Rebecca Who!?
I'd like to rant on here about how cool I am, but I'm not cool, I'm just nosy. I hate to be left out of stuff so I'm always there, at your event, finding out about you and what you do. I currently run a podcast with some other losers called Love Cats in Infinite Space. We play tunes and talk rubbish. I lecture at Salford uni about digital marketing too.
I like to take pictures. Just another way of me being nosy really. I take pictures of events and also 'urban landscapes' - y'know buildings and walls and what not. Feel free to hire me.
I used to be a punk, but I'm retired now, It's easier to be calm about things and also I like jazz, and disco... and funk and stuff, so I can't really be a punk.
Cosmonaughts are cool. I like space and physics and new technology. I used to want to be one of them, but I'm not Russian, sooo that went out of the window! You can find me on Twitter @RebeccaWho oh, and I'll be at your event.
The Twitter- My Photographamabobs
- The LinkedIn
- I did a blog
- The Last.fm
- The Book of Face
- The Soundcloud
- The Foursquare
- The YouTube
- My Tumblr Blog
- My Twitter Stream
- Contact
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Tweets
- I'm also going to have to sort out the beer to food ratio in the fridge before Mum comes too. *Drinks beer*
- @mofgimmers If I can't even get my fekking feet out, I may as well just wrap myself completely in masking tape.
- @mofgimmers I was just saying this about feet the other day. People are weird about it.
- Mum's visiting tomorrow & I've just realised that I never finished painting my kitchen. I moved in like 4 months ago. She's gonna go berzerk
- Hash brown and salad cream sandwich. Booyah!
- @StephWhalley Wow. Congrats! :D
- @madebycreature thanks for the tip. I just treated myself.
- Lol. This episode of House reminds me of @TNG_S8 #Series6Lockdown
- @wirelessmanc At home in @CheShA's PJ's. Not out for another 2 hours. You still be around?
- Lol slushes @_Cabble http://t.co/30I4PAo5
- Jewellery heaven @teamLBD http://t.co/ixMzIL16
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Photos
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Info
- Head of Social at Photolink Creative GroupMarketing and Advertising | Manchester, United Kingdom, GBSummaryIdeas + strategy in creative and digital.
I've worked in digital marketing and PR agencies providing research and strategy with a speciality in social media. I have also worked freelance running events and providing events services such as photography, reporting and social. And I lecture in digital marketing at The University of Salford.
I've spoken at conferences, sat on panels and provided comment for radio and magazines on technology, the web and social media. Recently I've spoken at Liverpool Sound City and MVMNT about social Media in the music industry and on BBC Radio Manchester about the use of social media in the riots.Specialties: Events photography, wedding photography, band photography. Digital and social research and strategy. Events reporting and social buzz creation. Project management.Experience- May 2012 - PresentHead of Social / Photolink Creative GroupPhotolink has evolved from purely photographic roots to become a fully-integrated creative agency with dedicated, integrated departments specialising in all creative disciplines. We now offer clients everything together under one roof, end-to-end solutions, the whole nine yards, the full service. We are a creative machine that turns problems into to creative solutions for multichannel retailers. Clients include New Look, Bank, Regis, Kitbag, Argos. ellesse, JD Sports, John Lewis, Homebase
- Jan 2006 - May 2012Freelancer / RebeccaWho!?Freelance events photographer, events social buzz creation and project manager. Current projects: Co-owner of illustrator print store Picmix www.picmixstore.com Lecturer at The University of Salford (@ProfWho on Twitter) in Digital media, Branding and Events on the Design Futures course Events manager (Including The Circuit Series, Nabs battle of the bands, The Feed and There Will Be Blood) Social Media Strategist and Social Buzz Creation (Including @foodsummit @MFDF) Photographer http://www.photosbywho.com/ Radio Presenter/ Producer (Inc: All FM,The Mainstream www.radiomainstream.blogspot.com/ www.allfm.org and Podcast Lovecats in infinate Space http://www.mixcloud.com/LoveCatsinInfiniteSpace/) I've worked for companies such as DKNY, Mercedes Benz, The Fashion Network, The Circle Club, Nabs, The University of Salford, The Food Summit, Cahoona, Manchester Food and Drink festival
- Dec 2010 - Nov 2011Digital Marketing Consultant / PushONDigital PR, marketing, copy, content, events, ideas, social media, content management, account management, new technology advice and implementation. I worked with companies such as: Creative Tourist, Charles Worthington, and BCL Legal.
