the mantelpiece - mark waddington blog

Shifting blog to Wordpress

Decided to move my blog to wordpress.  Typepad has been good but  all things change eventually.  
find it here  mark-waddington.com

 

The Rochdale grooming trial and vulnerable children

I'm reading about the Rochdale grooming trial as I'm editing a short film on the subject to be shown in Sheffield. Sheffield, thankfully, is tackling the issue but it amazes me that trafficking teenagers as young as 13 for sex really goes on, and that legal recognition of such crimes in this country seems late in developing. 

We have been talking with boys and service providers to gauge the experience of these crimes and the risks to our young people.  The feeling I get is that it's not uncommon, but due to extreme violence and intimidation very few young people come forward.  The grooming process in some cases is organised within a hierarchy where young people who have been abused are criminalised and used as a shield to protect the gang bosses.   One person described an area of the city as something out of Oliver Twist with young people doing the bidding or older men.  Young people are moved from city to city in order to isolate and control them.

I'm not sure of the statistics, but Yorkshire is thought to be a common destination and starting point for this kind of trafficking.  One teenage victim said passionately that the prevalence of Facebook and mobile phones is probably a factor in the increase of these crimes.  I've been working in primary schools lately helping very young children with creative projects and giving them some direction in online safety. It's very apparent that many primary school children do have Facebook accounts. This must ring alarm bells. 

Children particularly around the age of thirteen and fourteen have a strong desire to feel more grown up and to belong to a group and have little discernment when it comes to true friendship and they trust easily.   The most heartbreaking thing about this is the abuse of trust and the calculated process that leads these horrible crimes.  

I do feel motivated to do what I can to help.  I'm sure you do.

Playground Pictures

On the train to Sheffield thinking I must blog more spontaneously. So here's a snap of a playground at Out Lady of Victories School in Keighley. The images on the wall aret 1metre x 1metre prints on Perspex. I took them for Amy Heild who's project it is. She asked me to take detail shots of children's activities to help make the outdoor space more stimulating.

Although my snap on the phone doesn't do justice, I think it's a great idea. I think for anyone who wants to bring an identity to a space this is a good thing to do.

If I do this again I think I'd want to put more work into achieving very bright colours, but even so the effect is good.

When I get time I'll update this post with information about the Perspex printing.

Striding with ITV into the world of blogging

I've been having a quick look at ITV News live news stream.  This is the "radical" new presentation of her news for the web age; ITV breaking free of traditional TV, print and multipage websites. You can read the story of the revamp here on the Made for Many blog.

The way it's described sounds revolutionary but it appears to be a set of blogs organised according to location or topic.  It's bloggyness is confirmed by the use of vimeo embedded video stories.  They say that  multiple sources, not necessarily from ITV,  will be curated by editors (or perhaps edited by curators),  "Raw news delivered in copy, tweets, weblinks and pictures" .   This does sound very blog like - but without a great deal of interaction. 

The concept of a live news stream is something that is very evident in the way Facebook is now being presented,  their rather attractive timeline feature gives a strong sense of the stream, the nowness of what's being posted. 

I wonder if the ITV streams present a kind of editorial bottleneck?  There must be quite a lot of competition for the stream at any one time - how do they decide? Do some stories get bumped down the line until they are really quite old or missed out altogether?  What happens if there is no news?  What does "live" mean?   A sequencial selection of stories chosen for us?

It can't be vey representative and in fact is harking back to the linear news channel idea. Of course a single "pipe' of news can never have the capacity to contain all that's important in the world.  I can see that a continuous live stream will appeal to those journalists who want to be the first to break the news.  I think this is a fatal weakness in thinking.  

What I really value is a news brand that I can fully trust.  This is why organisations, channels, programmes and reporters are so important. These are the identities with which the audience can build a relationship of trust.   News is  a selection of stories chosen by us and for us and presented in a way that reflects the editorial judgement of the author and the taste of the consumer  - which can vary.  The stories are crafted to be as entertaining as possible while retaining some respect for the subject and occasionally the facts. They are products aimed at a target audience.  Packages rather than streams.

The live news stream will have an important role to play when there is a breaking story of speed and magnitude.  The Olympics will be enhanced, no doubt.    ButI see is it as an "appointment to view" facility to be used only occasionally.  

Tree at Branksome Chine, Poole , Dorset.

Camera: Canon EOS 350D Digital, Exposure: 0.005 sec (1/200), Aperture: f/5.6, Focal Length: 10 mm, ISO Speed: 200

New Blog Location

I'm keeping this typepad location for my blog going for a bit, but moving to wordpress and publishing posts to both for a short while.

