Coventry University is soon to be launching the new “Make It Happen” scheme to help graduates become business owners. The University is teaming up with FlyingStart to provide specialist advice and funding over the course of the first 12 months of a student starting up their own business.

This initiative has been concocted in an attempt to counteract unemployment amongst university graduates, which has been steadily rising in recent years. According to the Higher Education Statistics Agency, rates of graduates being unemployed have risen by a third this year and the situation is steadily growing worse.

Dragon’s Den Star Imran Hakin commented earlier in the year that: “I wish there were initiatives like The Flying Start – Make it Happen programme available when I first started off” An open day allowing students to register is scheduled to be held in Coventry University’s George Elliot Building between 1pm-4pm on December 2nd.

This is a major opportunity for you to explore the possibility and then get the support, guidance and funding” says Dr Marks Evans, Associate Dean of Coventry University, with high hopes that the scheme will prove to be a success, adding some much needed stability to the higher education system, which so many potential students have lost faith in.

By Ryan Brailsford

Sources: http://www.hesa.ac.uk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1197&Itemid=266
http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Nl1/Newsroom/DG_180770

Thiết kế web ‘đen’ ngày càng được ưa chuộng và trở nên phổ biến, sáng tạo và lôi cuốn. Chúng cũng rất thích hợp cho nhiều loại công việc, tuy nhiên chúng thích hợp cho một số trang web và chỉ nên sử dụng khi mà thích hợp. Có những thiết kế tạo ra ấn tượng tốt cho khách hàng, song có nhiều nhà thiết kế không biết làm thế nào để tạo hiệu quả cho khách truy cập. Một thiết kế web màu tối có thể đọc dễ hơn, song nó không phải màu hấp dẫn đối với hầu hết các độc giả và đây là loại web ít thấy trong các cách thiết kế web truyền thống.

Trong bài này,chúng tôi sẽ thảo luận về một số mẹo để thiết kế web màu tối tạo hấp dẫn nhiều đối tượng hơn; và tất nhiên, như những bài viết khác, chúng tôi mong rằng nhận được sự chia sẻ của độc giả tới Dyelvn.com

Một cuộc thăm dò gần đây cho thấy, các thiết kế màu sáng được ưa thích tới 47%. Lý do chính là dễ đọc. Hầu hết mọi người không thích xem văn bản sáng trên một nền tối tại các trang web, vì nó giống mắt của họ, làm cho họ cảm thấy ít  thú vị. Ngược lại, 10% những người được khảo sát cho biết họ luôn ưu tiên nền tối cho các trang web, trong khi 36% nói rằng phụ thuộc vào nội dung web đưa ra. Vậy, câu trả lời đúng là gì? Nhắc tới đó, mọi người đều có quan điểm riêng.

Nhưng với những tỉ lệ phần trăm lớn hơn, người dùng nói rằng trang web được thiết kế tối có thể chấp nhận được và đôi khi thậm chí được ưa thích, chúng tôi cũng như những nhà thiết kế web tìm hiểu để tạo ra mẫu thiết kế web tối hiệu quả cho bản thân và cho khách hàng của chúng tôi. Điều này có nghĩa là thuyết phục tất cả các độc giả là thực sự nền của trang web tối có thể thiết kễ dễ đọc và thân thiện hơn.

#1 Sử dụng thêm khoảng trắng

Nó nên đươc gọi là “màu đen không gian” (khoảng đen). Hiệu quả sử dụng các khoảng trắng rất quan trọng đối với bất kỳ một loại thiết kế nào. Nhưng đó là điều cần thiết đối với các trang web nền tối. Thiết kế tối thực sự đang là một trào lưu, nếu biết kết hợp những yếu tố đó lại thì thực sự bạn sẽ tạo ra một ấn tượng. Hãy xem một số mẫu thiết kế tối phổ biến dưới đây và lưu ý tới việc sử dụng những khoảng trắng mang lại hiệu quả rất lớn.

