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Amsterdam Time Lapse Shines Above Eindhoven

Wow. Jack Fisher, a young photographer from Newcastle in the UK answered my wish for someone to do a proper job capturing the city of Amsterdam with timelapse.  By filming over a two month period he came up with a better montage than anything I have seen done locally. It's because he built a more powerful story and had the advantage of being the outsider looking in. Beautiful!

 

Tried and failed to do something similar in Eindhoven this past November. The city in Noord Brabant spends a lot of money making posters to try and attract visitors to the city of light in what they call Glow. But with a festival of little over a week and atrocious wind and rain throughout the period this time round, I was desperately disappointed. Many of the light exhibitions in Eindhoven were curiosities. Did not get the feeling that I was witnessing a celebration of life. The rain and cold just made it down right miserable. Gave up and caught the early train home.  Hoped that others would have more luck, but so far have not found much evidence that others were more successful. I wish that Eindhoven would experiment with more time lapse - so much more dynamic than the video below.



I think you'll agree that this is nothing like Jack discovered in Amsterdam. 

To finish off, here is a flashback to an earlier posting about City Time Lapses..

What keeps societies apart

This Russia Today documentary is an interesting outside looking in perspective. Life in the West of Amsterdam is indeed another world and I fear the focus is on what divides people rather than what brings them together. 

Everyone is wearing Google Glass @TNW in Amsterdam

May be I should qualify that.

We're all trying on the same pair that tech writer Robert Scoble brought with him to TheNextWeb conference in the Western part of Amsterdam today.



Fair play, Scoble stuck around for around 2 hours after a stage interview with Andrew Keen to let people try them on, pose for photos and ask questions. He could have escaped like other speakers...but he didn't. Photo quality wasn't bad at all. Only challenge is that that position above the right eye is not the most interesting angle for photos.

The Scoble and Keen interview focus on privacy, with Andrew quizzing Robert on why he kept them on while in a public convenience. For the last year, Google Glass has spawned all kinds of videos. From the official ones....



to a whole host of  parodies. Like if Project Windows Glass existed...



and remember this college project called Sight from last August?

Sight from Sight Systems on Vimeo.

I'm very curious to see what price these glasses will eventually sell for. I can't imagine it has cost Google more than US$150 to make them. They have obviously spent time and money on the design. My guess is under US$300. Assuming they ever ship to the general public.


John C. Dvorak, one half of the no-agenda show, believes Google Glasses is nothing more than a hoax and a giant publicity stunt. I'm pretty sure that others are working on wearable competitors. Like Go-Pro, for instance. But, for the moment, Google is generating a lot of media exposure for a remarkably little piece of investment, especially at a time when Apple is stuck in its product cycle....not producing anything really new.
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Robert Scoble was at TNW sharing the news about Google Glass

Hanna Vera and Robert Scoble at TNW

Martim Bryant, Managing Editor @ TheNextWeb

I even tried them on. Though ironically couldn't take a picture of myself wearing them!

Jonathan Marks gets his one minute with Google Glasses. Fascinating. Surprised at the quality of the video definition.

Struggling with Dutch Fragmentation

I have been comparing how various European cities are positioning themselves, especially as they sink even deeper into the quagmire of severe economic recession. Things have never been as tough as this within living memory. Subsidies to the arts have vaporised.

In some cultures, this situation brings people together. You see more collaboration, often between people who have been commercial or artistic rivals in the past. I find that to be growing in Berlin and Copenhagen especially.

Yet, Amsterdam is always the puzzle. Every organisation is so terribly afraid to lose it's own individual identity. And as these companies or institutions fragment, so they become weaker - at least that's the way I believe they are perceived by the public.

Did you know that the Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Concertgebouw Building are two very different entities? But does it matter that you don't? Not to me.

But apparently the distinction is important to both the Orchestra and the building. The poster in the bus shelter in Amsterdam tries in vain to explain to stress the point because the name is mentioned twice. All I remember is that the Concertgebouw is 125 years old this year. The building was a gift to the city by wealthy residents.

I am also rather surprised that the promo video for 2013 hasn't yet reached above 5000 views.