- Sept 2004 - 2011Lecturer/ Demonstrator/ Ambassador / University of SalfordI wrote and now deliver the module 'Professional Practice 2' for the second year students on The Design Cluster. It's a live project ran by the students aiming to integrate them into 'life after uni' - looking at events, digital marketing, personal marketing and branding. Prior to this, I worked a short full time contract as a Demonstrator on the Design Cluster of courses. This involved me managing the studio, dealing with student requests, delivering lectures, one to one tuition with students, sitting in on interviews and promoting the course through open days and digital marketing. I also worked part time for 3 years within the Universities marketing department giving presentations to prospective students and assisting with various other activities aimed at giving guidance and advice about university life and the creative courses available.
- Feb 2010 - Dec 2010Research Executive / Virtual SurveysMy job here was project managing and delivering on-line research projects providing high end analysis and business insights. This was through on-line research communities, which involved elements of community management. As a side role, I was responsible for implementing and managing the new design of any on-line assets such as new community websites or emails.
- Jun 2009 - Feb 2010Brand Communication Assistant / Magnetic NorthMy job was to launch and re launch some of mN's products. Including social media, PR and marketing strategy writing and implementation, market research, intelligence gathering, product development and liaising with and briefing partners, producers, web designers and everyone else involved in the creation of the products.
- Jun 2008 - Oct 2008Junior Studio Manager / True NorthI saw myself as 'mum'. I had to look after all of the designers, make sure they were happy, stock up the studio, make sure it was ship shape. I managed diaries and booked in meetings. On top of this I was brought in to help design and implement a new piece of project management software which I then had to train all staff in and force them to use it. Often plying them with beers and pizza. I wasn't popular - people don't like timesheets ;)
Education-
2004 - 2008The University of Salford1st in Design Management for the Creative Industries
Activities: Ran the Salford University snowsports society socials for a year. Was Student Rep for 4 years on my course. Won 'Best Student' award in the Design Cluster on graduation Won the 'Best Contribution to school' award on graduation
Additional Information-
Websites:
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Honors:'Best Overall Student' Design Cluster - Salford Uni 'Best Contribution to School' School of Design - Salford Uni The 'Ill do it' Award Design Cluster 2008 Gold Award for 4 years of Student representation 'Best Pirate' Salford Snowsports Society 2005 'Most Money Raised for Charity' Pedal Cart Challenge 2002
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Interests:Snowboarding, Reading, Radio, Films, Music, Architecture, Photography,
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Posts
- Nov 16, 11
So I'm doing a blog about the design/ digital events scene in Manchester and the issue of charging for events.
This is something I've wanted to blog about for a while and will use Get It Out as an opportunity. I hope this seems like a view of the industry from my perceptive and not any kind of rant, although it is quite long...
