BBC Mobile: Carousel of Content

Extract from my post today on the BBC Internet Blog…

Mobile homepage carousel

If you’ve looked at the BBC Mobile homepage today, you’ll have noticed we’re giving you more choices than ever. Yesterday we launched a carousel of content in our top promotion area so that you can scroll through a range of content we’re highlighting across BBC Mobile. It’s available to a limited range of handsets right now but will roll out gradually to a wider range as we develop the technology.

Read the full post here…

Over The Air – The Future is Mobile presentation

I spoke at Over The Air 2009 recently and have just uploaded my slides to share with the attendees and thought I’d share them with my readers too, in case you want to get a better view of what the BBC is up to on mobile and also, some of my personal predictions for what might happen in the mobile space.

 

Two highlights I wanted to pull out were my mini-analysis on what makes a good mobile app, which I’ve boiled down to:

Makes your life easier

Uses unique hardware capabilities on the device

Makes a better media experience on your device

Makes it FUN (aka GAMES)

Full details are in the slides and if you want to know more (since the talk isn’t on there), just get in touch.

The other part I wanted to highlight were my personal predictions around things that I think will unfold in the mobile space.  They are:

Mobile take centre stage as the first computing device you turn to

Everything becomes connected – clothing, toys, etc

Everything filtered via location

Mass participation and creativity will grow

Again, there’s more in the presentation but if you want to talk about any of these, or find out more, just get in touch.

I also gave a longer version of the talk at Ad-Tech London – part of London Digital Week.  If you want to see the extended version (with more details and examples of good stuff in the industry), dive in here:

Endz2Endz – The Place for Young Talents

Greetings, readers.  It’s been a busy summer for me but I’m ‘back to school’ with my blogging now and hope to catch up alot over the next few days/week.  This is about one of the most exciting projects I’ve been involved with over the summer.

I didn’t even really know what Endz were when I met the 4 young men who told me they wanted to start a ’magazine’ called Endz2Endz last year via the Create Not Hate Facebook group and I ended up volunteering to mentor them once a week.  We’ve now been meeting for about 9 months and the first edition and the website launched in July (like I said, I’ve been having a summer break from the blog!).

I’m incredibly proud of what the guys achieved in that time.  They have an incredible vision for what Endz2Endz should be and what it can do for young people.  The editors have grown up in tough backgrounds around London and want to inspire other youths to use their talents to stay out of trouble and and make a positive contribution to society – connecting them between different ‘endz’ that would normally be at odds.  With their vision and dedication, ‘all’ I had to do was show them some of the tricks of the trade when it comes to editing and publishing online and we were good to go.  I have to admit, I was a little bit skeptical at times that we’d ever publish the first issue but what they came up with was better than I’d ever imagined.  It looks professional and they got great interviews and a strong editorial mix where they explored the effects of stereotyping on society by combining stories from real young people and celebrities. 

The cover should give you a taste of what they can do:

“But…” I hear you thinking, “why a magazine when they want to reach young people?”

Well, I asked the guys the same question when I met them and got an answer that was a bit of a revalation for a guy who started his career as a print journalist before moving into the online space.  When they talked about a ‘magazine’ they imagined a brand that was native to the online space with videos, music and interactivity - that just happened to also be printed.  Quite a revalation to someone like me who still remembers when magazines were just printed.  When I was at university, I worked on a study called The Role of Magazines in the New Media Age – any my, how far we’ve come.

Has every moment been smoothe?  Nope.  But all of us are learning from each other as we work on it and I’m looking forward to the second issue.

Also – if you’re reading this thinking “What a great idea.  How can I help?”  – we are desparately in need of meeting space and PCs – any donations would be much appreciated!  So far we’ve worked completely by ‘beg borrowing and (not) stealing’ by using cafes, borrowed equipment etc which shows just how far into the DIY media age we are; but it isn’t easy to work with no funding so any help is most welcomed.

Maps mixes

I’m loving what James from Maps is doing on his blog.

He’s been releasing homemade mixes of music he likes for his fans.  Doesn’t sound particularly exciting?  I think it is – its a great example of a musician using digital media to do for their fans the same things their fans do for each other.

Anyone who’s a music fan or ever had a crush has made someone a mixed CD (or mix tape if you’re my age!) and being able to get something similar from your favourite artist is just great.  OK, maybe not QUITE so personal – but I’m still loving it, especially since James is putting some context about the music around it.

Now… countdown to the next single…

Mix 1

Mix 2

Mix 3

Mix 4

Video for the new single ‘Let Go of the Fear’:

Looking ahead to London 2012, the mobile Olympics

As part of the BBC Internet Blog’s day on mobile, I wrote a post about what we’ve been doing in terms of planning for the 2012 Olympics and mobile.

