Unexpected Media

Capturing the conversations

Today is Thursday, so it must be Oxford.

It’s the ninth of thirteen Launch Days for the 2007 Innovation Labs. The agenda for each day is pretty much the same: presentations by Matt Locke and one or more of the BBC commissioners followed by a structured discussion about innovation processes, current key trends and, finally, a brainstorming session. At the end of the day people pitch ideas to the BBC team.

It’s a bit like being on tour with a minor rock band (sadly without sex, drugs or rock ‘n roll). For me the most interesting part of the day is the discussion and mapping exercise that I facilitate around innovation processes and the creation of a ‘map’ of the mediascape in which the Labs are taking place. The same themes always emerge: fragmentation of audiences, personalisation, multiple devices, user-generated content, the blurring of conumer and producer, social networking, redefinition of identity and community, end of the schedule, the long tail etc. But each group has taken the conversation different directions and focused on specific topics. At Rich Mix in London, there was an emphasis on the importance of narrative and the BBC’s role as a storyteller, in Newcastle people raised the question of ‘piracy’ - and not just as a negative thing but as a driving force for creativity and innovation when it’s in the context of mashups and re-use of content.

In Oxford the group focused on community, news and globalisation. There was a view that the BBC should play a bigger role in encouraging dialogue and creating connections between people in the UK and countries with whom we are in conflict (or the government is on our behalf).