From this session, attendees will learn what characteristics are appealing to certain market segments when it comes to mobile devices, and how to align their mobile strategy to work with advances in mobile operating systems into the future.

The conference programme will also cover vital topics and issues for mobile, such as; content strategy, app discovery, analytics, marketing, m-payments, and much more. But the experience doesn’t just stop at talks provided by top keynote speakers and industry thought-leaders: the event also includes interactive workshops, live Q&As, and even a special ‘pitch’ session to wrap up the event, all designed with the goal of providing inspirational, high-quality content. In addition to this, mStrategy thoughtfully considers that networking is an important opportunity for attendees, and will deliver a live networking experience that will combine social media feeds and discussions with face-to-face networking, adding further value for those attending.

In the ever-evolving mobile industry, it is becoming increasingly more urgent for businesses to keep up with the pace of technological change. With two days of compelling content, mStrategy will equip attendees with the competitive edge to succeed in this increasingly competitive market.

For the sake of argument, let’s say it does. What is currently out there that allows us to do this? A few of examples (not including tablet devices) include Flipboard, Paperlit and 3D Issue. These are applications that digitize print magazines.

3D Issue

3D Issue software creates a digital version of your publication in Flash and HTML5, which can then be viewed in on smartphones and tablet devices. An eBook option for devices such as the Kindle and Nook allow you to sell via the Kindle or iBook stores.

You also have the option of creating digital magazines or newsletters from your blog or RSS feeds, content is searchable and zoomable and can be made media-rich, and digitizing your content in this way is beneficial for SEO.

Aside from these points, what I think what is especially cool about 3D Issue is that it enables you to edit content even after digital publication. If there is a typo, or any other error, this can be amended afterward – never before possible in publishing!

However, what I think is even cooler than that is the fact that the reader can add notes and bookmarks and can share individual stories from the magazine. This is definitely taking digital publication in the right direction.

Paperlit

Paperlit is a web and mobile publishing solution for newspapers, magazines, and catalogues. Using this solution you can publish to mobile and Facebook, create additional media-rich content, and additional advertising opportunities.

It works using pdfs – so whatever print material you have must be converted to a pdf first. From there, Paperlit does all the work for you: converting your files to different screen resolutions, including for mobile and tablets.

But perhaps what is most interesting of all is its integration with Facebook. Each publication using the service will have a Facebook app, and they can choose to give their publications away for free, or payment can be subscription-based, or issue-based. Content is searchable, can include photos and videos which can be opened in an overlay, which can then be ‘liked’ separately – a great way to gain further visibility.

Using this service will tell you which articles specifically are taking off and going viral, plus articles that have been read will display on the individual’s timeline; free advertising, essentially. This is gold for advocacy – people often choose to read what they know their friends have read.

This is could be a pivotal step for publishing. However it does seem that there are some limitations with design, and I can’t help but think that Facebook is becoming something of the virtual version of Starbucks or MacDonalds; soon you won’t be able to avoid it. Yet at the moment, it does seem to offer the best place to share content on the internet.

Flipboard Pages

Flipboard overcomes the design issue with Facebook, and in fact more than overcomes it but makes it an essential part of its strategy. Perhaps the app is the most on the money at the moment when it comes to digital publishing. The company has positioned itself as a leader in browsing content posted on social platforms. Designed for use on the iPad, when an article from any one of the publications whose content has enabled for use on Flipboard (including Lonely Planet, ABC News and The Washington Post Magazine) is shared on Twitter or Facebook, the reader using the app will be able to read the article in a beautifully designed magazine format when they click on the link or article excerpt. Flipboard explains that the design of the layout is more likely to increase publications’ viewership and cause more people to retweet, share, and ‘like’ the content, seamlessly and naturally combining the world of publishing with social media platforms.

As it is one of the most popular apps available on the iPad, it certainly seems to be giving consumers the kind of reading experience that they enjoy using. Is there anything more valuable in the magazine industry?

What can digital do for magazines?

Until recently, it hasn’t been possible for people to interact with digital publications in the natural way that they would with print; and interacting with print is a very natural thing for people to do: my mother still sends me clips of articles in the post from time to time, and I don’t know of anyone who hasn’t scribbled down a note in a book, magazine or newspaper, or circled an address or advert. What of the personal nature of books; the personal touch of someone else’s notes in the margins if you buy a second hand book? Will we loose all of this by switching to reading digital versions of our favourite magazines and books?

I would argue that it is important not to lose this; that we should incorporate all of the ways people naturally interact with print publications into the digital versions. This opens up whole worlds of possibility for engagement, analysis, sharing, and perhaps most importantly, allows people to embrace publications online in a way that they would not have been able to otherwise. It makes the reading experience personal.

The ability to share articles, bookmark, and make notes (marginalia) is a very valuable way to spread ideas, make comments, and spark conversations. This is something that needs to evolve in digital publication. Although tablet devices enable marginalia to a certain extent, it doesn’t flow as naturally as it does on paper, and there’s no reason why it shouldn’t. Hopefully this is something that will be developed further in time.

I began this post by saying that for the sake of argument, print does need to be assimilated into the virtual world. It is still a matter of much contention whether it does or does not; however the advantages are clear, and it is clear that as a society we are shifting our focus more and more to the online world in all aspects of our lives. Although there may always be a place for printed products (of that I have no doubt), it would be foolish for publications to bury their heads in the sand and hope that everything will continue as normal, because it’s likely that it won’t. It is time to keep a very close eye on changing consumer behaviour, yet also keep in mind the behaviour that has always stayed the same (the desire to share, for example). To move forward successfully, the two must go hand in hand.

To sum up, I’d like to end with a quote from Craig Mod, designer at Flipboard, with a quote on the future of books:

‘To think about the future of the book is to think about the future of all content. So intertwined are our words and images and platforms, that to consider individual parts of the publishing process in isolation is to miss transformation connections.

These connections shaping books and publishing live in emergent systems behind the words. Between the writing and the publishing, publishing and consuming, consuming and sharing.

We have an opportunity now to shape these systems. And in doing so, to refine the relationships between authors, publishers, readers and texts. ‘

Photo: Flipboard.com

Of course, virtual communities are by their nature open spaces and a very powerful medium for advocacy. It is now widely recognised that in order to build an effective marketing strategy, you need to be active in social media. This opens up doors to powerful PR that can make the world of difference to your brand. In such an open space, promoting a charity or cause can have a dramatic impact on people’s perception of your brand or business, while also promoting a worthwhile cause.

Do the right thing, for your brand, and for your cause, and include social philanthropy in your marketing strategy.

