Alex Wood Ponders

The Berlin Project teaser, by Alex Wood

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 14:55:35 +0000

The Berlin Project teaser, by Alex Wood

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Fri, 09 Oct 2009 16:01:50 +0100

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Fri, 09 Oct 2009 16:01:13 +0100

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What happened to bird flu?

Tue, 15 Sep 2009 19:12:26 +0100

What happened to bird flu?:

- Bernard Murphy is investigations editor at Clinica World Medical Technology News. The opinions expressed are his own -

Bernard Murphy has been following the spread of avian and swine…

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Sat, 05 Sep 2009 01:43:51 +0100

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Sat, 05 Sep 2009 01:41:05 +0100

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Sat, 05 Sep 2009 01:39:16 +0100

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Sat, 05 Sep 2009 01:38:03 +0100

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On the Media: Access Denied

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 18:39:27 +0100

On the Media: Access Denied:

On the Media: Access Denied
08, Sep 2009
Frequently barred from the frontline, journalists are increasingly reliant on video footage, Twitter and email. What are the challenges when…

Reflections: Social Media & Journalists

Sun, 02 Aug 2009 01:39:00 +0100

Southbank off Tower Bridge. I love this architecture, it’s functionally beautiful and beautifully functional.

Thinking of the old factory owners of Victorian London, I can’t imagine them building for anything but functional purpose. But their design is now iconic and a cherished part of the city.

I’ll soon be coming to this underrated patch of London every day, as I’m about to join Headshift, as a consultant on the social media team.

At the same time I’ll also be part of Channel 4’s Diversity Production Training Scheme, where I’ll be trained in the many arts and ways of the media.

This means some big changes over the next month, radio documentaries need recording, thesis needs writing and I need to somehow wind down what’s become my mini-empire of freelance work.

It still amazes me how much the G20 Live Experiment has changed my life this year. If you’re not already aware of the project, I put together a of team of fellow international journalists across London reporting the protests live, and fed their tweets, photos, audioboos and even live video streams into one automated mashup site.

I created the site the night before the protests and to our shock we received over 75,000 unique visitors. Our video was featured on the BBC News site, blogged about by the BBC’s Rory Cellan Jones and we were interviewed on BBC Radio 5 afterwards. I know it’s not just been a life changing experience for me but for everyone involved.

So by becoming a social media consultant am I saying goodbye to journalism?

No.

Everyday I see stories around me in the “real” and online world. Social media for me is just another tool in my journalist’s kit. Social technology gives people voices just as newspapers did in Victorian Britain.

For me, G20 Live is just the beginning. I recently helped out with Reuters at their Ask Nick Clegg event. Nick Clegg, the leader of the Liberal Democrat party, participated in a live debate online. The debate was truly live, with no schedule and no planned questions as the audience were allowed to fire in as questions while watching live video.

I’m planning to develop my obsession with live media further and am putting together plans for my next multimedia reportage.

In technology and media today we need to be flexible. Throughout my work sometimes I’m the editor, sometimes the reporter, but I’ll always be telling a story.

Saturday evening in Surbiton

Sun, 02 Aug 2009 00:47:39 +0100

Saturday evening in Surbiton

Sayonara Flip Cam?

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 19:42:00 +0100

I come across technology, toys and gadgets almost every day, but this my friends has me a wee bit excited.

Zoom is a Japanese company best known for their line of audio recorders which are popular with radio journalists worldwide.

They’ve announced their new Zoom Q3, a pocket video camera. But don’t let those eyes deceive you, this ain’t no flip cam clone.

Flip cams let anyone easily capture video and upload it straight to youtube in a snap. So why get excited about this new Japanese kid on the block?

In my short media career in London I’ve been presented with the same scenario over and over again. The new/social/multimedia revolution means anyone can pick up and camera, and increasingly do. Great? No.

The problem lies with audio levels. Many treat pocket video cameras like compact cameras and point and shoot. Audio is so often overlooked, especially in noisy environments like conferences.

In reality this means hours of post editing, boosting audio levels and desperately applied audio filters to no avail. I’ve sadly had to reject so many clips because without the audio, they’re useless.

Cue the new Zoom Q3, with wait for it… a proper built in mic. But what’s really got my attention is the level meter, right there in front of you on the screen. Get the audio levels right and you’re halfway there to getting top quality video. Zoom claim broadcast quality, and a tripod mount for avoiding the shaky shaky.

Other specs include a standard 640x480 resolution and 30 frames per second which sounds perfect for web. When I need full HDTV style quality I’ll get my full size camera, mics, tripod and kit out, but even when I’m out and about I don’t want to sacrifice audio quality for those spontaneous clips.

I haven’t seen one in the flesh, but even from the marketing sell you can tell this is a device designed by people who know broadcast.

