March 2009 – The BillBlog

March 30, 2009

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-03-30

@euan don’t you think that good people see opportunities in hard times? Or that good people are aware that their current place is doomed? in reply to euan #
Thinking about accretion discs in the cloud. #
@euan good point. Wonder if it’s better for the broader economy, and how you’d measure it. in reply to euan #
@Nico_Macdonald be careful in court… http://tinyurl.com/cdatxa 🙂 in reply to Nico_Macdonald #
RT @emilybell: Off to Today Prog to talk about viral marketing at 8.20. [dont retweet, it will onlyencourage those who think viral works!] #
Ross Anderson on database state up on @r4today.. #
@jjn1 @ruskin147 some of us are very resistant to viruses spread by MSM… years of exposure mean that our T-cells (Twitter cells?) work! in reply to jjn1 #
On the train and just filed BBC column… from BSG to Twitter via accretion disks and supernova remnants… #
@jamescridland you can get it from https://thebillblog.com /, as technically the BBC are republishing it 🙂 in reply to jamescridland #
In London and off to the ICA for lunch, then to Bush House for #digitalplanet. But first, the glory that is the Tube… #
@dailytwitter could be – tell me more ([email protected])… in reply to dailytwitter #
@Phoenixcinema great to have cinemas here… looking forward to your tweets! in reply to Phoenixcinema #
Exploring iSynth on myiPhone – viewer for Photosynth and very cool with it. http://www.cs.brown.edu/people/gpascale/iSynth/ #
@CharlieBeckett have fun with the City U types. Say clever things! in reply to CharlieBeckett #
@billhilton I’m in and on. Was one of Suw’s early signups. And I can exclusively reveal that my post will be about Karen Sparck-Jones! in reply to billhilton #
@Cybersoc good to see @charliebeckett @jemimakiss working together. They can do more damage that way. in reply to Cybersoc #
In the bar of the ICA soaking up the kultur. #
@ely_peddler oh, yes! in reply to ely_peddler #
@billhilton Perhaps! She was one of my teachers, and an inspiration in many ways 🙂 #
With Actionaid’s Megamouth in Golden Square – messages to #themegamouth http://twitpic.com/2djw1 #
On my way to Bush House for #digitalplanet – via coffee. http://twitpic.com/2dkg7 #
In C21 but @garethm has popped out for a moment… performance anxiety? Hope he gets back before 1530! #
@rhamdu @TheMegaMouth Great to meet a real superhero… underpants and all! in reply to rhamdu #
FIrst item on fonts done – name checked Neville Brody – and now onto Maker Faire from Newcastle. on #digitalplanet #
Listening to Josh Edwards talk about Photosynth for this week’s #digitalplanet – we’re going to try to make our own synth after the show #
Nice to hear @garethm say NewCASTle instead of NewCARSTLE on #digitalplanet, as we discuss Maker Faire #
Finished up and the show is in the can – another #digitalplanet done and dusted. Back to Cambridge. #
Written my #ald09post post for tomorrow’s Ada Lovelace Day – will tell WordPress to make it live at midnight! #
@GarethM have a good flight – will watch out for reports of your adventures. in reply to GarethM #
@StardotGarf Neville’s an old friend who I don’t see nearly enough of. I was a Face fanboi back in the day, of course… in reply to StardotGarf #
@strangeoddity you made it possible – if you hadn’t introduced me to BSG all those years ago I’d be totally fracked! in reply to strangeoddity #
@bengoldacre BSG beats parties hands down. You won’t be disappointed in the finale 🙂 in reply to bengoldacre #
@graphiclunarkid I promise you there are no BSG spoilers in the post. there is a link to a review but nothing more. in reply to graphiclunarkid #
@bengoldacre daren’t say anything in public about it – it hasn’t aired on UK TV yet and people might get upset. I really liked it though 🙂 #
@bengoldacre 🙂 Now THAT would have surprised us all! in reply to bengoldacre #
@lisadevaney @mikebutcher I’m sure @edcookson would be up for some fun – they did cool stuff at my Tyneside conf. in reply to lisadevaney #
@hannahnicklin why thank you – #ALD09’s is a good opportunity to reflect on such things. in reply to hannahnicklin #
Some audio to edit before I wake the boy – need a quiet house! #
@emilybell I think you’ll find @sambrook neant ‘new deal *of* the mind’, – Martin Bright’s big idea – http://snurl.com/eg40e Not as funny! #