Estate Black

Thực sự là một thiết kế đẹp và xứng đáng nhận được sự chú ý. Một số lượng lớn khoảng trắng được sử dụng trong thiết kế, và điều duy nhất để thiết kế này trở nên đặc biệt là các khoảng trắng được sử dụng để phác thảo một vài yếu tố để có hiệu quả hơn. Logo có rất nhiều khoảng trắng xung quanh, và đó là điều đầu tiên chúng tôi thấy cũng như là khách truy cập. Như bạn thấy, khoảng trắng được sử dụng hoàn nào để làm nổi bật tiêu đề và nội dung chính của văn bản.

I am waiting rather impatiently for the December 1st green light to head over to Kitsilano Secondary to purchase our spruce or fir. The scent is intoxicating and every year we add a new decoration or two to the branches and add half a foot in height it seems. A cut tree is not cheap, and purchasing it from students in a basketball court while it’s raining is definitely different than trudging in the snow wielding an axe. But that smell…no matter how realistic they are constructed, the artificial petroleum alternatives leave me cold. Also, a Christmas tree is essentially a crop, grown on a tree farm and replenished each year. Occasional pangs of guilt are involved with cutting down a tree that gave 6-12 years of its growth for one month of pageantry. Yet tradition is hard to break, and trimming the tree brings such joy and evenings curled up in front of the beauty. Do you feel conflicted too? Two UBC forestry graduates have come up with a brilliant solution: Evergrow. Based in Burnaby, Sean Macalister and Jeff Ferguson started Evergrow earlier this year, a live tree rental service focused on earth friendliness and convenience. All trees are grown and nurtured in the Fraser Valley, with the idea that each tree will experience multiple holidays before outgrowing pots and graduating to the ground. The public is able to rent a tree for up to three weeks with the click of a button.

The only catch I see is hefty: $90 to $150 (plus $50 security deposit) depending on variety and size. The totals quoted on the site do include the fact that these trees need year-round nursery care before they make their way to your doorstep, as well as both delivery and post-holiday pick-up fees. It really bites the bullet that being eco-conscious always seems to cost an arm and a leg. It is a hard sell when someone enjoys weaving through rows of trees to hand-pick their perfect Charlie Brown greenery, and when the kind volunteers at Kitsilano Secondary offer to swing by your place at the end of the night with your tree. Not to mention the fact that Ikea boasts trees for $20 a pop with a $20 coupon as a reward, so it feels like a free tree. And you cannot really fault Ikea for this marketing plan to get people shopping in the slow months with their tree rebate; for every tree part of the sale goes towards planting new crops via Tree Canada.

Rent a designer handbag. Rent a wedding dress. Rent a tree. Accumulate less but keep the experience intact. Something to ponder while I pull out the ribbon and glue gun for a decoration-making blitz. What do you do each year? Mix it up (do you decorate your fern or spray paint a branch silver)? Ban all trees? Pull out the faker that pops open like an umbrella? Carry a fresh cut tree on your shoulders?

Vanity Fair has a fascinating article by Nick Tosches where he goes on a journey in search of an opium den, which takes him all over the world, including Hong Kong and the Golden Triangle. He’s in search of a ‘perfect drug’, but also enlightenment and most importantly of all, life.

The last known opium den in New York was a second-floor tenement apartment at 295 Broome Street, between Forsyth and Eldridge Streets, at the northeastern edge of Chinatown. It was run by the apartment’s tenant, a Chinese immigrant named Lau, who was 57 when the joint got raided and his ass got hauled away. There were a few old pipes and lamps, 10 ounces of opium. And 40 ounces of heroin. The date was June 28, 1957. That was it. The end of the final relic of a bygone day.

I was assured by friends and contacts around the world that the same ouroboros had wound through every continent. Even in Asia, I was told, the opium dens had vanished within the last 20 years. It was the same story, even in the most corrupt and lawless of lands: the old smokers had died off, the kids wanted the rush, the drug lords wanted to keep it that way. Old and young who had lived their lives in these places, old and young who had looked upon and skulked through this world as had Sir Richard Burton. Sinners and saints, lawmen and criminals, drug addicts and scholars, lunatics and seekers. They all told me the same: there ain’t no such thing no more; them days are gone.

But I could not believe it. I would not believe it.

The story he tells is absolutely captivating and the writing style is brilliant. I loved the spiritual depth he went into in the article despite, or perhaps because of, the grittiness of his journey.