Find the new location here

 

The House of Prayer, Woodhouse, Leeds LS6

I'm at the Woodhouse Community Centre this morning where two church groups are meeting. Both of the groups are taking a step of faith in that they are very new and very small in number - but with a hope that they can grow and serve the local community.  

One of the groups is the new The House of Prayer which books the main hall from 10am each Sunday, but it's just the two of them and their son.  The House of Prayer Community Church is the vision of Gary and Dorothy Thomas. 

They say their faith and vision is about serving the local people and supporting those in need. When I asked them how they were going to meet the practical needs of the community they said that it was something felt called by God to do and that by being faithful great things will happen.

Ironically while they are worshipping and with no idea of how things will work out, I am in the back room taking the opportunity to do a bit of planning for Oblong - and being concerned about how will will meet our targets and objectives.  There is a message in here about where we put our focus.  It is on how we bring everything under control or is it fixed on the vision?

I admire the committment and hope Gary and Dorothy are displaying. They don't know where the people are going to come from!  We can't always know how things are going to turn out.  In most situations we make plans based on our ability to control the outcome, but for them there is no business plan or numbers, but certainly there is passion for loving their community.

If you would like to join The House of Prayer for Sunday worship you are welcome.

Woodhouse Community Centre, 197 Woodhouse Street, Leeds LS6 2NY Sunday between 10.00am and 12.00 noon.  Or call 07570 609297 

 

 

 

 

 

Attention school teachers, Pocket Praise is available now

Just had word from Richard Crook about Pocket Praise for iPhone.  Pocket Praise is part of the Praise Pod family, a brilliant idea to reward children for good behaviour  This is a brilliant use of technology to encourage children and make them feel valued and capable.  Go to the Apps Store

 

Description

Pocket praise takes sticker charts to another level.

With this app you can create a multimedia reward chart, capture good behaviours as a photo or movie then watch again and share successes with family and friends.

A sticker has always put smiles on faces and helped promote good behaviours. So just imagine what a talking sticker can do. . . We’ve tested it and it’s pretty amazing how things change when people use pocket praise. 

 

Pocket praise works for everyone; so don’t just let the kids have all the fun. Why not use pocket praise as your own personal reward chart to help you reach your targets? 

A visit to Dorset

Where we live in Yorkshire is surrounded by hills which I find protective and always beautiful. However when we visit Deborah's home territory the thing that always strikes me is the wide space. The sky seems much bigger and the land less so. This is Poole in Dorset just a few moments walk down the cliff steps from the in-laws.

"Go out into all the world" if you dare.

Had an interesting afternoon at Kadugli House in Steeton yesterday at the Bradford diocesan centre for the Church of England.  I was there on behalf of All Saint's Church, Ilkley. The session was led by Bryony Taylor  social media manager at Reach Further 

Feedback from the group suggested that there were fears about embracing social media as a corporate communication tool - mostly around the flood of information that is difficult to assimilate or control.   The Bishop of Bradford made it very clear that it was easy to lose control and how vital it is that churches become adept at engaging with the media.

The Bishop's knowledge and command of the media, and his support for these sessions suggests that more churches may want to improve their media skills and visibility.

In the long term, online media will continue to transform the way people share information and interact, the internet has become ubiquitous.  We have gone from being somewhere to everywhere.

With a few exceptions, it seems that there is a drift away from specific destination sites  to a presence which is defined by content rather than channels.  The bishop gave an example of using twitter to search for articles published by the Guardian. The use of search terms and other forms of metadata seems to be the key.  For this reason a website based on a blogging platform may be better than a static site - offering better connectivity and a more dynamic experience.

The internet is all about links (of course) and an internet presence should be designed around the use of multiple services linked together  The automatic distribution and flagging of content between services like Twitter, Facebook, blogs and the new kid Pinterest

But let us not forget the much bigger picture in which old forms of media continue to be important - flyers and posters, notice boards, phone calls, house to house drops.  The media mix of any communication campaign should be broad and appropriate for the message and the audience.  Online media does not replace old media.  As Bryony said - "E" stands for enhanced (does not replace).  The people who provide the content for websites should not be the geeks - encouraging newsletter editors to submit content for the web may be a way forward, but remembering that editorial has to be re-written and presented in a different way; different audience, different media.

The provision of quality content continues to be a challenge but increasingly there are sources of content issued under a creative commons licence.  Flickr & Mixter for stills and music.   Even if you have to pay for content iStockphoto is a source of affordable quality images.  Evidence shows that stories without images tends not to engage readers quite so well - newspaper editors have always known. And many are saying that without video you may become invisible! 