Waiting for 1050 to lon &reading tweets. I used to read the paper in down time, now it’s something I have to make time for. #
@gapingvoid why thank you… just trying to keep the conversation lively! in reply to gapingvoid #
@dailytwitter I did but mostly offline today – more later from the train in reply to dailytwitter #
At BFI southbank for coffee with my sister, after lunch at OXO building. Lovely day. #
Lovely day in town with my sister – lots of cafes, bars, walking and conversation. Heading home now – my feet hurt. #
@mangamiranda nice to see you’ve joined us… in reply to mangamiranda #
Seat on the train, small bottle of wine and Caryatids form @bruces to read. Perfect way to get home. #
@DCEFrance that’s very good news indeed… celebrate well! in reply to DCEFrance #
@samdownie afraid I’m in Norwich tomorrow all day… another time in reply to samdownie #
@PTLondon great idea- fortunately I was with my sister so no real danger! in reply to PTLondon #
Looking forward to a day in Norwich with New Writing Partnership, working on their website, #
@Hilsax BFI cafe should have opened yesterday pm – they were doing last bit of paving! We sat in the bar at the back, though 🙂 in reply to Hilsax #
RT @strangeoddity: Happy Birthday to me!! (And Tilly) [So Say We All!] #
@jjn1 well, you were obviously going to be a voice of reason with those two! in reply to jjn1 #
About to start meeting on website design for the New Writing Partnership. At least there will be coffee… #
@girlonetrack gives it that nice matte finish you normally pay extra for… in reply to girlonetrack #
Waiting on platform 3b at Norwich station. Site built, strategy discussed, canhazbeer and think about publishing’s destiny. #
@MattKelland surely a bit early for curry… but if that’s your taste! in reply to MattKelland #
@dailytwitter http://media140.com/ looks interesting, but don’t seem to have got yr email. Interested in taking part. in reply to dailytwitter #
Another day in London, talking to publishers about the future. Always fun… #
@MattKelland much as it pains me, RIPA is NOT ‘anti-terrorr’ but IS supposed to be about SERIOUS crime. in reply to MattKelland #
@stephenfry wonder if ‘covered in pangolin poo’ is covered by the Kindle warranty.. somehow doubt it! #
On the wayto London on slightly delayed train. Wondering whether analogy between newspapers and book publishing holds up well enough. #
@andrewspong @kcorrick dissects it nicely, and she’s right. But the deeper question is what role books play in our world and how it changes in reply to andrewspong #
@andrewspong @kcorrick that is a very valid point – ‘book’ is one type of machine, ‘ebook’ another. in reply to andrewspong #
@kcorrick @andrewspong It’s definitely coming – but not so fast that existing players can’t adapt, I think. in reply to kcorrick #
@andrewspong I really don’t know – don’t think anyone does yet (not even @kcorrick !) in reply to andrewspong #
@kcorrick @andrewspong great points both. Currently sitting in publishers conf, up next – twhirl screenshot in stack! in reply to kcorrick #
‘we’ve got the Mighty Boosh… We’ve got Barack Obama’ – publishing is a strange world! #
Fun time with the publishers.. now off to an Arts Council meeting in the Guardian’s new gaff #
@dailytwitter thanks – got it. Will reply later. in reply to dailytwitter #
@jjn1 sounds about right… (NB also character in Blade Runner) in reply to jjn1 #
@jjn1 PS thought you were in a tweet-free meeting 🙂 in reply to jjn1 #
Long day. Enough. Off now. #
Desperate call from the boy at home interrupts meeting- to tell me Internet is down. How will he survive? #
Anyone else having probs with Virgin Media – not working in Sawston all day. Bad vibes. #
@supermum @Dave_Piper thanks both for good advice. Site says known fault at moment – will give them a couple of hours, as have dongle backup in reply to supermum #
@dgwbirch he’s trying hard not to panic… I let him use my laptop to update Facebook 🙂 in reply to dgwbirch #
@emilybell 1984/Skins mashup surely called for … in the end Big Brother becomes his dealer? in reply to emilybell #
Too tired to tweet. Bye, ‘verse #
completely hacked off with @virginmedia – 24 hours offline on home broadband and website last updated 12 hrs ago – http://tinyurl.com/c6kgz6 #
@azeem Nice plan… working off 3G dongle at the moment, but need something more robust, clearly! in reply to azeem #
@stephenpub Great to have you hear! More good stuff to come… in reply to stephenpub #