Disclaimer: This is something I'd be interested to hear feedback on. I'm not saying I'm right, or I know the answer, there's no research behind it, it's just what I've seen.In the beginningOver the years I've put on plenty of industry events. It started in 2006 with The Circuit Series. They started up because The Circle Club wanted to get a crowd in early doors. The idea behind this was that attendees might be new customers who would come back, but also because it would get a bar spend in for that evening.The format was a debate panel, as no one else was doing it. I wanted to make it feisty. Keeping it informal, so people felt comfortable but also well produced, so it didn't feel amateur. Topics differed from business through design to property and Manchester in general. For the panel I tried to get people who were interesting, had differing views and had the 'famous factor' ie: people might just come because it's them. None of the panellists asked for money, social media wasn't as big as it was today and although I did put a lot of work in, we always got audiences. They were often subbed by their companies to attend.I charged £6 on the door and took the takings and also got a cut of the bar and often sponsorship. It probably didn't cover the amount of time I put into it, but It was certainly enough, because I also enjoyed the events and the people I met at them.Then the environment started to change. It was the recession. People stopped coming. Speakers started asking for money. A lot of other events started popping up, small meet ups, basic networking events. All of which were free.I gave up. It was starting to become very difficult to get people to come. I even made them free, but even the idea of even coming and paying for drinks seemed too much for people. So sadly, I put The Circuit Series to rest.EVENT = FREE STUFFA few years later, and I watched people expect FREE. In all walks of life. It got even worse with many Twitter people being invited to launch events put on by PR agencies all over Manchester and not only getting in for free, but also getting free food and drinks and sometimes more. 'EVENT' became synonymous with 'FREE STUFF' with hashtags like #launchpartythursdays being banded around and the term 'ligger' being used to describe people on the lookout for a free sandwich.One of the most disheartening things I saw on twitter (more than once) was someone with a cool little project putting together a little handmade launch party to try to help spread the word of their not-for profit whatever and then people not only asking whether there would be free drinks at the event, but then scoffing and haughtily demanding why they should even go if there was nothing free! To be honest,they were right, I don't know what Miss Fanzine was expecting inviting That Twitter User with all of their 1200 followers to an event with nothing free. I mean, why on earth would they make the effort? They have 1200 followers. What's the incentive? It's certainly not an interesting creative project. Why would anyone want to enhance their lives with that? In fact, just make a bank transfer directly into their account......Anyway, I didn't mean that to get so scornful. But things cost money.The Northern Quarter street party had a backlash for charging. I agree that charging was kind of against the 'let's all club together' mentality of a street party, but I understood that it's not always so easy to run an event for free, and stuff had to be paid for.I'm attending (not really!)There seems to be a reaction against this more recently. It's not cool to be a ligger and people have gotten used to the launch party thing and calmed down a little. But in the meantime, all of the networking events that sprang up are carrying on and getting more followers, and there's more and more events until my entire diary is filled up with samey Eventbrite or Meet-up based networking events. Each one has hundreds of people signed up to it's 'I'm attending' list, but less than half of those people will show up. because they sign up for them all 'just incase' and with no commitment."Just oversubscribe your event" many would say, but I've seen a couple of disasters when that happens. People standing, not cool, people turned away, worse than not cool. It sounds cool: "yeah people complained, but my event was so popular people had to stand and some where turned away, next time book it quicker" - But that's not how I work. I'd rather stage a professional event where everyone knew they were getting in and could fit appropriately in the venue.Things are a changing...Anyway, since The Circuit Series, I've ran quite a number of other events, just for something to do, sometimes freelance, and mostly for free. They've worked out quite well, and I've not had any disasters. I charge for The Feed, to cover venue and equipment costs (It doesn't cover it) - it's not as easy as it used to be, but attendance is quite good. There are other examples; Blab is the bigger sister of Northern Digitals. They charge for their events and they also sell out within hours.Why Am I getting hung up on attendance?The problem with not filling the venue is bad for a few reasons:1) For the speakers: It's terrible presenting to a half empty room2) For the attendees: So there's no atmosphere and no one new to talk to? Pfft.3) For the venue: I often get the venue from very trusting venue owners based on a bar spend purely to cover their costs.If I know in advance there's not much take up, I know to do more marketing.Charging at Get It OutGet It Out is my latest venture with Hugh Garry. His time is split between London and Manchester. He feels London has more creative events going on, and that's his motivation behind wanting to set something up. I was keen to get involved, because Hugh has the right contacts and had some great concepts. I love all of the events going on already in manchester, but I do think there's room for more. So long as they're a little different.We debated the idea of charging, initially, only for one reason. Attendance. The venue is small. We could try the oversubscribe thing, but you can't be sure all of those people wont turn up. Or even will turn up. I've seen it happen. I've had 70 RSVP's to a Circuit Series and had a handful turn up. Even if you charge, a percentage wont turn up, but it limits this to a sensible number.I was worried about the charge, because I wanted it to be a more friendly affair. I even considered going in blind and not having any tickets or registration AT ALL. Thought it might be quiteinteresting to see what happened. Anyway, after a consultation with Hugh and Twitter, I nervously put a £5 charge on the eventbrite page.We wanted people who wanted to come to come.What will we do with that money?We don't know yet. We thought about giving it back to attendees somehow in the form of food and drink or even a raffle. We also liked the idea of having a pot that we could dip into and pay travel for people from far and wide to share their stories with us. Or to put into bigger events.What's the point in this post?I dunno, I just wanted to give my perspective on charging for events. What do you think? How do you feel about paying for events? Do you run events and have some thoughts? - May 06, 11
UPDAYE: Jake will NOT be attending the Hyper Island scheme. I wish him all the best in the future and know he'll do well.
