ACE SAY AYE!!

February 28th, 2008

We found out yesterday that our ACE application was successful so we are starting to spread the word about two exciting projects that will be integrated into b.TWEEN 08. This year’s bigger and better event will be hosted by MOSI www.msim.org.uk Manchester on the 19th and 20th of June ( a fab venue for the event that has so far been extremely helpful and supportive)

Our new improved site will be launched on 25th March ( developed by the lovely. All entries for both projects will be accepted via the site

The first project is delivered in partnership with Hewlett Packard and is currently under the working title of of Exploding Narrative

Particpants will have the chance of winning £10,000 to develop a location based project

mSCAPES are mobile games, stories and guides triggered by location and experienced on via GPS-enabled PDAs. They are based on user friendly software developed by HP http://www.mscapers.com

What would you like to do with this software that no- one has done before?

We would like to hear your seed idea in less than 150 words

Those responsible for the best five ideas will be given £1,000 to turn their idea into a pitch - using the Quickfire format ( 12 ppt slides/30 seconds per slides/ automated - no exceptions)

Those selected will firstly spend the day at the HP labs where you will find out more about the software; what works, what’s possible, what’s been done before

Developed ideas will then be pitched to an industry expert panel in front of an audience at the ICA on the 10th June. The panel and the audience will help them to hone and improve the idea and presentational style

They will then have a week to hone their idea before pitching at the b.TWEEN launch on the 18th June

Their presentation will be filmed and shown at the ICA, FACT and on screens across Manchester over the next two days. The public will be asked to vote for their favourite idea. The most popular will be given a £10,000 development grant to take the idea into production

The finished work will feature in the Interactive Gallery at b.TWEEN 09

The admission window will be short and will close on the 18th April so spread the word/ get your thinking caps on!!

The second supported project is our normal interactive gallery with a difference:

As usual we will have a public-facing gallery of interactive installations - the best experimental interactive work from 07

This time we want to make sure than the gallery is fully integrated into the forum and that artist, public and delegate alike gain maximum inspiration

In this spirit, each of the showcased artists will be asked to present their work in a “Dragons Den” scenario, where industry experts ( Broadcasters, Advertisers etc) consider how their ideas might be used in a commercial context

Each will be given 6 minutes to present their ideas in the Quickfire format (12 PowerPoint slides, 30 seconds per slide; slides are automated so when we hit go, speakers have to keep up with the slides – it turns presentation into parlour game – short / punchy/ succinct )

The panel will comment explore their ideas in a commercial context

Recorded pitches will be screened throughout the venue after the event to contextualise the works to the visiting public

Delegates and public will be invited to vote for their favourite work and the artists will be rewarded in the awards ceremony on Friday

we will invite b.TWEEN People to bring the best interactive installations to our attention - again via the new website. The works have to be accessible, interactive and rooted in popular culture ( they will be installed in the museum foyer so have to be intriguing to the museum public and delegates alike) - keep and eye out and spread the word

More open source thoughts

June 6th, 2007

Interesting thing here

Is the internet ‘killing our culture’?

June 6th, 2007
Interesting discussion here at FT.com.
Andrew Keen, a former Silicon Valley entrepreneur, has set the blogosphere alight with his new book, a scathing attack on user-generated content. Sub-titled How the Internet is killing our culture, Keen’s book is a polemic against the “anything goes” standards of much of online publishing.”

Is Open Source Business a Problem Waiting to Happen?

June 4th, 2007

It’s easy to sit here and talk about the benefits of open source business (of which there are many), but what happens when it goes wrong or someone operates counter to the spirit? Read the rest of this entry »

Returning from the digital wilderness

June 4th, 2007

Getting nearer every day. I’ve got to say that I’m looking forward to this years event more than ever before. It has been a pleasure to pull together. We could have done with another three months, but eh? what can you do. C’est la vie. Hope it will be very different situation next year. As i keep saying, the bestest bit of designing b.TWEEN is spending time talking to interesting people, introducing them to each other and figuring out the strongest intersection between them. Read the rest of this entry »

Richard and Kristina talk open source business

May 31st, 2007

I met with Richard ( who has by the way been a massive support for the last few months on just about every level) and Kristina the other week to discuss which bits of their huge and varied knowledge we could most usefully focus on in this 35 minute session. I may have mentioned earlier that we have decided to scrap the Q and A after the sessions in favour of break outs. Essentially each of the speakers will go to a breakout space and delegates can choose which one they would most like to have a deeper conversation with. Q and As are so often no more than an opportunity for less shy delegates to introduce themselves Read the rest of this entry »

A Panel with Matt Locke, Morgan Holt and Jonathan Jowitt - an ideas clinic

May 30th, 2007

This one was a two stage discussion At the first, we considered how useful it would be for small companies to understand a little more about the internal workings and politics inside the walls of the major players. EAch of the panellists used to work for the biggies ( Matt used to work for the BEEB, Morgan for 3 and Jonathan for Orange.) I asked them each to spill the beans, and tell the audience 5 things they wouldn’t have felt comfortable saying while they were working for each of these organisations - useful tips from the inside that would help indies to navigate their complicated and shrouded landscapes when trying to pitch an idea or cut a deal. they were each going to use warts and all case studies to tell the audience what not to do when approaching these monoliths. Read the rest of this entry »

Angel Gambino talks about strategic serendipity

May 30th, 2007

Read the rest of this entry »

b.TWEEN book gone to print

May 30th, 2007

i know it’s remiss of me to have gone so long without posting. There is no excuse other than we’ve been completely snowed under.For me this has meant i have spent the last few weeks meeting up with some of the most interesting and inspiring figures around the interactive media scape and working with them to figure out exactly what they will bring to the table at the forum.( It’s a tough job but someone’s got to do it ;-) ). Read the rest of this entry »

Peter Cowley confirmed

April 18th, 2007

Peter Cowley confirmed today that he will be presenting at b.TWEEN 07.

We met today to talk about Endemol’s digital media investment fund.  The fund was launched in June 2006, a response to a changing media scape where TV is rapidly losing footing and the big broadcasting moguls are losing their grip on audiences.

They aim to invest in Indies with good sales driven content ideas around participation programmes, aggregation, evolving platforms such as mobile, IPTV and video-on-demand services, gaming and gambling. All of the major gambling brands are desperate to find ways of using content to differentiate themselves from their competitors. Since the launch they have received around 150 ideas. They have been surprised by how few of the proposals have clear business cases built around them, and by how few of the companies they talked to are investment ready. There has been no shortage of good ideas, just a shortage of the commercial acumen to accompany them. They have just entered their first investment deal through the fund with a company that has been trading for two years though wouldn’t tell who the company is

Endemol have also just announced a creative partnership with electronic arts (EA) to develop a new entertainment concept that will bridge the gap between TV and Games. “Virtual Me” combines EA’s avatar creation technology with Endemol’s TV formats to offer audiences a way to meet and greet in a virtual space. It will be launched in the next series of ‘Big Brother’ and will allow players to participate in virtual versions of TV shows like ‘Fame Academy’ and ‘Deal Or No Deal’, and to form real relationships with other virtual avatars on the web
(www.VirtualMe.com).
Incidentally, BBC viewing figures apparently plummeted to new low last Saturday, with less than 15% of the audience tuning in to their TV offer.