@virginmedia hi guys, was offline (!) but have dm’d @sdrb – thanks for listening. in reply to virginmedia #
@simonrjones #virginmedia broadband prob is in Sawston. Usually reliable for m e, but 24 hrs too long w/o access or explanation. in reply to simonrjones #
RT @bebroadband: @billt Sorry to hear about your broadband problems. Let us know if you want to try Be out. [Opportunistic and clever!] #
@sdrb @virginmedia site says problem with modems resolved – http://snurl.com/enxab – but not at home to check 🙂 Will assume ok now- thx. #
@wethink we should never forget that open standards can be used by those who seek control as well as those who seek freedom. in reply to wethink #
@tjshaw there’s always ‘block’… and I’m not afraid to use it 🙂 their tweet came from a person not a bot, so it’s cool by me. in reply to tjshaw #
@jobsworth put them with your match-book songs and your gypsy hymns, surely? in reply to jobsworth #
@stevebridger you’re like me – a digital refugee, seeking safety from the analogue world and embracing your new culture. in reply to stevebridger #
Thanks all for broadband advice. @virginmedia sending engineer out to look at my modem… good that they are listening. #
@micsmit3 it’s certainly not a scalable soln but it’s interesting to see how responsiveness can be developed – encourages conversation. in reply to micsmit3 #
Canhazbroadband – nice @virginmedia engineer found faulty connection between me and their kerbside box, now fixed. Thanks, @sdrb #
@by_tor I’m pretty sure I got their attention because I’m ‘known’, but think the fact they are listening at all is a *good* thing. in reply to by_tor #
@by_tor Big companies need to learn how to engage with the ‘former audience’, and small steps will help. So I’ll give them +1 for now.. in reply to by_tor #
Quiet evening planned. And needed. And, I think, deserved. #
Interesting day, and now @lorddrayson and @RNLIrescues are following me… it’s a strange ‘verse, peeps, a very strange ‘verse. #
@JemStone @gargano and the quote I once heard from a russion historian: ‘the past is worryingly unpredictable’! #
@Documentally what about adding a cafe corretto too, for that early morning kick? in reply to Documentally #
Raining and dull outside, coffee and papers inside. That will work. #
RT @sizemore: Picked up the UK Wired preview i. Couldn’t be more underwhelmed. I’ll be buying a copy as soon as I get a Sinclair C5. [:-)] #
@jjn1 Ask instead ‘did I really need to DO all this stuff?’ Sometimes I look on old proceedings and despair… in reply to jjn1 #
@kcorrick WiredUK might come into it’s own, but as a Guardian/Wired survivor I have my doubts this time around too. in reply to kcorrick #
@kcorrick @suw not sure about launch date – @sizemore picked up a preview (where? more there?) in reply to kcorrick #
RT @MTRainey: @billt Wired is sampled with today’s Times #
Beer and opera- Das Rheingold live from the Met on R3. Works for me. #
@ivan007 sorry to hear. We shouldn’t be dying yet- any of us. in reply to ivan007 #
@charlesarthur worth asking whose agenda is supported by promoting idea it is official Chinese botnet. in reply to charlesarthur #
@charlesarthur maybe it is investigative reporting by Chinese news agency 🙂 in reply to charlesarthur #
Trying to care about G20 but can’t even summon up energy for cynical blog post. #
@holychic are you going to come over for it? I’m going to be on one of the morning panels… in reply to holychic #
Watching the boy doing his textiles coursework – making a jacket. Deadline imminent. #
RT @felix_cohen: More than anything, this highlights how out of touch with the internet the smiths must be. Paying for porn?! (brilliant!) #
@girlonetrack good point… or perhaps they’d been downloading to many torrented U2 albums and pre-release movies 🙂 in reply to girlonetrack #
RT @bbcentertain: Tony Christie,famous for (Is This The Way To) Amarillo is to appear at this year’s Glasto [can you say ‘jump the shark’?] #
A lovely summery afternoon, and the boy is sewing away at his textile project 🙂 #
@ivan007 I’ll take that as a compliment. As the alternative would require me to come down to Brighton and punch you! 🙂 in reply to ivan007 #
The boycanhazjacket – textiles work coming together at last, thanks to advice from good friend KT. http://twitpic.com/2knkl #
Amazed by how hard the boy worked on his jacket (textiles gcse coursework) today. And tomorrow it’s Art GCSE exam.. Exhausted on his behalf. #

