The Social Media Womble

In defence of liveness.

2022-04-24T01:12:53.240000Z

In defence of liveness.

Immersive and Liveness are just two buzzwords voiced with often little true comprehension.

At a day of panel discussion and presentations in a physical venue (21st April 2022) 50 mins in and the deafening rhetoric of self congratulatory ego at the expense of the general public was nauseating.

The case presentations were a saving grace but the inexcusable had been perpetuated.

Sat in the bleachers of a 100 capacity with an attendee count of 4 and 6 speaking guests I boiled while a panel of 4 blandly exchanged platitudes reflecting on a film festival injected with immersive delusions. A vanity for audience on a level that defies imagination.

There I was watching. No stream, time committed to being physically present wishing I was digital so I could turn off my camera and roll my eyes. No such luck.

And I inhaled… and said out loud… "Why are we (this microscopic audience) here?" It certainly wasn’t for a benefit I could attribute to the the audience.

I said it and 5 min of outrage ensued. Sorry but not Sorry! In defence of Liveness.

Liveness. It is perspective belonging to the observer. That can be online, offline, physical, digital or virtual. It’s Now.

Liveness for the presenters is peril and jeopardy, tension and attention. Provision for moderation and management of disruption should be expected and met with a sense of relief when all goes to plan.

Laziness during live is as criminal and passing off prerecorded as live. Perhaps even greater. Liveness is special.

Audience is everything. No audience no show. Record for capture but that’s not live. You get views not applause.

The tickets might be free but the time given ‘in kind’ to attend is valuable.

Zoom does Dial In

2022-01-30T12:07:18.094000Z

Conference Calls, those audio broadcast boxes delivering disembodied voices to the meeting table seem to be a thing of the past since covid introduced everyone to video meetings and webinars.

It is important to remember that not everyone has the luxury of adequate bandwidth to attend video meetings or webinars.

I always reiterate to people when I talk about video event platforms that I am a reluctant Zoom user. A zoom power use I might add as mastery of the settings extend the functionality of Zoom in some extraordinary ways.

This post is to bring attention a much overlook feature of Zoom. Its capacity to offer landline dial in access to those with no internet at all.

The pure audio experience with a receiver tucked in tightly to your ear or in these times of tech, perhaps hands free, sat back in an arm chair!

As I’m Zoom prepping for the Royal Historical Society I recalled how the last lecture did indeed have several dialled in attendees.

I want to encourage this more.

There are many reasons why your attendees might prefer the off screen, audio only experience.

Its time to step up the accessibility announcement in the continuity script I prepare for hosts.

The what I fondly refer to as the ‘hair and flair’ self described welcome for the partially signed and blind members of the audience. Those who have no use for the closed captions but do appreciate an added dimension of vocally expressed enrichment for their experience.

Audio Description of the lecture slides is a consideration in need of thought. During the first lockdown I had the joy of consulting and zoom controlling for theatre company, NotNowCollective. This was first time working directly with an audience description author.

The art of saying everything with very little!

This isn’t a post about AD but needs to be a future post.

Comment if you agree.

So don’t forget dial in is an option for Zoom especially if you want to reach a wider audience.

Care Homes for instance. If anyone would like to talk about how I’d be happy to share further thoughts on extending audience and suggest technical provision. The Royal Historical Society and the Society for Study of French History both use my services to host their Zoom lecture series. There lectures are free to attend.

The dial in details are often omitted on the assumption they aren’t required but.. if you want to join a zoom and don’t have internet remember you can request the dial in details.

RHS Events Programme, 2022

https://royalhistsoc.org/events/rhs-events-programme-2022/

03 - SubShifter: ONLY what it says on the tin.

2022-01-28T07:44:10.439000Z

Back on my toolbar. Prepping videos for this years SparkArts for Children festival. I’m providing video hosting and embeds codes along with top and tail edits to insert bumper branding.

This app is essential. The caption files I’m provided with when uploaded to facilitate captioning being visible or hidden line up to the start of the film. With the branding bumper inserted the film doesn’t start until the bumper has played. Sublititle files .srt are time coded text files. To insert a time period each consequent time code has to be amended.

In a nutshell that is what this app does. Full stop!

App Store for Mobile and MAC desktop

https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/subshifter-sync-subtitles/id1457012736

Restricted time length on the free version

Browser Based

https://subshifter.bitsnbites.eu/

RHS - Zoom 1 yr in.

2022-01-19T22:37:11.601000Z

Zoom controlling a lot raises the probability things may glitch. Keeping my version of Zoom up to date is essential. I tend to use the attendee link to enter via a second devise so I know it works. But still, there are access issues on occasion and when it’s you having the access issue as an attendee their is nothing more frustrating.

Is it me? Is it the link? Is it Zoom?

As a remote controller its impossible for me to know.

It’s very frustrating because I pride myself on a well executed online events.

Tonight the emailed link worked for some and not for others. Paste the link into the address bar of a browser and it works.

I suspect it’s a line break issue.

Anyone had this problem recently?

Tonight’s lecture was a Zoom international. Mark Mazower delivered his paper to an audience that hit 100 from New York. These lectures have been Zoom controlled from my desk for a year. The digital tide is turning. Next month is scheduled to be online. Going forward it’s only a matter of time before the coin is flipped and the lectures return to the lecture hall with a new digital extension.

http://bit.ly/rhs-jan-mazower

As the attendees arrive

How should we think today about the history of diplomacy? How has diplomatic history changed over the last one hundred years?

In his lecture, Mark Mazower reflects on recent experience writing about the history of the Greek war of independence, and explored the ways in which the events of 1821 have been connected to the emergence of an international order in Europe by scholars and historians from the First World War until today.

The recording will be trimmed and uploaded to YouTube.

The RHS lecture and events programme is here https://royalhistsoc.org/events/rhs-events-programme-2022/

Mark in full swing. Engaging lecture with no slide deck. Huge kudos.

Q&A

Zoom Control - FrenchHistoryUK

2022-01-18T17:18:01.966000Z

I’ve done a Zoom Controlling gig this evening. Light Camera Action… well webcam, virtual background title slide and shared computer sound.

Its all very sedate. But thats why the clients come to me. A good behind the scenes experience. They are simple events that they want to deliver with perceived effortlessness.

Great long long tail lectures with engaged audiences and specialist top of their topic. Each expert insight to thread of history a joy to zoom tech.

Society for the Study of French History

The 2022 Annual Douglas Johnson Memorial Lecture was the 12th in this series, organised by the Society for the Study of French History and the Association for the Study of Modern and Contemporary France.

http://frenchhistorysociety.co.uk/douglas_johnson.htm

My view… as Zoom Controller

The lecture was presented by Professor Penny Roberts (University of Warwick) a paper entitled 'The Saint Bartholomew’s Day Massacres 450 years on'. Professor Roberts is Vice-Provost and Chair of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Warwick and the President of the Society for the Study of French History.

The battle and religious civic conflict from 450 years ago frighteningly possible internally inconceivable yet… 2022 who knows. Do we learn? Have we learnt? Who did the learning? Could history repeat? Has it repeated?

This source examination is important.

The Attendee view on iPad with captions.

Needed to frame the space.

Found some Creative Commons music. Debussy was suggested. The audience arrives and the title slide displays. Waiting to begin.

The music fades and the continuity host welcomes and sets the scene, establishes boundaries and orients the attendees. Chat panel, Q&A panel. Some will have attended many Zoom meetings some may not be familiar with Zoom webinar. On this occasion a prompt to encourage share locations revealed a truly global audience of 122.

Enjoy the music

Debussy: Preludes

by Jeremy Denk

Go to Tribe of noise PRO

Live at the Gardner Museum's Tapestry Room

The songs in this album are licensed under:

CC BY-NC-ND 3.0

Investment in 50 - coming of age at last!

2022-01-17T09:23:57.956000Z

There has been a pause in my blogging over the last week to portion out time to complete a finished version of my diploma module to prepare a first attempt at an investment pack to finance a stage show. Mine has been a long time back burner project. It’s the reason PCM is part of my online persona. There is a wind of change on the horizon and it’s exciting times.

Assignment submitted and birthday celebrated. I’m mid way through a diploma in Creative Producing. 16 weeks including a 2wk study break… and Christmas. My horizons are widening. I will need people in this new horizon. The next 2 assignments are envisioning for purposeful target marketing and storytelling, then company structure and good team structures.

Here is my opening section.

Concept orientation

To produce and commission new and fresh live 30 minute productions for new audiences emerging around immersive staged experiences such as Secret Cinema, War of the Worlds and Dr Who Fractured Time, and new global audiences who remotely attend film festivals featuring dedicated VR films. Festivals award categories for VR and 360 as well as interactive experiences and VR short films at Expanded BFI 2021, Expanded Vienna 2021 and Canada’s FIVARS VR film festivals.

LLF Expanded BFI - British Film Festival

https://www.bfi.org.uk/news/lff-expanded-immersive-art-xr-2021

Labiennale - Venice VR Expanded

https://www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/2020/venice-vr-expanded-web-section

Festival of International Virtual and Augmented Reality Stories

February 21st – February 28th 2022 (Online)

https://fivars.net/

The productions will explore relationships and augmentation into the ‘real life’ of the burgeoning metaverse - encouraging discussion, examination and participation with the company, challenging the audience's perception of where the frontier of digital, physical and meta virtual dissect.

Before the financial breakdown, info about the stage play there is this. The story is becoming clearer and the financials are solid.

This investment prospects is the foundation of my vision setting out a realistic beginning. A play produced on an ITC influenced agreement and physical mid-small scale ambition, opening at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2023 designed and directed to then tour to sizable black box theatre studios and village halls from Dervaig on the Isle of Mull to The People Theatre in Newcastle upon Tyne and Bristol Old Vic’s Weston Studio.

Its gradual evolution though my DYCP exploration’s will take it from extended on-stage production space with a fourth wall and traditional seated audience to later include a dual presence digital and meta virtual experience realising an immersive ‘public house Snug meets park promenade’ experience, delivering culture from the comfort of A couch, Your couch, and beyond!

The audience concept has its roots in 2012 producing TEDx LaceMarket.

So this (pic below) within an immersive wrapper…

CC Chapman speaking at TEDxLaceMarket -

002 - Headliner: podcast visuals, transcripts, captions and more.

2022-01-17T09:15:42.363000Z

Following a request for a recommendation on Twitter for speech to text transcription options I waded in perhaps a little too eagerly before reading the context of the post request for recommendation for responding.

Transcription from audio for a text record and extracting text for uploading as caption are similar by not the same.

I immediately recommend Headliner. I love services that evolve and extend their usefulness. I first used Headliner to generate overlay audio waveforms to present podcasts for viewing when uploaded to video services.

Last year I worked on a spoken word project requiring captions to accentuate particular words and phrases. It was also audio and needed audio visualisation. I went to Headliner to generate a selection of waveforms, Headliner calls these audiograms, to demonstrate the options and discovered the transcription for captions feature.

After an exchange on Twitter with Headliner we scheduled a video call for me to share my Headliner experience.

Using the power of Calendly I had a great chat with Mike Sands from development at Headliner.

The generation of transcripts I’ll deal with tomorrow but for closed captions which is where headliner can facilitate and excel it’s a player in the field for affordable Rich featured captioning.

It also takes SRT file and can export SRT files. SRT are text format files that time code each line for a duration to appear on screen.

Here is an example of a few lines for an SRT file

00:00:47.769 --> 00:00:51.002

Potato? Potato?

00:00:52.584 --> 00:00:54.030

Potato?

00:00:54.409 --> 00:00:56.365

Potato?

00:00:58.498 --> 00:00:59.883

Oh, hello.

00:01:02.233 --> 00:01:04.216

You haven't seen a potato anywhere, have you?

00:01:06.389 --> 00:01:07.611

Potato?

00:01:08.381 --> 00:01:09.528

He ran off.

SRT buffering was my you could be the golden goose opportunity. Completed videos are provided from artists for live screening or on demand viewing. But… the festival may wish to insert a pre show bumper to brand the experience. That add time to the start of the video file and thereby changes the time code for the start of the captions. You can see this from the time stamps in the example from Shona Reppe’s Potato Needs a Bath digital experience - https://www.shonareppe.co.uk/potato-digital.html

For the 2021 SparkArts Festival a bumper lasting just under 47 seconds was inserted at the start. To off set the start of the captions was a trial by fire. every time code through the entire SRT file needs adjusting. The example shows less than a minute of the show in lasted 30 mins.

This conversation revealing this step in a process is an opportunity. I had to download and install sub shifter could Headliner keep me in the platform.

If you want to try out headliner hears a link for a free trial. After you can use the free features or pay for a month or for a year.

https://make.headliner.app/referral/pcmcreative_PGxcwB

001 - CleanPNG: Transparent PNG Art at Your Fingertips.

2022-01-10T22:56:10.103000Z

There are JPG files and PNG files. Both are formats of pictures or for digitally practiced images!

The nice thing about PNGs is that the background can be transparent. That means it looks like I has a plain white background but when added on top of a different background only the content of the PNG image displays.

Here is a website I go to when needing graphic elements for posters and promotional flyers.

This is a new series of posts for me to share Apps, Platforms, Tools and Services I think PCM Adventurers will find useful. Let’s start at 001. I’m think big assuming I’ll need 3 figures!

Clean PNG

https://www.cleanpng.com/

cleanpng.com has more than 3,000,000 transparent PNG images.

Unlimited Use & Free to Download

All the transparent images in cleanpng is free to download, and unlimited. You do not need register your email, do not need login with your social account. On their about page they say only this

>> Share us with your friends and like our facebook page to get the news of cleanpng. (Sadly I was unable to locate the Facebook page)

It’s great for finding social media icons too.