Key takeaways:

- Generate buzz and interest around your brand
- Build positive PR
- Contribute to a good cause

It is now more important than ever to fully engage with your customers in the world of mobile. The rules of conventional marketing and customer engagement are being rewritten; make sure you stay in the game.

Key takeaways:

- Understand your mobile customer-base
- Increase brand loyalty and customer spending
- Truly engage your customers in the growing world of mobile

But here is exactly where we should stop. Today’s marketing strategies should embrace new technologies just as much as they should take into consideration more traditional marketing channels.

It’s time to ask yourself: in today’s digital society, are you a tortoise or a hare?

Key takeaways:

- Create a marketing strategy that is built to last
- Learn from trends of the past to predicted trends of the future
- Understand how retain your customer-base and build brand loyalty

The end of QR codes in magazine advertising?

We’ve more frequently started to see these square codes in magazines as part of adverts, but can this can only go so far. You often don’t know exactly what site you will be visiting when you click on the QR code with your smartphone, and – even in spite of some lovely QR code designs – they don’t actually look that good, especially when they are surrounded by a particularly nicely designed magazine; often they can look out of place.

Layar Vision could be pivotal for the future of print, helping to keep print strong while combining the medium with the ever omnipotent virtual world.

The app allows readers to access further information from key parts of the magazine without the original design or layout requiring any changes or adaption. Layar functions by recognising real world objects and displaying digital experiences on top of them, increasing the reader’s access to information and enhancing their experience.

The beauty of this app is that it adds value – both by way of experience for the reader, and financial value for the advertiser – without compromising on style or quality.

Linda, a Dutch magazine, is the first magazine to use Layar Vision. To add value and enhance its content, Linda adds unique backstage video footage of the cover shoot, links to sites selling the fashion featured in the articles, and the option to book a test drive for the advertised cars.

Linda magazine state, “Now with Layar it’s possible for the first time to make a real connection between print and digital without the ugly QR codes in your magazine. Layar adds an extra layer with groundbreaking opportunities for readers and advertisers bringing the magazine alive.”

I’m looking forward to seeing more of this use of AR in other magazines in the near future.

Key takeaways:

- Understand visitor behaviour and engagement levels
- Comprehensively measure your audience
- Increase the impact of your mobile strategy
- Increase your ROI

The digital age has seen a phenomenal growth in virtual communities: Instagram now has a community of over 5 million users, StumbleUpon has grown to over 20 million active users, and Twitter has soared to more than 100 million active users. This represents people’s desire to belong to a community, even in a virtual context.

The nature of our virtual society means that more and more people are turning to mobile to stay connected with their online communities. According to a recent study by comScore, 70 per cent of social networkers access social media platforms such as Twitter on their mobile devices. Research has found that social network users are also more likely to interact with and read posts from organisations, brands, or events than through traditional advertising.

There is no doubt that mobile communities are growing and look set to stay. Never before has there been a more important and opportune time to engage with and nurture mobile communities to truly connect with your customers.

Key Takeaways:

- Understand how users interact with mobile communities
- Learn how to generate awareness and engagement from mobile communities
- Imagine what harnessing the power of mobile communities can do for your business

This growing adoption of smartphone use combined with location-based services is opening up a world of possibilities for the retail industry. Questions on the minds of most retailers will no doubt be: how do I increase brand loyalty, increase foot traffic, and increase customer spending? Location-based marketing can be revolutionary in achieving these goals.

Are you ready for the retail marketing revolution?

Key takeaways:

- Identify your target market
- Learn how utilise real-time location-based advertising
- Learn how to keep your customers coming back time and again

Urban allotments in Havana

What Cuba has achieved is remarkable, and what really sums this up well is this statistic from a study from the World Wildlife Fund: ‘…if the world followed Cuba’s example we’d only need the resources of one Earth to sustain us indefinitely. By contrast, if the world followed the example of Australia’s capitalist economy, we’d need about 3.7 Earth-like planets.’

The only truly sustainable country

According to a report by the World Wildlife Fund, Cuba is the only country in the world able to balance living standards with ecologically sustainable practices. Cuba was the first country to sign the Kyoto Protocol, and the first to move to energy efficient light bulbs.

This revolutionary transformation in the way the city (and the country) function came about by chance and necessity.

With the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, Cuba saw an end to subsidised oil, which meant that power, energy, and fuel were scarce. Cubans found that food and construction building materials became in short supply, as previously these industries had relied heavily on the transportation industry.

The lack of fuel meant that food could not be transported from rural areas, which hit Havana hard. Cuba had to find the means to feed its population: its answer was to encourage the population to produce as much food as possible using very low impact methods. Urban allotments (called ‘organoponicos’) became the most common and valuable means of producing food in Havana. Residents of Havana began planting crops on porches, balconies, empty city lots, in their gardens, city parks, and where any space was available.

Organic Consumers Association states, ‘Key ingredients in the new agricultural model are the urban organic movement; traditional farming techniques like composting and intercropping (growing two crops together that benefit each other by warding off particular pests); new nontoxic biopesticides and biofertilizers; worker-managed collectives; quotas for farmers to ensure adequate supply for the whole country; and opening farmers’ markets where excess food crops can be sold by farmers for profit.’

Havana’s city government and the Cuban Ministry for Agriculture jointly formed an Urban Agriculture Department in 1994 focusing on securing land use rights and committing itself to providing free land to people wanting to grow food in the city.

At its height, Cuba produced a massive 90 per cent of its own food, all of which was organic. Urban agriculture in Havana fed 80 per cent of the city.

Today the city produces over half of its fresh produce.

Agriculture was not the only industry to suffer in the fall of the Soviet Union; the construction materials industry also suffered. Building materials became scarce and new housing construction dramatically decreased. Maintenance and repair of current housing also became very limited. This was due to the end of long-distance transportation that had been relied on for transporting materials. Local production became a necessity.

In response to this, materials are manufactured locally in small workshops using environmentally sustainable building materials. As they are produced and sold directly in the community, they have very low energy input and minor transportation costs. The project uses an alternative binder – CP-40 – which is one of the key materials used. It has significantly lower CO2 and SO2 emissions than Portland cement, and results in substantial energy savings.

As the only truly sustainable city in the world, Havana truly is a model example of what a successful smart city can be. Cities across the world can and should be learning from Havana’s example.

However, this green revolution may now be under threat from Cuba’s reintegration into the global economy. This will open the company to cheap oil and an industrialized food supply. Use of fertilizers has already increased thanks to oil exchange with Venezuela.

The question is now whether the government will continue to support sustainable agriculture given the increased access to fuel.

As part of our month’s rail journey around Europe, my boyfriend Elliot and I visited Transylvania for four days. It wasn’t nearly long enough to experience what life in Romania is really like, but in the time we spent there we soon learned to appreciate the stark comparison between lifestyles between Western and Eastern Europe.