March 24, 2009

Remembering my old teacher on Ada Lovelace Day

This blog post has been written to celebrate Ada Lovelace Day, “an international day of blogging to draw attention to women excelling in technology”. You can find more blog posts at the Ada Lovelace Day Collection.

Martin Belam has a much more thorough and better-written explanation of why Karen was important on his blog.

Karen Spärck Jones

The Diploma in Computer Science, originally the Diploma in Numerical Analysis and Automatic Computing, was the world’s first full-year taught qualification in the newly emerging discipline of computing when the Cambridge University’s Mathematical Laboratory, home of the EDSAC stored program digital computer, introduced it in 1953.

At the time EDSAC was being used by mathematicians, engineers and even biochemists to carry out ground-breaking work that required more computational power than even a legion of dedicated graduate students could provide, and it was felt appropriate to offer formal training in the principles of programming as well as the specifics of writing code for the valve-based monster that occupied most of a large room in the centre of Cambridge.

The Diploma is no more, having fallen victim to the reshaping of post-graduate qualifications that has taken place over the last few years, and was conferred for the last time in 2008, but when I arrived to begin the course in the autumn of 1983 it was thriving, a space in which those in possession of maths ‘A’ level (or equivalent) and a first degree could be inducted into the arcana of the computing world.

We covered databases with Ken Moody, graphics with Neil Wiseman, programming languages with Martin Richards, artificial intelligence with Bill Clocksin, operating systems with Roger Needham – and information science and natural language processing with Karen Spärck Jones who is the woman in technology I’d like to draw to your attention on Ada Lovelace Day.

My first degree was in philosophy and psychology, so I had a natural affinity with the material she covered, and I was impressed from the very start by her ability to convey these complex topics to a disparate bunch of beginners drawn from many disciplines.

I didn’t know it at the time, but Karen and Roger Needham were married, two lives dedicated to the academic discipline of computer science and to pushing forward the capabilities of digital technologies. Her work on information retrieval underpins modern search engines, while the field of natural language processing owes much to her research in the area.

I also didn’t know that she too had read philosophy at Cambridge before moving into computing, or that she had worked at the Cambridge Language Research Unit with Margaret Masterman, a student of Wittgenstein’s, but these shared intellectual roots may explain something of her importance to me as a teacher in that formative year.

I completed the Diploma and went to work for a small software house in Cambridge, writing as a freelance for various publications. Eventually I was writing for The Guardian and working for PIPEX, one of the UK’s first ISPs, and in the mid ‘90s the two tracks came together when I set up The Guardian’s New Media Lab, making use of my computing skills and my journalistic background as managing editor, chief programmer and systems administrator for the first Guardian website. She continued her academic work, and was eventually given a personal chair as Professor of Computers and Information.

Our paths crossed from time to time over the years, including the occasions when I was working in the library at the Computer Lab and at the celebrations for the 50th anniversary of EDSAC which she organised in 1999, and we would say hello but I was not in her circle of friends. She was sometimes around when I visited Wolfson College, where she was a Fellow, to hang out with my fellow hack John Naughton, so we’d share a few words. I saw Roger more often in my capacity as a journalist and friend of the labs – you never get Cambridge’s claws out entirely.