I used these flourishes in an invitation to a fundraiser held by theatrical charitable trust for who I’m a trustee.

https://www.cleanpng.com/png-wedding-invitation-imperial-design-hall-logo-idbh-6802691/

There are ideas and stories to share. At Christmas time I compile the 12 apps for Christmas which are taken from my iPhone and iPad. I also have web services and browser extensions I use regularly as well as downloaded software and desktop apps.

I hope you like this PNG repository.

https://www.cleanpng.com/about.html

Black Box - Black Book : beginnings

2022-01-10T00:11:11.777000Z

I’m in the process of working out the capitalisation cost of my long awaited stage production I dreamed of staging for over 20 years. As technology evolved new tech has emerged and distilled in to what is becoming known as ‘immersive’ the dream of a stage and live film extended space production is now possible. Motion capture is being replaced my canny valley avatars even volumetric video and photometry environment. The VR sound stages replacing green screen in film have intoxicating possibilities for live theatre.

Where will I take this immersive, extended space live theatre experience environment? To studio spaces around the country. To the black box shoe box diminutive little sibling of the hat box proscenium big street profiled kin.

Concrete box often painted black lined with black surge drapes. Close the doors and lights out to descend into velvety blackout.

Where the audience sit in raised steel decked levels to stagger the sight lines for the performances played out on the flat found level. Black vinyl dance floor immaculately joined with clear tape or black gaffa.

The sensory deprivation tank where the play is the thing. No distractions.

Posted to Facebook please share your responses in the comments.

I’m making a directory of Black Box Theatre spaces in the UK. If there is a resource you know of please link. If you know a space do share. For hire or venue programmed. Thanks.

3hrs after posting as as I write this there has been 18 responses from the Theatre Producers UK Facebook Group and 1 response from Twitter with a raft of likes and retweets.

So…

If you have done drama at school or had a drama department at school I suspect you will have seen a black box theatre

Wikipedia says this

"A black box theatre is a simple performance space, typically a square room with black walls and a flat floor. The simplicity of the space allows it to be used to create a variety of configurations of stage and audience interaction.The black box is a relatively recent innovation in theatre."

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_box_theater

This is the venue max size I’m looking for. This is Hull Truck’s studio.

I’m on a hunt. I’ll be looking to identify 9 venues on my 100 mile radius tour.

Mull - Dervaig

100 radius tour (by the crow flies)

Stirling

Carlisle

York

Nottingham

Bury St Edmunds

Aberystwyth

Bristol

Plymouth

In particular I’m eager to locate venues in proximity to these places.

Falmouth

Nuneaton

Lutterworth

Rudgwick

Billinghurst

Bala

Llauwchilyn

Kirkwall - Orkney

Sandwick - Shetland

Stornoway - Lewis

Continued Mindfulness

2022-01-09T09:16:49.681000Z

My focus app of choice has I think at the close of January wk 1 got me back in the board.

My note to self is to decisively close all apps, browser windows and tab, reboot and re enter. Returning to the surface when working in digital hierarchical structures Eg Google docs, should never be overlooked.

I know all this but it demand rigorous practice. Finding new solutions while being mindful of what you have and why you return to those services, platforms and apps is vital.

The start of the year mindfulness I initiated in 2021 is a major contributor to the success of 2021. I am recognising this as I stumble into 2022 with my new word.

Aggregation of words is going to be necessary. This means my list would grow annually.

2020- Boundaries
2021 - Mindfulness
2022 - Posture

Externality is important too. I ask myself why I blog rather than privately journal.

My notebooks are chaotic and imposing upon myself structure to present prose for reading is a push into and beyond my comfort zone. I get disheartened when the view figure is low but I remind myself here at the start of the new year that it’s purpose is not for the reader but for me to share in case a someone around me is curious about how I work as I’m not very good at sharing this stuff. I welcome others to share their thoughts either in the comments or to post a link to there own voyage into mind sharing.

Focus Keeper was a 2020 app and I do focus more productively when running it though a day. I have an old iPad2 as a viewing screen where I keep the Focus Keeper app in sight. It’s clean and simple. It defines 12 session each session containing a 25 minute work stint and a 5 minute break after 4 sessions there is a 25 minute break. There is a sound library of clock ticks and ocean waves to underscore your concentration if music isn’t playing. I like this especially when editing video and audio.

12apps from 2020 PDF link - https://bit.ly/12apps2020

Firming up my ‘default diary’ for the coming weeks to mid February calmed my underlying anxiety welcoming Google Calendar back into my consciousness. Finally I felt the need to return to Trello. These have been my saving graces.

Embarking upon some serious multi depart planning I have added a Gantt Chart extension in Trello to map tasks and timescales against each other to optimise team, tech and travel.

It you need an anchor to your day I recommend Focus Keeper.

Business as usual, 2022 has begun.

2022-01-08T00:13:15.349000Z

The Creative Producing Diploma cohort led by Chris Grady are entering the second half of the course. Over Christmas we have each been tasked to develop our first comprehensive budget and investment pack for a project.

For me this is to take the founding steps for a new PCM entity PCMimmersive and it’s first physical production along with the conception manifesto for the Metaverse extension to provide the PCM audience a world to transcend presence, giving quantum purpose to access physical, digital and virtual experiences of the same singular central performance.

Attend - Watch - Observe - Participate

What does it mean to purchase a ticket where you exist with the choice of physical, digital and virtual across an engagement spectrum.

Can each augment the other?

The physical experience is geo locked, maintains a finite capacity each time.

The digital experience is home bound and satellite, maintains curiosity before and after all the time.

The virtual experience is evolution and beyond, maintains play and adventure stimulating new experiences.

The audience are central as collaborators, the company as observers, investors attend and a community emerges to support new work by creators influence by the possibility of story enhanced by technology.

Teach, Entertain, Engage

When I first really began thinking about what the next phase of PCM would give I knew it must come from a truth. A quest for a truth.

With the technology wrapper as a tour-able venue it will champion the pioneer mobile traveling theatre that began with Century Theatre and its days on the road.

The produced, commissioned and programmed work will explore neurodiverse and non binary casting. The first proof of concept production will use a script written to be ‘performed by 3 humans’.

To see this filled me with hope that alternative structures are surfacing and the future is ever nearer.

So how much is this going to cost? That is what I’m feeding into the spreadsheet the scope of which has been imparted so knowledgeably by Chris and the CGO faculty.

So guess this is part 1…

Streaming to avoid audience disappointment.

2022-01-06T23:00:57.916000Z

Theatre and Audience are intertwined. If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around does it make a sound?

If a curtain raises and no audience is present does the show go on?

There is nothing more depressing than the idea of performing with less audience than members of the cast.

The fourth wall is more porous than ever in the dawning light of the Metaverse. Proscenium, thrust, in the round and promenade theatrical styles have been joined and consumed in some cases by the new kid on the block, immersive.

Theatre is an immersive experience. It starts by crossing thresholds.

Where the story is received. Where the suspension of disbelief is expected. Where the participation is explored and established as a contact of exchange. Boundaries and limitations are negotiated through marketed promise and the purchase of a ticket.

Is that enough?

What are your experience of "immersive".

Don’t hold back!

If you can give production context even better.

Is there a place for theatre that attracts an audience that doesn’t sit together? Does the audience have to sit together for the observed experience to be theatre?

Posture - #MyWord 2022

2022-01-05T22:53:02.553000Z

General Physical and Mental Health conditioning. It’s a curiosity. Can reflection influence practice? As a creative producer it most certainly does. This is a very selfish reflection. Words for the year are soul search deep.

It starts with plain simple searches on Google. I think I know what it means but returning to dictionary definitions is very important.

So… Posture

noun: posture; plural noun: postures

1. the position in which someone holds their body when standing or sitting."I got out of the car in an alert posture"

2. a particular approach or attitude. "trade unions adopted a more militant posture in wage negotiations"

verb: posture; 3rd person present: postures; past tense: postured; past participle: postured; gerund or present participle: posturing

1. behave in a way that is intended to impress or mislead."a billionaire posturing as a hero of the working class"

ARCHAIC

place (someone) in a particular attitude or pose. "and still these two were postured motionless"

It’s dual definition is why I was attracted to the word. It encompasses Health, Condition and Fitness as well as extending my thought processes around my word from 2021, Mindfulness and my place in my own mind and in the world. Posturing and positioning of others. There proposition and intent.

I don’t always understand. I do take pride in my posture. Learning to read posture is vital. A collective capacity to interpret posture and present continued positive direction has to be governance and policy.

This year is going to be a great deal more philosophical that anticipated.

What is your word for 2022 going to be?

What happened to Evernote?

2022-01-04T16:23:46.555000Z

I noticed the changes taking place over the years. The Plus tier was withdrawn in April 2018. There are a few platforms for which I discover ‘grandfathering’ has taken place.

Evernote tells me I have been a ‘member’ / held an account since Feb 1st 2010.

I pay a subscription which I recently discovered is a deprecated tier, Evernote Plus. I pay £19.99 a year.

The current subscription tiers are (link to compare features)

https://help.evernote.com/hc/en-us/articles/209005157-Compare-Evernote-subscription-plans

Evernote Free

Evernote Personal - £5.99 p/month

Evernote Professional - £7.49 p/month

Evernote Teams - £10.99 p/month

Despite being a subscribed member and perhaps as a result of spam filtering I have never to my knowledge been informed about the changes. I know they will have been circulated but they didn’t reach my inbox for active consideration.

The legacy of my £19.99 a year is that I can synchronise my account across all my devises. On the free the capacity to synchronise devises is just two.

There are plenty of digital notebook options. Microsoft’s OneNote, Google’s KeepIt, Apple’s Notes and other stand alone apps Nebo, NoteShelf being two I use synchronise with Evernote for backup.

I use the Chrome browser clipping tool rather than in browser based bookmarking and Skitch, the tool I use for screen grabs syncs to Evernote also.

I used Evernote for some time and established Notebooks for projects and clients but recently adopted folksonomic tagging resulting in notes being dumped in one central notebook. Google Drive is my central admin hub with documents and folders serving a stronger more solid purpose that notebooks and notes.

Once upon a time there was an app that let you create digital notebooks. Each notebook contains related notes. A screen displayed the notebooks and multiple notebooks could be grouped together in stacks. So for so conceptually analogue. Evernote lost this feel and consequently I stopped turning to Evernote.

Notes, Notebooks and Stacks.

Viewed in a list or as tiles. Side by side square reorientations of each note, notebook or stack.

So what happened?

Evernote aligned with the major player in aesthetic terms and for interface. Evernote being the middle ground between OneNote and Apple Note.

The emailing to Evernote is still unique to the platform as far as I can tell.

It’s Evernote add on apps and extending services are a nice feature making Evernote a hybrid of data storage, back up, input interface and content management. Postachio for blogging, Skitch for screen grab and annotation being 2 active Evernote extenders I have in my toolset.

So will I upgrade to the Personal subscription. As far as I can see the only advantage would be to enable interface customisation. Not right now.

What notebook apps do you use?

What’s the best blogging platform?

2022-01-03T18:50:57.578000Z

What’s the best blogging platform? I’m asked that question with genuine expectation of revealing the holy grail. Some times it’s for reassurance that they have the right one it seems, for others what they really mean is ‘What platform will write my blog for me?’

There are options I tell them.

There is of course the blogging facility built into your existing website’s CMS (content management system) Wordpress, Squarespace, Wix and Weebly for example.

There are article posting platforms where the facility to post long form enables friends, followers, connections or in newsletter and blog terms, subscribers provide tools and distribution within a closed ecosphere. LinkedIn and Facebook for example.

Where are your audience I will inevitably enquire.

There are article posting platforms with audiences of their own. Medium and YouTube are examples. Blogging doesn’t necessarily have to be text based.

And there is the dedicated blog with RSS subscription which loops back round to the first option, the existing CMS. In this category I also place platforms that extend to enable a blog presence.

The two I’m favouring right now at the dawn of 2022, Typepad and Postach.io fall into this category. I’m always looking for the path of least resistance. Mapping, observing and following cyberspace desire lines. Both platforms have the post by email facility.

These paths of least resistance out in the world are delightfully named Desire Lines. If you haven’t come across the notion they are the worn routes in the grass that rebel against the fixed outlined path of an authority or architect’s intent.

I want to write, post, proof and publish with the least fuss and constraint.

In 2021 I used Typepad as the platform, composing my posts in Apple Note before sending the final draft with an image by email to Typepad, set to draft where I proof read, tagged, added an extract, published and distributed sporadically to Twitter and Facebook, LinkedIn or Meduim.

I also intermittently posted to Postach.io

Postach.io is platform extender that uses Evernote as its CMS. If you are an Evernote fan you will adore Postach.io

It’s free. On sign up it will ask you to assign an Evernote Notebook to contain your posts. A note tagged ‘published’ will post to your postach.io presence. There are some simple mark up instructions to enhance formatting if required but at its most basic it provides an independent presence online for you. I have a domain name it points to www.socialmediawomble.co.uk and connects to Google analytics to monitor activity. It also generates a RSS feed.

The default url is pcmcreative.pistachio.io

Being able to compose posts away from my desk and easily publish from my mobile, tablet, laptop or desktop is important for my workflow.

For me Apple Note is accessible on all my devises and provides a place to build up a repository of blog post ideas and progressive drafts. I title notes with a month and day date for notes I’ll consider for blog posts. This year I’m prefixing with 22 for 2022 and a number to count the posts published. Last year I didn’t have an identification on ideas posted to separate from posts waiting to be written.

It’s important to have a method in your workflow. When you drop the routine (I daily blogged in 2021 to the end of April) it makes it so much easier to start again. This mindset process, workflow and containment encompassing prep to post to publication arose from a desire to blog but a hurdle that not doing it frustrated me. The notorious condition I have heard references as ‘Bloggers Guilt’.

So here are my tips to get you blogging.

Top 5 tips to start you blogging in 2022

1. Its all about the workflow

2. Path of least resistance

3. Log your ideas

4. Your place, your space

5. Understand your cycle

As a social technology consultant and mentor I offer 30 min free video call sessions. Give me a call, I’m pcmcreative on Twitter.