To get to Romania, we caught a train from Budapest in Hungary to Brasov in the centre of Romania amidst the Carpathian mountain range. I like to imagine it was similar to the journey – albeit fictional – of Jonathan Harker in Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

The journey was slow, long and rather interesting. We had booked our tickets in advance the day before as we were told this was necessary if we wanted to have seats. We stood in a queue in Budapest station for the better part of an afternoon to buy them, then on the day we caught the train we found our reserved seats already occupied by a large family. They looked rather disgruntled to say the least when we managed to somehow explain to them that the seats two of their children were sitting in were ours. They huffed, puffed, folded their arms and deliberately looked away, thankful that they didn’t speak our language. The train was full and we were worried that if we sat elsewhere we would be booted from our seats as we were attempting to do to the family. Elliot persisted and eventually the adults agreed to move their two children out of their seats.

We sat down feeling rather guilty, and as we settled down it soon dawned on us that there was a distinctly awkward atmosphere in the carriage, the kind that felt like we had invited ourselves into someone else’s house for dinner and we hadn’t been invited. The fact that the journey was to be 12 hours long was all too prominent in our minds. As the train chugged on oh so slowly we realised that the radiator in the carriage was stuck on full blast and wouldn’t turn off. To top it off, the window wouldn’t open. The prospect of a 12 hour journey in these conditions didn’t fill us with joy.

With some trepidation, Elliot decided to try his chances in first class. He came back about 10 minutes later and told me he’d asked the guard (as best he could as the guard didn’t speak English) if we could upgrade to first class and to his understanding the guard had confirmed that yes, this would be fine and we should go to first class. He would come to find us later.

So we moved, with much relief and a certain feeling of smugness. The carriage we now sat in was lovely and cool, spacious, and all ours. The guard, as promised, came in later on. “Oh, but where are your first class tickets?” he seemed to ask.
“We don’t have them,” we explained, “We want to upgrade to first class. Upgrade. Pay to move to first class.” We gestured this and repeated a few words along with actions for an improved chance of being understood. The guard’s expression changed and realisation seemed to dawn on him, as if some invisible light bulb had flashed on somewhere beneath his blue guard’s hat.
“Ah!” he said, and explained that he would come back shortly to collect our money.

We breathed sighs of relief, as for a while we were worried he would send us back to the jaws of the family in the stifling sauna carriage. A little later he returned and sat down with his book of prices for train tickets open on his lap. He pondered over this for a while, and then asked us for a sum of money (which was quite reasonable and a bargain compared to prices in Britain). We handed him the money expecting a ticket in return. Instead, we both received a handshake. “Gentlemen,” he shook Elliot’s hand, “Ladies,” he shook mine, stepped toward the door and with a wave of his hand exclaimed, “Hello!” and with a big toothy grin he departed into the hallway. Elliot and I looked at each other for a moment, and the realisation of our bribery suddenly dawning on us. It was a completely new experience. I had never bribed anyone before! In that brief experience, it almost summed up what life in Eastern Europe is like and how differently business and life in general is run there. Bureaucracy takes a back seat.

We comfortably sat in first class until we left Hungary and entered Romania. The Romanian guard came to check our tickets. Where were our first class tickets? He inquired. Fortunately, he understood more English than the previous guard and we were able to explain to him that we had paid the Hungarian guard but had been given no tickets. Unfortunately, we then had to pay him for our tickets as well. All in all, we paid twice. Still, this time it was for real and we actually received our valid first-class tickets. For the first time on this journey we could ‘legally’ sit in first class.

We tried to forget about the bribery and paying twice and sat back and enjoyed the vast expanses of Romanian countryside, and it was vast. Rolling meadows sprinkled with hundreds of white and pink flowers rolled past the window undisturbed save for the odd small village or horse drawn cart, or pyramids of hay held together with a wooden stick through its centre. This was not the modern world. Every once in a while (especially further north) we would stop in a town consisting of buildings that looked as if they had been bombed at some point. They had fallen completely into disrepair and were now little more than shells. Children played amongst the concrete rubble and clothes hung up to dry in the glassless windows of the grey communist buildings.

As our journey continued south east, the villages and towns became more and more sparse and the countryside less and less interrupted. Twelve hours after leaving Budapest we arrived in the town of Brasov, Transylvania, at the foot of the Carpathian mountains. We were relieved to find that Brasov was quite unlike the towns we had seen in the north and was, by comparison, quite prosperous. This is due mainly to the money brought brought to the region by tourism. In winter there is a good skiing scene and in summer it’s a good place for people who are looking for a relatively inexpensive holiday or for those interested in outdoor activities. There are many places to hike, fish, climb or go on a wildlife tour. But predominantly one of the main reasons for tourist attraction to the region is the legend of Count Dracula, thanks to Bram Stoker, an Irishman who had personally never visited Transylvania, let alone Romania or Eastern Europe.

We were met at the station by a woman called Maria Bolea, who is mentioned in the Lonely Planet guidebook and runs the Rolling Stone Hostel. Her mind races a mile a minute and her enthusiasm and exuberant personality leave you even more exhausted after a day’s travelling. At the hostel, travellers come and go constantly and the kitchen is always full of different accents sharing stories of different travelling experiences. Many people visiting this part of Romania visit ‘Dracula’s Castle’. The ‘castle’ is situated in a town called Bran, just a short drive away from Brasov. The weather was sympathetic to our visit, with fog shrouding the mountains. However, the castle itself did not seem so befitting to spooky, foggy weather. It’s not so much a castle but a nice summer house and not very gloomy at that. The walls had recently had a fresh lick of white paint, and it was more cosy than creepy. So if you go and visit Dracula’s Castle expecting a maze of dark and mysterious corridors and large gloomy rooms, perhaps with a bat or two flitting around the corners, you will be disappointed.

By far the scariest thing at the ‘castle’ was the sheer volume of screaming, excitable children scurrying along the corridors and flushing anyone who wanted to explore the building at a leisurely pace through the corridors like a twig caught in a violent flood. At one point Elliot experimented how strong the large group of children pushing against his back was by leaning back on them and seeing how much they held him up. The results were surprising – they held him up quite well!

We were relieved to evacuate the crowded house and filled our lungs with fresh air outside as there was scarcely room to breathe inside. As we left we entered a surreal world outside the building where local people set up their stalls to attract tourists visiting the house. It’s undoubtedly touristy, but in a rather unique way. The stalls sell pretty much anything and everything: strange hats, genuine fur coats, cheap plastic toys, balls, pipes, snow storms with tropical scenes inside them. It was as if, still new to tourism, people really had no idea how to use the site of Dracula’s Castle to their advantage. They knew that setting up stalls and selling things to tourists was a good idea, they just had no idea of what to sell. One or two, however, seemed to have cottoned on and were selling bottles of red wine posing as bottled blood. However most had just decided to sell whatever they could get their hands on.

