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Hannah Rudman Gets IT for 21st C cultureHannah Rudman Eventcast for AmbITion Scotland
The AmbITion Scotland eventcast of the first Getting Digital event, live in Edinburgh on 28th January 2010 and live online, is also available on demand. You can watch the event, produced by Hannah Rudman’s other company, Envirodigital, at your leisure here! Scottish Arts Council simultaneously released their press release about the AmbITion Scotland programme – read that here.
As well as participating with the day through Twitter – #getambition – online audiences also participated with the event through online chat.
Talks by Rudman Consulting’s Hannah Rudman (Lead Consultant on AmbITion Scotland), and keynote Kyle McRae of Blether Media are both available.
To get easy access to the eventcast on demand – signup and follow the onscreen instructions, you’ll receive a link via email from us to activate your account. Login to watch.
2010: Rudman Consulting predicts…
First off, did I get my predictions right for 2009?! Read them here.
I predicted the rise in interest around cloud computing and this has certainly happened, with good options around for personal computing. Read my other company, Envirodigital’s summary of cloud computing at end of 2009. We’re not quite there yet with applications and security for enterprise computing (for business), but that offer becoming stable and attractive as an option is a predication for 2010.
I also predicted the rise of 3D in the living room, with games being the focus of this. In fact, gaming has developed in a different way, with the realism of graphics and the sensory experience of controlling games through bodily movement being the development of 2009. Didn’t Wii almost have it all?… Sony have just announced that their Bravia range will be 3D this year.
I predicted that Hollywood would take an age to get to grips with agreeing a common standard for 3D films, but in fact this occurred over 2009, with the latest 3D movie Avatar looking like it will the world’s highest ever $ grossing movie. James Cameron, Avatar’s director made a considered move to develop the movie for 3D. He leads Hollywood in a strategy that sees the film industry trying to fight back and avert online piracy by making versions of films which are such high definition, or 3D, that a low res copy is not worth having – the experience has to be the real thing (which of course we’ll pay them directly for!).
And so to 2010. I predict:
“Sixth Sense” technologies further developing, reducing the need to be tied to screens and traditional navigating devices like mice and keyboards. Brother Industries, known for making printers have developed a new portable technology that projects images directly onto your retina. It takes the form of a glasses mounted projector. Called the Retinal Imaging Display, Brother claims that it can be used without damage (!!!) as the light is very weak.
2009 was the year in which augmented reality became actual reality. Layar debut-ed their Reality Browser which uses the mobile handset’s cmaera and compass and then overlays that view with text and graphical information. But at TEDIndia, in November 2009 Pranav Mistry demo-ed several tools that help the physical world interact with the world of data – including a deep look at his SixthSense device and a new, paradigm-shifting paper “laptop.” The photo at the top of this post shows some of the ideas. In an onstage Q&A, Mistry said he would open-source the software behind SixthSense, to open its possibilities to all: watch here.
The idea of the user being at the heart of the action will also be explored by TV screen producers. Fraunhofer have developed the Immersive Dome: it uses six projectors to generate images on the interior of a dome-shaped screen. Plans are already in place for it to be used in theme parks, multimedia installations and home cinema.
Also in R&D are transparent screens: Wired reports on the potential of these via a video from CES 2010 here.
Search will become easier and more intuitive and more relevant. iPhone apps like Around Me and no doubt a flood of google phone apps will show users what’s/who’s around them using GPS available on smart phones and utilising the geolocation additions for Facebook and Twitter.
As Google own the world’s most used search engine, and own the world’s largest online video library, are trying to make the world’s largest online library of digitised books, developed a bespoke blog search and have just launched googlemusicsearch, then looking for digital content of all media will become a far easier task.
People will also be using mobile more for searching. The bombardment into the world of the smartphone and the ubiquity of mobile devices in developing nations, as well as the lower carbon footprint of the mobile vs. the laptop. See Envirodigital’s article on 2010 predictions that involve environmentally friendly digital technologies.
The questions of how to make people pay for digital content still remains a great debate. Apple’s decision to permit in-app payments is transforming the type of applications being developed. This is the freemium business model – the app is free, the customer pays for micro bits of content they want. In Apple’s case, this is managed through the iTunes store. Blackberry has already announced its intention to enable in-app payments and Orange App Shop looks likely to. In fact with all the competition in the app market, I predict an overall price-drop in apps.
Make your content into an iPhone app!
Motherapp have just launched a tool that enables anyone to turn their blog and twitter stream into an iPhone app. This enables you to aggregate content together in one place for audiences to read offline – not bad for $99.
In June 2009, national brand strategist Maureen Craig conducted 12 focus groups with urban and suburban residents of multiple ages and ethnicities in Greater Philadelphia. These findings were included in the Cultural Alliance’s recent publication Research Into Action – Pathways to New Opportunities. View Maureen’s presentation here – to find out what ordinary Philadelphians really think about arts & culture, and what would get them to participate more often. Giving people participative activities in venues so that they get to interact with others is still a key desire from perspective audience.
Envirodigital eventcasts for AmbITion
My other company, Envirodigital, for AmbITion, produced an eventcast of the keynotes at the Arts Marketing Association Digital Marketing Day on 30.11.09!
Envirodigital produced an interactive eventcasting live from Sadlers Wells! 70 people tuned in online to hear and watch keynotes Jim Richardson of Sumo Design and John McGrath of National Theatre Wales.
Check out the days buzz on Google AMAdigitalday search results and
Here’s the days Twitter stream of the #amadigitalday tag from Twitter Search.
You can watch the eventcasts still, available on demand here.
NTW: First year’s programme launch webcast
Envirodigital client National Theatre Wales launched their programme last week via webcast!