Jake, is easily the most motivated, talented and savvy 18 year old I've ever had the pleasure to meet. He's an illustrator and he's already working in the industry with a recent piece of work being used by Sony Ericsson on a research community site design. So unsurprisingly, he has recently been given some sort of Google scholarship to attend Hyper Island. Exciting yeah? Well, not so. His parents have too many doubts to allow him to attend the course (easily). He both wants and needs their support. This post is a plea to his parents to allow him to attend the course and support and be proud of what he has achieved by getting a place on this course. Tweet at his mum @donnaivill to tell her why he should go! Let's get Jake to Hyper Island.
Hyper Island brings round an exciting time for Creative education. For too long it's been stilted by the bureaucracy and dusty shelves of academic institutions. Don't get me wrong, I work for a creative university course and the lecturers there do great things. And I know some great people who are really fighting against the stifling atmosphere of the university system to achieve brilliant stuff... but they seem to be in the minority.
Yes, Universities can do great things for some people, teaching them the skills they need and giving them the structure, confidence and basic skills some people need. But I don't think they're for everyone.
Hyper Island is fully ‘in the know’ with the Industry
More often than not, university courses struggle to keep up with industry practices and teach outdated techniques, or skills that are not in demand in the industry. Not only is this a key for relevance with work in a fast moving digital world, it ensures you can hit the ground running and be super employable. Hyper Island is reactive and can adapt to meet it’s needs. It's also ran by people in or from the industry. It's probably good to point out here that I've never been asked what degree I had, or even if I had one, because I was working with the industry during my degree - so that overruled it. You'll find this a common occurrence in the digital/ creative industry.
Hyper Island is exciting
They keep motivation up for all who attend it, striving to challenge them. Isn't this what we're supposed to be doing as creative people? Challenging the norm? Being creative in our choices? If Jake went to University, he's so bright and motivated I only believe he would get bored. They would teach him (at a slow pace) things he already knows and nothing he couldn't teach himself. This doesn't seem to be the case with Hyper Island.
Hyper Island is worth the money
£9000 tuition fees? Nuff said... It IS also a 'proper' course. And is supported by organisations such as NESTA Channel 4, Saatchi & Saatchi, Sony Games, Wieden + Kennedy, MTV, TBWA and Code Computerlove (Some of the biggest names in the industry)
Hyper Island Graduates are MASSIVELY employable
In an industry which is constantly complaining about the calibur of graduates, and questioning the worth of degrees Hyper Island is a breath of fresh air. Degrees are churning out thousands of graphics students. Hyper Island stands out. Everyone, worldwide, wants a Hyper Island graduate.
and so @donnaIvill, I leave you with the thought that Jake might just know exactally what he's talking about in this case ;p
I'll happily talk to you in person about any of this if you like over tea or something. And will finish up with some facts and things.
Rebecca
Lecturer BA Design Management and Design Futures University of Salford
Social Media Architect, PushON
QUOTES:
"The organisation is already known for running high-profile industry masterclasses for media organisations which recently included working with Channel 4 executives on the television station's rebranding." The Guardian
"this import from Sweden claims huge worldwide success – with graduates from its schools to be found in leading ad agencies, digital businesses and even negotiators on the global stage." The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/pda/2010/nov/28/manchester-media-digital-hyper-island-school
"Oh boy. I am so happy that I am not 20 year old creative. Otherwise I would get pretty quickly pretty frustrated by the competition of Hyper Islanders" Gerald Hensel, Strategist for Blast Radius, Amsterdam
http://davaidavai.com/2011/04/12/hyper-island-the-intern-store-is-about-to-launch/
"The project has all the right backing and input to do something special." HeBe Media
http://www.hebemedia.com/everything-blog/2011/3/2/hyper-island-arrives-in-manchester.html
- May 05, 11
I'm doing a new series of events called The Feed with PushON.