Brasov, where we were staying, is a pleasant town to spend some time wondering around. One of the nicer places to visit is Mount Tampa, the mountain that the town lies at the foot of. There’s a cable car that runs to the top – or close enough – or you can walk. We chose to take the cable car up and then walk down through a beautiful meadow – apparently a hot spot for barbecues and picnics – and then follow the path down through the forest. There are bears and wolves in this area, but the chance of actually bumping into either are very slim. The views from the top of the mountain are worth a trip up, but it’s still not quite the craggy and bleak mountain range of the Carpathians that fantasy stories have encouraged you to believe exist here.

Another place that is worth a visit in this area is the Palace at Sinaia, a town two hours south of Brasov by train. The tracks lead through some very picturesque scenery consisting mostly of thick forests and beautiful mountain ranges that are perhaps closer to the popular fantasy image of the Carpathians.

The station in Sinaia is small and quiet and isn’t situated directly in the town but a little way outside it. A little lost at where to go we asked a man who approached us saying, “Bed to sleep? Bed to sleep?” at us and putting his head on his hands, the universal symbol for sleeping. When we failed to respond in the positive, he looked totally put out and walked off briskly. He then paused and turned around walking back a few paces. Perhaps we had realised our mistake and really did want a bed to sleep. “Bed to sleep? Bed to sleep?” he asked again, repeating the same sleeping action with his hands. “No”, we responded and asked again where the palace was. This time he looked even more inconvenienced and ran across the road in search of other tourists who might be in need of a bed to sleep.

As we walked up to the palace, we passed many gift stands selling the same cheap and tacky merchandise as we had seen in Bran, and as we continued to walk we caught sight of something much more distressing than tacky plastic snow storms. I couldn’t quite believe my eyes at first and only really registered what I was looking at when I heard my own voice saying, “It’s a lion.”

There, tethered by a chain to a metal fence, was a lion cub. It lay on the pavement without food or water in sight. The man beside the cub was young and wasn’t badly dressed. As we passed him he raised his eyebrows at us, “You want picture with lion?” he asked. We didn’t respond and walked on to the palace, our spirits dampened. The lion cub is by no means alone in its captivity. Many wild animals are smuggled into countries like Romania (often stolen at a young age from their parents, whom they may have killed in order to get the young animal) and go either to zoos where they are poorly cared for, or into private ownership where the owner will use the animal for personal profit. If you’re interested in finding out more about this or helping these animals, visit BornFree.org.uk.

I asked the woman at the ticket stand about the lion as she seemed to speak good English. As soon as I mentioned ‘lion’ her knowledge of English seemed to plummet. She shrugged, “I don’t understand”, she said, “I don’t understand what you mean.” She shook her head and looked completely blank, although I suspected that she could understand me quite well. I gave up and asked two of the women who worked inside the palace about it. “Is it legal to keep a lion?” I asked them after I explained what I’d seen further down the hill. They looked at each other, then at me.
“Yes. Yes.” They both asserted, “It’s legal.”

I later asked Maria if this was the case, to which she replied that no, of course it wasn’t legal. The people I was asking had probably been bribed by the man with the lion. The police too would turn a blind eye having accepted a bribe themselves. That’s just the way things work in Romania. Maria herself had been to the palace at Sinaia many times, taking tourist groups with her. The staff at the palace will only give a tour of the ground floor, which, as magnificent as it is, equates to only 10 per cent of the building. However, Maria offers the staff a bribe and she always gets to see the next floor up with her group of tourists. A little more money and she’d be able to see even more. In Romania, this is perfectly normal.

Although upset by the plight of the lion cub, Elliot and I still enjoyed our tour of the palace at Sinaia which was stunningly beautiful and ordained with ornate wooden carvings most everywhere you looked. It is dramatically situated on a hill surrounded by dense coniferous forests often shrouded in mist. It is also dramatically surrounded by a number of soldiers rather stunningly dressed in purple camouflage uniforms. Interesting, as the purpose of wearing camouflage is to make yourself difficult to see. Wearing purple just doesn’t seem to have the same effect. The purple soldiers carried large machine guns somewhat proudly and peered at us from behind tree trunks. I suppose we did look rather suspicious, what with our large cumbersome backpacks and the fact we were a young couple taking touristy pictures of one another in the palace garden. It would have been the perfect cover act for some kind of elaborate terror plot – that we didn’t look suspicious was perhaps the most suspicious thing of all! Or so the purple guards seemed to think. One of them laughed at us menacingly as we walked down the hill.

No sooner had we hurried a little further down the hill from the mocking eyes of a purple guard hugging his machine gun than we were met by a woeful looking scruffy dog who walked on three legs, her front fourth leg held up in a heart breaking limp. With her was a small and even sadder looking puppy, who looked up at us with pleading eyes.

I’d never seen dogs look sadder. We stopped in our tracks and didn’t think twice about taking out the pack of biscuits that we’d recently bought and threw them a few. No sooner had we done this than another stray dog appeared from the shadows. This one didn’t look nearly so cute or sorry, but Elliot threw him a biscuit just to keep him happy. When we felt we’d given them enough, we carried on walking. The other dog that had recently arrived wasn’t too happy about this. He was in a better condition than the limping dog and the puppy and barked angrily at us. Suddenly it dawned on us that feeding stray dogs in Romania might not be such a good idea after all. We tried to walk away, but the more we walked, the more the larger dog chased us and the angrier its barks became. The other two dogs chased us too, but their chasing was more pathetic and sorrowful than scary. We both sensed that the angry dog was close to attacking us, and as we hurried through the cafe area we passed another dog who saw the commotion and took up chase as well. With four hungry dogs on our trail, we threw them the rest of the biscuits amid cries of, “Just drop the bag!” and “Run!” The dogs all set about to scoffing up the biscuits strewn across the floor, but we didn’t linger around to watch. We walked very quickly down the hill, casting nervous glances over our shoulders just to check they weren’t in pursuit of us again. Thankfully only our pride was hurt. There are lots of stray dogs in Romania, but from then on we learned never to feed them, even the puppies and the sad ones that limped.

We passed the lion cub on the way down and several more stray dogs that thankfully stayed out of our way as we eyed them with nervous suspicion. We sat on a bench in the park nearby the station as the sky clouded over and started to dampen us with a light covering of rain. The same man who had asked us if we wanted a bed to sleep approached us again. “Bed for sleep?” He asked.
“No.” We both replied, sternly and in unison. We felt a little warn down by Romania today and were looking forward to Slovenia, our next destination.

