Woody Allen Trailers

Been watching Woody Allen films since I was a student in Vienna back in 1980. I like his latest film To Rome with Love, at least judging from the trailer. Out in August around here I believe.

Netherlands Innovation Contract - How on earth is this going to work?

I confess to be very concerned that the Dutch public creative sector has become so inward looking that a growing gulf is looming between ambition and reality. And that's leading to money being wasted to keep things going that are no longer needed.



One of the top teams set up by the Dutch government to investigate the future of the creative industries in the Netherlands has now announced the setting up of the Dutch Creative Industries Council.

Not sure whether CLICK will be the final choice of name, seeing as Click.nl has been the URL of a company in Rotterdam for a lot longer than the politicians have been busy with Internet innovation. Having studied the report in detail last year for a foreign client, we concluded that creative innovation in the media sector is never stimulated well by government in any shape or form. The Dutch government has not set aside anything like the funding needed to change that. Subsidies may be fine to stimulate design, fashion and architecture but not for creative storytelling. Governments everywhere make lousy media because they want to retain control - they want to shout when the audience wants to share. I do see some excellent collaborations between academic institutions like the Open University and the BBC. But there is no Dutch equivalent. I worry that the Dutch Institute for Design, Fashion and Architecture doesn't seem to think that a website targeted at China needs to be in Mandarin or that doing business in Germany might go better in German rather than English.

Let's make a note that the creative top team believe they are already well on the way to making the Netherlands the creative centre of Europe by 2020. Some of that may happen - but only if private initiatives are encouraged to think and act well beyond the borders of this small country. There needs to be a healthy dose of outside looking in combined with inside looking out. At the moment all the initiatives are local/national with the idea that if they make a website in English they are somehow international. I have seen plenty of examples where Dutch companies have adapted foreign concepts for the Dutch/NW European market. But there are all too few going in the other direction. I believe the copyright notice (2010) on the website of the Dutch Creative Industries is a worrying Freudian slip that reveals these guys think the exact opposite of creative.

Bad news. It doesn't work that way. I get the impression that FORUM in Helsinki has got it right. The UK Arts Council, on the other hand, is on the way down. So, it's curious to try and understand why setting up a government subsidized Dutch Creative Council is ever going to work. Innovation is a culture not a contract!

What The Next Web Does Differently

I have been experimenting with software that lets me get an overview of all the conferences and workshops world-wide trying to help tech start-ups. In contrast to many industries at the moment, this would appear to be a booming business. Whereas five years ago there were a couple of major conferences a year, now there are several conferences a day. As you read this, someone is opening a conference somewhere on the planet. 

That doesn't mean to say that quality of conferences has improved. If you want to spend your time wisely, then I believe the number of conferences to bookmark actually comes down to less than five. I feel that many conferences organised by government or subsidized groups are spiralling into insignificance. They just repeat what they did last year with different speakers. There is no flow and no real thought about what conference goers will take away. It's all very forgettable.

But there are exceptions.

I've been particularly impressed about the growth of both The Next Web on-line network as well as the annual TNW conference. The next one is due in Amsterdam in two weeks on April 25, 26 and 27 2012. It's definitely worth setting aside the time. 

So what are the team behind The Next Web conference doing differently? 

Three things. 

1. Speakers aren't allowed to profile or push their company. So they share their passion on stage rather than a sales pitch. Most of the speakers stick around and are always approachable. Got something to add to the conversation? Shoot.
2. The format varies each year. It's never a repeat. It has pace without being a Powerpoint party.
3. There are pitches from startups on the main stage rather than a side show. The audience only gets to see the best. 

I met up with Patrick de Laive in Amsterdam last week. He is both CFO and COO of The Next Web Holding. It's also his job to run the events. This is what I learned from the conversation.

Patrick de Laive

"The Next Web conference has never been about organising another event. We're not primarily event organisers, we're Internet entrepreneurs, organising a discussion about what's coming next in the world. We believe in focus. People want to come together, hear new things, network with people they find interesting and follow-up with a few golden contacts they make in Amsterdam. 

We've thought a lot about the pricing. Most conferences rely on 85% sponsorship and 15% on revenue from attendees. We've been doing The Next Web since 2006 exactly the other way round. Our aim has been to bring people together at reasonable prices - we charge 675 Euros if you're willing to plan ahead. If you make any conference free, I believe it has little value. You'll fill the conference in minutes - but you have no idea who's in the audience. Others have escalated their prices 3 or 4 times what we charge, but I think they are organising a festival rather than a conference. We set the level at a price serious start-ups can afford. They see it as an investment of their time. The bright ones prepare, and we offer all kinds of tools on line to help you set five or six personal goals beforehand and get the maximum return on event. 