It might have something to do with the rather laid back way Amsterdam presents itself at exhibitions. There was an unlit table outside Hall 9 at this week's ISE Europe congress looking a bit fore-lorn  They were trying to sell me a magazine (don't need any more paper thanks). Discovered by Googling later that there is a digital version of A-Mag, although the on-line navigation is a nightmare. It's from one of these publishers that doesn't really want to give the content away - good luck with reading it on a Kindle or an iPad.

My advice: Forget the city government handouts. Grab the Amsterdam guide outside Boom Chicago.

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i-Amsterdam looks a bit cheap compared to the giant displays inside the halls.

Learning from Each Other - Media Must Be Better Prepared

Storm Surge Barrier Proposal (couresty Arcardis)

UPDATE: The end of January is an important anniversary. It is 60 years since devastating floods hit the Netherlands and the East Coast of the UK. I'm hearing all kinds of tributes on local media and BBC's Radio 4 Today programme. Time to repost something I wrote a few months back, because when it comes to warning people of flooding, I don't think we're prepared at all. There's also a radio documentary below about the flooding, made 20 years ago about the 1953 floods.

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Above is an artist's impression supplied by the Dutch engineering firm of Arcadis. They are proposing to build a barrier in the Verrazano Narrows between New York's Brooklyn borough and Staten Island, shielding the Upper New York Bay. This barrier would be supplemented by two smaller barriers, one between Staten Island and New Jersey and the other on the East River. Much of the vast destruction wreaked by the storm surge in New York this past week with Superstorm Sandy could have been prevented or reduced with a sea barrier of the type that protects major cities in Europe. But of course it comes with a multi-billion dollar price tag. How do we know? Because Holland was flooded in 1953 and one of the lessons learned was that storm surge barriers were needed to protect against very high tides.

Oosterscheldekering (in English: Eastern Scheldt storm surge barrier)

Most people I meet don't realise there are several of these barriers. This was the most expensive to build. The nine kilometre-long Oosterscheldekering (kering means barrier) which was initially designed, and partly built, as a closed dam. But after public protest (especially from the fishing industry) huge sluice-gate-type doors were installed in the remaining four kilometres. These doors are normally open, but can be closed under adverse weather conditions. In this way the salt water marine life behind the dam is preserved and fishing can continue, while the land behind the dam is safe from the water. But this type of construction doesn't allow ships to pass. So for New York (and other large cities near the sea like Rio, Tokyo etc), a different design would be needed.  

The Maeslantkering is a storm surge barrier on the imaginary dividing line between the Nieuwe Waterweg waterway located at Hoek van Holland and the river the Scheurlocated along the cities of Maassluis and Vlaardingen up to the confluence of the rivers Oude Maas and Nieuwe Maas, Netherlands, 

Coordinates: 51°57′18.98″N 4°09′49.63″Ewhich automatically closes when needed. It is part of the Delta Works and it is one of largest moving structures on Earth. (info from Wikipedia). 

Model of Maeslantkering protecting Rotterdam

But what about the costs? 

Amongst others, The New York Observer wrote about that this week. The costs are obviously astronomical. It was US$4 billion to build the sea gate in the Netherlands, known as Maeslantkering, or the Maelstrom Barrier, when was completed in 1997. While "twice the size of the Eiffel Tower" sounds big, the Verrazano Narrows is more than three times as wide as the Rhine span for the barrier in the Netherlands, and that's before the two other gates are constructed. The cost could easily surpass $10 billion, likely making this kind of damming gates the most expensive infrastructure project ever undertaken in the USA. This is not simply a Dutch tradition. Following the same North Sea Floods of 1953, the British built a flood barrier in the Thames. It did not open until 1984, at a cost of £534 million, which would be £1.4 billion today, or $2.25 billion.

Holland 1953

New York 2012

Have we learned anything?

Frankly, there are still some gaps.

On 4 October 1986 Queen Beatrix officially opened the  Eastern Scheldt storm surge barrier by saying the words: De stormvloedkering is gesloten. De Deltawerken zijn voltooid. Zeeland is veilig. (The flood barrier is closed. The Delta Works are completed. Zealand is safe.)

I made a radio documentary for Radio Netherlands in 1993 looking back at the floods in the Netherlands in the winter of 1953 and what had happened since. It contains many broadcast extracts from broadcasters that used the radio station's facilities to broadcast to the US. UK listeners may recognise the voice of Brian Matthew who worked for Radio Netherlands in the 1950's and then went on to a career at BBC Radio 2. It's on line (for free) if you want to listen again. Or you can click the player below.