Karen died of cancer two years ago, and I was privileged to be asked to write her obituary for The Times. I had written Roger’s in 2003, so it seemed fitting. Writing the obituary of someone who has inspired you is hard, because there’s always the danger that your sentiment will lead you to overstate the significance of their achievement. With Karen Spärck Jones there was no danger of that.

In 2007 she was the first woman to be awarded the Lovelace Medal by the British Computer Society, so it seems appropriate that I should write about her on Ada Lovelace Day.

Karen Spärck Jones, computer scientist, was born on August 26, 1935. She died of cancer on April 4, 2007, aged 71. You can read her obituary in The Times, and if you find yourself at Wolfson College, Cambridge, you can browse through her personal library on the shelves in the Karen Spärck Jones room, just beside the porter’s lodge.

This is an ALD09post for Ada Lovelace Day. Find out more at:

http://findingada.com

http://www.pledgebank.com/AdaLovelaceDay

http://twitter.com/FindingAda

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/findingada

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=47550446005

March 22, 2009

Twitter Weekly Updates for 2009-03-22

Heading out for a relatively quiet & pressure free day – #diigitalplanet done without me this week as they are at #sxsw while I have a life! #
@sleepydog happy birthday to you, too! [See how Twitter has replaced Facebook as the space for this?] #
@Suw always put ‘read to do list’ at top of to do list, do that first, tick it off, feel better… in reply to Suw #
Been reflecting on @cshirky’s essay on newspapers http://snurl.com/dxbx9 and I think we ask what journalism is for: http://snurl.com/dxbwj #
@hairydalek thanks – rebooted! in reply to hairydalek #
Just declared Bloglines bankruptcy and marked all as read in my feeds. It was the only way. #
@spraveenitpro it feels good! in reply to spraveenitpro #
@rooreynolds say hello to @cshirky from me! in reply to rooreynolds #
Been such a lovely evening with @mattkelland and @bluemaiya. wecanhazbooze! #
@Whatleydude the nice people who rip them as torrents do that for you, don’t you find.. another reason the legit channels fail customers! in reply to Whatleydude #
Bit of rushing around this morning, afternoon doing Film Festival planning at the Picturehouse and coffee with @kiwanja. Works for me. #
Breakfast with the boy at ‘Skivers’, our local cafe, after a successful interview for VIth form (him, not me!) #
@davidjs_uk I’d be proud to be patron of burblr.com 🙂 in reply to davidjs_uk #
Good time at the Picturehouse, now off to BBC Cambs to record a short piece on behavioural ads for tomorrow’s Media Show. #
RT @amonck: My two cents on Clay Shirky and newspapers http://bit.ly/17HoE8 #
@darrenwaters there’s never enough to say about it surely? 🙂 in reply to darrenwaters #
@jjn1 I’ll see your MP3 and raise you a video of James Boyle at the RSA – http://tinyurl.com/cjcj39 🙂 in reply to jjn1 #
Home and uploading videos for a project I worked on last month. So dull my brain may explode. #
Waking up to begin the day – unlike the #sxsw brits who all seem to have partied and crashed… #
I dreamed about a film festival with @sizemore & @documentally, and ended up actually planning this year’s Cambridge Festival. Thanks, guys! #
Swinging by @cambsartphouse, then off to @WysingArtsCentr for lunch and plotting. #
Fun at Wysing, now off to town – maybe the @cambsartsphouse again! #
Home, fish&chips, beer, season 1 of IT Crowd. Me and the boy are content. #
@sunildvr Deep Blue in Sawston… was Jack’s, still pretty good. in reply to sunildvr #
Pleased that @O2UKOfficial managed to sort me out with 02 – will be staying with them for a while longer. Nice to see they are listening. #
Early start tomorrow so will call it a day. Or night. #
Onto the 0645 and off to London. Sans coffee, sans wits, sans everything. #
@dgwbirch good luck- hope my post on the topic gives you hope that *journalism* might survive the end of newspapers! in reply to dgwbirch #
Off to British library for coffee and book plotting. #
Lunch at St Pancras. No passport so can’t nip over to Paris. Shame. #
Betjeman Arms -lovely spot. http://twitpic.com/28rcw #