We've managed to keep the price around the same level since we started. We keep the prices stable by growing the size of the conference (to over 1500), while still retaining a cosy atmosphere." 


So how do you keep The TNW conference fresh?

"By continually evaluating the format. This is the first year we're doing a full dual track...there will be two stages. I know that sounds dangerous, but we have analysed what goes wrong at other events where there's a main stage and a sideshow. The sideshow always suffers. We are building two stages and programming them equally. We also will make sure that everyone knows who is speaking where. Communication is key to making this successful because you want to be in the right talk at the right time. 


The stages this year will be equally spectacular but they will be dressed differently. We will have a 25 metre wide screen on one of the stage which I think is one of the largest ever used in a conference this size. 


We want to contribute to the search for great start-ups in Europe. We spend time and effort selecting the 20 finalists for the Start-Up Rally - this year we've had over 200 entries. Those who get selected get presentation coaching in the days before. We've struck up a great partnership with Werner Vogels, the CTO of Amazon who's definitely raised the bar in finding the best. The jury he puts together have seen the pitches and done research before giving judgement on stage. They prepare. That way everyone who takes part takes away something valuable. And we're talking about constructive critique. This isn't Dragon's Den where the aim is to humiliate the contestants so as to amuse an audience. We want to save investors time - and that's why it works."


So what was the Start Up Awards event you held this past Tuesday night in Amsterdam?

"We organise regional competitions as teasers leading up to The Next Web. They are deliberately less formal. But we do set high standards, and the publicity the start-ups receive is always valuable for them. We keep it simple, fun and unpretentious. That's why it works."

"Following the success in Europe, we're going to organise Start-Up awards in Santiago Chile, Buenos Aires, Argentina and San Paulo, Brazil. It's an excellent way for TNW to understand the local entrepreneur scene. And that all feeds into the on-line site which now reaches 6 million a month."


Now that is interesting. Will definitely follow what they do in Latin America. 

Buenos Aires gets its own TNW Start Up Awards

Fantastic Voyage

Best pictures of the aurora that I have seen in a long time.

Love the pre NAB message from Sony UK

Think Sony UK just sent me something too early. At least this would be the first press conference where it is forbidden to watch.

RTLZ & Privacy

Always been concious of the fact that Dutch newspapers have protected the names of defendants by only publishing initials. May be times have changed? I thought not until I watched an item on debt broadcast today by RTL Z, the business news channel run by RTL. Now I know that RTL, coming from Luxembourg, doesn't fall under the Dutch media law. But what is gained by filming and screening what is clearly very private details from the Dutch Tax Authorities and making this an integral part of the reportage? No attempt has been made to blank out the name and address on the Flevo polder in the clip below. Yet those details adds nothing to the item. But it clearly will have an impact on the relationship between this person and his neighbour. So was it deliberate or a slip up?

Dancing in the Radio Towers

I wonder if artist Canadian Amanda Dawn Christie will do something like the above? (update: video seems to have vanished. Not sure why. May be music violation). It was clearly filmed at a power station. Frankly, some of the transmitters look a lot more interesting, especially when they are still on the air.

RCI Sackville Shortwave Transmitter Site in New Brunswick as seen from the Trans Canadian Highway. Tnx to Google Streetview

CBC News New Brunswick, reported on 7 Apr 2012  that a "A Moncton artist is now working against the clock to film the Radio-Canada International shortwave towers in her latest film project. Budget cuts at CBC announced last week mean the transmitters, near Sackville, New Brunswick, will soon be shut down, but it's not known exactly what will happen to the antenna towers themselves. Amanda Dawn Christie said she remembers coming and going from Moncton and the towers signifying that she was almost home. 'Whenever I would drive in, I would just be filled with this exhilaration and I don't know if it's the high voltage. Like, some people get headaches and nauseous; I would get exhilarated,' she said. ... She even created a sculpture on the marsh near the towers — a kitchen sink designed to catch radio waves — a phenomenon often reported by locals. ... Christie said she's particularly fond of the sight at dawn and dusk. 'The sky's kind of pink and blue, and the lights are on but you can still see all the towers and the wires. It's very magical,' she said."  See also Amanda Dawn Christie's website.