They have also been increasingly busy establishing their wider webpresence – today they have 1058 Facebook fans, over 100 Twitter followers @NTWtweets, a YouTube Channel and of course the ever-growing membership of the online social network.
The depth of the participation and interaction and the quality digital assets are excellent: a real best practice exemplar
Digital Theatre: launched, and available on your hard drive!
Digital Theatre has launched! Using up to 13 cameras to capture the performance, English Touring Theatre, RSC, Almeida, Royal Court and Young Vic content can for £8.99 be yours in HD. The papers have talked about the idea replacing the thrill of a live show, and of causing a threat to the live, and this is of course usually the nervous counter-argument against digital recording of theatre companies less comfortable with the idea of their audiences seeing their work online.
I find this argument tiresome and insulting to audiences who of course know that the live performance will be the one that makes the hairs on the back of their stand on end as they feel the collective body heat of the audience rise during a tense scene: but in the absence of the cash to pay for the ticket and the trip to London, and in order to avoid the guilt of an expanding carbon footprint due to art, I’d rather see the work from theatre companies than miss it. Audiences still understand live experiences, and the emerging experience economy that we’re seeing as a current cultural behaviour (living in the now, instead of in the future, a desires to collect as many experiences and stories as soon as possible, is addictive) is growing, not shrinking. All things live will continue to rise in value as the digital world encourages copying and sharing. The live experience is the thing that can’t be copied, the thing that has uniqueness and a one-off factor. What do you think?
National Theatre Wales launches programme with Big Bang!
My Envirodigital client, the new National Theatre Wales, are launching their opening programme on 5th November 2009. It’ll be a big bang for a number of reasons: its Bonfire Night or Guy Fawkes’ Night in the UK, so there will be fireworks. There will also be a new destination website to visit where you can find out what’s on and buy tickets (the huge online community that we’ve grown organically over the past year will be just a click away, and is still growing in numbers, depth and activity daily).
The final big bang will be the style of the launch: rather than hiring an expensive venue to which the press and VIPs have to travel, NTW are instead webcasting the programme launch, hoping that journalists will NOT make the journey to Cardiff, but will watch the news unfold online and so help NTW achieve its environmentally sustainable aspirations. Don’t expect a fancy brochure either: the only paper NTW will print is a (very beautiful!) newspaper. And that will be available digitally too, so if you can’t pick it up in person, don’t expect to receive one in the post [eco choices, not post strike reasons 
)].
Read John McGrath’s blog about the launch for all the details, and HUGE congratulations to John and all the NTW team from us at Envirodigital – we’re so proud that you stuck to all your original aspirations, and thrilled that we could help you make them realities! For more details on the digital choices that I helped NTW make to ensure their digital set-up was environmentally sustainable, read the Envirodigital blog posts about the community development and the organisational development.
Re-rite: get yourself into the Rite of Spring!
If you’re not sure about orchestral music, or about going to a classical concert, the the Philharmonia Orchestra’s Digital Residency is FOR YOU Opening at the Bargehouse on London’s Southbank on 03.11.2009, the Re-rite project will:
“reveal every section of the orchestra performing The Rite of Spring simultaneously “as Live” thoughout a four-storey warehouse building. The public will be able to sit amongst the horn players, perform in the percussion section and take up the baton and control sections of the Orchestra as they play”.
Says the Philharmonia’s Principal Consuctor Esa-Pekka Salonen, who developed the concept with AmbITion champion Richard Slaney – also the Philharmonia Orchestra’s Digital Department boss:
“Being inside an orchestra, experiencing the sensation of 101 players taking on this iconic music is one of the biggest adrenalin rushes and one that I want to share with the world. Now we’re doing just that.”
Re-Rite will be open 3-15 November from 10am – 6pm (8pm Thurs & Fri).
You’ll also be able to experience it online from 3rd November onwards!!
National Theatre Wales online social network reaches 1000 sign-ups
So what? You might think – loads of organisations have 1000 members in their online social networks. But National Theatre Wales is an organisation that hasn’t yet announced its programme (5th Nov ‘09) and doesn’t begin showing work to audiences until next year. The community has grown organically, and we haven’t marketed it at any point, either. Every member has been personally welcomed by a member of the NTW team. It’ll be thrilling to see what happens once audiences start to engage with the network, as currently the make up of members could probably be defined as “fans and professionals”. The network has its own feel and personality right now: a place for colleagues to debate and develop work. We’re about to launch some research that will enable us to gather even more feedback from the network’s current members about how they feel and what they would like to experience more of.
The network however is likely to change! The destination website will launch publicly on 5th November: this site particularly to let people know what’s on and how to buy tickets, as well as pulling in content from the network. We will also be signposting people (audiences) back out to the community, and once they’re there, I think we’ll see a slight change in tone: audiences will be wanting to rate/rant/rave about the brilliant theatre they will have seen, and introduce us to their own creativity. What I hope is that the initial network listens and welcomes – what could be a more attractive proposition to a newbie!
Collaborative working no longer linear with Google Wave
For a really simple overview of the capabilities of Google Wave, the new online collaboration tool, check out this video.
What is really exciting about it for me is the facility to make real time comments and additions, and the ability to be able to play back the conversation: like you can view the timeline in an Instant Message chat. With all the participative software out there on the web, participative technologies have made people participative! This means that our broadcast mentalities and communications no longer are fit for purpose. I suggest that the cultural sector gets into Wave early – its a great cheap way of porous communication – as a team or with your audience. Try and convince Google to give you a trial version here, and watch their long video about it.
Hannah Rudman is Managing Director of Rudman Consulting Ltd., and blogs here at consultrudman.com She is also Founding Director of 
