67 posts tagged “rxdxt”
On a whim and with some pushes from @dearsarah I decided to attend a film I've hitherto avoided, "We Live in Public" at it's LAFF premiere. I've avoided the film as I knew it included lots of footage of friends employers and lovers, past and present, and frankly some of which I have happily buried in my psyche to safely release later when I'm 73 and suspected of senility. (Disclosure, I know many of the subjects of the film personally and in fact Josh' story line informed some of the storylines in On_Line the 2002 Sundance film I produced about on-line dating and cybersex that none of you have seen either.)
However, I somehow felt it was time to caste out these ghosts of lives gone past, I suspect the rented red muscle car and the weekend of Father's day classic rock blocks on the radio while I drove around with the top down in my former home of Los Angeles helped fortify for what was to come.
The movie starts off a bit more focused on Josh, than is likely fair, or reasonable and in many ways doesn’t celebrate his very real success (Jupiter) and genius, it does, however accurately portray the craziness that ensued thereafter (though I think some of that party footage was Razorfish not Pseudo parties, but who’s' quibbling. I think it did an excellent job of capturing the party-turns-orgy-turns-Lordoftheflies downward spiral moment. Some nice flourishes to that bit as well - and I agree that the millennium officially ended on 9-11 (though I thought we spent a few frames to long on that).
However, I think the most important part of the movie, was tucked into its tail end, after the chaos, orgies and the automatic weapons. Even after the fascinating process of watching a human being lose his lover, house, car, money, family and fame... It's what he sought after that I found fascinating…
First he went to family, they denied him - though the film doesn’t' really tell us why (I have some guesses). Then he sough solitude and work (channeling a Paul Simon theme song ) in his apple orchard. And finally he moves to Ethiopia, in a move the movie says is to avoid AMEX collections agents.
But I don't believe it for a second.
Josh, after craving, receiving and consuming all of this attention, press, media and people around him - suddenly craved something much more personal. Quiet. He wanted to unplug from the grid - in a Quaker like straight-edge effort to bury himself in the craft and work of the apple farm he though he could escape, reinvent anew and unplug from the media/knowledge/relationships/tweets/email/internet monster he helped create.
Of course, failed completely as up-state New York is still on the grid, So he picked an even more remote, emerging market, Ethiopia, and by all accounts he's dome some amazing things there with his orphanage and life. Yet - and he said this on stage in the Q&A - you can try to escape the media/technology beast, but it follows you, its everywhere feeding you its diet and warping your every thought, action, and affecting; overtly and subversively - your work.
Not that I had as much system re-tuning and rebuilding to do on my departure from the BBC before beginning at AND, but this same desire for disconnection drove me to pick BALI and to leave my blackberry in my Villa for most of the trip - partially unsuccessfully for those of you who saw the flickr/facebook feeds –But the net. But NO, the network was there almost 100% of the time, via blackberry, iPhone, WIFI at Ku De Ta, and on the beach of most of the tourist spots. Not being connected and the noise and drivel of communications, media, technology and society – was inescapable as was the experience pollution it they bring with them. Like the Starbucks and McDonalds - who conquered the planet before the Internet. There is no uncharted territories in meat-space any more, there is no THERE. (see my favourite William Gibson quote below):
"Totally ubiquitous computing. One of the things our grandchildren will find quaintest about us is that we distinguish the digital from the real, the virtual from the real. In the future, that will become literally impossible. The distinction between cyberspace and that which isn't cyberspace is going to be unimaginable. There is where they don't have WIFI." - William Gibson
Which leads me to the point I’ve started to make at the end of my speeches lately, a point people either dismiss as too obvious or snicker at as to it's impossibility.. The resorts of the future will be THERE, they'll be at a place, disconnected from the planet, probably secret in it's location, (maybe under the sea, or on a mountain (or in a bunker under one) they'll be self-sustaining to minimize peoples need to interact with the outside world and people will have to go to great lengths to get in (and to be proven not journalists) - If the future goes the way it seems to some days there may even be automatic weapons involved…
In Short, Josh's vision for the world, "QUIET" is the future - a place totally connected; yet simultaneously disconnected.... A point subliminally made in the film, but one I think is absolutely an important one to consider. What is the correct level of connection to the world, to each other, to our “watchers” and how can we evolve a modicum of decorum, language and personal space in the digital social fabric so as not to have to ignore the 23000 people who add us as a friend after seeing us speak at a conference. (wait, don't take that personal Steve, your cool)...
In short, this technology both as an entertainment medium and as a platform for society’s very existence is still woefully immature and ill developed. Like many teens it has a healthy respect /fascination with sex, weapons, interpersonal communications and fame. What it's lacking is any sort of teacher/leader who can help it, and us – its older siblings - make sense of it all, as even those of us closest to it can't really see it for what it is.