Happy Easter

Always found it strange that Christmas Day moves around whereas Easter is always on Sunday. How's yours doing? Actually listening to some classical music but doubt that it's playing in the Concertgebouw this morning.

Amsterdam struggles with being Open to the World

Amsterdam is clearly struggling with its identity again. Is it a world city open to ideas from everywhere or the cosy capital of a small country between Germany and the UK? My experience is that it keeps oscillating between the two, although the tendency in the last decade is far more inward looking than I have ever experienced living and working in the Netherlands for over 30 years. A case in point. The film museum has moved from it's home in the Vondelpark to a purpose built building constructed in North Amsterdam directly opposite Amsterdam Central Station. They have branded it the Amsterdam Eye, clearly a play on the fact that the design resembles the human eye - and it is right next to the river IJ (pronounced like the word "eye" in English), one of the two major rivers which have influenced this port city.

The new eye building on the left, giant ad covering the old Shell building on the right

The right of centre free newspaper "Spits" carried a spoiler story about the grand opening of the new film museum on the 5th April. So instead of finding out what contribution this new arts centre will make to city life, especially on the financially poorer Northern shore, we learn of a new protest campaign. The Foundation to Defend  the Dutch language is dead against the use of English in naming public buildings and questions whether the film museum has followed the correct procedure in choosing the name Eye (rather than the Dutch word "oog" I guess). Their (poorly maintained) website explains about other campaigns they have launched against magazine titles. It's all very defensive argumentation as though the use of Dutch in the Netherlands is somehow threatened. It's not. But the more the Netherlands becomes inward looking, the less attractive it becomes to foreign investment and as a destination for foreign students. I don't think it's domestic market is ever going to be large enough to launch world-changing new ideas if the focus is purely on the Dutch language.

The English language site of the Film Museum explains why it is appropriate that the building is called the Eye. That's because the collection contains a very international collection of films.In fact, I'd say it's one of the most interesting in Europe and much more accessible than the EU funded Europeana project. I like the fact that they sell posters, stills, soundtracks and other things related to the Dutch film industry.  

However, I don't think the Dutch foundation needs to bother. There is far more Dutch in the Amsterdam than ever before. In many sectors of industry, you'll never rise to a position of influence unless you speak Dutch fluently. I notice that in the lifts in the remodelled Amsterdam station complex that the emergency instructions are only in Dutch. And good luck understanding how to check in and out when you switch platforms from the Metro to Dutch railways because the RFID "Oyster" card system isn't connected like it is in London. If you don't follow the procedure you'll get a 4 Euro fine! So if you're a visiting foreigner and didn't take the lessons, you're really stuck.

Alex B Howard on Open Data

This is a talk on the power of platforms. Alexander B. Howard who is the Government 2.0 Washington Correspondent for O'Reilly Media talks about where the principles and technologies that built the Internet and World Wide Web are being integrated into government and society and by whom. Alex gives one of the best explanations of open data projects, why they are important and includes what media organisations like Al Jazeera are doing with it. He points out that there is a crisis within local civic accountability journalism.

The historic events of the last year, from Egypt to #Occupy to the SOPA debate, have given a boost to the idea of open government fueled by technology. At the same time, a new spectre of new cutting edge surveillance states has arisen, where digital autocracies apply filtering, propaganda and tracking technologies to suppress speech, distort public opinion and capture or kill dissidents and protestors.

The video above was recorded at the Berkman Center for Internet & Society, Harvard University, March 19, 2012. More info here

BBC Radio 4 starts designing digital radios today

This from a BBC press release this morning. If you look at the new BBC Broadcasting House at night from a certain angle, it reminds me of a radio tuning dial in the great days of analogue wireless. 

BBC Radio 4’s Today programme is to produce a limited edition digital radio to commemorate its return to New Broadcasting House in November, with profits going to BBC Children in Need.

The programme today launches a competition to design a ‘skin’ or outer cover for the radio, which is open to design students across the UK-based universities and colleges as well as amateur designers and Today listeners.

The competition was announced live on-air this morning and will now be open for a period of four weeks, with entries accepted until 5pm on Friday 11 May 2012. The radio will then go in to production and is expected to go on sale in late Autumn for a limited period. To receive a full design brief and terms and conditions, entrants should emailtoday@bbc.co.uk to with the header ‘RADIO DESIGN’ in the subject of the email. The designs will be judged by Ceri Thomas, Editor of Today, Deyan Sudjic, Director of The Design Museum, Sarah Montague of the Today programme and Stevie Spring, Chair of Trustees for BBC Children in Need.