Nick Tosches on Opium Dens [Vanity Fair]

Global Entrepreneurship Week is Officially here!!!

I have had the pleasure of attending the launch event at the British Library where entrepreneurial titans voiced their opinions on why entrepreneurship is essential to UK productivity and growth. There were interesting insights from Julie Meyer Founder of Ariadne Capital and Peter Jones TV Dragon, to name a few.

So I urge you to check out the latest events in your locality and get involved in exploring the benefits of enterprising behavior for your community and beyond!

Master bedroom (17 x 13 sq ft)

Master bedroom with striped paint wall

Master bedroom windows let in lots of light

Master bedroom windows at sunset

Master bedroom triple sliding closets with built-in shelving

Master bedroom windows in the evening

Second bedroom (12 x 11 sq ft)

Bedroom two with sliding glass door

Bedroom two

Bedroom two with sliding glass door to outside catwalk

Bedroom two with full wall of closets with built-in shelving

Third bedroom/den/office (10 x 10 sq ft)

Den, office or third bedroom with cork floors and glass sliding door out to catwalk/deck

Den, office or third bedroom with built-in desk area and TV shelf

Den, office or third bedroom, with sitting area, overlooking entry

Den, office or third bedroom with built-in desk/closet area and TV shelf (at night)

Bathrooms

The “blue” bathroom (complete with blue tub) is upstairs. The “yellow” bathroom is downstairs in the entry area.

Blue bathroom (original porcelain floor tile); blue tub /shower and linen closet opposite vanity

Blue bathroom window overlooking catwalk and front yard

Blue bathroom original mosaic tile countertop

"Yellow" full bath downstairs - great opportunity to give this your own touches

"Yellow" full bath downstairs with blue slate floor and terrazzo shower base.

When a something in your home become so overwhelming all you can do is shut the door and ignore it, then its time to call in a professional to help.  With the blessing of some dear friends of mine, I would like to share before and after photos of their projects.  To help you understand the before pictures, please recognize that this couple is working full-time, starting their own business, and attending school full-time.  Life for them is running at a thousand miles per hour, and taking time to tackle a project like this was at the bottom of the “to do” list, yet at the top of the stress list.  Often our most stressful things in life, are the ones we don’t have the time to tackle.

The great thing about this project is that I was able to work with them through the entire planning phase, but then complete the project almost without their help entirely, and then hand them the finished product.  And for the OCD in me, it was pure joy!  In planning the project, which included organizing two bedrooms in the house, we quickly realized that the function of the two rooms in question needed to be switched.  The larger bedroom was being used for a guest room, while the smaller bedroom was functioning as an office/den.  In switching the purposes of the rooms, we gave the office/den a much larger area (which will allow for the future purchase of a larger desk) and put the guest quarters in a smaller, but less used room.  I promise their guests will not know the difference.

Den room before making it guest room.

Guest room after shot

So here are the before and after pictures to share.  This was such a fun project and gave me some great ideas for suggestions to pass along. They are as follows:

1. Re-evaluate the use for each room in the house.  Like my friends, are you saving your best room for guests, and using your smallest room every day? Why!? This is your home, your castle.  Utilize the rooms as they work best for you.  Your guests (the few times they stay) will not mind a bed tucked into the corner of a seldom used, smaller room.  Re-claim what you need to make life easier for you.

Guest room before the swap

2. Plan. Plan. Plan.  By taking an entire day before the project to plan we were able to start and finish this room swap in two days, including the painted accent walls, and re-organized closets.  But planning was an entire day of working with them on what they wanted along with my suggestions on how the rooms should be set up.  We measured every piece of furniture and sketched the rooms on graph paper to get a feel for dimensions.

We also needed to plan what items needed to be stored in each of the room closets.  Additionally the function of the den/office needed to be very specific given the fact that they are launching a new business and needed lots of paperwork at their fingertips and a filing system that would work for them at this time until they grow larger.

3. Plan decorating into your organizing.  In this case, my friends knew they wanted accent walls in the rooms, but had never had the time to paint.  Since we were effectively emptying the rooms to make the move, it was the best time to take advantage of the empty room, and paint accent walls.  My friends selected a paint color and purchased the paint prior to my arrival, which also made the project go much smoother.