Exhausted, we boarded the train back to Brasov and were met again by Maria who changed our money for us ‘at a fair rate’, she ascertained. We had always tried our best not to spend too much time hanging around Brasov station as it was crowded with gypsy children begging for money. They wander around the tracks in their tattered clothes and grubby faces and approach anyone they see to beg for money. They knew that we couldn’t understand them, but still decided that the language barrier could be crossed by use of tone of voice and sad expressions. The gypsy population are second-class citizens in Romania and are outcasts in society. Maria warned us that if a child begged us for money to not give them any, but instead give them food as this was the only sure way to know that you would be helping them. Otherwise, she said, they would give the money to their parents who send them out to beg and they in turn would spend the money on alcohol and cigarettes. Whether this is in fact the case or not I don’t know and I wouldn’t like to judge. What is the case is that, true or not, many people believe this.

We travelled out of Romania on the same tracks that we had travelled in on.

Back again through the wild meadows and past the thick forests, past the pyramid haystacks and the horse drawn carts and old towns with no roads save a dirt track. I contemplated what a fascinating country it is and to this day I am amazed by the stark comparison between the culture and way of life in Western Europe to that of Eastern Europe and Romania, where bribery is a way of life and breaking the law is commonplace, where children and dogs run wild and military men walk around proudly displaying their guns. It seems that the days of the Wild West have passed long ago. If you want to travel to the new Wild West, head East.

Google software engineer Steve Yegge has his own ideas about why Google Plus hasn’t been the success that Google envisioned and intended to share them internally with his colleagues. Unfortunately for him and fortunately for the rest of us, he accidentally published this publicly.

Yegge criticised Google for not understanding platforms and described Google Plus as “a pathetic afterthought.” He compared the platform with Facebook and argued that Google Plus was “a study in short-term thinking, predicted on the incorrect notion that Facebook is successful because they built a great product.”

He argued that this is not the reason Facebook is successful, “Facebook is successful because they built an entire constellation of products by allowing other people to do the work.” A quote from Vice President of Product at Facebook, Christopher Cox, backs this up: “We have a rogue, emergent, generative culture. We show people that when they come to Facebook, they start creating.”

Frog Design, in their critique of Facebook’s design, point out that the company approaches the development of new features and products based on people and their online behaviour, an approach that they have dubbed ‘social design.’ Perhaps this is something that Google Plus has not done so well.

Yegge also argued that the reason Google Plus has been comparatively unsuccessful is that they are trying to predict what people want and deliver it for them. “You can’t do that. Not really. Not reliably.” He says. Although he credited Steve Jobs as being one of those “few people” who had successfully been able to do this, perhaps Facebook are a company who have also been able to achieve this to a certain extent. Both have applied responsive design to their products.

Cox has defined Facebook’s design concept as improving how people build human-to-human, versus human-to-interface, connections online. It is this overall vision and ethos of the company that has aided it in its design and functionality, creating a user experience that is constantly changing and evolving in response to the user’s needs and wants, creating an online social experience specifically tailored for the user.

Yegge decided to remove the post at his own discretion. “I contacted our internal PR folks and asked what to do, and they were also nice and supportive. But they didn’t want me to think that they were even hinting at censoring me – they went out of their way to help me understand that we’re an opinionated company, and not one of the kinds of companies that censors their employees.”

If Google can replicate their ethic of listening to and actively encouraging their employees’ opinions and apply this to their target audience as Facebook has done, basing their site on a responsive design, they’re undoubtedly on to a good thing.

Bristol, UK, 12 October, 2011: The leading digital media conference, taking place from 25-16th October at Park Plaza Amsterdam Airport in the Netherlands, hosts over 30 of the industry’s leading speakers and will include interactive workshops, live interviews, and valuable networking opportunities.

Randi Zuckerberg, former Head of Marketing at Facebook, will deliver the opening keynote. “iStrategy’s European Conference offers attendees the leading edge needed to develop world-class integrated marketing strategies,” she says.

“It is truly an honour for me to deliver the opening keynote session at iStrategy’s European Conference on October 25. I look forward to exploring the future of online branding, as well as providing best-in-class strategies and tips for successful brand positioning in the digital landscape,” she adds.

In this valuable session, Zuckerberg will share her top ten tips for maximizing your brand on Facebook, reveal which brands are the best at maximizing their social connections, and help you to speak your ‘future brand’.

Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, will deliver the final keynote session. He will cover the fundamentals of the Wikipedia model, and reveal how open-source, open-content technology is changing the face of the internet.

In addition, 29 other industry leaders from companies such as Microsoft, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google, Spotify, Orange, Rovio, Heineken and more will be speaking and sharing their insights on leading social media techniques and technology. Topics will cover social media, mobile marketing and applications, display advertising, online advertising, email marketing, web analytics, e-commerce, and content strategy.

The conference will facilitate coffee breaks, lunches, and even a gala reception evening in order to facilitate face-to-face networking opportunities with your peers and industry pioneers.

Unlike many other conferences, iStrategy believes that quality, not quantity, is what is most important. Limiting the number of attendees to 300 senior marketers, the conference adds value by ensuring a more intimate and interactive experience.

With the very best speakers, the very best content, and the very best networking opportunities, iStrategy is the social media conference that your business strategy can’t afford to miss.

To register, please go to www.istrategyconference.com

PlanIT’s Urban OS running PlaceApps

This is the system currently being developed by Living PlanIT. Called the Urban OS (UOS), the system is essentially the same as an operating system used by a Mac or PC, but is instead designed to operate an entire city.

The technology behind this has been developed by McLaren Electronic Systems, the same company who create sensors for F1 cars. Taking in information from sensors around the city, the software monitors data and events. Using a building fire as an example, sensors in the affected building will be able to detect the fire and act accordingly, such as directing people to the nearest exists via smart walls, panel screens, lights, or alarms. Further to this, the system can also unlock doors and windows, manage water pressure and traffic lights, aiding fire crew to get to the site in time and ensure they have a sufficient water supply.

CTO of Living PlanIT John Stenlake explains, ‘By joining up a few simple things like this, you can literally save minutes, which ultimately save lives.’

PlaceApps

The UOS will run on a common platform running PlaceApps, a service that will operate in the way that apps run on a smartphone or tablet. PlaceApps will enable independent developers to be their own apps so services provided around the city can be increased and built upon. Steve Lewis, Head of Living PlantIT, describes that smartphone apps could eventually connect to the UOS to remotely control household appliances, energy systems, and safety equipment to monitor well-being.

The system is currently being built for test purposes in Paredes, Portugal, at the cost of approximately €8-10bn, and will contain around one million sensors. The groundbreaking new city expects its first residents around the middle of next year.

