Tag: Birmingham UK

Podnosh is based in Birmingham in the UK, so often we write about exciting things that are going on near us.

Twitpanto – one helluva social object.

A triumph darling.  Jon Bounds and catnip (with a huge host of help) amused the entire interwebs (well a bit of it) with the worlds first Twitter Panto. Besides creating the wordle above, Matthew Somerville pulled together the script and audience in one wonderful social thingy. Actors Online reckons it brought the house down (how often must they use that one?) and the whole caboodle got brum happy too.

Updates:

I Googled twitpanto at about 10pm December 23rd and found – for the first time in years – that there were no ads to accompany it. Twitpanto is a real thing that really happened but so far ahead of some long tail curve that not even mighty google knows where it fits. Surely a Christmas miracle.

Chris loved it because:

  • It was absolutely chaotic but it absolutely worked
  • The audience participation – it’s an important part of a panto and seeing over 50 tweets of ‘oh no it’s not’ and ‘oh yes it is’ come rolling in was fantastic
  • It was popular – not a penny was spent on promotion but it spread because people liked the idea. #twitpanto was the top trending topic on twitter and so far my tag search is showing over 1,300 uses of the tag (and they’re still coming)

    • Birthday boy Lloyd Davis appeared as himself (I’m sure he looked different in Brazil) and described what happened as “an anthropological treasure trove”. Nick Burcher also enthused:

    a great demonstration of the versatility of Twitter and really highlighted the difference between Twitter and more ‘traditional’ social networks like MySpace and Facebook (where it would have been difficult to re-create the immediacy of #twitpanto and would have been even harder to follow it!) A collaborative, non-sponsored effort, #twitpanto was a great example of how social media can facilitate an expansive conversation between like-minded individuals just for fun and just because……

    Tom Roper professes a liking for the vulgarity of panto and wasn’t disappointed to find twitpanto “rowdy, bawdy and sometimes hard to follow, just like the real thing”.

    Emma Jones (Dandini!) concludes:  “pantomime is such a great match for Twitter – it’s all about the instant feedback and audience participation!, echoed by Robert Anderson: “My first job after leaving university was in panto– Jack and the Beanstalk in York, if you must know. Many of the audience told me that they didn’t go to the theatre during the year but always went to the panto. Why? Because it was social, populist and they could get involved. Crucially they enjoyed the show and told their friends about it– retweeted, if you like. Could it be that the panto spirit sums up what two-way communication (ie the social bit) is all about?”

    Made in Moseley

    Made in Moseley _ Home Page.jpg

    This new website is going to play an important part in helping the individual crafts people of Moseley flourish – great work from the Moseley Community Development Trust – which is also investing in co-working space for creatives in Moseley.  I’ll quote the press release in full:

    This Christmas shoppers are turning away from high street mass-produced gifts and clicking onto Made in Moseley (https://www.madeinmoseley.co.uk), a new online shop launching on 22nd November 2008 stock full with the finest art, jewellery and fashion hand-crafted by independent artists and designer-makers residing in the south Birmingham borough.

    From a small, £4.50 comic book by cult illustrator Sarah Ray to a hand-made, 18 carat gold ring, set with two cognac diamonds and boulder opal priced at £1,530 by internationally-renowned designer-maker Michele White, Made in Moseley has something special for everyone, and currently features the work of nine talented local artists.

    “The site looks fantastic, it combines an easy to use interface with a secure payment system via PayPal,” says Suzanne Neal, Studio Manager at Media Content Lab. “It’s one of the first artist-driven, shared ecommerce sites in Birmingham, buying from the shop directly supports Moseley’s artists and designer-makers.”

    The result of a partnership between Birmingham City University’s Media Content Lab and charity the Moseley Community Development Trust, the site creates a supportive platform for the burgeoning creative community thriving within the Moseley district of Birmingham – and is continually looking for new artists to expand the website.

    Congrats.

    Linda Hines Blogs – another win for the social media surgery.

    I’ve just found another blog (courtesy of the Be Birmingham site) set up following last months Birmingham social media surgery for Blog Action Day. (Next surgery November 26th is also supported by the Third sector Assembly and BVSC but continues to use volunteers from the Birmingham Bloggers group.  Community groups and voluntary orgs hugely welcome, please click here for details)
    Bend it Like Linda can be found here.  She writes:

    Hi, this is my first experience of blogging so I’m a little nervous about what to write! I live in Perry Common and have been actively involved in my community for 18 years now. I was recently invited to become a “Community Champion” by Be Birmingham which means that I represent the community at a very high level and am able to feed others views and ideas into the strategic partnership

    Linda Hines is a remarkable woman (who’s nerves I can understand but they might surprise some) who first became an active citizen when the council told her they would have to demolish her house. I’ve worked with her a number of times, including with residents for regeneration, the Third Sector Assembly, the local strategic partnership and the now defunct b:cen.  Whoever gets to coach Linda at our next surgery will have a great time.

    If you want to prepare yourself listen to the sometimes tearful story of why she does what she does please listen to this podcast from the Grassroots Channel in July 2006.