@DCEFrance Lunch was nice, but would have rather been eating brie and baguette in paris, it’s true… another time! in reply to DCEFrance #
Completely unable to focus on anything this afternoon – early start, sunshine and I’m useless for the whole day. Hey ho. #
Upstairs at the Three Kings in Clerkenwell for openDemocracy event. Canhazbeer. http://twitpic.com/291zh #
Heading home. Tired. #
Waiting for 2115 at KX as the 2152 gets in only 3 mins earlier! Fun time talking database state with openDemocracy crew. #
@rohan_london do you trust your social network to tell you whether Dr Atomic is good, though? in reply to rohan_london #
Another day in London, recording #digitalplanet in advance as @garethm is away next week, then back for birthday supper with my daughter 🙂 #
@davidjwbailey we’ll have to find another excuse for a drink, and soon. in reply to davidjwbailey #
@emilybell I’m trying to be surprised by news that bankers are deceitful and underhand…:-) in reply to emilybell #
@Documentally is that ‘arrived at tuttle’ or ‘feel compelled to tuttle’:-) in reply to Documentally #
Speeding to Kings X and thence to Studio S6 (thanks for headsup @garethm) for early #digitalplanet recording. Don’t start without me… #
@samdownie tragically I am otherwise engaged so can’t make the tweetup… try @garethm! in reply to samdownie #
Evening draws on and I’m out to birthday supper with my girl… no doubt there will be maudlin tweets later. #
@jonhansen It’s my daughter’s 18th… far more important than *my*birthday… will pass on good wishes! in reply to jonhansen #
@BrightMeadow I’ll help. Complete BSG moratorium needed or else! in reply to BrightMeadow #
Lovely evening, now time to crash. #
@avantgame with you in the desperate need to avoid BSG spoilers. Can’t believe that its over, but it’s been a great journey. So say we all. in reply to avantgame #
Closing Twhirl until I’ve seen BSG E20. It’s been a long journey and I’m not risking anyspoilers! See you on the other side, ‘verse. #
about to watch the final episode of BSG. Silence please – but will be back in the fray tomorrow. #
BSG is done. And so am I. No spoilers but I am content. #
@emilybell agree that there are things that need ‘journalism’ more now than ever,and we need structures to deliver them. Need to create them in reply to emilybell #
Off to bed and to ponder the nature of things. #
@stephenfry just heard the rainforest appeal, which was eloquent & compelling -money on the way, you persuasive man! http://snurl.com/ebefw in reply to stephenfry #
Another sunny day here; another reason to feel hopeful. in reply to Joscelyn #
@LesleySmith happy to discuss BSG away from those who might be distressed by spoilers, but I think all was wrapped up that needed to be. in reply to LesleySmith #
@parkylondon might be: @kashaziz Emirates airliner evacuated at Londons Gatwick Airport after report of suspicious device on board in reply to parkylondon #
@berbank I donated online via Firefox and didn’t get an error… interesting. in reply to berbank #
Back from town and time to do some housework and chivvy the boy about GCSE coursework/revision. The fun of it. #
More birthday champagne for the girl http://twitpic.com/2cku4 #
@smagdali isohunt.com provided for me. Not at home but can email link later in reply to smagdali #
@derots the ASCII art was made by http://www.glassgiant.com/ascii/ – nice and easy! in reply to derots #
Home, and writing. Still pondering BSG and feeling it was a good as I thought it was. May now have to begin watching from the start again. #
@flipperville there will be no BSG spoilers from me, by the gods, but I assure you the final episode delivers. in reply to flipperville #
@sam_burnett never miss it… in reply to sam_burnett #
@Intellagirl ““[Writing] will introduce forgetfulness into the soul of those who learn it” http://snurl.com/ec1es – any help? in reply to Intellagirl #
@steiny if you can get out to Sawston you’re welcome here – have to drive back in to Cam at 0800 tomorrow am… in reply to steiny #

March 20, 2009

Worming our way out of trouble

[As ever, this is on the BBC News website for your delectation and delight]

The Conficker worm will be active again on April 1st, according to an analysis of its most recent variant, Conficker.C, by the net security firm CA.