A safe, reliable system?

Should it work, this could revolutionise the way we live in cities, creating a sustainable environment within the urban sprawl, and increasing efficiency in all areas of our lives. However, I’m sure I won’t be the only person to want to see proof in the reliability and security of its operation. Having one operating system to function as a motherboard for an entire city makes me feel a little nervous; it’s like putting all of your eggs in one basket. In the event of a system malfunction or an attack from hackers, would this bring the whole city to a halt?

Lewis argues that the very fact of having one platform to manage the entire urban landscape of a city will aid quality and manageability, making significant cost savings and implementation consistency.

Steve Lewis will be speaking at Smart Cities Conference in February next year – let’s hope he’ll be sharing more of the Urban OS’ latest developments!

The N Building is probably one of the most famous examples. Situated in Tokyo in the middle of one of the city’s shopping districts, the N Building is a commercial building that, until 2010, has traditionally been adorned with billboards and other advertising.

Qosmo and Teradadesign teamed up to change this as they believed that advertising on the side of the building undermined the building’s identity. To rectify this, they made the decision to use a QR code as the facade. When scanned, the code leads to a site detailing information about the stores inside. When scanned with the iPhone, as well as browsing shop information, people can also make reservations and download coupons. You can even see who is tweeting inside and what they are saying!

Qosmo and Teradedesign explain, ‘Our goal is to provide an incentive to visit the space and a virtual connection to space without necessarily being present.’

Perhaps the most beautiful thing about this building is in its functionality. The design serves a purpose other than just making a statement, although it does that well too. Qosmo and Teradadesign have come up with an ingenious way to provide information to people in an aesthetically pleasing way that complements the building’s architecture. It provides information far more efficiently than traditional billboard advertising; it involves more details, includes far more information, and allows people to interact with the environment inside the building without actually having to step inside it themselves.

On the other side of the world, New York City are also using QR codes on buildings, but in a different way. The city’s mayor, Michael R. Bloomberg has announced that it will put QR codes on all building permits by 2013. He said, ‘New Yorkers expect to be able to gather information instantly, and the use of QR codes will allow them to get all information about construction work while standing on the sidewalk.’

According to the Mayor, smartphone users who scan the QR codes on a construction permit in New York will receive ‘details about the ongoing project – including the approved scope of work, identities of the property owner and job applicant, other approved projects associated with the permit, [and] complaints and violations related to the location.’

Crossing the Atlantic to Dubai in the UAE, planning is ongoing for a hotel designed to look like a giant QR code. The artist’s impression make it look pretty impressive, but whether or not it will actually work is a different matter. If it doesn’t work, it does make me wonder: what is the point? On first glance, it appears that it is just art for art’s sake, perhaps trying a bit too hard to be trendy and modern.

With the N Building and the QR codes for building permits across New York City, it seems to suggest that augmented reality is creeping further into our daily lives. This is being greatly aided by the phenomenal increase of people using smartphone devices.

Perhaps it won’t be long before we start to see QR codes incorporated onto more commercial buildings around the globe; whether it will really enhance our lives or not, is another matter.

Foursquare

Foursquare have reached a billion check-ins. ONE BILLION!

They visually mapped their 1 billion check-ins for the week in the form of a video. As of June 2011, the company had 10 million registered users, with approximately 3 million check-ins per day. Foursquare is clearly onto a winner.

There are a number of reasons for Foursquare’s phenomenal continued growth: the company has recently added a new privacy setting that allows users to keep their address hidden, tailoring itself to the needs and desires of its consumers; they released a self-service option that allows small business owners to make the most of promotional opportunities offered by Foursquare. With more business attracted to Foursquare, the service perpetuates itself further with more customers checking in.

But the most obvious reason is that we are living in something of a smartphone revolution: this is becoming more and more of the standard phone to have, and with this advanced GPS technology becomes available to the masses. comScore reports that the US had in excess of 80 million smartphone users in July of this year, with nearly 20 per cent of smartphone owners using a check-in service on their phone.

People are clearly happy to make the most of this technology. And why not? You may be rewarded for your purchases and for your loyalty to certain stores/restaurants/cafes if you check in frequently enough by getting a free coffee, for example. But ultimately perhaps it is so popular because people love to interact with their environment.

Gowalla

Gowalla have somewhat revamped their service and their website and shifted their focus. They are stepping away from check-ins and stepping toward travel and location-based stories. This could be because they don’t want to directly compete with Foursquare and have seen a gap in the market that they could fill, and fill well. In which case, their move to become a travel app could be a very good move indeed.

Chief Executive of Gowalla, Josh Williams, had said that they will focus on creating more than 60 guides to cities worldwide. The app will enable people to record photos, make comments about the location, and tag other users, which will enable them to join the narrative.

I really like this idea: an ongoing social narrative relating to experiences. Perhaps ultimately this is more important than simply ‘checking-in’ to a location?

Mapalong

Mapalong is an app set up with the purpose of ‘mapping’ your experiences. This has the potential to be a very useful app. I remember a trip I went on to Ljubljiana in Slovenia where I visited a lovely little teahouse; but I can’t remember the name of the teahouse, and I can’t remember the name of the street. How will I find it again? How will I describe where to find this cafe to my friend who is going to visit there?

By saving a location of the place you visit, adding a picture linked to the location, or a note, link, or a tag, you can literally link your memories to a location via an app, and record the exact location. As well as being useful, this information can be saved for posterity. Imagine being able to check where your parents where and what they were doing 20 years ago. This could be possible for generations of people in the future.

Apps are more than just tools you use

Ultimately, checking-in, sharing location-based information – including photos and notes – serve to paint a fuller and more intricate picture of the social world we live in. We can now archive the history of our modern society in painstaking detail. Think of the recent hurricane in the US; we can search for information on this in any number of places. Twitter is especially useful for this: here we can see an overview of people’s comments and conversations (and even pictures) about the hurricane, including their personal experiences.

As writer and speaker Craig Mod has written of the Sendai quake in Japan, ‘Twitter was overwhelmingly the go-to service for first-person reportage on what was happening during the quake. In fact, I used Twitter to go back in time and ‘relive’ the moment the quake hit for a number of my friends. I was able to experience the quake through their eyes and immediately perceive – on a tremendously intimate micro-scale – the gravity of events.’

He suggests that Twitter needs a more efficient method of archiving tweets, especially if they are on a certain topic, be that a particular event or otherwise. Hashtags are indeed one way of keeping track of this, but Craig argues that this is not yet an efficient interface. He comments that in the case of reportage, ‘Twitter could provide smart meta-data groupings (geo, for example) to aid in surfacing and consolidating historically resonant narratives from the muck.’