So what do I think?  I'm really pleased that the diocese is seeking to encourage and equip churches to be more media literate. This signals a willingness to connect with the outside world.  I am loyal to my local church which does some superb work but it feels like the Galapagos Islands (where isolated evolution has thrown up unique species that are not able to associate with normal creatures).  

In the business world it would be unthinkable not to have a communication strategy of some sort. Identifying need, mindful of language, finding creative ways of connecting with new customers, listing - being outward looking.  It seems to me we at last have communication tools that are cheap and actually fun to use.

"Go out into all the world" if you dare.

How to use Twitter, Facebook and blogs for neighbourhood planning

Following on from yesterday's post, The Eden Project has a good article about using social media for community consultation and neighbourhood planning.  

They say facebook is a great way to initiate a debate, and while old media is still valuable, social media may provide a more comfortable environmnet for some contributors.  The use of news snippets and online photos can encourage a sense of identity and local pride.  Because twitter and facebook are real time spontaneous media the debate can be moved on quickly.  Social media can widen networks and reach decision makers.

No substiture for house to house
Start a debate
Encourage local identity and pride
Real time debate 
Widen the network

Read the article here

 

 

How should large media organisations handle their blogs?

Twenty years ago that headline might have been misunderstood! 

Interesting article in the Guardian about the use of blogs by large companies.  It challenged me to think about how badly this blog is put together.  

Shouldn't be random bursts of information from here or there but be focused around a specific and simple idea.  Blog readers are looking for insiders who's expertese can't be found anrywhere else.  Readers want a named writer who they can trust. They are looking for an angle.

First person accounts - casual, intimate stories
Named and trusted writer
Insiders view
A concept
An angle

The thing missed out of the article is around the accessibility of the writer to respond to comments and clarify any misunderstandings. Company blogs are perhaps seen as marketing tools rather than a means of honing the grasp of the issues.  Comments without clarification carry risks - so how far are companies prepared to engage with the discussion that ensues?

Read the article here

 

Free 12 week video story telling course from Oblong Media Collective, Leeds

Busy day today at The Woodhouse Community Centre in Leeds. The Oblong refurbishment is almost complete and the centre opens for business on Monday, but there are piles of things still to be sorted out. A monumental task.  

As part of our commitment to funders we will be developing the Media Collective to dream up new ways of supporting communities through multimedia communication. We are aware that having a website or a Facebook page is ok but that we need to be thinking much more creatively about how we use a whole range of technologies and new ideas.

Next Wednesday the 25th of January we will be offering twelve free places on a video production course being run by Abdul Al-Marsumi who has worked for the BBC in Bagdhad and directed for the Arabic Service. The course, which covers the fundamentals of video storytelling, will be for 14 weeks each Wednesday between 4pm and 6pm. It's open to anyone local to Woodhouse/Hyde Park area so if you know of anyone interested drop a note to me at markw@oblongleeds.org.uk

The Media Collective also has plans for an online radio station, hireable editing facilities as well as the existing web and print design services. We're very keen for people to hire rooms, by the way.

And looking forward to the announcement of the Norther Art Prize winner tomorrow so may pop in to see the works tomorrow morning.

Salts Mill

Salts Mill, Saltaire.  Home of Pace Electronics and David Hockney gallery

Canon EOS 350D DIGITAL: f/5: 1/40": 17.0mm: ISO 1600

29 ways to stay creative

Here's a nice little video on ways to help you keep up the creative thinking.  I like number 25 - stop trying to be someone else's perfect.  It's got more than a million plays on vimeo which isn't bad.

Every Day Counts - Improving School Attendance

Like to say how thrilled I was today at the launch of the Every Day Counts campaign at the Keighley Picture House.  Fifteen schools in the central Keighley got together to form the campaign and I had the pleasure of producing the film.

See the report and part of the film on the BBC website

The film was a collaborative affair with the schools and students providing much of the effort. I think making films with the schools - as opposed for the schools - is so much more rewarding. What has impressed me most has been the way the schools in the locality have been able to work together. Decisions are made quickly and without fuss and support can readily be found for good ideas. All the teachers, students and parents were a joy to work with.

The event at The Picture House was was the focus for much of the publicity. A number of newspapers turned up and BBC Look North reported on the event.

Yorkshire was recently recorded as having the highest level of truancy from secondary school and the second highest overall truancy rate behind only inner London. And within Yorkshire Keighley is not performing at all well overall.

You can follow the campaign on Facebook.

Tips for dealing with conflict and "row" stories in the press

This week has been marked by a series of conflicts.  Family, work, community, church - there have been people who have complained, challenged and upset. I thought I'd reflect on these events and see if I could find a positive angle. 