If you like a bit of a good debate, then come down. Or don't, whatevz. Those of you who remember Ye Old Circuit Series at The Circle Club will know what I'm on about. It's pretty much the same format, just rebooted. It's gonna be bigger, better and have MOAR PIES. - Oct 11, 10
Manchester Food and Drink festival run an awards ceremony for the best consumables in the city. This, I know about. My gut was not free and took a lot of cultivating. Hopefully (If I do this right, I'm a live blog virgin) I will be updating as it goes along LIVE and from my press table.
Always a tough job catering for a food based event. Hilton are doing well so far with 2 mini starter things. An Amuse Bouche - Potted shrimp and crab with caviar and creme fraiche. Then Potted ham with brioche. Tiny little things but then there's another 4 courses to go! Not on my own any more either Kat from The Fashion Network has rocked up and I've collared the photographer (Simon from Rags to Bitches) #newbestfriends
Just been for a wander and found the beautiful Manchester Confidential lot. Rather quiet at the moment. I'm sure they'll get more rowdy later on.
Actually, I spoke too soon. I can see (and hear) something going on over the other side of the room. I blame the roaming singer. She's well causing trouble. Simon has gone to investigate. Being fed rumours now that Phil Jones is having a heart attack and Thomas has won everything by Paul Astill (He owns Cord .... and Thomas, so don't listen to him!)
Just went to go and see where the trouble came from and Kat saw some CELEBS. Asked if I could have a picture 'For The Website'. Little do they know that it's just my blog.... Well they didn't ask WHAT website did they? Kat was well chuffed that NODDY HOLDER smiled at her. Woah. This is big. Better than when I met Mr Motivator.
Common Bar are getting ready for the announcements. Will is having a go at me. He says I should just say that everyone is having a really nice night and to stop taking the piss out of everyone. (He did go on about something to do with cheap suits from Next, but I'm not sure who he was referring to, so lets just pretend that never happened. He is super pissed anyway so none of it counts.) He always takes the piss out of me #hipstergate Although Kat pointed out that he did say we look fabulous - so maybe he's not that full of shit. (Luv you really Will)
OK, so now we're eating cheese on toast AFTER the dessert. What's THAT all about? Forgot to mention that the main was the BEST Venison I've ever eaten. Oooo, BBC radio Manchester on the stage doing Live stuff - bit like me. With the talking, not the writing. Pam Astill won some wine in the Raffle. I think they mean Paul. Anthea from Unicorn won the Mark Addy raffle. That's cos she's magical or something. #Cheat
Oh right, Now Sam, the wine buyer from Sam's Chop House is stealing our wine. We did have enough for 8 people.
Best Beer is Cascade. Dunno who they are. Maybe I should.
Sustainable Bar is Podium - Hilton
Community Foodie Award - Mustard Tree
Best retail: Unicorn
Peoples Choice Award: Gordo from Man Con comes onto the stage to Hero by Enrique Iglesias and rapturous whooping. Damson won.
The wine award - Hanging Ditch. OK, they're getting snogged by the dude from the radio...
Fish and Chips award - Hollands Pies revealing the award (They've tweeted at me you know.) Winner:Tony's stadium chippy. Good for them.
Casual Dining - Barburrito.
Family Friendly - Robbie Williams, Doin it for the kids - Chocolate Cafe wins.
Bar of the Year - DRUMROLLPLEASE - Common Bar - One of my faves
Best Pub - Marble Arch. Happy about this one.
Best newcomer - Mark Addy - YESSSssssss.
Best Chef - David Gale from the Hilton. It was good Venison.
I've lost track of the winners due to Twitter fake Retweet abuse from @chesha @mofgimmers, @jonnohopkins and @discouturekat. I thought these people where my friends.
GREAT, and now it's over. Thank you and goodnight.
- Sep 21, 10@RebeccaWho sensed something was wrong so she thought she would go to twitter to find out what the problem was. She heard a shout from @thesophiew
“ What the hell was that. Massive purple letters and tweeting random nonsense?! ARGH.“She realises that it’s safer within the confines of Hootsuite and pays a visit to the wise elders @SophieBradshaw and @CheShA to find out what’s going on. Apparently it was an XSS attack. Those cheeky hackers!