Could apps such as Gowalla an Mapalong be the future of this? Might they provide us with a more efficient means of archiving our personal lives, and consequently our social history?

Prior to Knut’s death, behavioural problems were reported owing to his upbringing in captivity. Do you think there is a way to avoid behavioural problems in adult animals who have been brought up in a captive environment? Or do you think this is impossible in such circumstances?

Daniel Turner: Abnormal behaviour, such as pacing, swaying, rocking and even self-mutilation (often observed in captive animals), usually results from a restrictive and artificial environment that lacks opportunities to encourage natural behaviour and mental stimulation. Initial boredom within the captive environment – which usually lacks the complexity of the natural habitat of a species – often manifests itself into abnormal and usually repetitive behaviour with no obvious function as the animal seeks to cope with the situation. Reversal to a natural state is sometimes possible with the inclusion of apparatus, feeding devices and other forms of environmental enrichment, which in effect will ‘occupy’ the animal and encourage exercise and natural behaviours. However, should an animal be exposed to such depleted and restrictive living conditions for such a period of time that the abnormal behaviour becomes neurotic, reversal becomes less likely.

Born Free has talked about the establishment of a Polar Bear Rescue Centre in Northern Europe. Has there been any progress made with this?

DT: There is currently no plan to establish a sanctuary for polar bears. The Born Free Foundation hopes to influence the policy of European countries, EAZA and the zoos themselves to agree to no longer keep this species. For those that survive in European zoos, the answer is to improve their conditions and perhaps, if deemed viable, to seek an alternative and appropriate, but already existing facility where animals could be rehomed until their demise.

Between March and May 2011, four polar bears that were housed in European zoos (Lovech, Highlands Wild Animal Park, Berlin and Budapest) have died. Those few that remain are kept in completely inadequate conditions and many display abnormal behaviours, generally due to a lack of mental stimulation. Polar bears are clearly not suitable for zoos. Their current state is often depressing, their survival uncertain and despite the requirement on EU zoos to conserve threatened species, keeping polar bears in zoos is not the solution to their apparent decline in the wild.

The Born Free Foundation has campaigned for years to phase-out the keeping of polar bears in captivity and thus far, this has mainly fallen on deaf ears. A sanctuary for this species may well be a possible, yet problematic approach, but whilst this species is kept and owned by zoos, there is little hope, other than the possibility that no more polar bears will be taken from the wild for zoos.

Please tell us about the breeding problems you have discovered among polar bears in light of Born Free’s EU Zoo Inquiry 2011.

DT: The EU Zoo Inquiry 2011 has included the assessment of a number of polar bear enclosures in different Member States of Europe. All were noted as completely inappropriate environments for the species. Not one zoo evaluated in the project exhibited young animals: a clear indication that this species does not breed well in captivity. In fact, of those births that have been publicised by European zoos, the majority have been marred by problems such as infanticide, mother rejecting offspring (and the hand-rearing of animals) and premature death.

Are there any zoos that you hold in high regard in terms of their animal care and conservation efforts?

DT: Inevitably, some zoos do better than others in relation to compliance with their legal obligations. All EU zoos are required to be licensed, regularly inspected by competent authorities and to meet the requirements as specified by national law, which should have incorporated requirements of the EC Directive 1999/22.

The EU Zoo Inquiry 2011 has, however, identified that even these ‘better’ zoos are often not meeting all the legal requirements, and actions related to conservation of Threatened species, public education in species conservation and appropriate animal care, in particular, are often identified as minimal. A lot more needs to be done by associations such as the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA), national governments and the European Commission to ensure zoos comply with national requirements and adopt the stipulated role of conservation centre. One answer is fewer zoos, higher standards and viable species conservation efforts. We are a long way from this being a reality.

What do you think is the future for zoos?

DT: Born Free Foundation and ENDCAP, a European coalition of NGOs of which Born Free is a member, would like to think that zoos could be phased-out with time, for government authorities and zoo operators to recognise that conservation attempts for the majority of species are not viable in captivity and to consolidate existing captive populations of animals whilst maintaining high standards in animal husbandry. However, whilst at this current time we are dealing with unknown numbers of zoos, many of which are unlicensed, and most of which do not comply with legal standards, as well as the fact that millions of animals would be displaced should zoos have to close, our current efforts, such as the EU Zoo Inquiry, have to focus on the short term. Born Free and others continue to strive to encourage the improvement of zoo regulation, by assisting competent authorities and influencing policy makers, and further, seeking to end the keeping of certain wild animals, like the polar bear, in captivity. This is the only way to ensure that the current chaos is resolved.

Long-term, I would like to think European society will eventually recognise that the keeping of wild animals in zoos is not the answer to maintaining healthy wild populations of species and halting biodiversity decline. Common practice and experience has recognised that conservation efforts are better fought and won in the wild. Furthermore, that advances in science and technology can ‘recreate’ a virtual animal or natural world, replacing any educational benefit linked to exposing live wild animals to the public. This has to be the way forward if the human race truly does respect animals and their inherent needs, as well as the conservation of the world’s biodiversity.

No one could have predicted the Company’s unprecedented growth. Today, the site gets more than 20 billion page views per month, making craigslist number seven in terms of English language page views worldwide. In the US alone, more than 50 million people use craigslist, and users self-publish around 50 million new classified ads each month. From its beginnings as a single site serving San Francisco, craigslist has expanded to more than 700 local sites in 70 countries.

But Craig hasn’t stopped there, and has gone on to launch other projects and organisations including craigconnects, a site that focuses on the use of technology for the common good.

Military families and veterans is just one area in which craigconnects works to support. They first began to work in this area in July, launching a fundraising campaign between four organisations – Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, The Intrepid Air and Space Museum, The Bob Woodruff Foundation, and Blue Star Families – which incorporated conventional social media methods to help the build awareness of the groups who were previously neglected by conventional media.

iStrategy talks to Craig about his work with craigslist and craigconnects, and his views on using social media in promotion.
What prompted you to start craigslist?
In early ’95, I started a simple events list for arts and tech events in San Francisco. From there, I listened to suggestions and did what made sense. That continues to this day.
What are your plans for craigslist in the future?
I don’t have a managerial role at craigslist, though I help with company direction. We’ll continue to listen to people, find out what they want and need, and do what makes sense.
What do you enjoy most about working with craigslist?
The results: I’d guess many tens of millions of people have used craigslist to make their lives better.
I see that you are active in a large number of organisations. Do you have a favourite that you enjoy working with most?
No favorite, but my craigconnects effort is helping me identify and bear witness to a lot of organizations getting stuff done. We just launched craigconnects this spring, and finished our first focused campaign to help veterans and military families just a while ago. [We're] still evaluating the results.

