Crossover 4iP
March 5, 2009 – 5:34 pmWe’ve just completed our first lab specifically to explore Channel 4’s programme for new kinds of public service media, 4iP. It was commissioned by Northern Film and Media and held in the spectacular Turbine Hall of Newcastle’s CastleGate Centre.
As part of the preparation for it, I asked one of the 4iP Commissioning Managers to give me a list of projects or websites which he thought would meet the programme’s criteria. Here is what he sent me:
1) Just Giving: Brilliant example of where the web allows for more effective charity fund raising. Simple to use, clear public service application, makes people’s life’s better, has revolutionised the fundraising ecosystem. Revenue generating and sustainable business model too.
2) Gym Fu: Innovative use of technology that turns users into movers. An example of small, lightweight software that has the potential to have a disproportionate impact on peoples’ lives. It’s hard to tackle the obesity problem from the top down but making exercise fun and competitive is a great way to tackle it from the ground up.
3) Wikipedia: Needs no introduction. One of the best examples of participation on the web and controversial in a Channel 4 like way too. The public service benefits are enormous and far reaching. The business is sustainable but not for profit which is fine for 4iP.
4) Mint: Not yet available in the UK but a hit in the US. Allows you to make sense of your finances and track your spending in new ways. Will use the network to compare your interest rates with others. In a time of recession it helps you decide where to cut back and how to reduce debt. It’s clearly a profit making business.
5) Free the Postcode: The postcode database - which turns a post code to a latitude/longitude and back - is not free in the UK. In fact, it’s very expensive. The UK Post Code owns it and sells it to various companies that make use of it for things like insurance or parcel tracking. There are however many people who’d like to use it for non-profit purposes. They have iPhone and Android apps that
6) Army Rumour Network: The aim of ARRSE (in so far that it has one) is to provide a useful, informative and amusing site for people with an interest in the British Army. They don’t promote the overthrow of HMG, nor do they exist to toe the party line. Users can expect to find both reasoned argument and complete ARRSE within it’s pages. It exists for all. From a 4iP perspective it exists as both a pressure vent for the British Military Community, as well as an extremely valuable sounding-board for identifying the issues and concerns of all ranks.
7) Open Steet Map: is a free editable map of the whole world. It is made by people like you. OpenStreetMap allows you to view, edit and use geographical data in a collaborative way from anywhere on Earth. The project was started because most maps you think of as free actually have legal or technical restrictions on their use, holding back people from using them in creative, productive, or unexpected ways. From a 4iP perspective it’s an enabler and a tool.
They Work For You: TheyWorkForYou.com is a non-partisan website run by a charity which aims to make it easy for people to keep tabs on their elected and unelected representatives in Parliament and other assemblies. It allows anyone in the UK to keep a closer eye on money and power as well as making hitherto buried information findable and usable.