Uncredited found photo - source

https://historyundusted.wordpress.com/2014/04/19/lines-of-desire/

https://stephaniehuesler.com/

Digital Declutter or Death to the Facebook Algorithm.

2022-01-02T14:57:35.520000Z

How do you access the internet? What devises do you use? Where?

For me it’s Desktop and Mobile, work and not work, studio office and elsewhere.

When ‘in the office’, browser access tab by tab I tend to check notifications but not general feeds and update. On mobile however I find myself mindlessly opening social media apps in oblivious rotation scrolling between Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

This time last year (the start of 2021) the compulsion was disturbing and distracting. Delete the apps. It’s quite liberating as a small step of self control. Waking in the morning my thought processes did not immediately turn to mindless scrolling. Habitual energies are not always reinforced positive pathways.

I challenge you to delete those apps that you know are facilitating mindless scrolling.

From my mobile today I deleted Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.

Pausing, taking deep breaths while looking up at the ceiling is ok. Be present. It’s surprisingly rare with the ever ubiquitous wifi and internet enabled to hand devises.

This has been a peculiar post to write. People become quite defensive about having their capacity to manage their scrolling habits challenged.

I highly recommend the holding of an icon, get the jiggle, action the options menu and select delete from devise. Yes you can re install at any time. It’s a modern life lesson that needs to me more that a theory.

Do it!

As with last year I eventually returned them to my routine but with reflection and mediated internal dialogue.

I have more liminal cognition to explore. Duolingo at the very least forwards my aspiration to comprehend a second language.

I’m tempted to remove news apps as an exercise. Recently the Facebook current affairs news feed has fed my news scrolling. I’ve seen the Social Dilemma and Removing Facebook was deliberated because I found the news received was dare I say it well balanced between hard news and magazine fluff. It had to go! It’s Facebook for fuck sake. Bubble inducing, oblivion prescribed cul-de-sac for my mind, body and soul. The coming together of those 3 components is not best realised through Facebook.

Death to the algorithm. It is not my friend.

If this resonated with you. Delete just one app. Let me know in the comments. If you feel it’s an unnecessary exercise, all power to you. Only you really know the truth.

Wow that’s a whole new train of thought!

Thanks for reading.

PS. The irony is not lost on me that this post is shared to Facebook and Twitter. This is about mindless freedom. Closing a door while keeping the windows open!

Recycle & Reuse - Shoutout to 2011

2022-01-02T15:24:28.410000Z

Where were you in 2011, 2005, 1994, 1983, 1977, 1966, 1955 or 1949?

If you were born in these years the diary from your year of birth lines up with 2022. Did you know you could dust it off, Recycle & Reuse - old diaries and calendars?

Have you ever found an old unused calendar, mournfully flicked it through its pages while contemplating the waste, contemplating its usefulness as a notebook?

Ask instead, when can I reuse this calendar?

whencanireusethiscalendar?

In 2022, you can re-use calendars from these years:

2011, 2005, 1994, 1983, 1977, 1966, 1955, 1949, 1938, and 1927.

https://www.whencanireusethiscalendar.com/?y=2022

Yep there is website that answers that question!

What do you mean I can re-use calendars? This one ended December 31, 2015. As it turns out, the annual calendar cycle is pretty predictable and the days of the week repeat every few years. This means that all of the days of the week match up, including possible leap days. Many if not most holidays will match up, too

I have, and will dig though other boxes.

1999 I cam use in 2027

2004 I can use in 2032

2014 I can use in 2025

Certain events like daylight saving changeover and lunar events may not match the current year.

So FYI…

Your 2022 calendar is reusable in:

2033, 2039, 2050, 2061, 2067, 2078, 2089, 2095, 2101, 2107, and 2118.

To reflect on my life in this this 50th year since my birth I’LL be looking to find photos from 2011, 2005, 1994, 1983, 1977.

Now there’s a self imposed challenge.

What’s this space. #WCIRTC2022 coz I love a random obscure yet deliciously trackable hashtag!

I wonder what the world will look like in 2033?

2021 wins and 2022 begins

2021-12-30T15:21:06.852000Z

12 Apps 2021

http://bit.ly/pcm12apps21-pdf

Dialogue with yourself is really important. Don’t you agree? Sharing opinions and aspirations for change are also important.

This time last year I wanted to tackle my bloggers guilt. Never posting enough, regularly enough. I never thought I could. 30 days to the end of January.

I enjoyed the journey. Let’s do it again. I have used Typepad since I began blogging. I continued there in 2021 as it offered an easy path from pad to post. My pad being Apple’s Note app and posing via email to Typepad.

However, the internet visibility was depressingly poor. It’s reach was low. The disheartening truth is the lack of reach impacted my motivation.

The sobering truth is that content in king, the algorithm is the wicked stepmother! I became Cinderella in my own story. I continued to post sporadically. Tangentially, but if I can continue the analogy, my DYCP (Develop Your Creative Practice) Arts Council funding success did provide me with a window of hope on reflection although it took until August. I did make it to the ball! Which makes my dyslexia support assistant my Fairy Godmother! The awesome Fiona Woof.

But in the Spring of 2021 I found myself asking, What makes social media work now? I’d spent years helping others understand that question. Spent years championing organic reach. The social media powers that be see no profit in organic reach so purchasing prowess or hard slog audience development are the paths. One takes a lot of money and the other a lot of time!

For audience development without money requires a lot of strategic engagement and demands presence especially when authenticity is importance.

I decided to upgraded my platform understanding attending several LEP (local enterprise partnership) initiatives to get up to date on the What and How, fundamentals of Facebook Pages, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn with Paul Ince and attended informative, great workshops on Search Engine Optimisation and Google Analytics with Ian Lockwood.

As I knew, there is no silver bullet but I now feel I understand the platforms again. Understanding is not mastery however. There have been some new tools introduced and features especially around charity fundraising.

I was also fortunate to arrange a business 1-2-1 session though the Digital Growth Programme with Paul Ince also. This came at the start of September.

The Summer was transformative having received the news that my Arts Council DYCP application had been successful opening the door for my practice to garner my full attention from November starting with Chris Grady’s Diploma in Creative Producing.

What a year. Here we are about to embark on 2022. The perpetual cycle of the Earth around the sun is resolved and begins again.

For the last few years I have compiled a 12 apps of Christmas article and 2021 adopted this ritual which acted as the beginning of my end of year concluding review.

Audience is important to me, you reading this is important as the point of presence between us.

I’d like to tell you about the 4 labels that help me manage my online interactions. Personal, Professional, Public and Private. Stuff singularly in that private category shouldn’t be online but there are elements on Facebook that are shared to endear a sense of confidence. Do I trust Facebook? No but the line is mediated to engender a sense of myself into my posts and interaction in the face of seeing so few people in the flesh very regularly even more so since Covid. I do have a private life as should everyone and know it’s boundaries. My blogging and writing online falls in to a journaling vein. It is very much Personal right now with some venn-diagram intersection with Professional primarily and Public most certainly!

So to you whether you read this in 2021 on the cusp of 2022 or in the future when this becomes part of my legacy Happy New Year, Happy any year. Most of all find me. What am I doing, what are you doing?

Here is my annual 12 Apps for Christmas. I hope you find something new and something you take with you into 2022. http://bit.ly/pcm12apps21-pdf

If you are curious here is the long list. Some of these my become posts especially where there were several apps providing similar services.

Geopedia / Nearest Wiki
BeReal
Duolingo
FilmScanner Pro / Kodak Mobile Film Scanner
Flight Radar
Greenroom / Clubhouse / Twitter Spaces
Hugo
LetMeOut / Line Puzzel
Forge of Empires
London pavement Geology
No Waste / OLIO / TooGoodToGo
Charity Miles / PlayFit / Fiton
Pollen / UV lens
Stitch it / Tailor
Crux - news app
Padlet
Screen Light
Speechify / NaturalReader
Primer Google Learning
Iriun Cam
Talking Scripts
Headliner

In the 2021 12app there are opportunities to join me here are two I’d like you consider exploring.

More on these in future posts I’m sure.

Please join my team CurtainRaisers on Charity Miles! Click here to join now. https://miles.app.link/ZwhfVrXHamb

To get more posts and opportunities to visit new horizons with me subscribe to my news & notices. In 2022 I’m using Revue which is a newsletter platform that connects directly to your Twitter profile.

Please Subscribe https://www.getrevue.co/profile/pcmcreative

Zoom in music mode.

2022-01-02T13:07:46.172000Z

Zoom in music mode.

January 24, 2021

Originally posted on - PCM creative in action

I am a reluctant user of Zoom for professional purposes. But since the first lockdown Zoom has stepped unto the plate in terms of developing the necessaries to improve the audience experience as well as improve the way we manage the technical delivery of Zoom beyond its intended function of a meeting platform.

The biggest step has been in managing audio. The nature of the internet does mean latency, the speed data varies being sent and received, differs between connections so synchronizing music where singing or play back is needed simultaneous at the receiving end is hard and pretty much impossible in many cases the more receiving points are expected.

The biggest challenge is instructing Zoom not to process sound on our behalf. By default zoom intelligently processes the noise in our immediate environment reducing background sounds and focusing on the human voice.

Playing instruments, playing music and talking while playing music in fitness or dance classes plays havoc with zoom. Zoom settings are not always easy to access or should I say easy to cover as they reside in several locations and some cascade while others set president.

This is the most comprehensive video I have found to date. Zoom updates and moves items while only revealing others once remote settings have been activated! Oh yeah that’s a thing!

Zoom High Fidelity Music Mode for Online Music Lessons

Extract from the video show notes.

Be sure to read them in full and subscribe to The Music Repo channel.

"Zoom now has High Fidelity Music Mode! Zoom have recently released a new update with enhanced audio settings for musicians. Discover how to set up Zoom for teaching music using the new High Fidelity Music Setting."

This video is a complete update on Jane’s previous video on how to set up Zoom in Music Mode, and includes some brand new sections and information based data and feedback and FAQs from here community.She even provides time stamps to help viewers navigate the video.

00:00 Intro
02:05 Zoom Desktop Client Settings
07:28 How to share audio files, computer sound and music streams in Zoom
08:32 How to set up Zoom for Stereo Audio
10:43 Zoom Mobile App Settings
11:24 Zoom latency and sync issues - live collaboration is not possible in Zoom, but there are some other strategies you could use instead

After watching and learning so much from the channel it was from this Zoom audio video I discovered her proximity to Nottingham. I can’t wait for lock down to end so I can buy this woman a coffee. It sure is a small world.

You can get a more detailed post on Zoom in Music Mode from fellow East Midlander, Jane Sherratt’s website The Music Repo web site is a treasure trove for helpful guides, hints tips and more on setting up your home recording studio.

Check out Jane’s Music Repo Channel on YouTube

Jane, if you read this, thank you.

I have set up sound desks following engineers instruction and operated sound on small theatre shows. Not until now have never felt I understand it contextually. *hat tip*

The anatomy of the internet pt1 - PCM creative in action

2021-03-02T21:41:44.749000Z

PCM creative in action

The anatomy of the internet pt1

January 28, 2021

Yep I’m committing myself to a series!

Lets talk about BANDWIDTH and Home Broadband. What wisdom can I impart? This is a fundamental I want to share.

Your broadband internet connects has several parts.

Upload speed

Download speed

Ping rate

Jitter

The combination of all these determines how STABLE and ROBUST your connection is.

Download is the speed always quoted and for watching and browsing Download is king.

Upload is the speed no one talks about but is equally vital in the day of immersion and participation its the speed in which you are able put information up on to the internet. Upload is necessary and the invariable overlooked.

Ping and Jitter should be low and by monitoring these figures you can judge the HEALTH of your connection.

This is my connection its extremely STABLE and HEALTHY (this is the general state of play with my connection)

I have a business connection and I pay £38.50

This Speedtest recommendation is one of my 12apps from 2020

Uploading is as separate metric to Downloading. For live-streaming 2MB up and down is adequate. A good strong mobile signal can be just as stable, just as robust.

My current mobile signal is not great but it’s cost effective and flexible.

This is a perfectly adequate bandwidth. A mobile unit (MiFi) is the best way to get the most from mobile internet.

My mobile provider is GiffGaff I pay £10 a month.

I think this is the shortest video I have uploaded to YouTube!

Do get in touch / comment if you want to know more.I better start thinking about part 2!

Posted at 10:05 PM in 2021, productivity | Permalink | Comments (0)

Tags: bandwidth, download, Internet

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Knowledge Crystals - PCM creative in action

2021-02-15T15:18:15.719000Z

You can’t give knowledge away they have to want it.

Audience development is not about crowd gathering it’s about compiling an engaging offer and delivering it in a way people are compelled to gather and consume it, learn from it, return to it, share it, remember it, recreate it. Leave them wanting more is the often recited intention.

"Just because it’s there" might work for those wanting to climb Everest or run the London Marathon. The time will arrive in the not too distant future that the Outside in the the company of others will be "there".

In the literal meantime, planning and dreaming is the luxury many in the events and entertainment industry longed for.

The cycle is arriving... this time last year COVID was arriving.

The news story playing in the background as I write is about the first patients who died in a Newcastle hospital. Three became thousands which as the time I write this is touching 100,000.

"When the lights go on again" War Time song comes to mind.

We need a version for our age.

Conspiracies - PCM creative in action

2021-02-15T15:19:36.930000Z

Conspiracies

January 23, 2021

I have always been fascinated by the supernatural and conspiracies. The ultimate blend emerging over recent years being the Mandela Effect. The collective recollection of an event or object being recalled differently than the majority consciousness. See Bernstein Bears, KitKat and Nelson Mandela’s Funeral.

But my interest is not in the conspiracy or unexplained occurrence but in why people want or need the conspiracy. The mutated sentiment of the closest collaboration, to conspire, to plan in privacy, the joy of surprise, the presentation of spectacle, the magic of theatre. All swept away when debased by obsessional thinking.

