For the first time, HP Labs have moved out of their home in Bristol, to hold their a two day conference on Media Scapes – or Mscapes. Described by one of the speakers as a New Medium, mscapes has been developing since about 2003 and has achieved global interest.
You can find out more by going to the mscapers.com where you can download the tool kit, browse some 500 mscapes and get involved with the forums and with other people developing the project.
To the Green Room at BBC’s Blackstaff studios yesterday evening for the formal launch of the Digital Circle. I’ve been on the steering group for close to two years – the other members longer. We have spent time developing the ideas set out in the The Northern Ireland Digital Content Strategy http://www.digitalcircle.org/2008/11/25/the-northern-ireland-digital-content-strategy/ and bringing the idea of the Digital Circle to a point where we ask the industry to take over.
The idea is simple; everyone who works in the digital content industry in Northern Ireland is the Digital Circle. For the next 12 months, “signed up” membership (rather than “notional” membership) will be free and during that time elections to the steering group will be held.
There will be five members who will elect a Chair. Each of the other members will lead one of the four activities set out in the Strategy; Investment, Skills and Training, Research and Development and Internalisation.
This will not be a Top/Down organisation. The steering group will be accountable to the membership. The steering group will develop the project and agree the rules.
I particularly liked Stephen Mullen’s comment in his speech “If you don’t play the game, you can’t make the rules.” So, this is the time for everyone in the content industry in Northern Ireland to help to make those rules.
Whether it is Internet Protocol, Intellectual Property, Innovation for the Public, it’s the 4 in 4IP which is important.
Ewan McIntosh of Channel 4's 4IP Fund was in Belfast on Thursday (11 November 2008). Ewan is Digital Commissioner for Northern Ireland Scotland and north east England and is planning to make regular visits here for open meeting.
I met him in one of Belfast’s posher venues, hence the opera in the background.
And a note about Digital Circle. The official launch will be soon. You can sign up for free membership now through the blog – http://www.digitalcircle.org/
Members will be voting for the steering group.
There’ll be a podcast about all that soon and you can follow it all on the Blog.
What is the Digital Circle, where did it come from and what is the ambition?
Those and more questions are answered by Adrian Lennon of beingonline.co.uk who chairs the DC Steering Group, Ian Graham from Momentum NI (the Northern Ireland ICT Federation), and Matt Johnston the DC's newly appointed co-ordinator discuss plans for the Digital Circle.