4. Lastly, structure the physical move and coordinate it with the organization of the rooms.  In this case we moved all large furniture into the living room, then moved the large pieces into their new rooms, and covered them prior to painting.  All other items stayed out of the rooms.  Only after the paint was dry and all large pieces of furniture were arranged, did I begin to tackle the organization of all the smaller things.  By having the larger pieces in place, I was able to effectively put stuff away and organize as I went.  Trying to organize first, then move furniture would have made the project much more difficult.

I hope this inspires you to tackle something that feels overwhelming.  In just two days, we took a lot of stress off this couple and their home feels new again!  Plan. Plan. Plan.  And you too can rejuvenate your home and reclaim space!

Don’t Agonize, Organize!

Op woensdagavond 25 november organiseren Erfgoed Nederland en de Reinwardt Academie de maandelijkse Erfgoedarena. Het thema is dit keer “Digitaal erfgoed, subsidiabel of niet?”

Op 27 oktober 2009 hebben Jantje Steenhuis (BRAIN) en Marco de Niet (DEN) een petitie overhandigd aan de Kamercommissie OCW. De petitie was het initiatief van zes koepelinstellingen uit de culturele/erfgoed-sector en vormt een protest tegen de zware korting op de middelen voor een nationale kennisinfrastructuur in het erfgoed.

In deze erfgoedarena gaat het niet over de vraag of die bezuinigingen terecht zijn of niet, maar welk beleid de overheid hier moet voeren. Moeten zij zich richten op een goede digitale infrastructuur of op de bevordering van visie en deskundigheid over het opereren in een digitale samenleving?

Bijdragen worden geleverd door:

• Marco de Niet, Directeur Stichting Digitaal Erfgoed Nederland
• Eric Kluitenberg, mediatheoreticus, schrijver en organisator van projecten rond cultuur en technologie
• De derde spreker is nog onbekend

Het debat vindt plaats onder leiding van Léontine Meijer–van Mensch, docent Erfgoedtheorie en ethiek aan de Reinwardt Academie.

Het debat begint om 20.00 uur in de Reinwardt Academie te Amsterdam. Deelname is gratis en aanmelden kan via de website van Erfgoed Nederland. Meer informatie te vinden over het thema, locatie en aanvangstijd is eveneens daar te vinden.

It’s been almost five months since I’ve bought my new house.  I’ve slowly been working on redoing my basement.  I am turning it into my studio/den.  I still need to get another bookcase to go on the right side of my tv.  Plus, a couple of comfy armchairs.  The old ugly wooden cabinet has been painted white and now holds my art supplies. Also, the old ugly wet bar has been ripped out and the new smaller sink shall be finished off within the week. My basement is almost ready and I’m so happy with how well it’s turning

For someone who loves to cook I don’t seem to have many cookbooks, but what I do own I read like paperback novels. There are the classics (Joy of Cooking), the nouveau classics (Bon Appetit, Jamie, or Canadian Living’s “tested till perfect” series), and the niche of restaurant owners and bloggers turned recipe auteurs (Rebar: Modern Food, or the recently purchased Super Natural Cooking come to mind). The online treasure trove of recipes available for print cuts down on the obsessive purchasing of more books than my shelves can support. However, the abundance of creative and clever cookbooks and entertaining guides is starting to become too difficult to resist. I can’t pass a bookstore without leafing through Amy Sedaris’ I Like You: Hospitality Under the Influence. I mean, you can actually learn a thing or two from this very cheeky guide to hostessing.

Some other flights of artistry that come to mind:

Canadian illustrator and food blogger Pierre Lamielle’s quirky Kitchen Scraps is stuffed full of illustrations straight out of a Roald Dahl-Quentin Blake oven. Each recipe is matched with a tale bound to spark your culinary imagination.

Heston Blumenthal’s The Big Fat Duck Cookbook is both autobiography of one of America’s most revered restaurateurs and a full-on love letter to the cookbook fiend. I don’t think I could actually cook a single thing out of this 10-pound volume with my regular kitchen gadgets, but the daydreaming that ensues from flipping through this beast is just as rewarding. (I must warn it is a wallet wounder).