Ceri Thomas said: “As we return to the original home of the Today programme at the brand new headquarters at W1, we want to offer listeners the chance to mark the occasion. What better way to do it than with a specially commissioned digital radio to enjoy the programme on, and with profits going to Children in Need.”

Stevie Spring, Chair of Trustees at BBC Children in Need, said: “This is a fantastic competition that allows design students out there to unleash their creative talent while helping raise money for disadvantaged children and young people right here in the UK.”

The Today programme launched in October 1957 and has been BBC Radio 4’s flagship news and current affairs programme ever since, with over seven million listeners a week. The programme started its life at Broadcasting House in central London but in recent years has been based at Television Centre in Shepherd’s Bush. It will return to the newly renovated Broadcasting House in November

Re-tuned yet?

In London? Did you remember to retune? Couldn't believe how much government money was spent on the poster campaign which only affects Freeview (terrestrial digital TV). Overkill in my opinion. 

Did Titanic send an SOS Message via Morse Code?

Yes, Titanic did send out distress messages via Morse Code. The station log went down with the ship. But the communication has been reconstructed from other written logs. They show that Titanic didn't use SOS.

Next week is the 100th anniversary since Titanic sank on April 15th 2012. Thanks to Lou Josephs for finding a very interesting web page (and it is a single page!) with a collection of photos all about the communications on board the ship. The fan page includes the transcript of the last known communications from the ship where it seems that the operators used the CQD (Calling all ships) phrase in Morse rather than SOS. It had been introduced by the Marconi company, but wasn't in common use in 1912. Fascinating piece of work. It would be great if it's integrated into the Wikipedia page. Seems the coordinates the ship was transmitting turned out to be a bit off.  The wreck was eventually located 21.2 km away from the position reported by the Titanic crew during those Morse Code exchanges.

The Titanic's "wireless" equipment was the most powerful in use at the time. The main transmitter was a rotary spark design, powered by a 5 kW motor alternator, fed from the ship's lighting circuit. The equipment operated into a 4 wire antenna suspended between the ship's 2 masts, some 250 feet above the sea. There was also a battery powered emergency transmitter. The main transmitter was housed in a special room, known as the "Silent Room". This room was located next door to the operating room, and specially insulated to reduce interference to the main receiver. The equipment's guaranteed working range was 250 miles, but communications could be maintained for up to 400 miles during daylight and up to 2000 miles at night.

Noticed on the Tube train last week that Belfast is commemorating the shipyard where Titanic was built in a rather spectacular way. Surprised that the Northern Ireland Tourist Board didn't make a special landing page for this. When I typed the URL on the ad, I didn't see anything about the Titanic and had to search.

Kickstarter Documentary on Windmills

Great to see some good ideas being funded well beyond their original plan.  US$111,545 from over 300 backers.

Japanese Emergency Alert System Fail

Japanese public broadcaster, NHK World, continues to be the source of horrific mistakes happening in Japan. The problem is the broadcast network itself just reports about it and there is never any follow-up. I find watching it to be an incredibly frustrating experience. Despite stating (in the FAQ list) that the job of the network is to serve as a "vital information lifeline in the event of major accidents and natural disasters", NHK is long on reporting events and very short on giving us context as to what all this means. Take today's story that 12 tons of strontium-laden waste water has leaked into the sea around Fukushima. We just get a list of what happened. Is anyone doing anything to fix the continuous stream of cock-ups at the Tokyo Electric Power company? Where's the map showing the extent of all the nuclear leaks? What might happen next? Would BBC World News do a similar short report if the leak had been in Sizewell, Suffolk and just leave it at that? By not doing anything to analyse the situation with independent reporters and specialists, NHK seems to be failing on its fifth objective too - to foster mutual understanding between Japan and other countries. My understanding, for the moment, is that Japan can't organize it's nuclear industry and that the government isn't in control of the public's safety. It is talking about restarting nuclear power stations....

To add fuel to the fire of confusion, the Japanese equivalent of the Emergency Alert System failed twice in the tests in Osaka. Reminds me of the US tests last year which were also a fiasco. Again, NHK reports it but fails to mention what's going to happen next. Shame that NHK doesn't understand that the audience can help them distributing the news by allowing video to be embedded. However, that's not allowed it would seem. Clearly, NHK could learn a lot from colleagues at RT .

