Month: October 2007

Exploring new media opportunities.

(GRB) MediaSnackers is off to facilitate a consulting session for Oxfordshire County Council and a group of their youth workers.

I would like to commend the work of DK (Mediasnackers) in relation to training of staff in the use of new media with young people. During a recent one-day session, DK enthused staff, worked through practical examples, was alert to local, national and global issues; he has an undisputed wealth of information, knowledge and expertise about new media.

DK works with confidence, inspiring as workers as well as providing sound learning for staff, most importantly he ensured they had the tools and wherewithal to take the work forward in their work with young people and colleagues.

As a result of DK's input staff have more confidence and creativity in their use of new media and this has had immediate and lasting impact on enhancing meaningful access to young people that they engage with.
Ruth Ashwell, Service Manager, Youth Support Services

MediaSnackers Consulting

The little vid caused a ripple.

(WORLD) The MediaSnackers Explained 90sec short (see below) which you'll find here of mediasnackers.com has been used to start a discussion across other markets and operations.

Web strategist and Sr Analyst at Forrester Research, Jeremiah Owyang, featured our short vid in this blog post and used our meme to start a discussion about whether people prefer short-form media and if so, do the creators of such online fodder consider this in their production.

We’ve been following the discussion as it appears on several other sites like: Chris Brogan, Connie Densen, Clay Newton, Connie Reece, Lee Hopkins, Deborah Schultz, Steven Hodson, Geoff Livingston, John Johnston, Cathleen Rittereiser, Mark Cahill, Kevin Dugan, Kami Huyse (and again), Jane Quigley, Sarah Wurrey, Todd Defren, Kyle Flaherty, Gaurav Mishra, Drew McLellan, Andrea Vascellari, Beth Kanter, Ike Piggott, Jason Falls, Rob La Gesse, Doug Meacham, Chris Wilson, Meg Tsiamis, Elizabeth Dunn, Colin McKay, Tamar Weinberg, Martin Koser, Mark Goren, Angela Penny, Heather Yaxley, Sherri Lynne, Luis Suarez, Rich, Valeria Maltoni, Jim Long, Neil Perkin, Shel Holtz, Luca Vergano, Daniel Mejia—we're thrilled to see the meme explored in all these contexts and have enjoyed following the digital breadcrumbs.

One point has recurred (and it's one which has been highlighted ever since we posted the 90sec piece back in our first vodcast): you don't have to be young to be a MediaSnacker! We totally agree. MediaSnacking is not age-specific.

We focus on young people due to our background and experience but also because there are HUGE differentiators for this youth generation (please don't take it personally):

• they can claim to be the first to have a global voice instantly (even though they don't really care)
• they have ubiquitious access or ownership to technology which allows them to digest, connect, share, promote, interact, express etc. which they are not taught about but simply socialised into
• and most importantly, they don't know a world without a media menu of vast proportions across so many different platforms and mediums.

We're looking forward to following our meme spread further.

The MediaSnackers Meme was also used in a Wired article back in March 07—we were trying to get a podcast interview with the editor, Chris Anderson for about 6 months previous and like to think we influenced the seeding of the feature :-)

View all ‘MediaSnackers Meme’ posts

Image credit

Keeping track of the growing MediaSnackers Meme.

(WORLD) We probably weren't the first to apply the 'snacking' metaphor to media, although there seems to be a growing adoption in terms of describing the new youth-media landscape—we thought it would be good to keep an eye on the growing MediaSnacking meme:

To cater to what it believes is the short attention span of online audiences, the network today is launching CBS EyeLab, a digital-production studio that will create and distribute short clips cut together from the network’s most popular shows.
Attempts by one of the biggest TV netweork to win back viewers through the web.

If velocity is indeed one of the prime attributes of Social Media )you can argue the point—but heck, speed is screamingly important these days) then Snackbytes are my way of ensuring that I share my thoughts in the moment so that they retain relevancy with the many topics and conversations I follow and engage in on-line.
From the weblog from Deborah Schultz.

Tweets keep everything short and sweet, perfect for sound-bite nation or media snackers.
John Johnston about his experiences of following a presentation via Twitter.

View all ‘MediaSnackers Meme’ posts

Regain control.

(WORLD) One of the biggest challenge MediaSnackers face when delivering (or attempting to deliver) our training are the IT departments. Some have been simply superb whilst others plain stubborn.

One of the biggest challenges our clients face when discussing using technology and new media in their organisation is their IT departments restrictive policies. We always tell them:

The IT department works for you and not the other way round.

Something which Hugh from GapingVoid illustrates beautifully in his image above.

…and it's not turning back.

(WORLD) More evidence that the world is changing for MediaSnackers everywhere from these recent articles:

• young people using Bebo to become activists;
• if you have a mobile phone you can now launch you own TV channel;
• MySpace is getting into documentaries;
• get academic credits from watching YouTube;
• you no longer have to attend a film festival to attend a film festival.

View all ‘The World Has Changed…’ posts

Image credit

Media and youth, youth and media ad infinitum.

(WORLD) MediaSnackers has a simple focus: how young people consume and create media across the globe.

There are a vast amount weblogs, organisations and businesses out there focussing on this topic; some just on the technology aspect, several around the education arena, numerous on the marketing subject and others on new media platforms—but one HUGE constant keeps repeating for us:

You can't explore the impact of new media and technology on young people without exploring the impact of young people on new media and technology (and vice versa and so on and so forth).

In the 1950s a programme called Winky Dinky and You invited young people to participate in their show by using acetate and drawing the characters off the television screens. Over half a century later we have a generation interacting, creating, producing, owning, sharing, influencing all forms of media through the pervasive technology and devices they own or have access to.

We have also reached an unparalleled level of information and media in our society. Advertising has become more directive, aggresive and also ubiquitous. It's essential to challenge and ascertain any harm the media having on young people and ask those questions regarding responsibility.

Is it about technology, access, psychology or a deeper paradigm shift in empowerment and creativity?

There is a kick-ass quote from a young person in the Circuits of Cool research by Microsoft/MTV 2007 which goes:

My mates are my media.

Wow!

In our training, speaking and consulting gigs we share fantastic stories about young people creating and using new media and technology in a pro-social context—illustrative case studies which got no or extremely little mainstream media coverage. We also educate our clients and the young people we work with on how to define their media menu and of course create their own (plus how to share and disseminate it).

This new media climate brings about a new set of questions relating to who has the greatest capacity, reach, impact etc.—the young people or the media?

The answer(s) keep changing along with the evolving mediascape but we have the passion and enthusiasm to keep asking the question. More importantly the understanding to explore how the media is shaping the youth of today whilst exploring how youth are shaping media.

MediaSnackers is currently working on a project which brings these all too often separate discussions together.

A great speaking gig.

(GBR) At the beginning of the week MediaSnackers delivered a keynote presentation at the South East Youth Partnership AGM in Guildford. The partnership comprises of all the 19 Local Authority Statutory Youth Services and Councils for Voluntary Youth Services and the theme for the AGM was Communication.

We met some great people and would like to thank them all for their hospitality and warm comments:

DK presented to the South East Youth Partnership AGM and turned it from a meeting into an event. He was challenging, thought provoking and his enthusiasm was contagious. We are now all aware of how much we did not know. The room was buzzing with ideas these managers were going to take back to their work place and their workers to improve and facilitate the conversations with young people.

This was one presentation that really will make a difference.
Hilary Lewis, Chief Executive, South East Youth Partnership

MediaSnackers Speaking