I was lucky enough to interview Clay Shirky a couple of years back - when his first book Here Comes Everybody was hitting the shelves and causing a stir.
Now the New York professor is back with Cognitive Surplus - creativity and generosity in a connected age.
I was lucky enough to blag a press pass to his presentation at the LSE on June 28, 2010 and the video, below, is part of the result.
Over the next few days I'll be posting parts II and III - which includes an excellent Q&A section.
Clay's theme that we have in abundance the desire to connect and live out the reality of our social selves will not be unfamiliar to readers of this blog.
In this first part he discusses, with references to case studies, how the social tools of the internet enable and support the social reality of being human - and how the generosity this reveals has far-reaching cultural consequences for any and all institutions.
The further ahead you look - the faster you go | davidpcushman AT gmail.com | These are my views and my views only.
Showing posts with label Magazines 2010. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Magazines 2010. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Monday, May 31, 2010
Video: My presentation at Being Social 2010
The Death of Advertising- and what replaces it - in 7mins! Yep, it's me doing my bit at Mashup's BeingSocial - held in London on May 13, 2010.
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davidcushman 2 from Simon Grice on Vimeo.
Here's the full deck of slides I was presenting to (somewhat edited for the timeframe allowed).
View the rest of the videos from the event here.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
emap and restructuring for the future (Magazines 2010)
It's no secret to anyone checking my profile that I work for media company emap (and please note the following are simply the perceptions and views of an employee - not the official company line). So you'd be more than a little surprised if I didn't say a word or two about the 'restructuring' the company is widely reported to be going through - labelled Magazines 2010 internally.
Personally, I find it a very exciting time. For me this is the moment that a magazine publisher that did a bit of digital decided it was going to become a digital business, which also does magazine publishing.
It's a radical shift and one which all traditional media companies are going to have to go through. emap just happens to have been savvy enough and brave enough to do it first and to do it openly.
I don't want to reveal too much more at the moment (not that I'm privy to the whole picture) for business sensitive reasons - but I absolutely think we're on the right course with this - and I'm a digital immigrant so completely immersed I can teach the language to newer arrivals.
I expect the city (if it 'gets' it) to react very positively, too.
Even before this, one internationally renowned technology and media consultant told me: "I can say with complete confidence, from speaking with many senior managers in UK and international print media, that emap is way ahead of the curve. "
However, Magazines 2010 means human casualties - job losses and all the pain that is inevitably associated with that. And it's interesting that, even when we're trying to be honest, we continue to spin internally (and externally). We talk about restructuring rather than job cuts, we don't talk about numbers because we want to talk to those affected first - though we must have a target figure in mind. We have lessons to learn about internal engagement which we must crack if we are to crack external engagement (marketing) thoroughly.
We should remember this is about people, and people (read it over and over again on this blog and everywhere else) hate spin and respect honesty - even if it ain't what they wanted to hear.
No wonder then that those trying to report the 'facts' of this get it so wildly wrong.
Take this report on last night's Guardian Online for example. It focuses on emap's automotive business in Peterborough (oddly enough, where I'm based). It describes a central 'design factory' which will 'make' all the magazines.
Er, no. Not even close. There will be eight businesses across the Peterborough businesses (which, for the benefit of Guardian readers, also includes Active's titles). Each will have its own publishing team - which will include designers - but also many other multi-skilled staff who will be trained to deliver across platforms. And that's a publishing team per new business. Indeed the motorcycling business (in which emap is dominant) will have two publishing teams - one for weekly print publication and major website MCN and one for the rest of the motorcycle business.
It also missed the fact that meetings on the outcome of 2010 were taking place across Emap Consumer Media yesterday - not just in Peterborough.
It's also not just about production of magazines, this a far deeper restructing involving editorial, advertising and marketing.
The Guardian does a great job online but this case reveals how inaccurate/off the pace they (and let's be fair - many other news agencies) must be on a hour-by-hour basis. You realise this most graphically when you know the facts of the story intimately yourself.
It's another great example of why 2-way flow is so important, where being able to display your user's corrections and comments alongside their 'expert view' may have more value for all parties.
AND YOU can correct, challenge, rubbish or even support anything I've written above, by clicking comments below - and you can do it anonymously if you prefer.
Personally, I find it a very exciting time. For me this is the moment that a magazine publisher that did a bit of digital decided it was going to become a digital business, which also does magazine publishing.
It's a radical shift and one which all traditional media companies are going to have to go through. emap just happens to have been savvy enough and brave enough to do it first and to do it openly.
I don't want to reveal too much more at the moment (not that I'm privy to the whole picture) for business sensitive reasons - but I absolutely think we're on the right course with this - and I'm a digital immigrant so completely immersed I can teach the language to newer arrivals.
I expect the city (if it 'gets' it) to react very positively, too.
