MyManchester Editor’s blog

Entries categorized as ‘Social Media’

DaVinci the Genius hits Ning…

11 November, 2009 · Leave a Comment

Another great project in Manchester today – and we’re still with the museums sector. MOSI – the Museum of Science and Industry down in Castlefield have created a whole site to support the Manchester leg of the Da Vinci the Genius exhibition which is on show at MOSI from 14th November 2009 to 13th June 2010. They’ve built the site using Ning.com, where you can create your own social network around anything you like.

There’s loads of information and links on the Manchester Da Vinci site – a discussion forum, lots of links to interactive content, and a whole range of Da Vinci-related videos and images. You can even take The Genius Test to find out if you’re as clever as Leonardo himself. I, unsurprisingly, am not..

Categories: News · Social Media
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Why Bother With Social Media?

13 May, 2009 · 1 Comment

There are few things that irritate me as much as the phrase ‘World Music’. Trudging down the endless aisles of ‘Rock’, ‘Pop’ and ‘Indie’ until you reach the sorry-looking section at the back of the shop where four dusty shelves are dedicated to ambiguously-titled ‘Best Of the Continent’ compilations would be laughable if it wasn’t so totally desperate.

What, exactly, would go on a ‘Best of Europe’ compilation? Who, exactly, decides what 15 tracks best represent over ten thousand years of Africa’s rich musical history? And just when, exactly, was it decided that the music coming from the vast majority of the world’s population would be lumped together under Rest of World – as a kind of sub-category to ‘Real Music’ – as if samba players in Brazil had anything at all in common with Bangra musicians in India.

It is a desperate situation not just because of the huge sea of ignorance in which it is swimming, but also because it has the tragic result of silencing the sounds made by millions of people. How much ‘World Music’ are we actually exposed to? How many of us are guilty of buying a ‘Best of Afro-Funk’ compilation, but have absolutely no idea who Fela Kuti was? How many of us could name 10 ‘World Musicians’?

‘Western’ musical culture is but a fraction of an infinite, timeless musical pie, yet probably represents over 90% of the music and musical history we are exposed to and understand. And intentional or not, this is the direct result of the workings of the record industry, and the huge sums of money thrown at just 10% of the world’s musicians. And so those are the sounds we hear and the voices we listen to.

This is much the same problem as has been created by the media industry. I would guess that 95% of the world’s population (‘World Population’ – reduced to 4 dusty shelves in the Democracy Shop) take no part whatsoever in the conversations created by the global media, and perhaps only 12% of the population in any given country – including this one – make their voices part of their local or national media. And just as the musicians we hear help us form an opinion and understanding of what music is, the voices we hear in the media help us form an opinion of what is going on in the world.

Are we really going to rely on 5% of the world’s population – undoubtedly those with money and power and vested interests – to tell us how we should interpret things? Or do we want to make our own minds up?

The internet has done nothing less than provided ‘World Musicians’ and ‘World Population’ with a platform to shout from, and the tools with which to shout. P2P file-sharing and sites such as Last.Fm and MySpace have had a massive impact in spreading knowledge and understanding of musicians from all round the globe; social media – blogs, Facebook, YouTube, internet radio and the like – has given people an ability to take part in the conversations that are trying to figure out what’s going on in the world, and, more importantly, what we should do about it. And crucially, as long as you’ve got access to the internet, you’ve got as much chance as anyone else – regardless of money, power or vested interests – of taking part in that conversation (- for the time being at least – look up Net Neutrality – )

People’s Voice Media
exists simply to teach people the skills they need to get involved. So get involved!

NB All statistics in the this article have been completely made up, but feel plausible and are based on very intelligent and educated guesses

Categories: Social Media

What’s The Story? Community Reporters Hit The Big Time!

9 February, 2009 · Leave a Comment

A group of Community Reporters from Manchester and Salford will be in Exchange Square on Monday 16th February 12pm – 2pm. They will be asking passers-by ‘What’s Your Story?’ as their own stories are shown on the big screen.

If you’re a Community Reporter, then come along! And if you’ve got a story you’d like to tell our reporters, or you’re interested in becoming a reporter, or if you’d just like to see what it is we get up to, then come along too! The more the merrier!

Community Reporting is a programme run by People’s Voice Media, in partnership with the BBC. People are trained in using social media to tell their own stories in their own ways. Some use audio and video equipment, others use mobiles or webcams, some prefer just to blog.
As part of their training they have produced a variety of short films, and a selection of these will be shown on the big screen. The reporters will then interview passers-by to get their thoughts, views and stories.

Categories: Community Reporters · News · Social Media

AllVoices – The first open media site where anyone can report from anywhere

27 August, 2008 · Leave a Comment

There’s a brand spanking new website just out, and it’s taking what we’re doing here at People’s Voice Media to an international level.

AllVoices.com “brings together multiple voices or points of view via news stories, videos, images and blogs from the Internet, to provide context and build momentum.” The idea is simple – it does what it says on the tin. Anyone, anywhere in the world, with access to a computer, can post ‘news’ on the site. The site is computer-moderated, so inevitably some spam gets through, but most of the stuff posted on there is legitimate.

Unshackled by advertising, the site is bringing together a whole range of voices, opinions and stories, many of which would not normally be considered ‘newsworthy,’ or would even, for various reasons, be deliberately left out of the mainstream media (see eg Proof That Media Controls the Election) It’s a fascinating experiment, and what we at PVM are aiming towards, if on a slightly smaller scale!

If you live in or around Manchester, and would like to get involved in some way, please email jess@mcin.net

Happy Surfing!

Categories: Community Reporters · News · Social Media