conference, you can do so using the Bookseller’s booking form.

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I’m pleased to report that my article about Blogging for the Finance Sector is being included as a chapter in The Handbook of Internal Communication, edited by Marc Wright of simply-communicate.com, which will be published by Gower on 6 June 2008.

The article is a case study of THFC Space, the online discussion space which I created and currently edit in my day job at The Housing Finance Corporation. The site uses blogging software (Wordpress) and is members only space for senior housing finance professionals to discuss finance related issues relevant to the social housing sector. Wordpress is well-suited to being styled and designed as an online magazine with the opportunity for reader comments while allowing multi-media items to be uploaded easily.

Do check out the article and if you know of any other finance related blogs, please add a comment here with a link.

Last week the IABC’s* EuroComm Conference 2008 took place in Barcelona, where I chaired the plenary panel discussion on social media. I was joined by co-panellists Giles Colborne of cxpartners, a web usability expert, and Marc Wright of simply-communicate.com, an internal communications specialist. We had a really good session, which was primarily the result of great comments and challenges from the 80 or so business communicators taking part in the session. I just want to focus here on one issue that emerged from the discussions, which I think reflects the main concern of businesses around social media: control.

When we asked the delegates what was preventing their businesses engaging in the social media, the main reason appeared to be an anxiety about losing control. If you have a blog or social network space, people can come and leave negative comments. If you allow your employees to use social media for internal communications, they could spread seeds of discontent internally. Social media tools also make it easier for staff to leak your internal discussions externally. If you offer spaces for user-generated content, you can lose control of the content and message.

But we also discussed how control is an illusion in the brave new world of social media. There could be people out there already expressing negative views about your business or brand on other social media spaces even if you don’t have a business presence on the blogosphere. Your staff are already able to sign up to Facebook or set up their own blogs at home, even if you block them at work. Leaks occur with email as easily as via any other internet or intranet tool. Someone could be filming you or any of your executives with their mobile phone camera even now, capturing your pratfall or offguard comment to be served up on YouTube for the world to see. Employers are doing internet searches of potential recruits as an add-on to the traditional ways of doing background checks - will they find that photo of you taken by a friend at your cousin’s wedding with someone’s knickers on your head?

For businesses who are worried about controlling the message about their product or services, the least you can do is monitor what the online is saying about you even if you decide never to engage in social media. And if you do engage with a blog or other social media tool, that can actually help enhance your reputation especially if you engage in an authentic way. The community you build around your blog will come to trust, respect and like you and loyalty can count for a great deal in times of crisis.

For individuals, the question is: will we always have to be “on” not just when we engage online but wherever we are because we never know when someone may capture us unawares on digital media? This is a much more challenging issue. It is impossible to be perfectly behaved all the time - that’s just a fact of being human. And perhaps we have to trust that people know that - and that in the long term, people seeing someone’s mistake displayed on YouTube will recognise that it’s just a very human momentary lapse, especially if there are other images of that person online that counter lapse. Perhaps in this early period of the mobile phone video, there’s a lot of press and publicity about this issue because it’s novel but that in the long term, there won’t be such a hoo-ha because there’ll be so many unremarkable human failings available to view online. Or perhaps we will all have to hire public relations consultants to help us with reputation management in the future, whether we are Britney Spears or just an ordinary non-celebrity…

We did not reach any solid conclusions during the discussion, only that this is one debate that is going to contine.

What are your thoughts?

Photo: of car wreck thanks to OpenSkyMedia from flickr.com (CCL)

*International Association of Business Commuicators

My colleague Angie and I have been working with the Friends of the Dulwich Picture Gallery in South London on pro-bono basis to develop a multi-media online arts magazine, Dulwich OnView, which is launching this week. The process and objectives make a useful case study for anyone looking to set up an online community project on a limited budget.