Why do people believe, insist and argue to the contrary that the planet is a flat disc? Why do some want to insist the moon was not landed upon in 1969? There is enough uncertainty in life. What purpose can these extremes of thinking serve?

Complacency should not be entertained. Anomalous incongruous displays of power should be questioned. Due diligence on every story should be equal to facilitate objective perspective. But just as YouTube proliferates the conspiracy videos it is burgeoning with thought provoking exposition. Quirky stories, remarkable coincidences, extraordinary histories, adverse triumphs, morose consequences, the faceted human experience and society reacting across the ages.

During a recent Tuttle online conversation QAnon and David Ike raised the question. I recalled a video from a favourite YouTuber on mine. Has a YouTube channel empire of insights. Simon Whistler was a great foundation for a search for videos on why.

Search based on a youtube I follow - Simon Whistler. Why do people believe conspiracy theories?

Simon has a portfolio of channels.

TodayIFoundOut - http://www.todayifoundout.com/
TopTenz - https://www.toptenz.net/
Visual Politik EN
Biographics - https://biographics.org/
Geographics
Business Blaze
Megaprojects - https://www.megaprojects.net/
Sideprojects

Distilling Complexity

2021-01-03T23:05:53.340000Z

Distillation (metaphorically) subjects a source to scrutiny before producing an interpretation in a simple yet considered form.

In the literal process it’s reducing a liquid to its purest form.

Making sense of the business world I entered following my career phase 1 (1994 - 2005) on the back of the entertainment industry I didn’t know what I didn’t know. I emerged intuitive a world at the dawn of mainstream social media. I entered the arena via a side door having met my first business network connection in virtual world SecondLife.

I genuinely didn’t know Twitter was new. I encountered a group of people doing things in a different way. Instead of communication with mobile voice and text they were using a more immediate communication they were calling status updating.

It changed my world.

Over the following few years 2006 - 20010 I attempted to distil my growing understanding for my self and for those I increasingly encountered as I traversed the line of freelance and entrepreneur, worker and sole trader.

Transitioning from career phase 1 to phase 2 the only constant was my self employed status. A blessing and a curse.

From this time I distilled 2 sets of principle frameworks. The 7 Roads of Social Media and The 4 privacy P’s.

I used these in workshops, presentations and talk during those early days of social media. Many of the attendees and subsequent conversations led several entrepreneurs to excel and become agency executives. My fondest recollection is with Jed Hallam now Chief Strategy Officer at initiative.com

The adage I found as a guiding principle came from Marcus Romer now a founding artist at Mutiny Projects. mutiny.org.uk

"Don’t add technology to the way you do things, change the way you do things once you know what the technology can do."

The 7 Roads framework was first compiled for the first public talk I delivered.

In July 2008 it was 6 points to open the discussion about leveraging social media for business.

https://www.slideshare.net/mobile/pcmcreative/social-media-and-small-businesses

The 7 Roads first featured in their current inception of 7 in Nov 2008

https://www.slideshare.net/mobile/pcmcreative/get-immersed-presentation-presentation

This was distilled into the foundation of the workshops and training corses I delivered marking the end of my career phase 2.

They stay with me, they are hard wired into my thinking but I have never written about them or how they inform development and strategy of business and creative production.

2021 7 Roads

Lead Generation / Audience Development
Customer Service
Audience / Customer Retention
Competitor Analysis / Traffic Analytics
Establishing Authority / Networking
Personal Development
Business Productivity

4 P’s if Privacy

Personal | Professional | Public | Private

Note... in acknowledgment

2020-12-30T19:13:18.661000Z

Typepad is the origin platform of my blogging stared in 2007. This blog was born from the loss of Posterous. A way to move toward the content and away from the platform.

Being present! There’s an irony against what I’m writing now.

A friend once said ‘Presence is the new Dial Tone’. Presence isn’t new anymore and mindfulness is our proverbial dial tone.

I have surfed a wave, sailed at the head of a curve and platforms I valued most have fallen leaving behind gap and less in thier wake.

Posterous
Qik
Flixwagon
Seismic
Beme
Blab
Storify
Vine

I haven’t mastered blogging and don’t feel my capacity to blog has grown or diminished. It has been contaminated by the perpetual banality of what is genetically termed social media.

https://pcmcreative.typepad.com/my_weblog/2020/12/falling-through-consciousness.html

Responding to your internal SOS

2020-12-29T20:02:07.467000Z

First day of having a few hours at my desk.

Mindfullness

Reflectly app - take a photo of what makes you happy

I immediately snapped Dan.

Daily Quote. "Change the way you look at thinks and the things you look at change." Want W Dyer

Dec 26 2020 was our 25th anniversary.

First thing I mindfully found my self checking was my pcm productionoffice inbox. At the end of 2020 (this year) I tackled the email inbox. Aspiring not to inbox zero but inbox mastery.

Management of the data in is reflective on the management and processing of the data out.

Fabulous App - 7 day journaling challenge.

I have an affection for this app. Right now its a bit overwhelming with all the potential challenges. So much so that I can’t follow the one challenge I selected!

Crafting accountability with out construction a crutch is foremost in my mind. Habitual routines are important for structure but setting expectation too high leads to disappointment in the self.

Sustainbility is an aspiration that I fail at most yet seems to be a soft goal.

Habits for regularity… default

Walk
Water
Wake
Write
Breakfast
Weekday at desk by 10am
End the working day at 6.00 pm
Saturday bacon cob
Sunday NoNet Day

I’d like to be fitter and slimmer

Back to my inbox. I wonder if anyone is interested in my email realignment story?

Horizon 2021

2020-12-28T21:57:12.157000Z

Mindfulness is the word I will reflect on for the entirety of 2021. Typepad I’d my other blogging channel.

https://pcmcreative.typepad.com/my_weblog/2020/12/social-media-not-now-2021.html

Insta-Tweet posting

2020-12-28T21:57:12.257000Z

IFTTT - Photos from Instagram to Twitter

In a nutshell...

The Steps.

Create an IFTTT account.

Locate a predefined 'recipe' (the name given to instructions constructed in IFTTT)

Activate the Instagram instruction to ‘run’ the action each time you post a photo.

Need more instruction and a further illustration?

Here is the full blog post

Here the step by step tutorial sheet.

Useful? Please let me know what you think in the comments below.

#69unbox - tagging nostalgia

2020-12-28T21:57:13.227000Z

This time last week Dan and I were building bookcases, the weekend prior constructing desks. As I write this, I have a bookcase filling with books and a small step closer to unpacking the many boxes not just those from the old house but boxes already filled and in some cases never unpacked when I moved into the last house. It's brought me to a place where I can tackle head on the sometimes crippling sentimental attachment to the palpable nostalgia and memories evoked when in the presence of the items. In a world where we define ourselves by experiences, keeping these things reminds me of who I am, where I have been, and the evidence is the contents of the boxes. In themselves, they were selectively retained well at least not thrown away at the time, and now my active cache is full! There has to be room for 'now' life.

In recent years the accumulation of physical items has been reduced by the collections of files, documents, photos, videos, spoken audio and music. Some sit on the Internet my AudioBoo, my Instagram accounts, my Google Drive, Dropbox, Evernote and iCloud. Then there are the offline digital archives on external hard drives and old media storage, cassettes, floppy discs, CD-ROM (read only memory) and as the final bastion of the analogue legacy, paper.

I realised this wasn't about choosing what memories to keep it was about optimising the storage. What space can I afford this sentiment, this record? Can the resonant importance assigned to the physical stuff be digitised? It's only relevant to me. When I am gone, the objects will become just things. Without 'my context', they are inconsequential unless they have a cultural importance. That is a rare thing and not what any of my ephemera has.

(pic above) My ‘Small Things’ collection - TIMEHOP 6th May 2015

#69unbox is about reducing items to digital files and occupying less physical space. Initially taking photos and on occasion with a collection of related bits, recording video. I can not capture the sentiment, that is within me, the recollection of moments, the knowledge gained, the lesson learnt they are me. I guess I feel the experience in a fresher way returning to the objects and have greater clarity than relying on the continued perception that my memory is inadequate. It's my source material!

Using the hashtag started a dialogue between myself and the innate desire to keep everything for fear of it's not yet realised necessity. This is, I know is untrue of a lot of what I have.

The first task is to identify the genuinely intangible, ephemera (my small things collection) and photograph them (some I am keeping) and if not retained, disposed of, or prepared for digitisation.

Round One!

I think Round One will occupy me throughout August.

6 Things you might not know about in Twitter

2020-12-28T21:57:16.330000Z

This is where you will be going...

1. Settings - 7th item down - Show Tweet Translations

This setting is ticked by default, at least I have never knowingly activated it.

2. Settings > Mobile - 3rd item under My Phone - Sleep Settings

This setting I recall turning on long ago. Its one of the early settings I remember thinking was very useful. I don’t get updates to my mobile devise between 2am and 8am.

3. Settings > Find Friends - see screenshot

When new to twitter or any social networking platform it’s useful to start your audience with people you already know, especially if they are already established in your new network.

Twitter enabled you to search your email contacts for email addresses that match ones submitted by existing Twitter users. REMEMBER: Not ever one uses the same email in social media networks. Twitter provides a management tool for you to manage who you chose to follow showing you who in your address book is Tweeting. And most importantly remove them if you wish from the twitter server.

4. Settings > Muted accounts > see screenshot

Some people are prolific tweeters and you might find they drown out your new infant twitter stream. Or you might be an established tweeter who sees one account dominate there stream. Well you can turn them off if you don’t want to unfollow them. But if you want to hear from them again don’t forget to turn them back on! #WeAllKnowOne!

5. Settings > Applications

The screenshot shows mine yours will display the applications you have authorised over the lifetime of your twitter account.

Its also a good way to reflect on the platforms, tools and services you have signed in with Twitter that you have forgotten about. It’s probably advisable to revoke access to long since used platforms as you can’t know if the access is still possible. Thats just my thoughts. If you revoke access to a platform you use you will simply be asked to log in next time you visit the site.

6. Click your avatar for the primary dropdown > Analytics

For a long time Twitter had no internal analytics so twitter stat sites were very popular and still are today providing a bewildering breakdown on your twitter and other social media platform audiences, personal usage and reach. Twitter now has a few of it’s own. Once you find it have a browse around its quite an extensive area. You’ll have a whole new top navigation bar to explore.

I hope there’s something new there for you.

Stage Managers and Production Creatives, Would you Google Hangout to Network?

2020-12-28T21:57:20.837000Z

Google Play hosted this Hangout (above) with Steven Spielberg and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Google+ is ideal if you want to host events with an online dialogue and interact with fans its a great starting point solution. This particular event was to promote Spielberg’s upcoming film, Lincoln. Five lucky people got to actually ask questions and chat with Gordon-Levitt and Spielberg. Three used their personal computers, while two others joined from Times Square–where the Hangout was also broadcast.

With key industry conferences, events and networking opportunities being in major cities it is inevitable that new initiatives start here too. As an event organiser and stagemanager, I understand the attraction of holding events in hi profile venues. As an audience developer, livestream producer and excluded audience member I also understand the frustration experienced by those who don't live so close to these presigious hubs or would like to attend events that they aren't actually working on.

In October last year I was invited to create an online audience experience for the Nordic Nations's 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. For Arts and Audiences we used many social technologies in the final event delivery, but Google Hangout holds the engagement potential I think can make attending ‘in the cloud’ worth while.

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.

They wanted to engage both audiences as entities in their own right. One attending at the venue and one not able to attend the venue in person but wanted to take part. To be there or not to be there, that is the question.

We held meetings prior to the event for the blogging and social media team. This is hangout (below) was attended by the bloggers. Each blogger was representing one of the Nordic countries so a face to face meeting was not an option.

We ran a Google Hangout as a mutual digital meeting space, "live lounge"

We also discussed running participatory discussions, talks and workshops using it as a digital breakout space.

Future Equity events

So what is this all about? I want to attend the Free 2015 Stage Management Training events via Google Hangout. I am hoping to convince Equity to actively run their Google+ profile (EquityUK's Google+ profile) and run a hangout in parallel to each event taking place in Guild House. Google's Hangout facility can host up to 10 connections at a time. With one connection used by the venue to host and one for the guest speaker we had an audience capacity of 8 connections. I say connection because one computer connection can be watched by a room of people or by a lone viewer.

Who else would be interested attending via an 'in the cloud' Green Room?

EQUITY: Free Stage Management Training

Equity is running a series of Equity/ SMA Brunch sessions, their free* programme of professional development for stage management members. The first event is today - Monday 16th February and I would like to have been there, Equity Organiser Paul Fleming is scheduled to be telling us all we need to know about the Sub Rep Agreement (the Pink Book and accompanying contract) and answering questions. It would have been great to have been able to attend online, but also to have met other members not able to travel to London in the hangout "digital green room". Integrating this aside technology would be no problem for multi-tasking stage managers attending the event 'on the ground'.

Future Events

Mon 2nd March - Tax, NI, Pensions and Welfare Benefits - Alan Lean, Equity

Mon 13th April - Accounting and Book Keeping

Mon 18th May - Touch Tours and Access - Lucinda Harvey, SOLT/UK Theatre

Mon 1st June – UK Theatre/ BECTU Get-in and Get-out Guidelines

Jul - None scheduled

Aug - None scheduled

Mon 7th September - West-End and Commercial Theatre Agreement, Equity

Mon 12th October - Risk Assessments, Touring and Site Specific - with ABTT

Mon 9th November - Employment Law (Worker vs Employee), Equity

Mon 7th Dec - TBC

Each session is held between 13:00 and 15:00 at Guild House, Equity, London WC2H 9EG. The training, which has been popular and widely appreciated by members, aims to inform, bring you up to date and help you in your professional lives, whilst offering a sharing experience and networking opportunities for new entrants and experienced pros alike.