In the Q&A someone mentioned Ray Kurzweil's singularity to me tonight which makes me smile every time (including its mention in the Matrix movies). Yet I'm fascinated and enthralled by what the combination of behavioral-targeted advertising, the elimination of privacy and the evolution of brands into ephemeral fashion do to our culture. What survives in a world where everything is dismantled, re-assembled, attribution lost and personal contribution mangled and everything, always 24-7 is for sale. The line between signal and noise moves in completely unpredictable ways.
For me, I find myself seeking, more and more – the same thing as Josh. Ways to steal away from the chatter, discussions, technology, progress, media, markets and things… yet I also find myself wandering into bars of strangers with distant friends for company where I can hide.
I’ve realized that what I REALLY want in the world is to easily be transported to a place that embodies MY idea of Quiet, quite different from Josh’s. A place to be alone with your thoughts and away from the “watchers” and “participants” sort of the inverse of Josh’s worlds in that I don’t mean a bunker in Manhattan full of naked girls and automatic weapons (though those parties we some of the more interesting ones I’ve attended) I mean the real kind…. But I’ve looked and searched – and have come to the painful and inobvious conclusion that it does not really exist.
So of to bed, after I post this, add links and tweet about it - Ciao
Somehow I convinced Tavin to join me on the back of a motorcycle trip here in Bali. Frankly I suspect it was a moment of romantic weakness, but we had a GREAT day - photos on flickr.
Inspired by the random blog I found on google (keywords: Motorcycle, temple, bali) we decided to pop over to Tanah Lot temple. Made it there quite safe and sound after a few twists and turns (and stopping by a cool Kustom Bike shop (more photos on Flickr) - BEAUTIFUL bikes, made me want one, but I'd have to move someplace other than London.
Then we went to the temple, which was amazing, and beautiful, though a bit touristy. On the bike again and made our way home - suddenly out of the corner of my eye, I saw some guys loading a truck with some stuff - looked like parts of a Gamelan, so to Tavin's terror I pulled U-Turn and asked them what they were doing. They invited us to come see their "concert" - Tavin wasn't sure, but I couldn't refuse so we popped back on the bike and followed the sea of similarly dressed guys on motoscooters following the truc
Turned out it was the six month anniversary of the temple at the end of the road, the stuff in the truck was the final pieces for the Gamelan (I counted almost 50 musicians!) we were invited to sit and watch/listen while they played and some folks walked in and out with offerings for the temple. A TRULY magical experience.
Back on the bike, and then into the WORST traffic jam every. Almost died about 6 times, most dangerously when the traffic stopped and the purple tourist buses behind us almost rear-ended Tavin.
All was well though - although I actually got nervous when I realized there was a bike ahead, behind and on both sides of me and we'd be unable to fall because there were so many of them!
Out of traffic, we arrived at thevilla, a quick swim and now a massage - sorry no more updates for today - tomorrow to UBUD.
I have always lived my life counter-cyclically (sic), leaving Razorfish before the .com crash, buying what became Schematic at the bottom of the last .com recession and then leaving the film business after a series of Sundance Film Festival hits.
From the outside, these moves seemed mad, but most of them proved to be quite prescient, and often lucrative. Moreover, I'm driven by a need to be intellectually and creatively challenged; complacency isn't in my vocabulary. I love to make things, and build teams - and businesses.So today, I've made an announcement which will catch many by surprise. I have decided to leave the BBC to join DMGT, a large British media conglomerate to become the CEO of the division which holds their digital businesses, Associated Northcliffe Digital (http://and.co.uk).
I'm incredibly proud of the work I've done over the past two years at the BBC: the redesign and transformation of the www, mobile and itv services, BBC iPlayer on all of its platforms and of course the mobile and online personalized homepages. Doing one of these would have been an achievement in itself. These successes and their resulting recognition and awards, the GSMA award for mobile BBC iPlayer, the Bafta nomination for /programmes and the .net awards for the redesigns would have been impossible without the amazing teams and people I had by my side at the BBC, I will miss them incredibly.
But for now it's on to the future and a new, much larger challenge, and one I hope and believe will be equally, if not more, stimulating and rewarding. Given the economic and sector transitions in media, publishing, commerce and technology - I have heard opportunity knocking - and can't help myself but open the door and let her in!
