Do you or your organization have a question about how to use digital communication technologies that you would like a room full of experts to workshop for free?
Are there people you feel you could engage with in new ways with these new technologies? A campaign you want to support? A service you wish to provide? An idea you can envisage? A change you want to encourage?
On December 15th, iShed is launching Media Sandbox 2009, its second R&D commissioning scheme supporting research into emerging technologies. As last year, I am designing and facilitating the events and mentoring the virtual facilitation.
Media Sandbox is:
“…a development scheme which offers a ‘safe space’ for collaboration between creative talent, technology companies and content commissioners. It is an entirely unique opportunity for creatives from the South West of England to collaboratively create radical new products and processes – pushing forward understanding and potential usage of interactive digital media…”
We will have a room full of experienced programmers, designers, academics, project and business managers, artists, writers, innovation people, gamers and other digital media types.
(Media Sandbox 2008 workshop action, CC: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mediasandbox/)
We need some real issues to work on and want to apply ourselves to regional questions. That’s where you come in.
Can you think of something you would like to be ‘workshop-ed’ on December 15th? For free?
Maybe it could become a commissioned project (receiving £8,000 budget and more).
A couple of (very high level) examples:
- How can we design a campaign to engage our target demographic with our message in an innovative way?
- Our association needs to reach out to a wider group using a mix of technologies. What’s the best way to do it?
We are collecting questions from as wide a range of organisations as possible on our online network in advance of the event. Attendees will be able to see the questions and who they are from and will decide which ones to workshop on the day. We can’t promise your question will be chosen, but it’s worth a try. You can always turn your question into a proposal for the scheme afterwards.
You are welcome to pose a question to the group whether you come to the launch event or not – naturally you are welcome to come to the event, but we understand if you don’t have time (the event is between 2pm and 6pm on December 15th).
To pose a question for the group to work on:
- Sign up to the Media Sandbox event network
- Fill in your profile information – the more the better – it will help provide context for your question
- Post a message to the group by clicking on ‘Messages’
- Click on ‘Compose’
- Type ‘question’ into the ‘To’ field
- Add the question title in the ‘Subject’ field
- Add your question in the ‘Message’ field. Please provide as much background as suitable, a clear question and desirable outcomes.
Those links again:
- Media Sandbox event network (for questions and networking)
- Media Sandbox formal registration page (for coming to the event in person)
- More information about Media Sandbox 2009 (about the scheme, proposals, etc.)
How do we get fast broadband connections into the homes and hands of households that struggle to pay the electricity bills and put food on the table, so that they can have their say too?
Thanks Sean – not sure it’s really within the remit as described but will bring it up, and hoping to see you or some of the BW posse on the day?
How can we really use technology effectively to engage digitally excluded people (older people, carers, disabled), and organisations in rural areas where access is an issue and broadband connections are limited. How do we bring a range of digital technologies together to support real and effective digital inclusion plans?
(sorry I can’t be there in Bristol on 15th, but look forward to hearing back from you!).
Thanks Julie,
as with Sean’s question, I’m not sure it’s within the remit as described (I’m kind of thinking DC10 plus stuff there) but I will make sure this them is brought up
As the project’s remit covers all digital technologies and non-digital – (multi-platform), perhaps your point:
“How do we bring a range of digital technologies together to support real and effective digital inclusion plans?”
could that include reaching people on mobile phones, stands in shopping centres, etc. to help people get online? that would be an interesting question… (?)
Thanks Ed – and yes, thats what I was thinking about – how do we use tech (and kit other than normal PCs) to get people involved – and of course mobile phones are pretty much everywhere (except with the very elderly) so that could be a great question – but can you please have a go at getting people to consider urban and rural models? ie. shopping centres arent found in many villages!
Julie
I’ll try to represent it but don’t want to get it wrong – we’re capturing the questions on the event network over here:
http://pathable.com/events/media-sandbox-2009/
any chance you could pop it up there? it will only take a couple of minutes I promise