“This is all because if the new, forced t.co link system, brought in so they could datamine even more. Serves them right”@CheShA explains@harrybailey @simonwebbon and @rebeccawho, the three great warriors of the Twitter Apocalypse, meet in the confines of Hootsuite.
“I've yet to see any of this malarkey first hand...but I'm impressed in principle” Says @SimonWebbon
@RebeccaWho nods. “A worthy adversary”
@harrybailey exclaims that he is going in... "I never usually use the Twitter website, but today I am because I enjoy living life on the edge. "
“Like your thinking. As Baz would say ‘Do something everyday that scares you’” @RebeccaWho replies. But she makes no move towards Twitter. He mocks Rebecca who for staying in Hootsuite. “Buck buck buck buckaaahhhh” and runs into the battle zone, followed cautiously by @RebeccaWho and @SimonWebbon
He is instantly attacked. @RebeccaWho grabs a stretcher and calls for help. but it’s too later for him. “It’s no use" he says "only one bullet left and that's for me. See you on the other side." BLAM.
*THAKA THOOOM* Thunder rips through the air
@RebeccaWho kits herself out for battle. Puts on her helmet and puts her guns into their holsters. And walks towards Twitter with @simonwebbon.All around her people are dropping. @TheEvilFrog shouts over to her: “what's happening?”
“Hackers” she replies “They're all over Twitter.”
Someone nearby is hit.
”GET DOWN!!!” she screams as she commando rolls away shooting at the attacker
BLAM BLAM
Meanwhile, in the midst of war the young warrior @iloveedna prepares to make his way to find his sensei, @rebeccawho as she lives in a safe position within Hootsuite.
His friend and sparring partner @_Cabble fears for @Iloveedsa’s safety:
“adopt the fetal position Jake and hope you make it through, god speed”
“Should I hide under the stairs”
“stairs, table, bomb shelter preferably , if you get withdrawal symptoms you can recreate twitter using pen & paper”
But there was no stopping Jake, so they set off together to find @rebeccawho
@rebeccawho sets up her sniper rifle in a suitable position on the edges of Twitter.
All of a sudden @RebeccaWho sees that her friend, @Kelsey_feed has been hit multiple times by the Hackers. She runs over to him.
“I broked the internet” he says as he stands up. Knowing the real source of the attack, RebeccaWho shakes Kelsey. Why isn’t he with his son, @Iloveedna, why has he come to battle? She worries about @iloveeda’s safety.Get off Twitter - as fast as you can. It's not safe there. *Pushes Kelsey out of the way of a hack attack and dives to safety*
“That was very selfless and brave. I thank you.”
@RebeccaWho Reloads a gun and throws it to @Kelsey_feed
“Watch your back.”In a safe area of Hootsuite, the members of #fluclub (@MissJayneLouise @deshannon and @RebeccaWho’s sister, @MeredithSimpkin) are arguing about who is to provide what for the first #fluclub meeting, Oblivious to the carnage outside:
“So I have to do tissues *and* films? This is too much responsibility, I'm calling in sick.#fluclub” Sulks @MissJayneLouise
“part-timers”. Tuts @MeredithSimpkin
They are suddenly attacked. @MeredithSimpkin calmly calls the meeting to an end. She knows what to do. She makes her way to the nearby home of her sister @rebeccawho. Covered by @simonwebbons expert gun weilding skills Rebeccawho bravely gets out her semi automatic and runs *in slowmotion* straight into the battlefield.@_Cabble turns up in time to watch @RebeccaWho get attacked by the hackers.. He runs towards her shouting “MEDIC! MEDIC!, we need a god damn medic over here!”@Kelsey_Feed is at the scene, he kneels by @RebeccaWho.
“Noooooo... I've been hit!” She says
“There was some sort of retweet going on, it just happened so fast. take care of @iloveedna for me.”don't. you. dare. leave. us... " Cries @Kelsey_Feed@_Cabble arrives, but @RebeccaWho is weak. She hands him a note.