Jennifer McLagan’s Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient has topped many a hit-lists for her detailed research paired with gorgeous recipes to highlight the role of fat in our diets, and the fantastical ways in which it can be used in the kitchen.

Virtuele reconstructie van Pompeï met behulp van CityEngine-software ©DEN

Op vrijdag 6 november 2009 organiseert het Allard Pierson Museum in samenwerking met DEN een symposium over virtuele reconstructies van historische steden. Tijdens de bijeenkomst zullen negen sprekers uit binnen- en buitenland spreken over de techniek van driedimensionale visualisaties en de praktische toepassing daarvan, in het bijzonder op het gebied van city marketing en erfgoedtoerisme.
Sprekers zijn o.a. Daniël Pletinckx (Visual Dimension bvba, Ename), Bernard Frischer (University of Virginia, Charlottesville) en Pascal Müller (Procedural Inc, Zürich).
Met symposia als deze zet het Allard Pierson Museum (steeds meer) koers richting de actualiteit en vernieuwing, passend bij de status van universitair museum.Aansluitend is het mogelijk de tentoonstelling Toekomst voor het verleden te bezoeken.

Het symposium vindt plaats in het Allard Pierson Museum, Oude Turfmarkt 127, 1012 GC in Amsterdam.

Het programma start om 10.30 uur (zaal open 10.00 uur) en wordt om 16.30 uur afgesloten met een borrel en een gelegenheid om de tentoonstelling Een toekomst voor het verleden te bezoeken. De voertaal van de lezingen is Engels.
Deelname aan de studiedag bedraagt 55 euro (65 euro bij betaling op de dag zelf). Belangstellenden kunnen zich opgeven via den@den.nl.

Kijk voor meer evenementen bij de agenda van DEN. Daar vind je ruim voldoende evenementen voor het komende halfjaar!

Nadat op 27 oktober 2009 de petitie van zes koepelorganisaties tegen de bezuiniging op de middelen voor de nationale kennisinfrstructuur is ingediend, heeft de vaste kamercommissie OCW zich op 2 november gebogen over de cultuurbegroting 2010. Daarbij is de petitie meerdere malen ter sprake gekomen. De kamerleden snapten wel dat bezuinigingen bij OCW nodig zijn, maar vroegen zich af of er op de juiste fronten bezuinigd werd. In het tweede deel van de zitting werden dan ook twee moties ingediend. Daarin werd eveneens geciteerd uit de petitie.

De SP wilde in haar motie de bezuiniging als geheel terugdraaien. De andere motie (PvdA en gesteund door CDA, D’66 en Groen Links) betrof een verzoek aan de minister om te onderzoeken wat de consequenties zijn van deze bezuinigingen, niet alleen op de digitale kennisinfrastructuur, maar ook op de nieuwe innovatieregeling. Aansluitend werd de minister verzocht om op hoofdlijnen aan te geven wat het meerjarig beleid zal zijn op het gebied van innovatie en e-cultuur.

Van klein naar groot, van laag naar hoog
Een onderzoek is soms ook geldverslindend, maar in dit geval nuttig. Zeker omdat het niet alleen om digitalisering maar ook om de innovatieregeling gaat. Op beide gebieden heeft Nederland een (zeer) goede internationale positie. Wanneer die verder kan worden uitgebouwd, heeft dat zeker gunstige gevolgen voor de autoriteit én aantrekkelijkheid van Nederlandse erfgoedinstellingen (en dus het Nederlandse cultureel erfgoed), voor de toeleveranciers (AV, ICT, conceptontwikkelaars) en daardoor voor de beschikbaarheid van mogelijkheden. Daarnaast zijn er grote digitaliseringsprojecten (zoals beelden voor de toekomst, europeana) die hun waarde snel verliezen als de fondsen opdrogen en continuïteit niet meer gewaarborgd is. Tenzij de beschikbare gelden nog slechts naar die projecten gaan, wat een zwaar verlies voor de kleinere instellingen en projecten zal betekenen. En daarmee voor alle betrokkenen op dat gebied.
Net als bij sport geldt ook hier: de top wordt hoger naarmate de basis breder en steviger is.