As sessions are confirmed and more information is available Equity's SM committee will update the News page on the Stage Management Section of the Equity website - http://bit.ly/EquitySMnews

* Sessions are free to Equity and SMA members, £10 for non-members. All sessions are jointly run by Equity and the SMA. To book please email: admin@stagemanagementassociation.co.uk and tell us which session(s) you would like to book for.

Equity’s Stage Management Constitutional Register keeps Stagemanagers informed. If you want to be on this register or would like to read more about the register then please follow this link

Falling Through The Cracks

2020-12-28T21:57:13.823000Z

Towards the close of 2013 I found myself at odds with Nottingham, the city I lived and worked in for 14 years. It's contradictory visions for business and citizen support vs cooperate profit and capitalist ideology no longer made it a viable place for me to call home. On a civic standing the city council has failed me and despite my best efforts to reconcile my growing dispare in the face of community disquiet I realised Nottingham didn't have place for me. Funding battles, community in fighting, budget distortions, bad reporting, opaque blinkered sensibilities left me looking in on an urban silo. A provincial ego imploding and blind. Intoxicated on decentralised politics spinning stories, believing their own misinformation.

The start of 2014 was dark.

My light has been Derby. Since May I've been commuting. Connect Derby threw a life line and presented a compassion and humble ambition which is being delivered day by day - Real.

It still feels a little too good to be true. PCM has moved to Derby. I'm in a new land with out a strategy working on a plan, drawing up a road map, developing a network.

Sometimes Nottingham feels too close for comfort.

In June my partner and I finally realised our home was lost too and we'd have to move after a 2yr battle with the owner of the adjoining property renting to inconsiderate tenants plus a party wall water leak the owner allowed to drip, drip, drip from a damp patch in the bathroom to a water cascade out of the electric sockets in our kitchen below finally resulting to a collapsing ceiling next door. It was made all the more incomprehensible by the incoherent incapacitated local authority. There is nothing they can do.

Nottingham has not been kind and annecdotal reinforcement from acquaintances convinced me it was happening to many others in Nottingham didn't help. It just drove me deeper in to dispare.

So here I am September 2014 inconsolable and broken.

Derby has given me hope.

Derby is a trangible future.

But the transition is traumatic.

I'm left fragile and muted.

image credit: Don’t fall through the cracks: learn about and change the issues now (please take the time to read the article, if you feel this too) http://bit.ly/ZmEYQ8

WILLIAM SHIPLEY, GRANDFATHER OF CAFE CULTURE

2020-12-28T21:57:21.331000Z

As I edit the RSA East Midlands Nottingham and Derby conference footage I’m also learning about this extraordinary man who has inspired generations of modern thinkers.

If you think the high street coffee culture is a new think again. Try 1754!

First Published on Saturday, 14 July 2012 in http://www.think-magazine.com/cultur

Written by Mark Ellis - Mark Ellis teaches 18th-century literature at Queen Mary, University of London

His book The Coffee House: a Cultural History is available from by Weidenfeld and Nicolson.

Original Post Link

It is not surprising that William Shipley, founder of the Society of Arts, spent much of his time reading and talking in coffee houses. Such places were a lively source of vibrant and democratic debate in 18th-century London.

In 1753, William Shipley travelled from Northampton to London. The 38-year-old’s mission was to promote his philanthropic scheme for encouraging arts, manufactures and commerce by seeking the support of "gentlemen of fortune and taste".

Although he was only a provincial drawing master, and at the time virtually unknown, he was certain that his idea would benefit the whole nation if it could be developed. Lodging with a friend in Covent Garden, he threw himself into a gruelling schedule of personal calls to the houses of the nobility, gentry and merchants, explaining his plans.

Yet after several weeks campaigning, his proposal - the foundation of a society to encourage national regeneration by "promoting improvements in the liberal arts and sciences, [and] manufactures" through offering premiums or prizes had only 35 signatures of approval, and only 15 subscribers prepared to back it with money. The project could have failed before it had really begun.

But his close friends urged him into action, arguing that getting the association up and running would demonstrate what his printed proposal could only hint at. Shipley decided that the best way to do this would be to have a meeting with his fellow gentlemen activists and his loudest supporters among the nobility Lords Folkestone and Romney. Accordingly, on 22 March 1754, Shipley met with 10 men at Rawthmell's Coffee House in Henrietta Street Covent Garden. From this meeting may be traced the foundation of the Royal Society of Arts, recently celebrating its 250th anniversary.

Although the practice of coffee drinking was little more than a century old, by the mid-18th century the coffee house was central to London's social life. And London, more than any other city in western Europe, was a coffee-drinking town. Splendid coffee houses had sprung up around centres of financial, intellectual and political power, providing an arena in which the capital's cultural life could flourish. Visitors were often struck by the sheer number of such establishments (some estimated there were over 2,000) and bemused by the extraordinary fondness Londoners had for their three pleasures: coffee, company and conversation.

While staying in the capital in the 1730s, the Prussian nobleman Charles Lewis Pollnitz observed that it was a "sort of rule with the English, to go once a day at least, to houses of this sort where they talk of business and news, read the papers, and often look at one another".

The coffee house played a central role in the commercial heart of the city too, but its appeal went far beyond providing mere entertainment or sustenance.

Another commentator observed: "These coffee houses are the constant rendezvous for men of business, as well as the idle people, so that a man is sooner ask'd about his coffee house than his lodgings. They smoak tobacco, game and read papers of intelligence: here they treat matters of state... and transact affairs of the last consequence to the whole world."

As he makes clear, the coffee house was only incidentally a place to drink coffee: it was primarily a place for conversation.

Everything about the coffee house was organised to facilitate congenial discussion. In 1698, a French traveller in London, Henri Misson, remarked that coffee houses were "extremely convenient. You have all manner of news there; you have a good fire, which you may sit by as long as you please; you have a dish of coffee; you meet your friends for the transaction of business, and all for a penny, if you don't care to spend more".

The coffee room, usually on the first floor, was dominated by a long table, around which were arranged smaller booths. Each customer would take the next available free seat, while groups of friends might occupy a booth. Waiters brought coffee from the fire in small pots, pouring it into individual dishes at the table, and everyone was expected to talk to those around them. Sometimes one of the company might read aloud from the latest newspaper, pamphlet or poem, while other times the whole coffee room would join in on one debate.

The coffee house was almost unique in 18th-century society in that it allowed strangers of differing stations in life to exchange views, share business tips, discuss politics and culture, or swap gossip and scandal. Foreign visitors wondered at the spectacle of noblemen and statesmen mixing with merchants, clergymen and writers: here, status accrued through birth, wealth, or genius, was erased. All men spoke as equals, no matter what they were wearing, regardless of accent or manner of address.

As a result the place seemed a model of egalitarian or democratic principles, where everyone was expected to behave politely and talk in reasoned tones, without raised voices or personal attacks or satirical jibes. The coffee house was also noted for its serious topics of discussion.

"The English discourse freely of every thing," said one observer, "ordinary professional men discussed in detail politics the affairs of state - in the belief that their opinions mattered". Even the great Tory politician, Bolingbroke, remarked that Britain had "become a nation of statesmen. Our coffee houses and taverns are full of them".

The free and frank exchange of ideas in the coffee house has been described as the origin of what we call public opinion. Sociologists such as Jiirgen Habermas and Richard Sennett have argued that the rational, critical and egalitarian nature of coffee-house discussions helped to develop the civil society of modem participatory democracy.

But what of the coffee itself? From the outset, drinkers of coffee had noticed that it kept them awake, stimulated and chatty - quite different from the effects of the beer and ale served in taverns. Those substances, as everyone noted, made patrons reckless, lustful and quarrelsome (before it made them sleepy and then unconscious). Although Bolingbroke had compared the clientele of the tavern and the coffee house, the two venues were distinctly different: whereas the tavern was rowdy and chaotic, full of loud, garrulous and drunken customers, the coffee house was buzzing with ideas, sober, orderly and convivial.

Coffee had entered the drinks market by appealing to those who needed to be awake for long hours: students, lawyers and merchant’s clerks. These men were not always the most discerning, however. From a remarkably early date, "English" coffee was described as execrable. One satirist in 1663 had described it as "syrrop of soot, or essence of old shoes". Not only did it taste foul, it was also weak: a visiting German clergyman in 1782 remarked that his morning coffee resembled nothing more than "a prodigious quantity of brown water".

The coffee houses themselves aroused mixed feelings. While some argued that they were "the most agreeable things in London", detractors declared them "loathsome" crowded and "full of smoak". Apparently coffee-house conversations did not always meet their own high ideals, and often degenerated into argument, or idle gossip and witty badinage. As one satirist noted, these places "furnish the inhabitants with slander, for there one hears exact accounts of every thing done in town, as if it were but a village".

The egalitarian spirit of discussions did not always translate into equality of access either. The cost of coffee and the polite expectations of the assembled company, barred the poorest echelons of society. Women were effectively excluded, as it was not considered proper for them to enter such houses as customers, although the presence of a few bold women, mostly aristocrats and writers, has been recorded. In the normal course of events, the only women present were those working behind the bar.

As he approached middle age in 1754, the founder of the Society of Arts, William Shipley, was a habitué of Old Slaughter's Coffee House on St Martin’s Lane, close to the most prominent drawing school in London. There, clad all in black, he spent many an afternoon, paying sixpence for coffee or tea and reading as many of the newspapers as he could in one sitting.

In 1803, one of his first biographers described how "it was the property of his active and energetic mind ever to be studying some plan for the public advantage". To this end, he used the coffee house as a study, surrounding himself with papers and memos. Indeed, his sober, industrious and even taciturn manner nearly got him in trouble.

Aroused by fears of Jacobite insurrection after the rebels' fourth uprising in 1745, some of the coffee house's more capricious clientele imagined from Shipley's dress and demeanour that he was a spy or conspirator, and had him taken before the magistrate's court. He was liberated from their accusations by a friend, who testified that he was "one of the most loyal, benevolent, and inoffensive beings upon earth", and added, "this is the first time we ever heard it was any crime to be quiet in a coffee house".

As Shipley’s rescuer understood, coffee houses were highly regarded as places of work and business - and had been since the mid-17th century. In the City of London, near the Royal Exchange on Cornhill in particular, coffee houses had long specialised in providing a place of rendezvous for stockbrokers and merchants, who could continue their business after the official hours of the Exchange had passed.

In the 1690s, the coffee house owned by Edward Lloyd became the preferred meeting place of marine insurance brokers, thus making way for today's Lloyd's of London. Other coffee houses provided a home away from home for clergymen, booksellers, lawyers and doctors. Almost all professions had their favourite houses; a place where they could be sure of meeting someone of like-minded interests.

Scientists made good use of the coffee house too. Ever since the Royal Society "for promoting natural knowledge" was founded in 1662, its Fellows and virtuosi had, after their formal meetings, decamped to a nearby coffee house to discuss their experiments and plans without the constraints of social and institutional precedence. In the mid-18th century, scientists, medical physicians and all sorts of learned men had settled on Rawthmell's as the location for their convivial research.

Among the regulars were Dr. Richard Mead and Dr. William Birch, who belonged to a group of scientists known (rather archly) to contemporaries as "Literati". The "charms of sciences" were the main attraction of Rawthmell's according to a poem by Daniel Wray, a Fellow of both the Society of Arts and the Royal Society. Wray related that when he was "rambling tired" he would go to the upstairs room at Rawthmell's, where the "awful curtains opens wide, To seat me in that friendly jarring train". There, he says, the "sages of the Royal Society "would charm with taste and sense the listening board". As Wray's verses describe, Rawthmell's was a place both of serious-minded enquiry and entertaining discussion.

Shipley was an ordinary man without the financial means, the social connections, or the grand residence, to hold large and formal assemblies. So the coffee house afforded him a useful neutral ground, where no one man might be thought superior to any other, but also a place one associated with profound, rational conversation.

Some of the men Shipley met at Rawthmell's on 22 March 1754 reflected the established clientele: several were members of the Royal Society and several were medical practitioners. But the location enabled Shipley to extend his range to include a couple of prosperous merchants (a linen draper and a jeweller), a few clergymen and his two noblemen. The meeting was probably held in the upstairs coffee room, where they could talk without disturbance.

There, these men - united in the philanthropic goal of improving the nation - launched a practical scheme to offer real life solutions to particular problems. This was not idle philosophising on utopias. The assembled company listened to Shipley's proposals, and approved of his innovative plan to use premiums or prizes to encourage social improvement, and to raise a public subscription to fund them. In effect, the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce was up and running.

A second meeting at Rawthmell's took place a week later. Then following that, meetings were held in a room in a circulating library in Crane Court near Temple Bar, in the same courtyard as Arundel House, the home of the Royal Society.

Perhaps Shipley had thought that by holding meetings at a circulating library - in the popular imagination of that time, the home of intellectual women he might have attracted women Fellows to his society. But after six meetings there, with declining attendance and no women - they moved again to another coffee house, Peele's, at Temple Bar on Fleet Street. There, the Society announced the awards of its first premiums (to be given for drawing, and for the production of cobalt and dye).

After a year of temporary lodgings, the fledgling Society rented its first dedicated rooms in a house in Craig's Court, Charing Cross, and 20 years later, after further relocations, it moved into today's splendid, purpose-built building designed by Robert Adam in John Adam Street. Nonetheless, even though the Society's premises had become much grander, and the number of subscribers (or Fellows) had risen astronomically, the coffee house had left an important impression on its aims and objectives.

The foundation of the Society reflected (and managed to focus) the widespread interest in philanthropy and social reform in the mid-18th century, particularly among the mercantile and scientific elite. To these reformers, it not only seemed that each man or woman who had the means had a responsibility for the improvement of society, but also, that only by acting in concert could they bring about the changes they envisioned. The coffee house not only provided a location where reformers might meet, but more importantly, offered a model of a virtuous and improving collective in social engagement.