Best
This week, I took several steps to reduce my carbon footprint in the world. As some will already know though we've lived in London for bordering on three years, we do not own a car! Instead in addition to being an avid public transport user (though its not workable for my routes to and from work - as i need to drop the kids off at school) I use a pair of car services Ecoigo and Green Tomato to get from place to place. While it's slightly more than a car payment, when you add parking, congestion charge, gas, insurance and the value of the extra reading/phone time for me in the back, it's pretty much a wash in cost. More importantly, I have an incredibly low carbon footprint due to the use of a shared vehicle, which also, as a hybrid or electric has an even lower carbon/pollution index.
However, it's time to buy a car, mostly as the wife and kids want to begin exploring the countryside, and additional parts of Great Britain we've not seen, particularly the north and west (Wales). So the quest for a car begins. The 1st thing we did was put ourselves on the waiting list (secured place and everything) for a new Tesla S-series (I got to drive a Roadster back pre-release when we made Who Killed the Electric Car? However, the Tesla, even if we manage to get an early one, won't be available until at least 2010. So we need a car short-term (given that Tavin and I are about to become certified, licensed, UK drivers (my test is next week!). I'd prefer an electric, but just don't fit in a Nice or mini (at 6'2" it just won't work) I'd like to buy a Tesla Roadster, but the wife, kindly pointed out it wasnt' very practical for the kids. So we are still negotiating - any ideas welcome!
Lastly, A few weeks ago when I was at 3GSMA I stumbled upon a fascinating booth. The Solio is a combination solar charger and shared battery pack (similar to the Tumi Powerpack) but with power cells. Now frankly Solar chargers for phones/ipods/(or in those days walkmen) aren't exactly new - I had something similar from an Early Winters catalog in my teens. But the difference with this one is that it REALLY works.
I've used it on walks in the heath, or o days when I forget to charge my Blackberry/Iphone/iPod and find it indespensible. With my upcoming surf-adventure, I'm keen to use it in bright sunshine and see if my crackberry habit can lower its carbon footprint. More on that in the future.
Lastly, I'm giving a speach at a sold out session at the RSA on the future and mobile; topics I particularly love.
My team launched our newest proposition today - the BBC Mobile Homepage - with customization and device detection.. an AMAZING feat.. it's a nice book-end to the work I started just over a year ago with the revamp of the BBC's homepage. I've co-written a blog about it on the BBC Blogs about it - which you should take a look at. We've had a TON of positive response on it in the press - including some reviews. I've posted some of them below:
BBC revamps mobile site focusing on customisation
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/pda/2009/mar/11/bbc-mobilephones
http://www.nma.co.uk/Articles/41820/BBC+launches+beta+of+personalised+mobile+service.html
http://www.mobile-ent.biz/news/32848/BBC-revamps-mobile-site
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/pda/2009/mar/11/bbc-mobilephones
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/11/AR2009031100389.html
http://ariel.gateway.bbc.co.uk/viewDailyNews.asp?storyID=20950
http://www.t3.com/news/new-bbc-mobile-homepage-goes-live?=38346
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/03/11/bbc_mobile_beta/
http://www.techdigest.tv/2009/03/i_wasnt_aware_t.html
http://www.dtg.org.uk/news/news.php?id=3300
http://www.paidcontent.co.uk/entry/419-mobile-content-bits-bbc-updates-mobile-times-going-out-guide/
http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2009/03/11/4047600.htm
http://www.techradar.com/news/phone-and-communications/bbc-unveils-new-mobile-homepage-580949
http://www.itproportal.com/portal/news/article/2009/3/11/bbc-mobile-website-gets-refreshed/
http://www.mobileshop.com/news/index.php/2009/march/bbc-optimises-mobile-website
http://crave.cnet.co.uk/mobiles/0,39029453,49301483,00.htm
http://www.indiantelevision.com/end/y2k9/mar/12marge3.php
http://www.allaboutsymbian.com/news/item/9117_BBC_Mobile_gets_a_Custom_Refre.php
Congrats to Ulyssa, Lucy, Jason, Jon, and the other Jason and the team!
Best
A BEAUTIFUL EV from GM - who i pilloried in my film "Who Killed the Electric Car?" - Makes me almost want them to survive the economic crisis. When's it avail in the states?
It was a crazy crazy week in Barcelona for Global Mobile World Congress. I need the weekend just to digest the activities of the week. A couple of highlights:
- I was elected to serve on the Board of the Mobile Entertainment Forum (MEF)
- BBC iPlayer won the GSMA award for best audio/video application (the industry's highest honor!) - congrats team.
In the midst of this
Interesting press clippings in no particular order:
One of my BBC teams - the BBC RAD unit got some great coverage
Nic Newman (one of my collegues) is quoted at a conference in Sydney.
Erik Huggers (my boss) interviewed in Silicon iPlayer perpetually in Beta
Hello all,
Been getting lots of Press lately on iPlayer:
The Financial Times
A few more but I'll make you google them.
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