Not playing? Check out the episode here!


But listening to that radio documentary again this week, there was a point which struck me which neither the US or the Netherlands have yet tackled. One of the problems in 1953 was that Dutch villages had few phones, so no-one knew about the pending disaster. How do you communicate information before, during and after such a terrible natural disaster? Media tend to fall into the trap of just reporting it - we see the usual reporters out in the wind. 

This doesn't convey much useful information, often sending out a false message of security. ("It can't be that bad if they're out with a camera crew"). Where the media totally fails is providing an accurate overview of what happened. The Dutch have spent billions on building infrastructure. But virtually nothing on a cross-media communications plan should huge storms or disasters come this way. And remember that flooding may  well come from rivers in Germany rather than the North Sea.

Better Role Models

In that respect, I think the Australians and New Zealanders are way ahead of us. Take the example of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation working with emergency services as well as Google Maps to provide up to date maps of what's still working - where can I charge my phone? Where is the safe drinking water? Which shelters are open and how do I get there? Which transport services are still running? All this means the use of maps, not announcers reading out lists.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-10-17/natural-disasters-leave-72-million-displaced/4318018

 It also requires the kind of local detail which demand something better than a "broadcast TV" solution. I'm guessing it's going to be a hybrid solution - a mix of broadcast, mobile and web. And, especially in coastal areas or places where flooding is likely, those services need to be equally reliable. I note in New York that the broadcast services were less affected than the cell towers and Internet providers. But those who argue that we should go back to relying more on broadcast networks ignore the fact that many people no-longer get their information from over the air broadcast networks - or if they do, that content is being delivered over IP technology to tablets, phones, etc. 

Resilient Communities

I encourage others to look into the work of US writer John Robb who has written a lot about the threats we face - and what we can do about it. His latest project is called Resilient Communities and offers practical advice on what you can do both prepare and recover. He also summarised the impact of the storm - the tides were higher than predicted - thank goodness there was actually less rain. I liked the recent post on power for instance. John made me realize that my energy provider in the Netherlands doesn't map anything. Their page of outages is a long list of problems. If this were an emergency I would be interested in a map showing where power were still available - exactly the opposite. Likewise, the water company focuses on what's not working, rather than mapping what supplies are safe. I signed up for John's new project which develops Resilient Strategies and publishes them. Much better value than I have seen from the commercial press. I also like the unofficial Google Maps blog called MapsMania showing what others have done to make intelligent maps. 

In the Netherlands, the public network Radio 1 is designated as the network to go for information in case of a natural disaster. And one of the 13 provincial radio stations is the place to go if the emergency is regional. Dutch Government websites are poor in explaining. There is nothing in English on their websites for visitors staying in the Netherlands or people who work for international companies but who don't understand Dutch. The Dutch language website refer people to a frequency list (wow!) and a report of a congress in 2002. There is a website in Dutch called Crisis.NL. But, unlike sites elsewhere in the world that use such a site to help you prepare, this site is closed until it's needed. There is a link to another site with tips, but it points out that most of it is in Dutch. Can you read this on a mobile? With difficulty.

Conclusion? 

We have some brilliant water barriers. And the best water engineers in the universe. But, in the Netherlands, we don't have a public communications plan. We have websites with PDF brochures. Few know they are there. And they are not easily accessible for non Dutch speakers. And that scares the hell out of me. 

Doing something like this to correct the problem in your own community? Would be interested to find out more. I recall the great work done in New Zealand by volunteers at community radio stations following their earthquake.

To hell with the crisis - let's celebrate

What's all this shining out of the winter snow? Answer is on YouTube apparently.



Interesting that the Frans Hals Museum mentioned in the film isn't in Amsterdam. It's in Haarlem. But if Bussum says its in the "Garden of Amsterdam" , then so can Haarlem. For visitors from abroad it's just one big city. Let the Games begin.

Be better prepared for the worst - then hope for the best

Eindhoven - in what used to be the world's largest radio factory

Happy New Year! 

It's going to be a really tough one - for those who do nothing. But one filled with opportunities to bring about much needed change in society.

I've been asked to contribute some media predictions to the great Nic Newman list, published by each year by a digital strategist I admire. Decades ago I worked briefly with him when he was also a producer at Radio Netherlands, before he pursued a career within the BBC, shaping much of its early online journalism, especially in BBC World Service.