Here’s an excerpt and a chart from the work.  You can read the full post at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/bbcinternet/2009/06/looking_ahead_to_london_2012_t.html .   Please let me know what you think of the work and if you want to know more!

2012 Olympic Scenarios for Mobile

This is just one page from the much larger report/piece of work.

Full blog post here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/bbcinternet/2009/06/looking_ahead_to_london_2012_t.html

My First (and the BBC’s first) Live Twitter session

I’ve just finished talking to users of BBC Mobile live on Twitter (http://twitter.com/bbccouk)- what a neat experience – really great to have the direct conversation with them, even if some are alot more technically minded than I am.  Thank goodness for my colleagues helping me with the tough tech questions!

It’s DEFINITELY the first time I’ve done something like this and my colleaugues think it’s a first for the BBC so, to presever this momentous occasion, here’s the transcript.  It was all part of Mobile Day on the BBC Internet Blog  I guess you could call it ‘One small Tweet, for Auntie…’

(Read from bottom up.)

Twittering Live

It’s been really good talking to all of you. Must sign off now. Thanks for participating – I think this has been a first! Jason less than 20 seconds ago from web

Hi @thephazer You’re right it’s not all on the mobile site but we’re working on increasing the amount available and making it work1 minute ago from web

    

Hi @rafeblandford Thanks for the feedback. Hard to know what’s going on without looking at your mobile.2 minutes ago from web

    

Hi @fafeblandford Thanks for the feedback. Hard to know what’s going on without looking at your mobile.3 minutes ago from web

    

To @nathanmassey We’re investigating… no firm plan yet.4 minutes ago from web

    

Hi @catherinelucy Visual radio is a trial right now (a cool one, I think!) – so no firm decisions on where it will be available after trial10 minutes ago from web

    

To @catherinelucy Best to check with TV Licencing on that…14 minutes ago from web

    

Hi @codingmonkey Re HSDPA – It works on Vodafone or 3 if you’re on their networks.15 minutes ago from web

    

Hi @codingmonkey Catchup radio coming to N95 http://bit.ly/17Q2fO15 minutes ago from web

    

To @alaninbelfast It’s a rights issue. But you might try podcasts for time shifted radio on the go.17 minutes ago from web

    

Hi @thephazer Give our mobile site a try – its got mobile optimised video on it http://www.bbc.co.uk/mobile18 minutes ago from web

    

Hi @catherinelucy Check out: http://bit.ly/NbUaC about TV licencing20 minutes ago from web

    

Hi @arepeejee We don’t run the networks so best to talk to your network operator directly26 minutes ago from web

    

Hi @johnsto We’re looking at what social features will give you best experience in conjunction with PC BBC iPlayer. It’s exciting!29 minutes ago from web

    

Hi @thefalken Wifi gives a better experience and a free experience – that’s important to us so we optimise for that31 minutes ago from web

    

Hi @thephazer Are you looking at the mobile specific site? Or the PC site on a mobile. News clips should work for you.32 minutes ago from web

    

Hi @allaboutiphone – See David Madden’s post: http://bit.ly/17Q2fO34 minutes ago from web

    

To @markbridge Live radio is on iPlayer on devices that support it and podcasts and are looking at other ways to make live audio available37 minutes ago from web

    

to @stevelitchfield Best to get tech support for your router – we can’t offer tech support on routers because they’re in your home38 minutes ago from web

    

Hi @liveJ We have basic minimum requirements for the devices we can put iPlayer on – if they meet those specs, then we’re considering them.40 minutes ago from web

    

to @stevelitchfield We started w/ N95 because it has large reach. We’re always looking at many other devices-but they need to have wifi too43 minutes ago from web

    

Talked to David Madden and OMA 2.0 is the most suitable right now and don’t forget we’re on iPhone and other platforms tooabout 1 hour ago from web

    

We use standard web technologies for our streaming. We’re looking at whether we can make that work with the 3.0 iPhone softwareabout 1 hour ago from web

    

Re iPlayer on other networks – its not currently supported on all networks but we’re working with all of them to get it there.about 1 hour ago from web

    

Re mobile BBC iPlayer on Android, we see smartphones as key and want to be on as many as possible but I can’t comment on specific datesabout 1 hour ago from web

    

Sorry for the delay. We had some technical gremlins.about 1 hour ago from web

    

Hi everone. This is Jason DaPonte, Managing Editor of BBC Mobile here to answer your questions. #bbcmobiledayabout 1 hour ago from web

    

BBC Internet Blog: BBC iPlayer application on Nokia N95, N85 8GB and E71: I can hardly believe.. http://bit.ly/NPnFXabout 2 hours ago from twitterfeed

    

BBC Internet Blog: Getting mobile in the Blue Room: Up on the fourth floor of Broadcast Centre.. http://bit.ly/SgWKKabout 3 hours ago from twitterfeed

    

This is a fun clip. Here’s Roland Allen in the BBC’s ‘Blue Room’: http://is.gd/YOHe (Gadgets ahoy!)about 3 hours ago from web

    

BBC Internet Blog: Jason DaPonte answering your questions live at 4pm: We hope you’re enjoying.. http://bit.ly/fyCmeabout 4 hours ago from twitterfeed

BBC Mobile Day – featuring… Moi.