This malicious piece of software, also known as Downup, Downadup and Kido, spreads among computers running most variants of the Windows operating system and turns them into nodes on a multi-million member ‘botnet’ of zombie computers that can be controlled remotely by the worm’s as yet unidentified authors.

Since it first appeared last October it has apparently infected over fifteen million computers around the internet, though even that number is no more than an educated guess because the worm works very hard to disguise its presence on a PC.
Conficker spreads through a security vulnerability in the Windows Server Service that allows a carefully written program to persuade the attacked computer to run malicious code instead of the Microsoft-written software.

Continue reading “Worming our way out of trouble”

March 17, 2009

What I’ve tweeted on 2009-03-17

Heading out for a relatively quiet & pressure free day – #diigitalplanet done without me this week as they are at #sxsw while I have a life! #
@sleepydog happy birthday to you, too! [See how Twitter has replaced Facebook as the space for this?] #
@Suw always put ‘read to do list’ at top of to do list, do that first, tick it off, feel better… in reply to Suw #
Been reflecting on @cshirky’s essay on newspapers http://snurl.com/dxbx9 and I think we ask what journalism is for: http://snurl.com/dxbwj #
@hairydalek thanks – rebooted! in reply to hairydalek #
Just declared Bloglines bankruptcy and marked all as read in my feeds. It was the only way. #
@spraveenitpro it feels good! in reply to spraveenitpro #
@rooreynolds say hello to @cshirky from me! in reply to rooreynolds #
Been such a lovely evening with @mattkelland and @bluemaiya. wecanhazbooze! #

March 16, 2009

Take Two Steps Back: A Society Gets the Journalism it Deserves

[This is a response in part to Clay Shirky’s recent essay, Newspapers and Thinking the Unthinkable. Update: Jemimah Knigh has a lovely meditation on the past and future of papers on her blog.]

When printing with movable type was introduced to Europe by Gutenberg and refined by Caxton it began a revolution that encompassed the Reformation, the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution and laid the ground work for the current transformation being driven by science-based technologies, a transformation that is increasingly predicated on technology-based science as we benefit from one of those virtuous circles that occasionally catapults our species into an unexpected future.

For the past half-millennium printed books and their offspring, pamphlets and newspapers and magazines, have done the heavy lifting in the trade in ideas, spreading new theories and doctrines and ideologies around, and even offering their services to religion, mysticism and the anti-scientists who would undo all that western culture has achieved.

Analogue electronic media, in the form of television and radio, managed to complement print for a century or so although their role in the formation of ideologies and the distribution of ideas was clearly subsidiary to that of print. Televison and radio news still largely takes its agenda from that set by the print media, and the fact that we still remark on those few significant cultural highlights that are native to the broadcast world, like The Sopranos or ER, shows their failure to displace the printed text and the performed playscript in the broader cultural field.

Continue reading “Take Two Steps Back: A Society Gets the Journalism it Deserves”

March 16, 2009

What I’ve tweeted on 2009-03-16

Sun shine outside, coffee and radio inside, and a promising day ahead. #
“If you want to follow us on Twitter… you can’t” Paddy O’Connell on Broadcasting House, R4… 🙂 #
@johnpopham @robertbrook Ok – how sad are we all? in reply to johnpopham #
Off to town to buy birthday presents for the girl 🙂 #
@MattKelland your hotel has a tart? What service! [cu tomorrow?] in reply to MattKelland #
Quick break in shopping frenzy, but shecanhazprezzies 🙂 #
@jameskramone fair tracing project – http://web4.cs.ucl.ac.uk/staff/C.Wallenta/fairtracingblog/ in reply to jameskramone #
Back from town, briefly, but can’t face proper work. will do some ‘planning’ 😉 #
@wefollow #writer #critic #hack #
@ewanspence @davedelaney out of work / divorced / usually pissed / he aimed / low in life/ and missed [Roger McGough] in reply to ewanspence #
@GarethM but you *do* have a nice voice. And you’re a clean and presentable young man… in reply to GarethM #
@cambridgekeith there is nothing to fathom out about Twitter. It is what is appears to be, surface only. A platform to stand on, no more. in reply to cambridgekeith #
@davidwilcox been saying the same thing for a long time. But need to see journalism as an epiphenomenon of certain types of society. in reply to davidwilcox #
Sleep beckons. I wave. #