So what do I expect for Dutch media in 2013? For a start, I think you need to look beyond broadcasting.

Winners and Losers

I think the city of Amsterdam has the opportunity to establish itself as a leading smart city, setting an example of how life will develop for cities of around 1 million. These cities have a completely different set of challenges to London, Tokyo, Mexico City, and New York. So rather than play the smallest of the megacities, why not lead in one of the largest of the medium-sized smart cities? Having superfast connectivity to the rest of the world and plenty of the right infrastructure in place (or nearly ready) means there are no technical blocks in place.

The only barrier may be international ambition. Things have to go very seriously wrong in the Netherlands before the phoenix rises from the ashes. Life in small countries can become very parochial and laid back, especially when times are tough. And I would argue we're only just entering the worst of times to come.

Amsterdam needs to make it a lot easier to start a business - fortunately that's happening

The current tendency in the Netherlands is to become very inward looking. And for a small country that's made its name from trade and tourism, now is not the time to be shouting If it ain't Dutch, it ain't much. Especially when you haven't been watching the fierce competition from neighbouring countries. While it is a great place to try things out, the Dutch market isn't big enough to support many world class business models - in splendid isolation.

The Mistier Side of Things

The city of Amsterdam experienced a creative boom before the first Internet bubble burst around 2002. Several US companies invested in the West Coast (of Europe) city, partly because it has a similar creative culture to San Francisco and Palo Alto. But the guys in Amsterdam didn't read the excellent history of Silicon Valley by Steve Blank. Because it was the military not VC's that funded Silicon Valley. In Silicon Polder they made the mistake of assuming people would stay when the party was over. They overdeveloped office space in parts of city that do not attract creatives. The office blocks surrounding the AJAX football stadium may have attracted some of the banks, but staring out at someone else's car park is not inspiring at all for creatives.

Sorry, but I never feel safe around the Amsterdam football stadium

It's bleak - even in the summer

The Brighter Side

Everything's in place to make this the creative hub of Amsterdam

Inspiring, even in the winter

The docklands area to the East of Amsterdam Central Station, on the other hand, look set to become the real creative centre of the Netherlands. It's a healthy mix of design agencies, where Holland has world class talent, and a thriving startup community, which is also moving in the right direction. That's because it's open to attract world class talent, through schemes like Startupbootcamp. Local talent is welcome to apply, but the bar is set very high. Disclosure: I'm actively involved in selecting companies for the next series of programs, and I've been amazed at the talent that has pitched to the team of mentors and investors.

Eindhoven has a plan

Realising the Industrial Age is Over

Eindhoven is a city with vision

I've also been impressed at the city of Eindhoven, which is fast becoming a high-technology hub, reinventing itself after Philips exited the city, leaving a wasteland of empty factories. Whilst there are high-tech companies on the outskirts of the city in the High Tech campus, they are also re-thinking the city centre, encouraging design studios and artists. They are one of the candidates for European Cultural Capital in 2018, and I hope they pick up the award when it is decided later this year.

Hilversum Biggest Loser in 2013

I expect an entrepreneurial triangle to emerge between Amsterdam, Delft/Leiden and Eindhoven, because the life sciences and high technology sectors are great at developing next generation technology but poor at telling the story. When prodded, they come up with the reason why it is so important. Behind every great inventor is a brilliant marketeer. Apple wouldn't have been able if Steve Wozniak hadn't teamed up with Steve Jobs. In these days where every company is a media company, a bright idea is not enough.

Hilversum is currently specialising in closing things down

Will Hilversum adapt in time?

Biggest loser for 2013 has to be the media city of Hilversum. It built its reputation in an era of scarce distribution (remember when it was a name on the radio dial? - no, most people don't). Its boom period was the 1980's and early 1990's when big game shows drew huge TV audiences and formats developed in Hilversum sold very well abroad. They were bussing the Germans in when a VAT advantage made it cheaper for RTL to produce in Hilversum rather than Cologne.

The TV monitors in Hilversum railway station are not really doing much to establish the city as media savvy...

Sadly Hilversum isn't working

But the mistake was to rely too much on the broadcast model, when it was clear at the start of 2000 that the future was broadband not broadcast. Both broadcasters and politicians defended an antiquated system of public broadcasting for decades over it's sell-by date. And now, with another 100 million coming off the public service broadcast budget, the ivory towers are crashing down. Because the first to suffer are the creatives, (because the managers always protect their own infrastructure first) Hilversum is becoming a vast wasteland of empty office space.

