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The BBC has decided the web is now worthy and has made it the subject of a detailed documentary series, The Virtual Revolution, that explores its origins, evolution and examines the implications of the technology for society.

It's a highly ambitious, well-researched and thoughtful look at what 20 years of the web means for humanity. This is the perfect time to take a look back and project forward because we are on the cusp of massive expansion as the developing world comes on board in leaps and bounds.

The series is narrated by Dr. Aleks Krotoski, who aside from studying the implications of the internet for the past 10 years, is also a member of The Guardian's crack team of technology journalists.

The first program in the series examines the idea of the web as the great leveler and leaves no stone unturned in it's quest for answers. Most of the program is filmed in the Bay Area and includes interviews with local luminaries-Stewart Brand, Mark Zuckerberg, Andrew Keen, Chad Hurley and John Perry Barlow.

The big theme here is one of revolution and counter-revolution which is explained by the adoption of the internet by late 1960s and early 70s Bay Area radicals, fueled by hope from the Summer of Love and looking for a space where their ideals could be realized, a space that turned out to be The Well.

The program concludes that despite all the hippie driven hope for true openness and utopia, the reality today is very different with a handful of new media brands that have taken and co-opted control.

Krotoski finds an interesting contrast from the ideals of 60s radicals to 2010, where there is basically one online store, one social network, one search engine and one online video network.

Despite the potential doomsday scenario of limited control, Krotoski hopeful thesis is that the beauty of the internet is its state of constant flux, which simply put, means those who are in control today, are very likely not to be in control forever.



Posted by Ed Cotton It's could be a dream assignment- The British Museum and The BBC join forces to create a radio series about 100 objects the museum has in its collection.

Fallon gets the brief and the chance to elevate the often mundane world of advertising into an art form.

However, we all know how hard it can be with one client, how about two public institutions? They must have done some great selling and/or had great clients because the result is pretty close to art, judging by this one spot.

This is a very artful ad aimed at a highly cultured and educated audience who can appreciate the idea and the story, this is not for a target called "everyone".

Looking at from the US perspective it would be hard to find a client to brave enough to do this type of work and you can imagine when presenting the script getting questions about how slow it is and how long it takes to get to the main message- "would people have the patience to stay the course?"



Could this you see this advertising running in the US? Why and why not? imagine The Smithsonian and NPR creating type of initiative


Posted by Ed Cotton The film has the question. You can answer it here.


Posted by Ed Cotton Media and brand websites are collecting a ton of data.

Obviously, there’s the inbuilt desire to keep and own that data, instead of sharing and using it for something. Increasingly the aggregation of data on a community level is going to be a way in which brands can enhance their relationship with their consumer base.

Dopplr is a brand that’s building its reason for being out of the sharing of its data with its users, so much so that they are starting to predict travel trends for the coming season.



Google Insights is an example of a brand providing an additional service through the sharing of data.

Another organization playing with this concept is the BBC, who are sharing their radio audience data with its user base with its Radio Pop initiative. Here's how the Beeb describes it..

"Whenever you listen to live BBC radio through Radio Pop (either within the site or with a widget) it will store what and when you listened. We can then use this data in a number of ways. Firstly, you can see a history of what you listened to - maybe you'd like to go back to last week or even last year and see what you heard. Secondly, there are at-a-glance statistics and graphs on your Radio Pop profile page showing your favourite radio networks and programmes.

Radio Pop is social software. Just like the many social networking sites out there you can add your friends to Radio Pop - then you can see their listening, subscribe to their latest programmes feed or even see the aggregated favourite networks of all your friends."

In the BBC's case the habitual data becomes the "glue" that links the social network together; integrating the brand into the network. Obviously, there will be "experts" suggesting this needs to be a Facebook application, rather than a stand alone social network.





Clearly, there's an opportunity to make more use of data to build closer relationships to brands and between brand users. Before this happens, perhaps there first has to be a cultural shift that takes place inside organizations that makes the sharing and freeing up of data, something acceptable.
 

Posted by Ed Cotton Influx and many others have been following and reporting on the Marketing 2.0 trend which suggests a new open environment of participation between brands and their customers.

The catalyst of the internet has made all the possible and brands now have the power and potential to engage in real dialog.

A few days ago I was struck by this stunning stat from the BBC News as reported by Robin Hamman, who was commenting on a presentation given by Peter Horrocks, Head of the BBC newsroom.

"BBC News can get 10 - 20,000 emails and messages a day, this still only, Horrocks says, represents around 1% of the audience..."

This suggests that we've only scratched the surface of consumer participation, obviously the BBC being a giant media company, is an extreme case.

It raises some interesting questions.

How can the BBC cope with that volume of participation?

How will it cope when it increases?

How does it or does it respond to the wisdom of the crowd, given that it's only 1% of its audience?

If we shift over from the media to the marketing world, it appears that most marketing departments aren't yet designed and organized to manage and cope with Marketing 2.0, most are still working and structured for a 1.0 world.

The Marketing Department is going to need to change radically, but there are some questions.

How do they make the transition?

When does the "tipping point" occur?

Marketing departments need fundamentally new skill sets, new positions/job titles and they are also going to need some smart technology to assist them.

Given how little bandwidth most departments have these days, it's safe to assume that there are quite a few brands out there who risk damaging their reputations because they simply aren't structured to cope with the new era of conversation and participation.


Posted by Ed Cotton the bbc co-produces radio show with listeners (50.819818262156545 , -2.900390625) iPM is an interesting development from the BBC;  a radio show and podcast that's shaped  by the listeners. Here's how they describe it.

"iPM is a weekly programme as well as a podcast. The “i” stands for interactive and “i” as in something personal. You can discuss ideas with the production team on this blog and during the course of the week you can view and comment on stories that are being lined up for Saturday's programme.

We’ll source what we do through the best blogs, passionate 'ear catching' online debate as well as comments and recommendations of others. So what ends up on air will be shaped by listeners and bloggers.


Posted by Ed Cotton