I won't go into the details but they concern a decision made by a two community organisations, a sensitivity which emerged in a formal complaint and a long term family relationship. 

What interest me is how people react to conflict.  Sometimes it's a small thing which sets in motion a chain reaction of claim and counter claim.  Often the conflict has a history behind it of simmering dissatisfaction which surfaces in something quite trivial. Conflicts can also be divisive and strategic.  Both the press and gossips revel in conflict, (all good stories have conflict).

As I was thinking about this was reading a book by Shane Hipps called The Hidden Power of Electronic Culture.  In the book he discussed the idea the the electronic media has the power to bring people together but also pull them apart.   The global implosion, he says, presents us with opportunities for interpersonal conflict unlike anything we are accustomed to.   He says that cultures that are used to living as communities also become adept at handling conflict, and in fact the conflict is a force for good which is welcomed.  But we are still living in a largely individualist culture and hence a territorial one.

The challenge here I think is to recognise that as we move forward we are bound to expose difficult choices and points of disagreement.  This presents us with an opportunity to re-affirm our values, reach genuine understanding and to bravely enter territory which is new to us.  If we build a strong community conflict will turn to advantage; we can learn to listen and adapt.   I can't think of anything more boring than a place where everyone agrees - a sort of bland retirement. 

As an example, Shane Hipps uses the Anabaptist who have developed a robust theology of conflict.  He also points to a document used as a pledge or covenant for Mennonite churches.

Here are some quick examples of the a advice given:

• Go directly to those with whom we disagree
• Avoid behind the back criticism
• Own our part of the conflict
• Listen carefully, summarise and check what is heard
• Suspend judgement
• Generate a variety of options

 So get yourself a theology of conflict.

Download  Agreeing and Disagreeing in Love - commitments for Mennonites in Times of Disagreement

 

 

The wonder of the Photoshop Layer Mask

Photoshop is just the most wonderful application isn't it?  Even if you don't know how it works you can just sit back and gaze at it in wonder.  Just ask it to make the tea and it will.

The Layer Mask is one of its party pieces. A layer is just one image on top of another.  Masks are simply a way of including or removing areas of a layer so you can either see or not see what's beneath.

Another wonderful thing is the video tutorial that you sometimes see on YouTube explaining a particular piece of software - I'm sure you've seen them, the commentary is usually done in an American accent.

I've been practicing an American accent so I'll be able to do these mayself but haven't quite got there yet.  In the meantime I thought I'd prepare a little video to share my enthusiasm for the Photoshop Layer Mask - in English.

 

Televising the revolution

A bit about the Media Team plans (one or two people have asked). Next week I'm kicking off a video focused team at Our Lady of Victories School in Keighley.

Many schools have radio stations and a few even do TV shows. OLV school already has a successful radio station which is brilliant.

Some projects, and those in higher education as well, seem to be modelled on very old production formats. Even the term TV has a lot of old fashioned baggage. So I hope the children will use the tools in a free and imaginative way - not just produce a show that looks like BBC regional news which has been around for half a century.

Thankfully I detect there is a loosening of old style media skills teaching. I don't know where it will go but I hope the media team next week will come up with some real innovations about how to organise, film, edit, present. Looking at all the potential platforms and audiences.

The plan is to achieve the following:

• Employ and develop a full range of creative skills within a complete team, not just the obvious technical bits like cameras.
• Allow the team to innovate and change for the better how media is made - doing it their way.
• Produce a high quality product.
• Have a real purpose for the product - e.g. enhancing communication between parents and school.

I am sure we are getting to a point where children already have a place in the media environment - without needing to be employed by it. So this would be no simulation.

We are aiming to do a termly show at OLV school and will be setting this up next week. I'll let you know how it goes.

Leeds Best City - Media Collective growing

You may know that I'm spending a couple of days a week working with Oblong Leeds - a community organisation that is refurbishing the Woodhouse Community Centre.  The centre has been owned by the council but has recently been "asset transferred" to Oblong.  A big grant has been awarded from SIB social investment business. 

Woodhouse Community Centre is part way through being renovated and although the funding position is still a little uncertain we hope to be moving in at the end of the month. One of the spaces in the centre will be dedicated to the Media Collective which I'm helping to set up.

Already the collective is gaining a reputation for its video journalism.  To date we have done nearly 50 interviews for Leeds City Council and numerous other documentaries.  The key strength of the collective is that Oblong is a pioneer in community development and understands the process and issues to do with establishing community projects.  This experience means that they are in a good place to ask the right questions of the right people - kind of journalism from the inside (or at least alongside).

The interviews Oblong have done recently can be seen here and on the Leeds Initiative website

Scarborough