Too many unsafe paths ahead if the only vision is television

Unlike Leiden, Delft, Eindhoven and Amsterdam, media city Hilversum has no University. And because it is not part of the entrepreneurial triangle, and it's impossible to reach the place during the rush hours, the really creative companies are moving out. Everyone wants to be much closer to Amsterdam - ideally in the centre. While it makes sense to keep news production and transmission infrastructure in Hilversum, there's no reason for a feature producer or a creative production company to go anywhere near the place. Hilversum will need to find and attract other sectors to rebuild the wastelands of empty offices. At the moment, they're still in denial.

Don't Pick the Wrong Examples

Holland could learn a lot by looking at countries much smaller than themselves rather than always looking West towards the US. That's because the media strategies that work well in a country of 310 million, fail miserably when the potential is only 17 million. Look instead at how New Zealand has embraced film-maker Peter Jackson and photographer Trey Ratcliff.  It's a world class approach which has put their creative industry on the map. Or examine how Danish producers like Søren Sveistrup created epic productions which have been seen the world over. They did it with Danish public TV, which has also gone through a funding crisis.

Whilst it is true that Holland is the king of the talent-show formats, it needs to do much more in other media fields in order to survive, let alone lead. People will tire of the Voice, just as they got bored with Big Brother. Reality TV is so fickle, it's not the foundation for a thriving industry. It's just the icing.

Tom Tom Answers Back

Interesting debate started by Doc Searls in the light of the recent Apple Maps fiasco. Why can't we pay for maps - and then demand a better service? That is certainly the case in the Netherlands, where some apps that I have used for navigation have become useless after recent updates. I've stopped relying on the information provided by 9292.nl for instance, after the app sent me off in all the wrong directions on too many occasions. The last straw was when it took 18 pages to print out the directions from Huizen to Haarlem. He also made a video for the Wall Street Journal as well as authoring an article.



Much of the press has referred to Apple getting their navigation data from Tom Tom, even though the problem of the inaccuracies is due to the way Apple manipulates the data rather than Tom Tom's original mapping. Tom Tom seems to be counteracting with an amusing campaign . Wonder if it was filmed at their Amsterdam offices? Not sure since I've never been inside.

Is it a secret meeting or what?

IBC Publicity is sometimes difficult to understand. So today there's a VIP meeting of public and private broadcasters alongside the main IBC conference. Commercial operators can do what they like - I still have a choice to consume what they offer. But most Europeans have no choice as to whether they pay for public broadcasting. So all this elite gossip in the press release (dated 12th April but still presented as hot news on the website) seems very out of place during the worst recession to hit the broadcasting industry in decades. If it's a private affair - then why the publicity? If the sponsors are really doing it for press coverage (as a press release would imply), then beware of the Daily Mail and other publications who just love looking at the expense accounts of public broadcasters and can spot a junket from a thousand miles. "Exclusive", "complimentary accommodation", "door-to-door chauffeur" is not the language of public access and accountability. Summit seriously wrong here.

Spectacular Skies

Sun and storm clouds over Amsterdam this afternoon

The summer in the Netherlands has certainly proved to the challenging (to use management speak. - it's crap basically). Woke up to glorious sunshine - and the thunder rolls in by lunchtime. Reminds me of autumn in Flordia. I can understand how the light inspired those painters a few centuries ago. But for now, I need to find an umbrella.

TNW is a roaring success

The next web conference is brilliant. Because it's a walk in and out conference with plenty of room for networking. No pretentious nonsense. I'm guessing 1800 people over the next two days. High number of very creative production start-ups - so I'm pleased.

And after people like Mark Randall, strategist at Adobe have given an inspiring presentation on stage, you can find them at the speakers bar where they take time to answer questions. Like Mark's table of strategic elements - taking the periodic table to new heights.

None of this hello, goodbye and thank you or making the speakers untouchable VIPs. Also amazed at the cinema screen in the blue room. And to think it's all happening in the former Amsterdam gas workers ( the main stage is in the gas holder). But they have done a terrific job to make the acoustics MUCH better than in the early days.

Mark Randall Strategist for Adobe