“Give this to @MeredithSimpkin for me”@MeredithSimpkin arrives and sees that her Sister has fallen “oh noooooo.......@rebeccawho can't die!” She screams and is held back by @deshannon “someone, DO SOMETHING!!!” @RebeccaWho coughs and dies Cuts to scenes of Rebecca laughing with friends with soft lighting - pref pastel colours@_Cabble hands @MeredithSimpkin the note. @Meredith Simpkin Screams:
“Damn you Twitter and Fuck you #fluclub too” The hackers had already began to retreat. . the dust settles. Twitter is now safe... UNTIL NEXT TIMEDUN DUN DUUUUNNNNN. - Jul 13, 10
I know this is a tired old discussion, but I have this conversation ,like, at least once a week:
Them: "Twitters shit"
Me: "Have you ever used it"
Them: "no"!!!??? Whaaat!!??
I'm not arsed if they don't want to use Twitter. They don't even have to try it if they don't think it's for them. Whatever. But you can't just slag it off if you don't know anything about it.
Their main argument for not using Twitter will be something like "It's all inane babble, I don't want to know what people have had for lunch"
And the logic here fails again. These people will inevitably be Facebook users. Inane babble anyone?
If I'm being really judgemental, Facebook updates are pretty much just inane babble aimed at getting some attention "Oh, I've had SUCH a bad day, I just want a hug :(" or "Some men are idiots" (Prompting the "Oh why honey, whats wrong" response) Although, I did just log in and couldn't find an update from a real person that wasn't trying to promote something.
Also, how ironic is this? It's a group where people talk about how Twitter is a waste of time and Internet space.
That is all.
- Jul 06, 10
Us city dwellers spend a lot of time in the city. Manchester, we live here, we work here, it has everything. Including some pockets of 3G. Why would we leave? For some fresh air and grass, that's why. And that's what we did and that's what we will do again.
1) I got older. I will be now ticking a new age box. Lots of people made me smile this birthday, you know who you are - thanks.2) I realised that in the very few times I've been camping, I've been ill. Including Swine flu at The Big Chill last year and Tonsillitis this time round. True Story.3) I had Nytol for the first time. It's crazy stuff.4) Phones ran out of battery and noone really minded. But the fact that even if they did have battery, we couldn't use them due to lack of any kind of signal was baffling. - Jun 10, 10
Introducing a project by @CheShA, inspired by @unmrkddr encouraged by @RebeccaWho.
Starring, ROOMBA CAT
and FUTURE RETRO CAT
We thought it would kill the internets. It did not. This is probably a good thing.
---->>>>FutureRetroRoombaHipsterCat<<<<----
- Jun 10, 10
Now you know how to greet people in Lingala!
I'm just putting pics my flickr account (I was formally on Picasa.) I have chosen to change because of the more social aspect to flickr and frankly, I think the way it displays the sets is pretty. Although I do remember that flickr has a very confusing and rather unintuative, frustrating menu. I will review both thoroughly and report back. In the meantime, I took some photographs at The Food and Drink Summit and they are here. You should look. They have Loyd Grossman in them. Playing Guitar. Rocking Out... and girls dancing for him... #livingthedream - May 26, 10
There Will Be Blood Returns to Common Bar and sells out in less than an hour!!! More spaces may be released nearer the time, Keep your eyes peeled
We're back! Following on from our rather successful first gathering, we're pleased to be returning to Common on 8th June to take all fo you Digital Content Producer types through the benefits and pitfalls of user generated content. It's a minefield, but is it the future of the web? We've got Hugh Garry from BBC Radio One and Kate Staniforth from LateRooms.com on hand to let you know their thoughts.
RSVP here: http://twbb2.eventbrite.com/
- May 24, 10
So today I 'Live Tweeted' all of my 'Digitally Produced Content' from The Food and Drink Summit. There was a Twitter account @foodsummit. A hashtag #foodsummit and I used flickr and Audio Boo. Highlight? Loyd Grossman.
UPDATE: AudioBoo 'Featured' one of my AudioBoo's from the day. Cool.
- May 05, 10
There Will Be Blood. An event I did for people who make stuff that goes in the internet and makes it fun and pretty. (Digital Content Producers). A @rebeccawho/ @jonthebeef/ @hereinthehive collaboration Photographs by @Lodge28
- Apr 30, 10
I wrote stuff about cool looking sheds you can live in on AJANAKU. I'd proper grab one myself if I had any money whatsoever. They are cool, sustainable and made by some very nice people. :)
- Apr 29, 10
I wrote a about a posh bra shop in Manchester for AJANAKU. Think I'm going to have a little ongoing columny style thing called Out and About with Rebecca Who or The Adventures of Rebecca Who. What do you reckon?It means I defo need a new small camera too. Not arsed about zoom, want a very good auto setting and good in low light. Maybe with a decent film option too (with OK sound quality or the option to add a mic? Maybe?) Around £150. Any recommendations?