I’ve requested a review with Zoom, and will hopefully be blogging again soon complete with more info and sample videos.

Finally: Day 1 at the Tamiflu House

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 22:50:32 +0100

Finally:

Day 1 at the Tamiflu House

Magazine shot: @osianllwyd At Pret Kingston This shot was taken...

Sat, 18 Jul 2009 18:47:00 +0100

Magazine shot:

@osianllwyd At Pret Kingston

This shot was taken with “Magazine” filter, a part of Camerabag, an amazingly cool iPhone app you should check out.

It let’s you perform Adobe Photoshop style magic, automatically! Choose from a selection of predefined filters matching photographic styles of the past.

Mixed bean and Smoked bacon risotto: Part of the Alex Wood...

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 22:45:42 +0100

Mixed bean and Smoked bacon risotto:

Part of the Alex Wood Creates a domestic goddess series

French onion soup: Part of the Alex Wood Creates a domestic...

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 22:45:00 +0100

French onion soup:

Part of the Alex Wood Creates a domestic goddess series.

This cookathon started after one very sore throat sparking a swine flu panic.

Theory was, if the worst happened I’d have enough food to last a week. Sadly, the predictions have turned out true but happily I’ve eaten like a king ***cough***.

Belgians Do It Better

Sun, 12 Jul 2009 13:38:03 +0100

This post was originally featured on Homovision.tv

This year HOMOVISION went international for pride. Unlike London, Antwerp Pride, Belgium, brought the whole community and the whole town together for one big party weekend.

Antwerp is one of the largest cities in Flanders, the Dutch speaking North part of the country. Famous for diamonds, fashion and a multicultural past, the city’s annual pride is fast becoming one of Europe’s biggest gay festivals.

Party revelers were treated to an open-top pink bus tour of the city’s gay scene hotspots, complete with pink balloons and champagne. Cruising our way around, and feeling a little sheepish, we were pleasantly surprised to be welcomed and waved at by chavs, grannies, everyone. Can you imagine the big-gay-bus going through Hackney on Pride day?

The welcomes didn’t stop there. Every other shop was decorated in pride flags. The city put on a big show for the weekend, climaxing with Navigation which describes itself as the “most sensational gay party on and by the water with ‘cruising’ party boats and a festival site full of animation, performances, drink- and foodshops, roaring afterparties and thousands of gays”.

Other parties included Belgium’s biggest fetish night, and a latin themed late nighter. Homovision spoke to Bart Adeel, from Antwerp pride and took an exclusive tour around the city’s fabulously famous shopping district. Check out the video for more:

For more info on Antwerp, visit Tourism Flanders.

Can O2 cope with smartphone traffic?

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 22:02:40 +0100

Can O2 cope with smartphone traffic?:

It’s been announced today that O2 has won the exclusive contract to sell the new Palm Pre in Britain.

That means it will be the only UK network selling what many regard as the two…

Media Futures 2009

Mon, 06 Jul 2009 09:18:00 +0100

This post was originally featured at Journalism.co.uk

“Gradually more power cuts - the future is more certain than you think”.

“With 90% certainty I can tell you that tomorrow will be Saturday”.
James Woudhuysen, Visiting Prof. of Forecasting and Innovation, De Montfort University, Leicester.

“Content is not king, its about how people use it. SMS is one of the most expensive mediums but still massively popular”.
Matt Locke - Commissioning Editor, Education New Media C4

These were just a small sample of the varied and interesting points discussed at Media Futures 2009 in London.

The conference explored the future of the media as we move ‘beyond broadcast’.

Speakers and guests included the BBC’s Richard Sambrook, POLIS director Charlie Beckett and TechCrunch’s Mike Butcher.

Themes for discussion included desirable, feasible, challenging and viable futures.

Television
Video on Demand (VOD) was a popular point which divided opinions. Avner Ronen, founder of Boxee, a video service that connects your TV to online streaming media argued that personal video recorders (PVR) were soon to be obsolete.

But as media analysts including Toby Syfret from Enders were quick to point out, in reality TV still has a lot of life left in it. According to his analysis, despite the success of services such as the BBC iPlayer, watching streaming content remains a niche market with just 0.5% of total viewing time being spent on computers.

Newspapers
Panelists were agreed on the future for local newspapers. Patrick Barwise, Professor of Management and Marketing at London Business School said “Local newspapers won’t come back, the classified advertising model that held them together has changed”.

After the conference I ran into Bill Thompson, the BBC’s technology columnist. Click to hear his views of the future for journalists.

The Beastlyist Bestest Social Media Diagram Ever.

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:51:00 +0100

Confused by the world of social media? Unconvinced? Then take a look at this beauty!

The Conversation Prism by Brian Solis and Jesse Thomas