March 15, 2009

What I’ve tweeted on 2009-03-15

@O2UKOfficial my email is [email protected] 🙂 in reply to O2UKOfficial #
Planning a quiet day. #
@radioproducer have a great time at Maker Faire… sorry I can’t be there too. in reply to radioproducer #
RT @_ade: Permanently referring all people with delusions of self importance to Voyager 1’s Pale Blue Dot photograph. http://is.gd/njkj #
@CassieRobinson that’s such bad news – I’m sorry. Having car stolen is an awful thing. in reply to CassieRobinson #
@Eaterofsun Ah you know how to cheer up my saturday, oh two-headed one! Just trying to get life in perspective. in reply to Eaterofsun #
Failing to come up with a way to organise the content I have to put on a project website. Need pencil and paper to do it properly. #
@bobbyllew people’s inability to ask hard questions – or to consider the broader issue of ‘charity’- always bothers me. You hang in there! in reply to bobbyllew #
RT @BrianPike: Conclude from silence on Twitter that rest of humanity wiped out by sudden plague or suchlike. Off to loot shops. [ 🙂 ] #
@smithsky1979 am always impressed by your fabulousness, in all areas of activity! in reply to smithsky1979 #
@crystaltips try not to leap onto the stage just so you can touch him! in reply to crystaltips #
@crystaltips 🙂 But you need to soak it in underarm sweat first! in reply to crystaltips #
@onthefarm whiskey, honey and lemon… call it a ‘flubuster’? in reply to onthefarm #
Thinking about William Blake and what he would have made of the Internet. #
@girlonetrack well done! I’m sure you were a star, despite the queasiness! in reply to girlonetrack #
@drewston oh very droll!! You kids will never know the joy of a properly sharpened 2B pencil and a sheet of cartridge paper 🙂 in reply to drewston #
@reddalek so wrong! Blake would have embraced the internet and turned to pixels and bits instead of inks and acids! in reply to reddalek #
RT @crystaltips: Trying to find popcorn machine by smell & just walked through someone’s huge fart [and people say Twitter isn’t profound!} #
@JemStone @Cybersoc unless police notice untaxed car on road… in reply to JemStone #
Drinking champagne and listening to opera on R3. Spent whole day in my dressing gown and did some useful work Bliss. #
I’ve just installed Twitter Tools on my blog… not sure it if will do things I want it to.. let’s see #
@cubicgarden there is no preparation for newcastle on a sat night except being born there (which I was)… good luck in reply to cubicgarden #

March 12, 2009

Tomorrow’s Culture, Today

[As ever, you can read this on the BBC News website, and follow the debate on the Pixel Palace site]

I had one of the strangest experiences of my online life last Friday evening in the bar of the Tyneside Cinema in Newcastle, and while I’m still not sure what it means I enjoyed it, in a odd sort of way.

It came at the end of a conference on the future of cinemas and other artistic venues in a digital world, while we were enjoying a DJ set from Captain Buck Rogers. The music we were listening to was being streamed live into the virtual world of Second Life, and being played out in replica of the renowned Baltic Mill gallery, situated on a newly-opened virtual Tyneside island developed by a local company, Vector 76.

Avatars from around the world were dancing to the music we could hear, while we watched them projected onto the wall of the cinema bar, so I got out my laptop, logged in to Second Life and made my way to the virtual Baltic, where I joined in the dancing.

I could see my avatar moving around on the screen of my computer, but I was also clearly visible among the crowd projected onto the wall, dancing like every teenager’s embarrassing dad in cyberspace while drinking a deliciously cold beer in the real world.

Continue reading “Tomorrow’s Culture, Today”