Onderhoud en continuïteit
De gedachte dat digitalisering bij de erfgoedinstellingen uit hun reguliere geldstroom gefinancierd dient te worden, omdat digitalisering tot hun core business behoort, is nog wel te overwegen. Het is goed als de instellingen er (nog) meer aandacht voor krijgen en digitalisering en ontsluiting van hun collectie integraal inpassen in het beleid van de instelling. Voor zover dat nog niet gebeurt. Maar er is sprake van een gigantische achterstand en er is haast bij het digitaliseren omdat anders zowel collecties als context (mensen die er nog van weten) verloren gaat. Dat terwijl er dagelijks collectie bijkomt. Bedoeling was nu juist die achterstand weg te werken en daarvoor geld uit te trekken. En bij alle plannen voor digitalisering (digitaliseren met beleid) is duurzaamheid, niet alleen bruikbare standaarden, maar ook onderhoud (blijvend toegankelijk, participatie van publiek) en continuïteit een vereiste.

De waarde van creatie
Het belang van de creatieve industrie voor de concurrentiekracht van Nederland is groot, maar kan en moet nog verder toenemen. Dit staat te lezen op de website DeWaardevanCreatie.nl, die onlangs is gelanceerd. Dit als reactie op de beleidsbrief Cultuur en Economie, die op 15 september verstuurd is naar de Tweede Kamer door de ministers Van der Hoeven (EZ) en Plasterk (OCW) en staatssecretaris Heemskerk (EZ), getiteld “Waarde van Creatie”. Hun belangrijkste boodschap: de creatieve industrie moet zich beter organiseren en haar innovatieve vermogen verder aanscherpen. Op mijn (andere) weblog zal ik daar de komende tijd wat vaker aandacht aan besteden. Ik vraag me wel af hoe deze ontwikkelingen zich tot elkaar verhouden.

Daarom is het vooral nodig dat er een beleid voor de komende jaren geformuleerd gaat worden, waarin effecten op de lange termijn zijn meegenomen. Verstandig is om daarbij niet alleen aan de collecties van de erfgoedinstellingen te denken, maar te denken in crossovers met andere sectoren. Daardoor kan innovatiever gewerkt worden, kunnen andere fondsen aangeboord worden, maar stijgt vooral de waarde van zowel de collecties als de kennis daarover. Zoals Dick Rijken op waardevancreatie.nl vertelt: “Betekenis geven. Daarop moet de creatieve sector van Nederland inzetten. Want betekenissen maken, blijken wij als geen ander goed te kunnen.” [...] “Het vormgeven van betekenissen wordt in elke bedrijfstak steeds belangrijker. Belangrijke innovaties binnen de IT gaan over welke betekenis je aan een techniek toevoegt.” [...] “In cross-overs ligt dan ook vaak de oplossing, en daar valt dan ook geld te verdienen. Maar dat kan niet zonder eerst een paar jaar klooien, dat moet. Willen we dus op de lange termijn de betekenissen die we daar vergaren ook internationaal verzilveren, ja, dan zullen we toch eerst in ons land los moeten komen van eiland denken en samenkomen in het laboratorium dat de publieke sector heet.”

lees meer interviews op waarvancreatie.nl

bron: Digitaal Erfgoed Nederland

Hyperlocal issues came up at the last Digital Editors’ Network with talks from PA, MSN Local and myself looking at different aspects of local news and information.

• Tony Johnston from the Press Association gave an in-depth presentation to explain the proposed Public Service Reporting proposal. Most reports on this have concentrated on the potentially massive cost of £18m it would require to roll this out across the country. There’s good reports on this by PaidContent and Journalism.co.uk. I was struck by the potential a scheme like this could offer to hyperlocal site operators. 1. By making material freely available to all (instead of by subscription to newspaper clients), bloggers and independent news sites would have the same verifiable source material as all of the other media outlets so adding the capacity that sites with small staff are crying out for. 2. If it was rolled out across the country then hyperlocal site operators could bid for the tenders and so create a revenue stream for their work as previously unpaid council reporters.
• I felt a wave of unease moving across some of the audience during Alastair Bruce’s presentation about, Microsoft’s local website. As it was reported earlier in the summer, Microsoft is hoping to form partnerships with local newspapers and other news providers to offer its users hyperlocal news within its MSNlocal environments. The fact the site carries property listings in a far more user-friendly, attractive and deeply content rich way than many local newspaper websites looks like it will be a source of disquiet to regional editors. But maybe the stylish way data is visualised – heat maps for crime stats for instance – could be welcomed as providing a stimulus for more creative treatments by newspapers in the future.
• I gave an update on the ongoing research I’ve been doing tracking developments in the hyperlocal sphere with a quick run through of some of the industry moves made in this area over the summer as well as a canter through some hyperlocal and collaborative initiatives which have caught my eye. The full slideshow is available here and, to explain the images, below is a list what struck me about those blogs and sites which led to me including them in the talk.