- Apr 28, 10
I attended a ‘mixed reality’ conference about ‘working virtually’ called Death of Distance.
Naturally, I attended it virtually, to get the full experience. This consisted of a Second Life platform and video streams from the ‘Real Life’ event in Manchester and a stream from Newcastle.
Here’s a confession for you, I used to play a lot of Role Playing Games (RPG’s) on the interwebs, which is essentially what Second Life is. Only back in my day, we just used crudely drawn pictures of our characters and wrote stuff that we were “saying” and *doing* (in-joke) on forums rather than actually interacting virtually with moving characters and what-not. Although I haven’t really used Second Life, I was interested in having a go.
I’m all for virtual working. Admittedly there are still larger companies that struggle at it because of IT rules and legislation but there are plenty of companies that do it comfortably. Especially small, creative, young companies. But saying that, the research agency I work for, Virtual Surveys (which is 10 years old) built its business on being virtual and they do it very well indeed.
BUT, what the discussion was more about was working using virtual worlds such as Second Life and this is precisely where the discussion let me down.
Even though I entered the world excited, open-minded and ready to learn, the scepticism started to infect me early on, like a disease. The software had to be downloaded, it was massive. And I needed add-ons like Quicktime. I had to learn how to use it and make my avatar (Which is a whole other story around cultural and personal issues). And this is what any first time user will have to do. Pain-in-the-arse. Especially since were all moving towards Cloud Computing, I don’t have as much memory as I used to and HATE downloading ANYTHING.
In-World (More lingo) was full of massive advocates for the business use of Second Life (events, conferences, team building, networking) but they all seemed to be developers for the platform. I got into arguments with them.
This is what led me to my first thought and question: EVENTS. I run events and would love to cut costs by running events virtually. Sounds great on paper, but there seem to be so many barriers with this and each one I could write an essay on: Technology, culture, use, in-world audience, lingo.
Sure, people are having successes with them, but is it a novelty? Does it have longevity? I would LOVE to know.
Then we move on to business use: What are the demographics of Second Life like internally? I don’t know, but would they be useful for me to network with? I can’t see myself allocating time for networking in second life. If I wanted to run conferences virtually or speak to clients or work with colleagues – I would want to see their (real) FACE (No particular reason for capitalisation, I just like the word FACE) and hear their voices. I don’t think I’m being old fashioned here, but I think some sort of collaboration software with video (which, by the way, didn’t end up working at all at DofD in-world), voice and text would be more fit for purpose.
I’m not saying it wouldn’t work, because companies are seeing results and there are creative agencies like Corporation Pop doing exciting things. But I am yet to be convinced - unfortunatly the platform clouded the content at this event (Irony?) . I just can’t see the business benefits of flying around a virtual world watching other virtual people (or animals or aliens) having virtual sex.
Oooo, controversial.
FOOTNOTE: Just a thought: Virtual networking was almost nill on Twitter for this event. @chesha a twitter follower just tweeted this at me: "thought you had one of your I'm-a-massive-social-media-hipster parties yesterday? I just checked and you were only one virtual-hipstering" Maybe Second Lifers don't virtually network that well?
- Apr 28, 10
An article I wrote for online global magazine AJANAKU about BEES and The Beehaus. I love BEES. BEES are great. Buzz Buzz Buzz. I want a swarm. The queen will be called Margret and I will make 'Honey from Who Patio'. First, I need a patio. - Mar 01, 10
They make me smile everytime.
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So, for some inexplicable reason, a bunch of people I know got working on a hashtag called #mof4NME which was a not-so-serious call to get me behind the wheel of one of the world’s most prestigious music rags. If you didn’t know, the editor - Krissy Murrison - just left to…
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- These are great! RT @anthonyoram: Five prints sold in my first afternoon, dead happy, have a good weekend all. http://t.co/FDRV05BX
- @guymckinley really looking forward to it.
- @guymckinley That's amazing :)