More about William Shipley - articles from across the web

Social Media for Stage Production - TOP 10 platforms, tools and services essentials for your 2014 toolkit

2020-12-28T21:57:18.439000Z

Late last year I was asked to write an article for the 2014-15 publication of the Theatre Careers Handbook.

Discovering Digital
Pilot Theatre, Second Life and Live-streaming
Paper and Show Time
Going Social - Media, Networking and associated Technology
Social Media
Social Networking
Social Technology

This article has been written for SJP by freelance digital projects manager and collaboration coordinator at PCMprojects, Caron Lyon. Caron has created professional social networks for Arts Council England, the Federation of Entertainment Unions and Audiences Europe. http://www.pcmcreative.com/social-media-consultation.html

In 1994 I graduated as a Stage Manager from Bretton Hall gaining a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Theatre Crafts. A year later the course had been renamed to Theatre, Design & Technology. The course hadn't changed but the predominance of specialisms (lighting design, sound engineering) and the emergence of technology (computerisation, projection and automation) was to irrevocably change the skill set and necessary knowledge foundation demanded of production and technical teams with in the entertainment industry. Twenty Years later its 2014 and it’s the Stage Managers turn to advance and profit for the shifting change.

As a Stagemanager I worked throughout the UK in Sub Rep (Leicester, Sheffield & Chichester), Toured to No1 touring houses, arts centres, village halls and outdoor venues nationwide, spent a season at Butlins and several years in London Fringe performance spaces gaining experience as Stagemanager, DSM, ASM and production assistant. I operated lights, sound, called cues, acquired props, paged doors, assisted with costume changes and relit shows.

Analog has given way to digital. Bluetooth, Wireless, Wifi and Mobile are not only common place but getting 'smart'. Production's can be operated after being intricately programmed and increasingly automated to such an extent that manual involvement is the pressing of a button. Design, Creation and Operation are distinct roles. Human decision making, timing, planning, judgement are still the realm of stage management and the digital shift has taken place around them.

In 2002 I found myself needing to move sound effects to MiniDisc from a computer after downloading from the Internet. This began my journey, 'phono to USB' that was to lead me to discover Social Media, in awe of how pre production and rehearsal communication was going to benefit, how staying connected after a contract ended would become a firm reality. I could see props resourcing and production promotion changing forever.

Discovering Digital

Producing paper props was my first encounter with IT using photoshop and paint packages in the late 90’s. I had been using an electronic typewriter and photocopier to write up and distribute rehearsal notes and company calls. The notice board and the pigeon hole post was ‘the’ most effective and accepted method of communication.

It wasn't Facebook and Twitter that excited me but Email then Dropbox, Evernote and Bambuser. The ability to share notes with out printing, being able to make changed with out re-printing, recording live and have a live reactive audience. I didn't get my first email address until 1996 social was along way off. Facebook and Twitter weren't in my tool set until 2007. I hadn’t sent my first instant message until 2006.

Pilot Theatre, Second Life and Live-streaming

After several years re-training as a web designer in order pursue a creative career and to make it possible for me to live at home. My heart always lay with theatre and performance, the internet opened up a new world of resources. For a short time I worked on an R&D project with Pilot Theatre as their Virtual Stagemanager in Second-Life exploring the capabilities of virtual exhibition space and a pre-production audience engagement arena. Facebook emerged on the scene as an audience engagement location. Not many of my colleges had even heard of Facebook. I was plunged in to Twitter after being presented with this online tool as a team communication tool, it was the digital water cooler for chatter, links, notes, messages and questions. I discovered a community of digital pioneers at ease with this new teamed up social interaction making me feel at the time I had missing the party invite and was playing catch up.

I now realise its like that for everyone when social media makes it on to their radar. Social Media has exploded in to society's consciousness and has quickly produces a generation with no memory of a world before the web and even more recent a generation with no memory of a world before Facebook. That has happened not in my life time (I’m 40) but in 20yrs, that's just half of my life time. How long before there is no generation with a living memory of a world with out the internet?

2014 is set to be dominated by 'the Internet of Things', affordable 3D printing is on the verge of becoming the next big phenomenon yet for many in the theatre industry the age of social media is still a baffling trend many hope will disappear as a fashion fade.

The influence of Social Media on stage production is its use to communicate, inform, record and document. In pre and post production social media platforms, tools and services excel. Theatre is a collaborative process. Theatre people especially the production creatives including StageManagers are inherently good at 'social'. Communication is a key talent. The pre Facebook generation are at ease with the tools they need to do their job, up skilling and adapting with necessity.

QUOTE - Peter Hall

"Perhaps, therefore, ideal stage managers not only need to be calm and meticulous professionals who know their craft, but masochists who feel pride in rising above impossible odds."

Paper and Show Time

As the Peter Hall quote eludes Stagemanagers need to be calm and meticulous professionals. This also means in this connected digital world being confident that the infrastructure is reliably operational. A clipboard and paper will never run out off power. Multiple copies can be cheaply reproduced and positioned at locations of choice. Only transfer to powered devises with the certainly you will always have access and enough battery remaining.

Quote - Marcus Romer

"Don’t add technology to the way you do things, Change the way you do things when you know what the technology can do"

Going Social - Media, Networking and associated Technology

Many production areas and career professionals in theatre can benefit from the application of the many social strands available online.

Here are the 7 I work to develop with organisations and industry professionals. It is vital to acknowledge the bigger picture.

1.Industry Connections and Job Seeking

2.Company Management & Coordination

3.Staying informed

4.Career Development

5.Promotions and Funding

6.Measuring relevance and influence

7.Production Collaboration

The greatest hurdle to adopting digital working is the access to compatible technology, reliable internet connectivity and an accepted set of platforms with best practice procedures to gain access in place. Stagemanager, Company or Production Manager can be at the heart of this digital nexus adopting a digital toolkit, embedding process, documenting and determining accepted best practice and taking the the collaborative lead.

Social Media mastery is a career skill asset.

TOP 10 platforms, tools and services essentials for your 2014 toolkit

Social Media

Photos, Audio, Video, Text shared via links posted to media specific platforms

Instagram - http://instagram.com

Instagram is a fun and quirky way to share your life and work with digital platforms through a series of pictures. Snap a photo with your mobile phone, then choose a filter to transform the image, tag it and post it. The team at Instagram imagine a world more connected through photos.

AudioBoo - http://audioboo.fm

Audioboo is a tool for audio producers to record, upload and share audio. The Audioboo team believe in the power of the spoken word to inspire, inform and connect people across the globe.

A ‘boo' is made up of any clip of audio, a picture, a location, a title and a description. Broadcasters, Newspapers, Sports networks, Podcasters, Educators and Community Organisations all use ‘boos' to increase audience reach. They can easily share audio on Facebook, Twitter and other platforms, embed playlists onto their sites as listen again players. Audioboo also have a highly active and engaged visually impaired community for whom the platform functions as a social network.

Bambuser - http://bambuser.com

Bambuser is a simple-to-use live video streaming service that allows users to quickly and easily capture, share and watch live video broadcast from mobile phones or computers. Bambuser also enables instant sharing to the world's favorite social networks including Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and many more

Social Networking

Establishing, maintaining and developing opportunities via online platforms

Facebook - www.facebook.com

Facebook's mission is to give people the power to share and make the world more open & connected.

Linkedin - http://www.linkedin.com

LinkedIn is the world's largest professional network with 225 million members in over 200 countries and territories around the globe. Their mission is simple: connect the world's professionals to make them more productive and successful. When you join LinkedIn, you get access to people, jobs, news, updates, and insights that help you be great at what you do.

Twitter - http://twitter.com

Twitter helps you create and share ideas and information instantly, without barriers.

Forums and Industry site members areas are also an excellent source of networking for sharing best practice, advise and job vacancies.

Social Technology

Tools and Applications available providing connectivity for the whole company to a central data resource enabling real time notifications and updating of common documents. (production schedules, rehearsal notes, setting lists, cue sheets, research, company calls etc)

Dropbox - www.dropbox.com

Dropbox is a free service that lets you bring your photos, docs, and videos from anywhere and share them easily. Dropbox was founded in 2007 by two MIT students tired of emailing files to themselves while working from more than one computer. Today, more than 200 million people use Dropbox to always have their stuff at hand, share with family and friends, and work on team projects.

Evernote - www.evernote.com

Evernote’s goal is to help the world remember everything, communicate effectively and get things done. From saving thoughts and ideas to preserving experiences to working efficiently with others, Evernote’s collection of apps make it easy to stay organized and productive.

Google Drive - http://drive.google.com

Google Drive lets you store up to 15GB of your stuff for free, access them from anywhere, and collaborate with others.

Group.me - http://groupme.com

GroupMe is the best way to chat with everyone you in your company or working on your production. It's absolutely free, whether you're talking to a department, or texting with one person. Best of all, it works on nearly every phone, via push or SMS. With GroupMe, it's easy to reach anyone, anytime, anywhere.

For further insights in to developing your toolkit and skill set register for PCM & SJP associated workshops and surgeries planned for 2014.http://bit.ly/sjppcm14

Twitter: www.twitter.com/pcmcreative

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/pcmcreative

Direction, Horizons and Perspective

2020-12-28T21:57:19.168000Z

First blog of the year, not my last I hope. It is an eternal struggle to evaluate weather your internal dialogue is worth sharing. I have three full notebooks from last year of notes, ideas, idle thoughts, discoveries,lessons, and reminders, not to mention the media captured day to day, around events and at paid gigs; Audio, video, photos, flyers, postcards, business cards and lanyards, not forgetting freebie items of genuine usefulness.

2013 was a media rich yet cash poor year. That artistic compulsion to create and creative compulsion to capture really bit me in the ‘Harris’!

I never got a job because of who I know and similarly I’m not a jump in the air ‘pick me, pick me’ type. I work hard and aim to be relevant and open to opportunity.

My big showcase demonstration finally came, so I thought at the end of 2012 when Phil Campbell, Marios Perrakis and myself produced TEDxLaceMarket. It was an audience facing success but disappointing in terms of the support and engagement from the local business community. There was an audience of 100 TED enthusiasts and a global network of followers yet few entrepreneurs, businesses, organisations or companies had the imagination to contribute £100 to an event which included web updates, blog opportunities and global exposure to some of the most philanthropic and proactive people on the planet. With support we could have reached so much further and with a greater sustained legacy than we were able.

2013 was a hard year for me. The expectation and promise of Nottingham’s Creative Quarter peeked with the appointment of Kathy McArdle. With a proven Arts, media and culture background my fears were realised when despite my input and support projects have been assigned to inexperienced, underpaid, well meaning and aspiring young project managers who struggled to maintain personal morale at times over issues a more experienced project coordinator wouldn’t blink at.

This is often the result of engaging low fee or voluntary freelancers. Where do these young freelancers learn from? In teams, on the job. A team can consist of two at it’s core and function as a collaboration where experience and responsibility are rewarded with a slight difference in fee and agreed status.

Here endeth my rant for today.

From Your Heart - One last time #WFYH13

2020-12-28T21:57:21.421000Z

Well 2 actually…

It is rare that something is genuinely free with no strings attached. Writer and Podcaster Eileen Parr asks only for your interest to part with your email in exchange for free access to her Writing From Your Heart online gathering series. Listening to the live guest interviews and on-demand access for 72hr Eileen gives this freely. Packaging the entire series for download provides the revenue stream which is accompanied by numerous resources and offers contributed by the extraordinary guest speakers Eileen interviews.

I have been working with Eileen to develop her audio gatherings, web presence and audience engagement. We have been on quite a journey. She took her first steps in making her own media, discovering her own digital voice when she came on my "…in conversation" web series 18 month ago. Since then she has created a mini series for inclusion in her monthly newsletter, taken the lead on 2 previous Writing From Your Heart online gatherings and regularly interviews those who inspire her to share the podcasts with her audience through a subscribed newsletter and on her website.

November’s WFYH13, Eileen ran the event in June and the November previous making this gathering number three. We are entering the final week. There are 9 gatherings with 2 remaining for broardcast at the time of this blog post.

Nov 20th and Nov 21st

So… Just 2 sessions remaining. The 7 previous sessions have certainly covered some ground. Its all been about finding your authentic voice. Its taken a deep look at a the internal dialogue we have with inner spirituality and listen to our heart's guidance as well as those mentoring around us.

This evening at 7pm GMT is Katie Rose discussing with Eileen How to use song in your writing. The importance of mantra in sustaining your spiritual life. Practical ways of strengthening your voice.

Katie is a singer, musician, sound therapist and vocal coach committed to using song and sound as a medium of personal social and ecological transformation.

She creates music which interweaves original material with song, chant and mantra from global tradition. She has released three albums and composed pieces for projects including Writing From Your Heart Gathering

I'll post this evening link on G+ on Twitter and in the Facebook page in case you miss the send out for tonights listening link.

Tomorrow Eileen talks to Nick Williams her 9th and final guest in this Writing From Your Heart series about Thriving As A Heart Centred Entrepreneur

Nick wants to share with listeners:

How to create a clear authentic message.

How to thrive as an inspired entrepreneur.

Nick Williams has spent the last 20 years serving as a coach, adviser, friend, mentor, thought-leader and spiritual adviser to leaders in business, the media, entertainment, the law, and in the fields of personal and spiritual growth, academia, leadership, retails and healthcare.

So this going to be the most interesting of all for business people. So sign up and listen in. http://www.pcmcreative.com/eileen-parr.html

I'll post tomorrows link too in case you miss the send out for the listening link. If you listen via a link please sign up after so Eileen can send you the sign up gifts and keep in touch with you.

Dragonesses' Den - Women are doing it for themselves?