They Work for You.
Good example of the sort of sites and tools which help people carry out their own investigations or inquiries and track activity of interest to them and/or their networks or communities.
Politics Cymru.
If a service isn’t available – start it. The three Dewis are producing regular vodcasts and blog posts to provide independent news service from the Welsh assembly.
Ventnor Blog.
Husband and wife team use skype to provide coverage of their local council – something they have been doing for a remarkable four years.
Pits ‘n’ Pots.
Also putting the local council under scrutiny and allowing some of the voices not previously heard to have a platform in Stoke on Trent.
Help Me Investigate.
Another example of a site which provides the tools and means for people to undertake their own investigations by collaborating with others.
The Culture Vulture.
A new take on the tired old listings format. With its innovative use of Twitter and by sourcing the sort of unusual experiences its users value, the Yorkshire blog is working hard on the social.
People’s Voice Media.
Providing support and training to empower community reporters across the north west and work towards to establishment of social media centres.
East Salford Direct.
The CNN of East Salford taking hyperlocal to television.

Some notes from this week’s discussion at the cabinet forum debate and dinner. It was an event with unusual format and, by way of explanation, the agreed rules around covering it are that all debates can be blogged, tweeted etc. without individual quotes being attributed to individual people.

In a variation of Chatham House rules, those present can also be identified and it was refreshing to see such a cross-section of voices represented at sessions hosted, by culture minister Sion Simon.

Newspaper reps including myself and The Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger able to sit around the same table as bloggers such as Jeff Jarvis via skype, hyperlocal activists including co-chair William Perrin, industry analysts, civil servants, broadcasters, commentators, people with experience of the local news landscape both in the UK and US.

I make no apology that what I’ve noted here are things of specific interest to me, and are in no way an attempt to provide the definitive low-down of the event.

Others have broadened the experience further and there’s links here. These are my notes while on the train north with the addition of this excellent set of slides from industry analysts Enders.

• What do we call these people? I’ve blogged on this issue before and it keeps being raised at the sort of events I attend. Because someone wants to engage with a news investigation, write a blog or post about a community event doesn’t necessarily mean they want to be a ‘citizen journalist’. Some do of course, but many are simply using the wonderful tools at their disposal as a means to another end – better community, organise an event, change the world or whatever. Do they even need a specific pigeon-hole to fit into? Can they just be people? Engaged citizens? Is the publication part of their output really the most important element in what they do?

• How do large institutions, such as the government or a major broadcaster, ensure these hyperlocal voices are heard? At present there’s no association, guild, group, etc. to represent their widely differing interests. Should there be one, and if there was, how could it be constituted to be truly representative and inclusive? What a challenge that would be, but without it, some of the proposals in this area such as IFNCs risk becoming a non-inclusive consolidation of giants.

• Who should be treated as a journalist? Relates again to the first point but, for those people who do want to be treated as journalists, how do they get access to sources of information? This issue has already seen some plainly daft responses such as councils providing different tables in the same council chamber etc. I always go back to my first Penguin Book of Journalism here which carries wise words for the reporter starting out reminding them that they have all the rights and responsibilities of a citizen. No more, no less. Access is an area where any journalist with legal/public administration training could assist by helping challenge the petty bureaucracies in town halls. But that raises the point again – does training make a ‘proper’ journalist if so what’s the qualification? Or is it experience – if so which institutions count and how long does it have to be to qualify? Or is it an NUJ card?- so are we back to the closed shop? Does it require being employed by a publication registered as a newspaper? Well that’s plainly not sustainable. As journalists we’re not exactly being very transparent with this are we?