We’re doing a whole day on the BBC Internet Blog about BBC Mobile later this week.  I’m not going to give it away too much here but the idea is to give you a glimpse into a ‘day in the life’ of the place where I work and, if you’re interested, will be featuring some stuff written by me.

I’m particularly excited because i’m going to be ‘Twittering live’ with users (possibly even you, gentle readers) and think this might be the first time a BBC staffer is doing this (not confirmed but I’ve been told this is the case).

Full details are on this link and you can also submit questions you want answered:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/bbcinternet/2009/06/mobile_day_thursday_june_11th.html

Mobile video use with teens

Great to see some new stats from Nielsen about the use of mobile video – especially amongst teenagers.

Their latest numbers are showing major usage and growth in the 13-17 area. These figures are for the US and some unofficial stats I’ve seen for the UK indicate they may be even higher. Interesting and short full details here: http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/online_mobile/americans-watching-more-tv-than-ever/

Fun fashion fantasy fone stuff

My Doggie Ring Ring

It’s a bird, it’s a plane… No… It’s a dog, it’s a phone… WHAT?

I’ve always thought alot of the digital media devices we see are UGLY so was relieved/amused by two things that crept into my inbox today thanks to some very fashionable colleagues.  (If this type of thing interests you, I highly recommend you read We Make Money Not Art which looks at the intersection of art, fashion and technology.)

The first is seen in the picture above.  OK, it might not be QUITE what everyone would call fashionable – but it’s a great stab at making mobiles fun and fashionable.  Apparently, this is what one of my colleagues learned recently when she went to the showroom for the company that made the My Doggie Ring Ring in Japan.  They’re called iida – and doggie phones aren’t the only cool thing they make (but it might be the most fun!).  They’ve also got a range of concept musical instrument phones and ones that incorporate solar panels.  The work is being done in conjunction with the Au Design Project – check out their site for more interesting concepts.

I really like the way that the designs incorporate fun and fantasy with objects that provide us with utlity.  Sure, usability and utility are great – but I sometimes feel in our hyperconnected world that we need a little room to indulge ourselves with a bit of fantasy and frivolity and that all too often we gloss over this because it might impinge on usability.  Why shouldn’t we have devices that give us a laugh, connect with our tastes and personalities?  Services on mobiles are becoming more personalised – why shouldn’t the devices themselves do the same – and maybe give us a tiny bit or reliefe from the hyperconnected world we live in?

On a slightly less practical note, I was also sent a picture of a QR Code belt buckle.  So, if you want people taking pictures of your crotch and then being able to use that picture to download a URL to their phone to go to your blog (or other online profile?) you can now do it!  More here.

QR Code Belt

And… not mobile related at all but as long as I’m pointing to some everyday objects re-imagined, I couldn’t resist this one – Creative Coffins.  Eco-friendly (cardboard!) and reflect your tastes, pastimes, nationality – whatever you want.  I quite like this beekeeper’s model:

beekeeper coffin

Customers or Shareholders? – Sir Michael Lyons talks about the BBC

There’s alot of talk going on at the moment about the future of the TV licence fee that funds the BBC (where I work – so yes, it pays my wages).  There was a debate about freezing it in the House of Commons today.  BBC Director General Mark Thompson was recently interviewed about it in The Observer, too.

More interesting, to me though, is the speech that the chairman of the BBC Trust (the BBC’s regulator) gave last night where he likened the public to shareholders (who want influence) in the BBC rather than customers (who just choose whether or not to buy something).  You can read the full text of his speech here.

The good news, in my opinion, is that seems to see our audience members the same way as I do - funders who should be allowed to voice their opinions – very directly – to the BBC about what we should and shouldn’t be doing and making.  This isn’t to say they should CONTROL what we do – but they should certainly have a strong voice and an ability to communicate with us.

What I’d have liked to have heard though, is how this could happen.  I felt the commitments he made were all good – but could have gone further.  The proposals all felt like they came out of a very linear world; where the audience can’t inform (again – not control) what’s going on.  We’re now in a world where audiences can and do expect to have a level of control with their media – and this is a growing expectation.  I’d love to see a world where the BBC pioneers a new way of maintaining its editorial quality and impact – and where it still surprises and delights its audiences – but where we give them a much stronger voice (using the direct channels digital media allows us) in what we do.

I posted a rough proposal for how I imagined this could happen a few months ago.  I wonder if Sir Michael’s read it.  I doubt it but would love to know what he thinks.