Technology

Funny moment

Thought I’d do the “normal” thing and call up a shop assistant (a human) at a local store (remember bricks and mortar?) and ask if they have a DVD in (remember tangible goods?) I could buy (remember…). Well, I called up and guess what she did? She looked up www.imdb.com.

Mobiles interacting with (previously) non-networked media

How do you get information from a poster, a billboard, a product on a shelf or a tree to your mobile phone? Well, here are some ways: Bluecasting: Viacom Outdoors launched a bluecasting campaign for Channel 4’s Four Docs program (I’ve spoken about this before). There is also a company called Hypertag offering the same service. … Read moreMobiles interacting with (previously) non-networked media

MMOG on your Mobile

Australian MMOG platform creator, BigWorld Technology, announced in March an adjunct to their suite that allows a virtual world to be played on a mobile phone. Using their technology you can create a MMOG especially for a phone or make your existing one also available on the mobile. Exciting. It would be good if you could … Read moreMMOG on your Mobile

Towards a Metaverse

In Wired recently Steven Johnson, author of Everything Bad Is Good for You: How Today’s Popular Culture Is Actually Making Us Smarter, commented on the need for a metaverse (a term apparently coined by Neal Stephenson — though I cannot imagine it never being uttered until 1992), a unified platform in which all our avatars can roam freely between the various virtual worlds. He argues:

Read moreTowards a Metaverse

Dream Machines

I think everyone is aware of so-called ‘convergent devices’: devices that provide functions (such as text, sound, moving image, net-enabled) that have previously only been available is separate units. A premium example is Microsoft’s upcoming Origami [see YouTube video]. I like the idea of a device that can do everything, but I don’t like the idea … Read moreDream Machines

Video interviews with Top Media Practitioners & Marketers

Jason Romney is a Melb Barrister who is also the founder and CEO of itvworld.com. He attends every new media event that goes on and harpoons the best speakers for a video chat. He shares these interviews for free through iTunes and at his website: netvideo.com.au, in many formats: Quicktime for Mac users Flash Video for Windows … Read moreVideo interviews with Top Media Practitioners & Marketers

Updates on Two Alternate Forms of Distribution

Just over a year ago I posted about the webisode by Blair Witch co-creator Daniel Myrick: The Strand. They use a method approach of minimal lighting, actors and non-actors. On the website it is described as having “the authenticy of a documentary, but with the narrative storytelling of any scripted show”. Back then, the pilot could be streamed for free … Read moreUpdates on Two Alternate Forms of Distribution

Convergent Journalism & Education Convention

Fresh from the The Convergence Newsletter is news that the Broadcast Education Association’s 2006 convention is on “convergence”: Convergence Shockwave: Change, Challenge and Opportunity. It runs from April 26-29 in Las Vegas. There are over 20 sessions dedicated to discussing convergence in many forms: content, management, advertising, culture, technology, curriculum and teaching. There are two … Read moreConvergent Journalism & Education Convention