Beginnings

The Friends is a volunteer group that supports the work of the Dulwich Picture Gallery by raising funds through events like summer parties, talks, films and other charitable fund-raising activities. Ingrid Beazley, their energetic and dynamic Chair, has been keen to use social media to promote the Friends and engage more with the local South East London community for some time now. We first talked about developing an interactive online presence in mid-2006 but what was needed was a strong volunteer team to help us run the project and for awhile, this key ingredient seemed elusive.

A great volunteer team

Then during last year, along came Catherine Fraher, who has a background in marketing and has worked with eBay. Taking time out following her new baby, Catherine has been thrown into the Friends e-world, first setting up a Friends photo group on Flickr and now taking on the role of co-editor for the new online magazine. At around the same time, a number of very talented and lively people began to offer help and suddenly, we had a great volunteer team - writers Anna Sayburn, Angela Corrias, Sally-Ann Johnson and Patrick Fraher; IT specialist Stephen Hendon and photographer Rebecca Portsmouth as well as my colleague at ZenGuide, web-content writer Angie Macdonald. The volunteer team is the real key to the magazine’s success - we have to work together well, approach the project in a professional way even though it’s just something we are doing for fun in our spare time, deliver our contributions on time and give each other the help and back-up that is needed in such a big project. And we really are doing all that with such ease and enthusiasm - it’s really fantastic!

A blog-based central hub

Given that this is a community project, my brief was to use free or low-cost applications that are freely available on the web. As the central hub of the multimedia magazine, we needed a platform that would fit well aesthetically with a world class art museum. I chose Wordpress.com for its ease of use and wide range of functions. Also the platform’s own branding is minimised - unlike Blogger which makes it clear you are on a blogspot.com site with its masthead across each blog. A survey has also reported that a large proportion of Blogger sites are spam blogs.

Blogging technology is easy to use and just the right platform for an online magazine. The free service does not allow you to re-design the layout in any sophisticated way but for our purposes the basic reverse date order presentation works well enough so that the latest articles appear at the top of the front page. The volunteer team will be able to upload their own articles with some basic training. Easy intergration with the photosharing site on Flickr.com means that the magazine can be quickly brightened with a lot of great images.

Other free / low-cost applications

For audio podcasting, I chose Gabcast.com which gives you a local UK telephone number to dial into from an ordinary phone. You record your podcast by leaving a voicemail message and press 1 to publish it. It automatically uploads the mp3 file and publishes a post on the magazine. It is free up to 200 MB and then there is a small monthly fee. There’s no messing around with sound editing equipment and FTP transfer software. But you can’t edit or add music tracks/ sound effects and you have to record your podcast in one continuous take - which can be a bit nerve-wracking!

We will be adding videos via our on Dulwich OnView YouTube channel in due course, which is a free application. In the meantime, we have collected videos about or filmed at Dulwich Picture Gallery using VodPod.com, which is another freebie - you can see the collection in the sidebar on the magazine site.

The Flickr pool is free - it collects together photos submitted to the pool by any user. However, Catherine has set up a Pro account for the photos that the team themselves want to upload for the magazine and that is a premium account at around £12 a year (US $25).

Some caution

Before you rush out and sign up to any old free application for your community project, a word of caution. You need to check out each applications functions and design options. The old adage is true that you get what you pay for. There are numerous free applications but some are easier to use than others - or have more suitable functionality to your project, or have fewer ads, or have a better look for your brand, or integrate better with other applications etc etc.

Also if you are likely to be particular about look, layout and the details of design, going for something free may not be the right way forward. And if you have high demands for functionality and specific things you want your multi-media to do, the free stuff is bound to limit and restrict your vision.

Knowing how to work around some of the limitations and restrictions of free applications can help. There is obviously only so much you can do with clever work-arounds but it can contribute to a quality user experience for your visitors.

Please do come and check out the magazine at www.dulwichonview.org.uk.