At 67, Radio Canada International is effectively retired by CBC

Those spending cuts announced last week in Canada's latest federal budget have reached Radio Canada International. Speaking to employees at RCI's headquarters in Montreal on Wednesday, RCI director Helene Parent announced that two out of three RCI employees---about 40 people---will lose their jobs by the end of July 2012. According to the CBC website, RCI will be "transformed" to quote the PR spin.

RCI's Russian and Portuguese language sections will be closed along with the English and French-language newsrooms. RCI will have no reporters in the provinces. All shortwave broadcasts will cease as well. RCI will continue to exist solely on the Internet in five languages---English, French, Arabic, Spanish and Mandarin. And the short-wave transmitter site in New Brunswick will be closed. So that puts an end to any transmitter swaps. The RCI Action committee reports that the new budget will be around CAN$ 2.3 million. It's a pity that the official CBC Blog has not been updated in years (thanks to Kai Ludwig for pointing this out) although the Twitter feed with the hashtag #CBC is still working.

To be honest, I'm convinced there is no longer need for an RCI as a separate offering on the Internet in 2012. It's a rather sad shadow of it's former self, in an era when there was a need for a different context in order to understand what was happening in Ottawa and it's impact on the world. RCI used to make great crafted radio content that complemented what their domestic radio colleagues were doing. It had focus and purpose. But that was more than a decade ago. Now the press blurb speaks of "online content", showing they don't really know what RCI on the web is supposed to share.

Now, nobody searches on the Internet to find out what just happened in Canada - and if they want Canadian news, then CBC or the Toronto Globe and Mail do a comprehensive job. Radio Canada International, without radio, becomes a branding mistake rather than a serious service.

The work that members of the RCI Arabic team did in the 1990's to explain the Gulf Wars to the Canadian public was much more valuable than the RCI Arabic language news broadcasts well after midnight on Radio Monte Carlo Middle East. Why not let them go out in style rather than a wimper? 

HXR-NX30 HD and PMW-100: Really tiny cameras from Sony

Been looking at replacements for my current set of cameras. I think I like what Sony have just come up with



though the projector is a gimmick. But cheaper to run than the Panasonic P2 offering. Perhaps the more expensive PMW-100 could be very useful in areas where you don't want to be obtrusive.



These are promo videos at the moment. Will wait to see them in a few weeks before passing judgement. Tip of the hat to the excellent Urban Fox blog which I recommend you follow.

James Bond theme played by helicopters

This is what you get if things get too driven by technology. Amazing technology combined with a lousy performance. Definitely something Q would have built, though he would have added more explosives.



Thanks to Absolute Radio in London for posting the press conference about the 23rd Bond movie Skyfall to the Interwebs. Will be coming out later in 2012 to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the release of Dr No.

Walter Isaccson in Amsterdam - Next Book Announced

Steve Jobs' biographer, Walter Isaacson, gave a talk in central Amsterdam last night, followed by questions from NRC journalist Tracy Metz and members of the audience. Interested to discover that in his many interviews, Jobs never mentioned any concerns about working conditions in the Chinese factories. Weird bearing in mind his fascination with Zen. He made tons of money but didn't really use it wisely. Bill Gates didn't make any beautiful products, but he's made more intelligent use of his wealth.

Interested to discover that Isaacson is now working on a new book looking at those who work at the cross-section of technology and creativity. He plans to write a narrative about the really creative people who developed computers and the Internet. Spent some time in Oxford going through the letters of Ada Lovelace and visited Bletchley Park to understand the work of Alan Turing and his Turing Test. He also talked about the discoveries of American Physicist John Vincent Atanasoff. Will be interested to see how he ties these stories together. 

Easter Eggs in London

Wonder how the big Easter Egg hunt is working in London?  The ones above are outside Green Park tube station and a poster in a window along Pall Mall. Seems there are 200 eggs to be found over a 200 day period (so not just Easter then). Saw some tourists taking pictures alongside the Faberge egg above. But personally think it's a campaign that is too large and spread over too many days. But at least there is an event attached to it. A few years back there were small elephants that appeared in Amsterdam, but no way of finding out what all that was about.

Actually all the eggs are currently in one place. All this week and over Easter, they're all in the Covent Garden Piazza.