• Who will report from the council chambers and courts if local newspapers close or retract so much that staff are unable to fulfil this function? And there lies the BIG question. What will be the long-term impact on democracy? Will councils use that situation as justification for uncritical publications extolling the virtues of their services? People at the forum and generally, in my experience, seem to agree this sort of reporting is a Good Thing. But what’s it going to take to ensure that continues – just how Good a Thing is it? Subsidy? Tax-breaks? Platform agnostic service provision to all as outlined by PA at the Digital Editors’ Network later in the day? This is such a huge issue for the minister to wrestle with……any thoughts, contributions welcome.

 

United Express-Mesa Airlines Bombardier DHC-8-202 (Q200) N455YV (msn 455) DEN, originally uploaded by Airliners Gallery.

United Airlines (Chicago) will early terminate the Mesa Airlines (Mesa Air Group) Bombardier DHC-8-202 (Q200) turboprop operation no later than June 30, 2010. 10 turboprops are being operated by Mesa, mainly from the Denver hub. Four of the 10 aircraft will be returned to lessors by Mesa. However Mesa will try to resettle six DHC-8-202s in another operation.

Press release:

finance.yahoo.com/news/Mesa-Announces-Termination-of-prnews-3983302520.html?x=0&.v=1

Copyright Photo: Bruce Drum.

Please click on photo or link below for full view, information and other photos:

http://airlinersgallery.com/2/254da46/#/gallery/united-express-mesa/united-express-mesa-dhc-8-200-n455yv-04-grd-den-bd-lr-101727/

Really sorry about the delay of this one. So many other projects ended up forcing the one onto the backburner. It was recorded over 2 weeks ago, but didn’t get finished until today, so some information may be outdated. In this episode, we discuss horror TFs, reality TV shows, and killer livestock.

Did you know if you click the pre-roll ads, it usually makes them go away so you don’t have to sit through them?

Links mentioned in this episode:

• Anime Transformation Archive
• Banana of Doom Pokemon A-Z
• Naga’s Den
• The Fly (1958)
• The Fly (1986)
• Black Sheep
• The Little Vampire
• Attack of the Killer Tomatoes

Eergister, op 27 oktober, hebben Jantje Steenhuis (BRAIN) en Marco de Niet (DEN) de petitie waar afgelopen weken hard voor getekend is door veel erfgoedinstellingen en professionals overhandigd aan de Kamercommissie OCW.

De petitie vormt het protest tegen de hevige bezuiniging  op onder andere de mogelijkheden voor een nationale erfgoed-kennisinfrastructuur. Erfgoed 2.0 is vooral bevreesd voor de ‘kleinere’ partijen die hoogst waarschijnlijk achter het net vissen met het tekort aan budget en de ‘grote bekende projecten’ die vermoedelijk voorrang gaan krijgen.

Gelukkig zijn er 300 reacties binnengekomen, waarmee de petitie onderbouwd wordt met een flink aantal tegenargumenten uit de sector.  Op 2 november bespreekt de Kamercommissie de komende begroting van het ministerie van OCW. Dan wordt duidelijk of de commissie bereid is vragen te stellen aan minister Plasterk over de bezuinigingen op dit budget.

We wachten met spanning af…

I finally clued in to how much I need to unpack my moving boxes tonight.

I was going to take a photo of my dinner. My dinner of champions, mind you.

Pinot grigio salami, triple cream brie cheese and multi-grain crackers. Ah-ma-zing.

The first camera I found had a battery but no CF card. Then I found my other camera. It had a card, but the battery was dead. I looked around for the charger to no avail, then looked around for the CF card to no avail.

Then I thought of my cell phone and its camera but couldn’t find the cord to connect the cell phone to the computer.

And then I felt really embarrassed when I looked at that “room,” you know that extra room – generally the guest bedroom or den – where you hide everything hoping it will just evaporate or unpack itself.

Boom. Explosion of stuff. Everywhere.

Unpacking is so lame.

(p.s. also insert photo of mess that I currently cannot take as well due to lost bits and pieces of every camera I apparently own)