The ZenGuide Network has a new member - window display company PLANarama, with whom we’ve been working to develop and write their blog magazine. The design of PLANarama’s website and blog was developed by their designer Guy Boyle and we’ve been creating the content for the blog, working closeley with Managing Director Neil Ellis and his team of visual merchandising experts. We’re pleased to add PLANarama’s blog to our ZenGuide Network, which is a compilation of business blogs produced by our clients, associates and colleagues.

Our role is to bring out the stories behind PLANarama’s window displays, drawing out from their creators the inspiration and challenges that went into the making of the windows. It’s been fascinating learning about the skilled techniques that go into the design and building of the flagship windows for stores like Jaeger on Oxford Street. And it’s also been eye-opening to think about the work and project management that goes into rolling out of multiple windows across the country for a chain store like Carphone Warehouse - it’s a mini-military operation in itself, as project manager, Sabina Roberts explains in the article Christmas Warehouse on the PLANarama blog.

Neil Ellis and his team talk each week on the PLANarama blog about the secrets of creating great window displays. Neil, in particular, shares his in-depth experience of creating visual merchandising for London’s top retail stores like Ted Baker, Cartier and Marks and Spencers. For us, writing the blog has made us look at shop windows with new eyes, stopping to look at the detail of each display and stepping back to view the overall effect, asking ourselves what the intention of the creator was and noticing the themes and cohesion in the design. It’s like going to an art gallery and appreciating a sculpture or a painting or other great work of art - only we’re out on the street and trying not to get in the way of passers-by. We hope that when you read the blog posts, you’ll enjoy the behind-the-scenes look into a hidden high street art and perhaps pause awhile the next time you walk down your local shopping street and stroll through the mall.

Photo: thanks to PLANarama.com

I am pleased to announce that ZenGuide and Chanda Communications are working with haute couture designer Roubi L’Roubi to create an online magazine, roubiMAGAZINE.com, to showcase the creative and cultural activities, events and personalities that are coming together as part of the Roubi network.

Our first articles for the magazine look behind the scenes at the music and talented individuals involved in the Tune Your Harps concert coming up on Monday 13 November at Claridges. We also interview the conductor Laurence Cummings and violinist Adrian Butterfield.

The concert is organised by the London Handel Society as a fundraiser for its 2008 Festival. There will be a champagne reception and dinner as well. Roubi has designed clothes for musicians and singers and is very much involved in this event on Monday. As he told my colleague Silvia Cambie for her article on the event:

He believes that working with musicians helps to elevate fashion to another level. “Fashion is just another form of art, very much like classical music,” he says. “Highly skilled musicians are the haute couture of music.”

I hope very much you’ll enjoy roubiMAGAZINE.com - and also be able to come and enjoy the music and champagne on Monday.

Following the main conference at the London College of Communication (LCC) on Social Media and Photography , there was a good Q&A session. Many of the questions related to photography but it’s the ones relating to social media that I’ve been reflecting on since Saturday.

A professional photographer expressed distrust of social media and also an anxiety about the way free photographs uploaded online by amateurs is threatening people like him who earn much of their living from stock photography. Craig Smith is one of the lecturers at LCC and also a professional photographer. His response was that there will always be competition and that one way to deal with this particular threat is to engage with it and find a way to use it to your competitive advantage.

I agree with Craig and in fact, had a similar discussion with haute couture designer Roubi L’ Roubi about the issue of copying and competition.

One of my clients is photographer Steven Lee who has recently started a blog as a way to share his passion for photography and also to share the process of his recently published photography book. He gives tips on photography as well as writing about photo shoots he has done, focusing on particular challenges during the shoot or his impressions of the event or person he was covering. He also uploads his own photos to illustrate a particular technique or to give a taste of the photo shoot. Yes, there is a risk that his uploaded photos may be nicked and reproduced elsewhere. But the overall effect is to show his work and expertise to his clients and potential clients - as well as giving them a sense of what kind of person he is.

We like to do business with people that we can trust. In our home life, we try to find plumbers or gardeners through word of mouth - we ask our neighbours and friends. In business, we ask for references and recommendations when looking to employ staff or engage contractors.

