Saturday, September 23, 2006

New Media Models

Oxblog notices 18 Doughty Street, a British blogsite which is giving away 100 camcorders to anyone who wants to report on the following subjects: doctors on their experience of the NHS, ex-servicemen to talk about overstretch in the armed forces, residents of crime-ridden estates, trade unionists to talk about competition from emerging economies. Ultimately it will have an army of Baker Street irregular-type reporters. This is bound to do something. But what exactly, I can't say for sure.

Another blog based in the UK, Samizdata, notices the 18 Doughty Street site as well. 

I wish these guys all the very best of luck in breaking the lock of the mainstream media on broadcast television in Britain and political coverage in particular. I am not sure if this outfit is going to feature a lot in my viewing habits, though. Given that I have to look at current affairs news quite a bit as part of my day job in London's financial centre, I actually deliberately avoid too much of the same when I get home, preferring to read a book, go to the gym, see a movie or just hang out with my lovely wife. But for the political trainspotters out there, this sort of venture should be a boon. My only carp at this stage is why choose such a dull name? Maybe there is some sort of perverse appeal about it.

I actually think 18 Doughty Street approach will work in one form or another. One of the most interesting news organizations in the world, in my opinion is Ohmy News, based in Korea has already gone where they are figuring on going. Ohmy News has redefined the word correspondent to mean "anyone with a camera". Pajamas Media is running a reader contest asking participants to guess how many embedded reporters there are in Iraq. Whatever the number actually turns out to be will be reflective of the MSM way of doing things. Giving away 100 camcorders to anyone willing to ask questions is a whole different ballgame. It would be interesting for some media maven to contrast the two approaches.

Lastly, I should mention Rednecks TV which has nothing going for it but intelligence, humor and some big old guys from Tulsa Oklahoma, which in a word means it has everything going for it. Watch them as they discuss everything from physics to the Long Tail economic theory while reviewing smokes, pork cracklings, beer and feminine hygiene products. Everyone talks about the decline of the MSM as if it were some sort of tragedy. But what we're really watching is an efflorescence. It's not that the MSM has shrunk, it's that the playing field has gotten larger.

8 Comments:

Blogger Doug said...

Don't miss CNN Video of GWB Hawking Mussharoff's Book!
Quite a telegenic pair.
With Nuclear Arms,
no less.

9/23/2006 07:06:00 AM  
Blogger NahnCee said...

...following subjects: doctors on their experience of the NHS, ex-servicemen to talk about overstretch in the armed forces, residents of crime-ridden estates, trade unionists to talk about competition from emerging economies.

I don't see residents of Britain being invited to discuss and film immigration or the problem of unassimilated Muslims in their community, unless the heading "crime-ridden estates" is PC-euphamism for that.

Unless this new channel is like YouTube and everyone gets to post everything, it seems to me that anyone acting as an editor for what is submitted will do the politically correct thing and shy away from hurting anyone's tender little sensibilities. Especially if it might get said editor beheaded on the street with a letter left stabbed in his/her heart.

9/23/2006 08:31:00 AM  
Blogger Doug said...

Nahncee:
National Review has a couple of great posts refering to Pols responding to the People re: Immigration and Border Enforcement.
---Converts at Election time, at least.
(Meanwhile the millions of Professional Federal Trolls in DC take us to Hell)
---
More Fem Hygine products ala the Okie Rednecks:
http://www.boredmuch.com/view.php?id=492

9/23/2006 08:45:00 AM  
Blogger Annoy Mouse said...

“Everyone talks about the decline of the MSM as if it were some sort of tragedy. But what we're really watching is an efflorescence. It's not that the MSM has shrunk, it's that the playing field has gotten larger”

Lovely that.

As far as names are concerned, the Belmont Club works for me.

9/23/2006 09:04:00 AM  
Blogger Doug said...

Religion of Peace

9/23/2006 09:05:00 AM  
Blogger Pyrthroes said...

Loved Rednecks.com! As they say, you may be a high-class, intellectual bum, but you're still a bum.

Bill Clinton: "But Officer, I was jus' tryin' to help that pig over the fence!" Jerka burkha, okay, Big Guy?

9/23/2006 06:28:00 PM  
Blogger Pyrthroes said...

Loved Rednecks.com! As they say, you may be a high-class, intellectual bum, but you're still a bum.

Bill Clinton: "But Officer, I was jus' tryin' to help that pig over the fence!" Jerka burkha, okay, Big Guy?

9/23/2006 06:29:00 PM  
Blogger A Jacksonian said...

Way back when, probably '98 or '99, I remember attending a Seybold Seminar and one of the keynote panels was what computing would look like in 2010.

The idea was ubiquitous computing working its way into the environment and that everyone started to take it for granted. Displays would be omnipresent and personal computing would be always with individuals. The interesting thing was a concept that HP was purportedly working on, in a background sort of way, called 'the life blog'. A unit that would capture motion video, sound, have gps and continually record and index your life as you went through it. That indexing part being the key stopping point, but a long time was left to even get to the 'terabyte in a sugarcube' form factor for storage.

What will happen to the MSM when each individual can, if they want, serve as an input node on a ubiquitous network and be able to call up what is going on in other parts of that network at will? That metadata for index, storage and retrieval still looks like the keys to the kingdom. The picturephone is giving the first hint of what is to come, as are small and leightweight video recorders. Storage is still working to hit its limits for magnetic and optical realms, and the computing power for this is close to realization, also. Networking via flexible and extendable wireless networks is already a fact of life, as see with cell phones and SMS.

Where this will coalesce first is anyone's guess, as is final form factor and interoperability. Electricity, plastic and other previous revolutions are taken for granted save in the most destitute areas of the planet. This next wave of technology will offer far lower costs and the barrier to entry will begin to bottom out *somewhere*.

The ingenuity is in the combining and creating something that is intersting and compelling in and of itself. And just as the MSM was warned about the photography problems a decade and more ago, so they know of the oncoming waves of 'virtuality' and distributed, ubiquitous networks. Just how well is the MSM adapting to armies of editors, experts and photo-analysts?

9/25/2006 01:58:00 PM  

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