2020-12-28T21:57:19.428000Z

Back in May I was invited to deliver a short workshop about understanding Facebook at a Women in Nottingham networking event at BioCity after a fellow female practitioner was unable to accept the invite. The session turned in to a 101 in online identity and Facebook. Subsequently I received an email invite to the following WIN event at the New Exchange Art Centre. A few days later I received an email inviting participation in the Women Mean Business Dragonesses' Den.

Now anyone who knows me knows I am not an advocate of gender biased networking events. Men need female energies and Women need male energies… business need balanced energies. Well, in my humble opinion anyway. Truth be told I'm never at ease in all female company and never feel I belong in all male company although I feel more at ease. I spent many years working in all male environment often being the lone female or only one of a few on an extended team. So I was very nervous stepping out of my comfort zone. I had a really good time if a little self conscious.

But I digress… on receiving this email I decided to put myself forward as I do like to share knowledge and expertise and thought I could offer this on a panel to provide advise to new business start-up entrepreneurs despite their genetic development when the egg met the sperm.

They invited me to take part.

So...

Have you got a business idea that you’d like to explore?

Enter the Women Mean Business, Dragonesses’ Den.

The Dragonesses’ Den will provide a panel of local, established business women and entrepreneurs who will be able to offer you the benefit of their experience. I feel quite humbled to be included and I'll be even more nervous than attending the September Women in Nottingham event.

The event will take place on Wednesday 23rd October, 6pm – 8.30pm, at Nottinghamshire Deaf Society

To book yourself into the Dragonesses’ Den, simply call Bright Ideas on 0115 837 9474 or email on events@brightideasnottingham.co.uk

See you there

This is my Dragonesses' Den biography. Bring your social technology and online audience engagement questions.

Ready to Rummage?

2020-12-28T21:57:21.556000Z

Most monthly events come round monthly! A stupid thing to say you might think but that regular march of time can be a reassuring regulator or a speeding tempo. I think consistency is important especially as an event organiser. The same holds true in the social media realm. Physical meet ups have been far more necessary with this digital dimension constantly vying for attention. Making those connected times relevant, meaningful and propinquitous.

Ironic that the word expressing the sentiment of physical presence and the context environment 'Propinquity' should be a word I learnt while exploring 3D virtual space 'Second Life'.

Propinquity is a special state.

Yes it's Rummage Lounge on Saturday 19th October, the third Saturday of the month.

Check out the Rummage Lounge web page. Sign up to bring a box or to make contact so we can welcome you to the Lounge.

You can even buy bits of rummage from the web page now. We'd much rather you come see us though.

The Evening Post interviewed me about Rummage Lounge recently… see picture tweeted at me below, I don't know how long before it makes its was on to the web site so I can read it! So if you have a copy please bring it down to Rummage Lounge this Saturday.

Link to article to follow. If you find it first do post it in the comments.

Celebrating Regeneration at ReFest13 at the Sandfield Site.

2020-12-28T21:57:22.233000Z

My Cellar54 cohort Mr Phil Campbell is a champion of all things eco applying his love of digital tech to solve the problems facing us in the wasteland of off-line humanity! He is the start-up brain behind PiStreet a social engagement platform designed for independent retailers to bring their digital social footprint side by side with thier passion for their business. This is then shared across HD monitors controlled by an interconnected network of Raspberry Pi computers Developed using crowd funding platform KickStarter phase one is being rolled out across Nottingham.

In the Spring Phil attended a Digital High Street conference heightening his interest in the actions that can change the High Street for independent retailers who are watching the demises of the present model of commerce engagement within town and city centres across the UK.

Regeneration seems to be the new buzz word of change and there is a project in progress aiming to change Lenton with a core regeneration build with a community wide outreach As part of the 2 day unconference (a no frills, bells or whistles conference style event) Phil was asked to speak as part of the Disruptive Digital Urbanism session. The session was billed as "The 'Smart City' is the latest conference, book and consultancy selling nomme du jour. However, outside of proposals for a tech hub in every city and for apps and data that enable local authorities to reduce their headcount, it can be argued that the smart city agenda has only skirted the possibilities to support regeneration. So how can it support local regeneration?"

Here are the 5 session speakers from the Disruptive Digital Urbanism session.

Include here also is the keynote guest Bill Grimsey providing context to his High Street Review, The Grimsey Review and The Incredible Movement (TIM) in York's Imelda Havers.

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MakeUseOf… The Things That I Find

2020-12-28T21:57:24.003000Z

All the free PDF guides you will ever need - The PDF Blog

First posted on the Social Media Womble Posterous Blog

August 8 2011

Brilliant opening post to illustrate what you will find here in the future. (Brilliant not that 'I' am but in the suitability of the content to my intentions for starting the Social Media Womble blog) The Womble in me needed a place to stockpile the awesome stuff I find. I hope you find them useful. I hope you discover something new. I want a place to review the apps I test, use and love.

I've followed makeuseof for a while. (the site in this post) I have their app on my phone. I have shared PDFs from their library too. This post came to me not from makeuseof but in a newsletter from NitroPDF who provide a free PDF maker service which I use. A combo of usefulness. The post talks about Nitro PDF and MakeUseOf recent colaboration to raise funds for the victims of the disasters that hit Japan. Read the origional post for more information.

So this is two services working side by side. I hope you start to get an idea what this blog is all about. Apps working in harmonious cross functionality will feature too as well as examples of good clever use of technology. And being a blog of course you can subscribe to be notified when a new post is published.

NitroPDF blog except...

Here’s a quick pointer to a rich trove of PDF guides covering all sorts of subjects related to contemporary technology, free for everyone to enjoy. MakeUseOf.com is a community of like-minded geeks — of the cool breed — who dedicate their time to scouring the net and building an archive of links to useful sites, free software, music, movies, productivity tools, geeky fun, and lots more.

Best of all, the crew at MakeUseOf publish some beautifully written user guides to stuff that most people must do their own research to learn. There is definitely something for everyone in their archive of PDF guides; PC security, photography, blogging, Facebook, gaming, music, Linux, Windows, Mac, and the list goes on and on. via blog.nitropdf.com

PCM travels

2020-12-28T21:57:24.772000Z

One thing I haven't talked about is how much I enjoy traveling as part of my work. I don't like being a transient tourist I want to make that clear. I like the experience of meet the people I am traveling to engage with. My work with Audiences Europe takes me to european countries and cities I have never been to before. Belgium, Norway and Northern Ireland have been the destination Audiences Europe has taken to me in the last 18 month.

Denmark's Copenhagen was my destination in June.

Uh oh, it looks like your embed code is broken.

I have recently been watching the CNN International news channel. It's perspective on World events has been part of my continuing personal development. My family are multi generational English. My mother and mother-in-law have been researching the families genealogy for years and both families can be traced back to the same area of Southern England, Lewis on the South Coast. Coincidentally our families have a common ancestor only four or five generations back. It's quite common I'm told but it still "weirds me out".

My family holidays were predominantly to Cornwall and Wales with memorable exception to Jersey and the south of France.

One of the curiosities about traveling to Europe is being able to look back on the UK and talk to people about their perceptions of the UK. I also use a service called AirBNB to find accommodation which is flats and appartments placed on the service by other members. This way I also 'live' in a neighbourhood for a short time. Hotels have their benefits but I'd prefer a little soul to a height in luxury any day. The financial saving is significant too.

The current project funded by the Grundtvig Life Long Learning Programme is focusing on 'non participants' in the arts, culture, heritage and tourism sectors. Although I work in this sector as an audience member I am having to question my own participation and this reflection is providing insight to the projects intention. Its an interesting position to be in.

Today on CNN I watched this report which looks at two climate projects in Copenhagen, an environmental skate park and a green roofing project. I'd like to see reports about UK based projects with a sense of the future. We don't look to Europe enough.

I enjoyed my time walking around Copenhagen even if it was between venues and to and from my appartment.

Shifthappens V pt 6 - Opportunity for All

2020-12-28T21:57:24.734000Z

ReFocus - ReFrame - ReMix - ReRelect

From the 20 sessions on the schedule, all of which were inspirational several have stayed with me as the days and now months pass. Pilot Theatre's culture and converging technologies conference ShiftHappens took place on July 8th. Around 150 people attended this 2013 conference hosted by Pilot Theatre's Artistic Director, Marcus Romer.

Jenny Sealey - Artistic Director of Graeae Theatre Company - and co-Artistic Director of the Paralympics 2012 opening ceremony was the 7th speaker of 7 in the post luncheon ReFrame session.

Graeae is a theatre company I've been aware of for some time. I never was really confident about how it was pronounced. Its a rolling word. This is one of those times when waxing lyrical about the complexities of pronunciation don't work. It doesn't matter how many time I write the word it will sound to you as You expect it to be pronounced.

Jenny Sealey provided the definitive "Grey Eye" pronunciation. So thank you Jenny and so delighted to hear you speak. She shared some triumphs, frustrations, stereotype battles, establishment blinkers, convention's ignorances and the main stream insecurities of non conformity.

I recommend you listen to Jenny in this first Shifthappens V video to be released.

I was captivated from the start hearing how text messaging changed her world. As a deaf person, Jenny's unconscious articulation of 'sign' as she delivers her talk gives an energy which spills over with her passion for performance theatre for both disabled and able-bodied unity in the arts. I particularly liked the 'Shift' sign action.

Uh oh, it looks like your embed code is broken.

Keeping your email contacts in line across Gmail and Apple iDevices - HELP!

2020-12-28T21:57:25.703000Z

Gmail Contacts, how do you keep them in line? I have an app on my iPhone called ScanBizCards with which I scan business cards I am given during events or chance meetings and I genuinely want to follow up on. After scanning it have a wonderful option of sending an introduction email to the card's owner. I then have the option of saving it to my phone contacts along with a photo of the card itself. After a while I realised that my Gmail contacts needed synchronising. But I'm never sure what set of contacts is being synchronised. I've done this a few times and always end up searching for the solution so this time I thought I'd blog it so I could reference the post in future. It's also an opportunity to share it with you. Hope you find it useful too.

First I backed up my Gmail Contacts and named the file with the date so I could distinguish it from earlier saved contacts files. I've made that mistake before!

In the current interface in August 2013 there is a drop down menu called "more". The fourth option is Export…

Which contacts do you want to export? Select All Contacts
Which export format? Google CSV format (for importing into a Google account)

Click Export

Rename the google.csv file and locate it somewhere you'll remember where it is!

OK ready to rock. Next, setting up your iPhone.

To ensure sync success create a test contact "00 AA sync test contact" on my iPhone. This is where the frustration began. I followed all the instructions found here >> Sync contacts with iOS device

It didn't work.

I've a couple of great apps I've adopted to manage my contacts within Google, I had hoped to apply these apps to my iPhone contacts after they had synced.

Has anyone successfully synced iPhone or iCloud contacts with Google?

Please share your technique.

Labour of Love or Clinging to a Cliche?

2020-12-28T21:57:21.017000Z

This is not about the creative industries but applying a personal creative talent to the industry you find yourself gainfully employed. I always wanted to work in the entertainment Industry, specifically in theatre. Been there, Did that and I have a draw of t-shirts! After working as a stage manager I turned my attentions to web technologies and web presence development. I remained looking for work in the in the arts and culture sectors.

Lets take events managers and conference organisers. Their skill set is their talent and the choice of company and the clientele shape their industry experience and establish their expertise as event professionals servicing a particular industry. Another example are journalists. There sports, media, engineering, technology, travel, education, current affairs, architecture, law and property sectors to name but a few. They have writers who specialise in writing within these industries. They are all 'journalists' but work within a multitude of industries where their passions lie. As journalists they share best practice and are members of associations that look after their interests, negotiate contracts and regulate their working practices. The fundamental focus for each of them is their industry that work in not the industry of journalism.

This goes a little way to express my current frustration with the obsession of the over used 'creative' label. The industry focus is being lost.

Businesses employ 'creatives' web designers, developers, copywriters, illustrators, art workers, bloggers, marketers etc the audience, the customers are industry related.

Be creative but acknowledge your industry passion. That is your content. Join a professional association to represent your interests. Don't join the land of the lost.

Open Link Nottingham - September 6th

2020-12-28T21:57:24.019000Z

Last night I met up with Creative Quarter's Kathy McArdle to talk about events, CQ community development and PCM audience engagement.

Much of my work at the moment is about engaging arts and culture professionals with one another. Especially with AudiencesEurope they are audience development specialist who are being reached out to from a common core from the lead project partners then selves audience specialists to encourage the sharing of best practice, participate in peer discussions at all levels.

My conversation with Kathy last night was about this knowledge sharing and best practice exchange which I feel is lacking in Nottingham. Shrouded in ego and hoisted up the flag pole of pseudo celebrity.

OpenLink is a reaction to this wasteland. OpenLink LaceMarket is based in The LaceHouse on Broadway down the High Pavement end of Stoney Street.

There will be 4 OpenLink's in the remaining end of 2013. Always on the First Friday coming up next week is the recap and welcome back. During the summer and in the months prior, the CQ upped its game with Kathy visiting as many interested parties as her little CQ legs could take her. Her smile polished and her satchel 'scotched'! (She has done lots of leg work mainly fuelled by fizzy water actually) the CQ message is being preached.

Open Link is for the confused and the converted the pagans and the preachers. Come join the social sharing. This Friday September 6th at The LaceHouse graciously hosted by the venue proprietor Sach Njran who gives us a nice drinks discount. A great venue at the heart of Nottingham's Lace Market.

Our mini schedule

4.00 - G+ Hangout opens

4.30 - OpenLink LaceMarket doors open

6.00

10 min update from Kathy McArdle - Creative Quarter
10 min insight from CQ Loan fund administrator - Victoria Copestake
10 min from Cheryl Gill – speaking about Projector, Broadway’s business support programme for creatives

6.30 - Goodbye to G+ and OpenLink closes.

Its not a networking opportunity its about being part of a network. Kathy's mini talk will be asking us to consider active and passive participation and how you get he most out of being both.

Remaining 2013 OpenLink dates.