As someone working in the creative industries, you can show potential clients that you are good at what you do, that you’re reliable, understand their needs, creative, have expert skills and knowleged through online media such as a blog, podcasts, videocasts or photo galleries. By giving away a few free goodies like free photos, you may gain even more in the long term.

Yes, the threat of free stuff by hordes of amateurs is a potential threat. But, interestingly, I asked Steven that same question and he said to me, “No, it hasn’t affected my business at all. In fact, I think it’s good for professional photographers. Yes, everyone can now take pictures and show them off easily but these people aren’t my competition. It just means people are interested in photography more. If you’re a good professional photographer, there’s still a lot of work.” ”

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I really enjoyed the conference at the London College of Communication on Saturday around the theme of Social Media and Photography. It was well-attended by students and also a number of lecturers and professional photographers.

Here is a quick summary of my impressions of each session:

Lucy Soutter - opened with how she was enticed into social media by Facebook because the platform feels truly social, allowing you to see friends’ pictures and get a daily sense of what everyone you know is up to. She then discussed social media in the context of Gutenberg, communications and Marshall Mcluhan.

Alan Sekers - showed how Microsoft was developing PhotoSynth to create 3D renditions of the real world, using tagged photographs from Flickr.com. By searching all photos tagged Notre Dame on Flickr, for example, the developers could piece together different views of the world-famous site from different angles in order to create a 3D version online. Apparently, the BBC did a similar trial project but sent out one photographer to take photos of a manor house but it was evident that this very controlled project lacked the dynamism and life of the more collaborative world-wide multi-user project.

Paul Tebbs - examined the Flickr site of Miss Aniela, which starts off as a typical “what I did in my holidays” style site and has evolved to more self-conscious, arty type self-portraits. This started a debate of whether having 2 million visitors makes her work “art” and why there was no critical response on her site - and I think by “critical” they were referencing “critical art theory” rather than “yo, your site sucks” type of criticism.

Yang-May Ooi - I asked: in an online world where content is freely available and freely distributed, what value could be gained by creative artists and those working in the creative industries? I think that beyond financial value, there are other values that you can gain online if you can engage creatively using social media - these other values, like kudos, fun and creativity, can add to whatever work / product you are creating offline by increasing your exposure to a very wide audience, in particular, if you can bring people together through a sense of community and peer-to-peer engagement.

Roger Hargreaves - showed a selection of photos from Flickr as a curated exhibition of Americana. Those amateur photos blown up onto a huge screen looked like pictures in an art gallery and showed moments into American private lives. They had a haunting and strange beauty that drew you into these lives, part documentary/ photo-journalism and part intimate portraits. This prompted a debate on whether these photos could be art if they were not self-consciously referencing previous artists/ photographers before them.

Craig Smith - talked about the incident of the whale that came up the Thames earlier this year which was splashed across the BBC news pages online. The BBC, on their website, called for people to submit their photos of the whale and the public duly complied and flocked to the Thames in droves to take photos of the whale. Their presence along the river then became news in itself and the BBC then featured news items and photos of the people taking photos of the whale. His thesis was that photography is a social media in itself by being a media that can call people to action.

These notes are from memory and no doubt filtered through my non-academic appreciation of the issues. If any of the speakers happen to be reading this and would like to draw out in more detail the central theme of their talks, I would love it if you added a comment - or emailed me your remarks. In particular, if I’ve not quite summarised accurately what you said, please do let me know!

All in all, I found the day very interesting and it certainly made me think about the way I view images online and offline. It was also a privilege to have the chance to hear academics - students and lecturers - engage with each other at that thoughtful and intellectual level that is increasingly rare outside of colleges and universities.

Some photos from the day are on my ZenGuide Flickr account, for those delegates/ speakers who’d like to download them for their own albums. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get very close to the stage so the pics are not great and we didn’t manage to take pics of all the speakers as some of them found the flash photography distracting.

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