Mikko Kapanen and Shauna Magunda are two students at UCE in Birmingham who used their final year project to experiment with podcasting to tell the stories of refugees in the city. This programme talks to them about how and why they did it and also hears excerpts from some of the remarkable people who spoke to Shauna and made it onto Refucast.
Author: Nick Booth
Talk like a Brummie day
image from peteashton
Jon Bounds – the man behind BiNS, the chap who put this site together and the bloke I worked with (he did it mostly) on upyerbrum, continue his one man online campaign to show the true strength of this fabulous city.
He has declared July 20th 2007 Talk Like a Brummie Day.
Orlroit bab!
How often do we hear or read this on a slow news day? “The Brummie accent has been named the least intelligent” “least trustworthy” “least friendly” “most dishonest”? When the media needs a quick stupid stereotype what sort of voice do they pick?Well us moaning isn’t going to change anything – let’s face it we’re bloody good at whinging and it hasn’t worked yet – so we should celebrate our accent and dialect and encourage everyone to ‘Talk Like a Brummie’ for one day. Come on everyone, don’t gerra cobb on, we ain’t yampy.
We’ll be celebrating, no matter how dark it gets over Bill’s mothers.
Of course this has to be a global collaboration – fluent speakers can add to the brummie dictionary, whilst anyone can vote for this on upyerbum, add the date to their diary, pop this countdown to the day on their site, practice from the dictionary and remember that July 20th is a day of solidarity – a day to talk like a brummie. of course their more besides – perhaps someone fancies doing a youtube guide – and maybe I should get round to a podcast.
Apple, the iPod and networked innovation.
If you’ve been keeping tabs on this blog recently you know that I do love my apple computer and that I’m curious about networks and how networks can accelerate innovation. This weeks cover story for The Economist is “What other companies can learn from Apple.”
The magazine sets out four ideas:
“The first is that innovation can come from without as well as within…its real skill lies in stitching together its own ideas with technologies from outside and then wrapping the results in elegant software and stylish design. The idea for the iPod, for example, was originally dreamt up by a consultant whom Apple hired to run the project. It was assembled by combining off-the-shelf parts with in-house ingredients such as its distinctive, easily used system of controls. Apple is, in short, an orchestrator and integrator of technologies, unafraid to bring in ideas from outside but always adding its own twists. Making network innovation work involves cultivating contacts with start-ups and academic researchers, constantly scouting for new ideas and ensuring that engineers do not fall prey to “not invented here” syndrome, which always values in-house ideas over those from outside.”
“Second, Apple illustrates the importance of designing new products around the needs of the user, not the demands of the technology. Too many technology firms think that clever innards are enough to sell their products, resulting in gizmos designed by engineers for engineers. Apple has consistently combined clever technology with simplicity and ease of use.”
“a third lesson from Apple is that smart companies should sometimes ignore what the market says it wants today. The iPod was ridiculed when it was launched in 2001, but Mr Jobs stuck by his instinct. Nintendo has done something similar with its popular motion-controlled video-game console, the Wii. Rather than designing a machine for existing gamers, it gambled that non-gamers represented an untapped market and devised a machine with far broader appeal.”
“The fourth lesson from Apple is to “fail wisely”. The Macintosh was born from the wreckage of the Lisa, an earlier product that flopped; the iPhone is a response to the failure of Apple’s original music phone, produced in conjunction with Motorola.”
It seems to me that these are all attributes which government could use well. Perhaps the hardest for government is the idea of ignoring what the market (voter) says it wants today – although one of the key functions of good government is to have an understanding of the future and make plans for it.
Sex, t'internet and Government
Directgov has just published a survey of what we want from the internet. Below are the wish lists according to different categories.
Apparently motorists haven’t noticed that you can already renew your tax disc online, parents want to watch their children in class (yeurgh) and nobody mentioned sex! Equally the survey seemed to fail to spot people’s desire to watch someone getting hurt on youtube, submit photos of semi-literate cats, or talk to their gran in spain. Disabled users said they wanted to have a conversation with a “digital person” . oh yeh! I bet they would have preferred to be asked if they wanted to use the net to communicate with an old fashioned person person.
I sense very limited questioning based on what we understand the internet could do yesterday, rather than ambitions for what it can do for tomorrow. Hat Tip.
What parents want from the internet
1. Immediate online alert if child hasn’t turned up at registration
2. View my child’s school disciplinary record online
3. Have a say in the running of my child’s school e.g. online PTA meetings
4. Track my child’s journey to or form school
5. Have a webcam in my child’s classroom
What teenagers want from the internet – top 5 responses
1. Take a virtual tour of colleges or universities
2. Have virtual driving lessons
3. Earn money through using your skills online
4. Have job interviews
5. Have school lessons / tutorials
What over 50s want from the internet – top 5 responses
1 Find out about local services aimed at older people
2 Use webcams/video conferencing to stay in touch with friends, relatives
3 Tracking pensions
4 Planning for new life after retirement
5 Be able to use online services regardless of physical situation or impairment
What disabled people want from the internet – top 5 responses
1. Create a complete journey planner mapped by accessibility
2. Have face- to-face check ups
3. Meet people from local disability and other support groups
4. Have face- to-face meetings e.g. job interviews or benefit claim meetings
5. Ask questions and receive verbal information from a digital ‘person’
What motorists want from the internet – top 5 responses
1. Renew car tax
2. Calculate carbon emissions and receive personalised advice on reducing them
3. Check car history
4. Get insurance quotes following an accident
5. Report a bad driver