October 4th

November 1st

December 6th

Social Media Womble's first post

2020-12-28T21:57:26.773000Z

In the beginning... there was stuff!

Back in… August 1 2011 by CJ Lyon

Making use of of the devises, apps, tools, platforms and services that proliferate the modern 21st Century Internet age for me and you is what I do best. Developers, StartUps, Entrepreneurs; they are all looking for the next new thing, Early adopter are the beta testers of this technological world. The tools, apps, etc that make it beyond the harsh scrutiny of usability combined with the sociability success of the architects make it in to the mainstream. We, the people of this age, the various generations with open arms to embrace new advances then get our hand on gadget and gismos. Some of us are on the highway moving along roadstop by roadstop recognising the transformational potential on our daily lives with curiosity and awe.

Others uncomprehendingly don't see the point...it will never catch on...their mantra reluctantly being dragged along. Some are born and are exposed the moment they take their first breath the magic lost on them but no less tied in to the wave of evolution. I hope you get my point.

The Social Media Womble M.O is 'making good use' this blog is the stuff I've discovered, found fit for purpose, repurposed to suit a need or found can make my life more fun or more efficient. I also have to make a living so if I can 'use the things that I find' to facilitate businesses to do the same the circle is complete.

Update August 21 2013

The Social Media Womble original blog was on a blogging platform called Posterous. Posterous was acquired by Twitter and consequently closed down in April 2013. This incarnation of The Social Media Womble blog is to step up my written output and be more 'me' online. I'm not a big personal Facebooker. I do like to tweet and read topic filtered streams. I like to follow stories and I like to explore the application of digital tools for cost effective use and effective communication in teams and to audiences with the Arts and Culture sectors. I 'inhabit' several online networks I manage on behalf of clients who I work closely with to reach and engage with their audiences. I'm a digital stage manager connecting online and off line through events, resources, media, UGC (user generated content) and social networks to create sustainable audiences.

This blog is using a platform called Postach.io and it's CMS (Content Management System) is Evernote.

Awesomeness!

There is a Social Media Womble Twitter account too @SocialWomble

Planning App - what I use!

2020-12-28T21:57:27.235000Z

Total Recall

by Zyense

Thinking and Doing, in-between that comes planning and preparation. For the projects that pull multiple resources, platforms, tools, services, organisations and more besides I've been using Total Recall.

Total Recall falls in the category of apps and tools used for mind-mapping. I've poked and played with lots of these mind-mapping apps but there was a reasons I came back to Total Recall. Intuitive augmentation is the goal of any app I adopt. It may not be for you but if you wanted to try an app to map your thinking in a slightly more chaotic way than the rigid linear layout favoured by other apps in this genre give this a go.

Total Recall - mind mapping

Simplicity.

Using the 4 four icons along the bottom of the interface all the features are available. (see screenshot below)

User Interface

The '+' and touch to place new bubbles and type to add text. Holding the bubbles allows you to move them around and double tap to edit and you can get started. With the '+' activated, drawing a line between bubbles to connect and group bubbles makes building the mind map so simple.

Auto Layout

This is the unique feature in my eyes. Once I have built the map and made the links the auto layout positions the bubbles spatially obeying the relationship connections I provide. This reveals a structural clarity that often helps me to understand the gaps in my thinking, identify missing resources and new opportunities pulling the mind map in to a logical shape. At least for me any how!

The screenshot below is of my Events Landscape Map. It evolves and grows as new apps, tool and segmentations become known to me. It helps me trace out events and cost quotations. It helps me present event and project structures to potential clients. I have also created maps for organisations where the auto layout feature visually illustrates where communication and resources sit and how they relate to the business or organisation as a whole. It often reveals the difference between how they think their business is structured compared to what is the reality. Its not a hard and fast solution but offers a conversation tool to develop a strategy to integrate social media and its associated technologies in to the core of business planning.

Synchronisation, Save and Share

Any app I adopt must talk to the other app and devises I use. With Total Recall on iPhone and my iPad my mind maps are available on both devises. I can save to the photo album, send an an JPG image via email, as a PDF, as text even as a Total Recall file for other app users to work on.

It's not the most business looking app and I'm sure other apps have valuable additional features but it ideally suits my thinking. I love it. Let me know if you'd like PCM to work on one with your organisation.

We must not forget to reflect

2020-12-28T21:57:26.468000Z

At PCM we have a very simple project cycle

Plan - Prepare - Deliver - Reflect - Report

While I was considering the breakdown of my work processes several years ago it was the identification of the Reflect element that struck me as never before and how the digital world with it's fast pace leaves little room for reflection. Depending on your role in a project the reflection period will take different forms. It's an opportunity to tidy up loose ends, send thank you letters, return resources, collate media, edit or write content and for social media managers this period of time is the best time to engage the audience. During an event the attending audience are there for them selves to experience and to participate. Providing a hashtag for those inveterate tweeters in essential and engagement using this channel is essential too for 'on the ground' activity but the 7 days following even 14 days is the sweet times when participants post their blogs, post media and will be looking to engage via social networks with those they met. Assisting these connections is as important as the event itself.

It was after the first MediaCampNottingham while contemplating the blog post and media posts that the importance of this point in the project became clear to me. We are on the the next thing so quick and the social media juggernaut moves on relentlessly we forget to reflect. The onset of 'event fatigue' can be crippling but the enjoyment of a well planned and successfully delivered event or project should be savoured. This is why its important to set your own pace and project framework to regulate and maintain a personal momentum.

There is rarely just one project on the PCM books and identifying at what stage each project is passing through using this simple tool I value to keep me on track and focusing on the specifics of each client.

I'm currently working with Audiences Europe on their Open All Areas project which is running over 18 months. Each event and opportunity within the project has its progress defined and tracked using the simple PCM project cycle. Each element should have a solid legacy in the form of a report including blog posts, document reports, associated resources and a collection of media. This depth of legacy is important as a record to be included in the overall project archive.

My job is not to provide a blow by blow account of schedules and speakers but to listen, report and document results and achievement in order to share the legacy for audience engagement professionals to learn from Europe wide. Audiences Europe endeavours to collect these stories and projects from organisations and the partner organisations taking part in the funded project running at the time.

I'm current completing the report phase for Audiences Europe's Intercultural Study Visit to Copenhagen from June. Our Spanish partner Maria Ribas from the CCCB - Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona wrote a post on their website. Its a perfect example of the media I hunt down and include in the legacy archive. The content I captured during my time with them is being archived to Soundcloud and on appropriate media platforms. Not all of the sessions are suited to audio as the visual slides provided essential reference to the audio. The links and slides will be collected and edited, further follow up with the speakers will be arranged to provide the fullest coverage of the case studies shared with the study visit participants. Contextual photos taken by the PCM team were posted to Flickr. All this media will be aggregated on a legacy page built on the Audiences Europe brochure portal website. All this reflection will contribute to the final report of this phase and the entire project for the funders.

OpenLink - once more with feeling - with Sneinton Market

2020-12-28T21:57:27.373000Z

The Rummage Lounge is a child of OpenLink. The 2nd Rummage Lounge is on Saturday and I've spent this month looking about my house for 'stuff' to include in my rummage case.

For those not in the know OpenLink is off-line social networking. Status updates are exchanged in real time, face to face with a pint or evening tipple of choice. It takes place on the first Friday of each month. It began in February this year in response to the uncertainty that surrounded the City Deal and Creative Quarter announcements. This is a meet up about transparency and 'open links' rather than encouraging closed loops.

Its also about working as a community to support each others social business endeavours. Like-minded is an important part of being involved in LaceMarket OpenLink. The Rummage Lounge came about through a conversation about independent creatives having a tight time at the moment financially (well more exactly me!) and I was thinking of doing a car boot sale. Phil who I work closely with has bits of kit he no longer uses, have served their purpose or have been upgraded leaving a heap of saleable 'stuff' too and I mentioned this to Wendy Honeyman-Smith, a current management partner at Sneinton Market.

We reminisced about the joy of rummaging through boxes at fate and fares. My memories however are not so pleasurable when it comes to car boot sales. The grabbing and dusty desolation of previous experiences does lead me to steer clear of spending my free time in this arena. A social catch up with the essence of childhood bring and buy sales is what my nostalgic sentiment favoured. Those of us who lived through those Blue Peter years where I held these at the end of my driveway or in the family garage did evoke pleasant memories. Wendy agreed.

"Come and have a stall at Sneinton Market" said Wendy. Hmmm how to get 'stuff' to market?

Phil and I travel to gigs with our kit in Explorer Cases. Perfect transport and ideal for keeping 'stuff' manageable. So the idea to allow flight hand luggage sized cases so others taking part could come join us was decided upon.

We have a concept… lets do it, is the OpenLink way!

Fill up your case and wheel it down. For more information take a look at the Rummage Lounge web page

They start young in the Entertainment Industry

2020-12-28T21:57:28.138000Z

This has been a difficult to write. It began as follows

Today I took a digital visit to my trade union Equity's members area on their website. I have mixed opinions about the site as do many members I've spoken to over the years about it. The site has itself has won awards. Equity's public facing site deserves recognition and is clean and regularly updated. It has a useful news RSS feed which enables me to provide relevant industry news to my networks where this is appropriate. Currently the feed is on a private network I curate for Equity members who just can't wait for the official site to improve its social offering online and to a public Equity group on the National Theatre of Wales Comunity Network. Equity's official members area however is left wanting. There are constant efforts to improve the experience and a working party is working to create a mechanism to mirror the regional branch participation for members who are not regularly in their home region. The social offering consists of a simplistic forum. For me the main irritant is that is has do edit post facility even for a limited time. It also does not have multi-threaded conversation and limited moderation so conversations invariably go of topic and become very tricky for new comers to review.

A thread in todays visit bought home to me the necessity of Equity's private members area. The post was from a 11 yr old. The childs name has been kept private although on Googling their name returns quite a rounded social media presence including Twitter and Google+. It reminded me how different the Entertainment Industry is and it's trade union is a special organisation with very particular security issues.

"I am only 11 and I am very proud of being a member of Equity. I might like to be more involved. Possibly. I am not sure. But it would be better if there were other young children who I could go to a meeting with. What are the chaperoning rules? Would my mum HAVE to come? Is there any other kid out there?" The thread was titled "Are there any other kids here?" On this occasion Equity swiftly responded.

Equity like many trade unions have a Young Members Committee but with an entry age of 10 yrs old and an upper age of 26 there is a service being provided to young performers enabling them to actively shape their career and understand their right from a early age.

My thoughts moved further into the emerging conequences.

It's raised many questions about a world with dangers the previous generation are just not prepared for.

How are stage schools preparing child actors to deal with social media and the demands it makes on us personally? Bullying, exploitation, inapropriate engagement not to mention grooming.

What preparation are the chaperones who look after these bright, talented young people being given to guide and protect the child actors in thier care?

I should not be able to search these children's names as discover personal email addresses on industry websites.

Looking at web searched for child actors there is little information about guidance and the info I did find was focused of Broadway child performers.

What is the industry doing?

To be continued...

image from Washington Post - Internet safety courses teaches parents of digital realm

artist - Gwenda Kaczor

Audience Participation

2020-12-28T21:57:29.518000Z

A good lunch at an event can save a dull day or lift a good day as one to be remembered. Family bonding is often centred around food. On Sunday a family meal convened to celebrate a mass of Birthdays which fall in August. Two birds, one stone and all that! Making memories in the old way, taking photos was carried out. The media devise for capture may have changed but the sentiment motivation remains the same. A snapshot moment. I favour Vine at the moment for adding to context to the traditionally snapshot, frozen moments. (You need to turn the sound on to get the full effect!)

The Secret Kitchen Cafe

Family Cafe is a Secret Kitchen Cafe project I've been involved in helping Marsha Smith realise the digital archive and story telling of her journey. It is a social food initiative. Marsha cooks a meal (centre right in photo below) anyone can turn up, eat and pay in to the donations bucket. Sharing the pictures of food Marsha's message of social conscience in the community has moved beyond a local project. This photo below is a Marsha with a group called Snap Development from South Normanton. Their visit to Sneinton was to talk to Marsha about how they can set up a Family Cafe in their local area.

International Food Evening

As part of Sneinton Festival which has run an annual International Food Evening for several years became part of Family Cafe this year taking the ethos of social eating and cultural sharing producing a "Bring, Make and Share" night where around 180 feasted on food from around the globe.

Audience Participation is what makes social media an exciting proposition for business. Engagement the people who love your product or service and encouraging them to communally share experiences. Its easy to forget that its the activity featured in the media that is the content and not the inclusion of video, audio or photos that is key to engagement. Does anyone actually want to watch it? Who is going to watch, listen or view it? What is the intended response from the audience having watched, listened or looked at the media? These are key considerations for web based media. But what about creating the content?

Permission to Participate

I see this time and time again an interactive installation expecting interaction but with no one to guide the participant. With crowd based engagement people will go with the flow in the right environment but modern digital media pieces expect a lone viewer to contribute or passively observe.

Food has been a great medium for engagement. After all, we all have to eat.

The Social Media Womble

In defence of liveness.

Zoom does Dial In

03 - SubShifter: ONLY what it says on the tin.

RHS - Zoom 1 yr in.

Zoom Control - FrenchHistoryUK

Investment in 50 - coming of age at last!

002 - Headliner: podcast visuals, transcripts, captions and more.

001 - CleanPNG: Transparent PNG Art at Your Fingertips.

Black Box - Black Book : beginnings

Continued Mindfulness

Business as usual, 2022 has begun.

Streaming to avoid audience disappointment.

Posture - #MyWord 2022

What happened to Evernote?

What’s the best blogging platform?

Digital Declutter or Death to the Facebook Algorithm.

Recycle & Reuse - Shoutout to 2011

2021 wins and 2022 begins

Zoom in music mode.

The anatomy of the internet pt1 - PCM creative in action

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