Even before this, one internationally renowned technology and media consultant told me: "I can say with complete confidence, from speaking with many senior managers in UK and international print media, that emap is way ahead of the curve. "
However, Magazines 2010 means human casualties - job losses and all the pain that is inevitably associated with that. And it's interesting that, even when we're trying to be honest, we continue to spin internally (and externally). We talk about restructuring rather than job cuts, we don't talk about numbers because we want to talk to those affected first - though we must have a target figure in mind. We have lessons to learn about internal engagement which we must crack if we are to crack external engagement (marketing) thoroughly.
We should remember this is about people, and people (read it over and over again on this blog and everywhere else) hate spin and respect honesty - even if it ain't what they wanted to hear.
No wonder then that those trying to report the 'facts' of this get it so wildly wrong.
Take this report on last night's Guardian Online for example. It focuses on emap's automotive business in Peterborough (oddly enough, where I'm based). It describes a central 'design factory' which will 'make' all the magazines.
Er, no. Not even close. There will be eight businesses across the Peterborough businesses (which, for the benefit of Guardian readers, also includes Active's titles). Each will have its own publishing team - which will include designers - but also many other multi-skilled staff who will be trained to deliver across platforms. And that's a publishing team per new business. Indeed the motorcycling business (in which emap is dominant) will have two publishing teams - one for weekly print publication and major website MCN and one for the rest of the motorcycle business.
It also missed the fact that meetings on the outcome of 2010 were taking place across Emap Consumer Media yesterday - not just in Peterborough.
It's also not just about production of magazines, this a far deeper restructing involving editorial, advertising and marketing.
The Guardian does a great job online but this case reveals how inaccurate/off the pace they (and let's be fair - many other news agencies) must be on a hour-by-hour basis. You realise this most graphically when you know the facts of the story intimately yourself.
It's another great example of why 2-way flow is so important, where being able to display your user's corrections and comments alongside their 'expert view' may have more value for all parties.
AND YOU can correct, challenge, rubbish or even support anything I've written above, by clicking comments below - and you can do it anonymously if you prefer.
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
'Crowd-sourcing' and citizen journalism go mainstream in 'old media'
Those of you who check my profile will know I work for emap. It's also a matter of public record that the company is currently undergoing a strategic review of its business known as Magazines 2010 - with the assistance of the Boston Consultancy Group.
With that in mind, you'll understand why this particular post on Communities Dominate Brands is one I'm very keen to share - particularly with anyone working on Magazines 2010.
What it reveals is that the idea of citizen journalist and crowd-sourcing have come together, been tested and proven and are being rolled out across mainstream mass media in the United States TODAY.
The post, by Alan Moore, quotes Wired: "According to internal documents provided to Wired News and interviews with key executives, Gannett, the publisher of USA Today as well as 90 other American daily newspapers, will begin crowdsourcing many of its newsgathering functions. Starting Friday, Gannett newsrooms were rechristened "information centers," and instead of being organized into separate metro, state or sports departments, staff will now work within one of seven desks with names like "data," "digital" and "community conversation."
The article continues: "The initiative emphasizes four goals: Prioritize local news over national news; publish more user-generated content; become 24-7 news operations, in which the newspapers do less and the websites do much more; and finally, use crowdsourcing methods to put readers to work as watchdogs, whistle-blowers and researchers in large, investigative features.
Alan says: "What we have seen and witnessed over the last 15 months is a body politic that wants to engage, given the right context, in a process that they can share in, be part of."
Apart from today's post. I'd also recommend this post on Group Forming Network Theory which helps to explain WHY people are responding so well when provided with these routes to contribute and publish and why joining in them is so important.
With that in mind, you'll understand why this particular post on Communities Dominate Brands is one I'm very keen to share - particularly with anyone working on Magazines 2010.
What it reveals is that the idea of citizen journalist and crowd-sourcing have come together, been tested and proven and are being rolled out across mainstream mass media in the United States TODAY.
The post, by Alan Moore, quotes Wired: "According to internal documents provided to Wired News and interviews with key executives, Gannett, the publisher of USA Today as well as 90 other American daily newspapers, will begin crowdsourcing many of its newsgathering functions. Starting Friday, Gannett newsrooms were rechristened "information centers," and instead of being organized into separate metro, state or sports departments, staff will now work within one of seven desks with names like "data," "digital" and "community conversation."
The article continues: "The initiative emphasizes four goals: Prioritize local news over national news; publish more user-generated content; become 24-7 news operations, in which the newspapers do less and the websites do much more; and finally, use crowdsourcing methods to put readers to work as watchdogs, whistle-blowers and researchers in large, investigative features.
Alan says: "What we have seen and witnessed over the last 15 months is a body politic that wants to engage, given the right context, in a process that they can share in, be part of."
Apart from today's post. I'd also recommend this post on Group Forming Network Theory which helps to explain WHY people are responding so well when provided with these routes to contribute and publish and why joining in them is so important.
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The rate of change is so rapid it's difficult for one person to keep up to speed. Let's pool our thoughts, share our reactions and, who knows, even reach some shared conclusions worth arriving at?