I’m also getting more involved with the idea of networks for media fact checking.
Can you give us an example where communities have benefited from your work?
I don’t run the Craigslist Foundation but I’m very supportive of what they do. I think they get a lot of stuff done through their annual Boot Camp for nonprofits and their LikeMinded program.
How important do you find social media in promoting your projects?
We’re currently experimenting with that in the form of craigconnects.org, [and] still learning how to be really effective.
Do you have any tips for people looking to raise their company’s profile via social media? How should they use social media to promote themselves or their cause?
Treat people like you want to be treated, permanently engage your community, and provide the best customer service you can.

In order to find suitable material for this subject, Underware’s attention soon came to Ruud Linssen; the Catholic Dutch author, poet and journalist. ‘If there’s anyone who really knows what suffering truly means, it’s him.’ says Sami Kortemski of Underware.

Ruud immediately took to the idea, and the decision was soon agreed for him to write a short story on voluntary suffering, and a deadline of completion in approximately two to three months was agreed. However, six months later, no story had materialised. Ruud had in fact become heavily involved in writing an extensive book on the subject, and instead of two months, The Book of war, mortification, and love took two years to complete. The author ascertained that he had rewritten every sentence of the book at least five times, and that the book had ‘changed his life’, giving him an entirely new perspective on the subject owing to his extensive thought and research on the matter. ‘Suffering,’ he described, ‘has already been a major theme in my life for many years. But not voluntary suffering. The creation of the book therefore became an example of voluntary suffering in itself.’ One could say that it is the essence of Linssen’s voluntary suffering. In light of this, and in true Gothic style, the decision was made to print the book with the blood of the author.

The simple (and somewhat macabre) idea soon turned into a complicated issue of how printing an entire book in human blood could turn into a practical solution. This was no easy feat, and a number of trial and error situations ensued before a solution was found, but the team saw the positive side of it, ‘Let’s see it this way; production failures are appropriate for a project about voluntary suffering.’ said Sami. After tapping Ruud’s blood, the next stage of the process at first appeared to be nearly impossible: to turn blood, which is water-based, into offset ink, which is oil based. After talking to dozens of ink experts, chemists and physicians, the best solution seemed to be to freeze-dry the blood; this was found to be the best way to remove all water from the human blood. The substance left after the lyophilising process is a powder of pure blood. Once the powder was created, it was then relatively easy to turn the powder into an oil-based offset ink.

Fakir is the namesake of the Hindu religious mendicant: one who performs feats of endurance. The vision behind the creation of this blackletter was to design one more suited to modern times: for readers not used to the traditional, elaborately decorative blackletters. ‘We didn’t go to the library to study old blackletters; instead we started with a clean slate.’ described Sami, ‘To have something powerful, simple, and readable was more important than following the style or construction of historical blackletters.’ Prior to any initial sketches, the decision was made to design the typeface to be strong and black with nail-sharp forms without a strict grid. It was vaguely constructed on broad nib textura, with broken, edgy, interrupted strokes. ‘Try to sit on a nail bed and you’ll know why fakirs like to read just these kind of fonts!’ explains Sami.

A fundamental concept for Underware was to have a number of blackletter fonts that work very well together and could be used to set all levels of type in a magazine, proving that a blackletter family can be practical and versatile. Fakir’s family of eleven text and display fonts is just that, covering a range of identities from the fragile and poetic Fakir Italic, to the aggressive graffiti style of Fakir Display Black Small Caps. Sami explains: ‘Our Fakir fonts are very graphical; they form very compact and strong word images, but they also have an ability to stay readable and legible. We think that’s a rare ability for a blackletter face.’

The journey from Fakir’s initial conception, to printing an entire book in blood to showcase the typeface, tested the patience and tenacity of the team, and was by no means an easy feat; but therein lies a poetic beauty that ties in completely with the subject of the book: voluntary suffering.

Sweden has come under the spotlight this month from the European Commission for allowing the killing of 20 wolves. According to Environment Commissioner Janex Potocnik, this breaches EU environmental law. He has clearly expressed his disappointment in the situation and states that:

“The actions of the Swedish authorities leave me with little choice other than to propose to the Commission that it begin formal proceedings against Sweden for breach of EU environmental law. I hope that the Swedish government’s promised effort to address the unfavourable conservation status of the wolf population in Sweden through translocation of wolves from other parts of Europe will be pursued without delay.”

This is the first time that wolf hunting has been allowed in the country since 1964, and has clearly proved to be popular amongst hunting enthusiasts with 6,000 people signing up to kill just 20 wolves of the approximate 200 individuals currently in the wild in Sweden.

All this fuss, but Sweden is by no means the only country to legalise wolf hunting.

So where else is wolf hunting allowed?

Scandinavia: As in Sweden, wolf culling has been allowed in Norway in recent years. In Finland wolf hunting is also allowed, although it is only permitted to kill around 22 individuals. However, throughout Scandinavia the dwindling population of wolves has raised concerns over the genetic health of the wolf populations.

Ukraine: The wolf population remains relatively high here, and permit-holders can hunt throughout the year.

Bulgaria: Hunters can receive the equivalent of two weeks pay on the average wage for producing a wolf.

Belarus: 60 to 70 Euros are paid to hunters for each wolf they kill.

Russia: Wolf hunting still continues in Russia, and is currently the only country where poison is used legally to kill wolves.

Central Asia and Mongolia: In these regions where a large proportion of the human population are nomadic, wolves are seen as a pest as they prey on livestock on which people rely on for their income, way of life, and survival.

China: Licenses to hunt wolves can legally be obtained.

North America (Alaska and Canada): Aerial hunting is still legal practice. It has been estimated that approximately 15 percent of the wolf population in this region is culled each year. In the United States, where a wolf has attacked livestock, killing the suspected perpetrator is allowed.

It seems to be that everywhere wolves exist, hunting them occurs to varying extents.

Perhaps old habits die hard. Right back to the humble beginnings of humanity, humankind has hunted wolves.

Wolf hunting through history (a brief overview!)

UK: Wolves were hunted to extinction in the United Kingdom very early on, between 1485 to 1509, and it’s no wonder: in 950AD, King Athelstan ordered 300 wolf skins be given to Welsh King Hywel Dda each year. This tradition continued until the time of the Norman Conquest in around 1066. Even then, hunting continued. Kings employed wolf hunters who were able to live on certain lands in return for their services. William the Conqueror made Robert de Umfraville Lord of Riddesdale in Northumberland on the condition that he defended the land from wolves and human foes. King Edward (from 1272 to 1307) ordered that the wolf population in his kingdom be destroyed.

Wolves were able to survive in Scotland until the late 18th century, largely owing to the country’s remoteness. They were wiped out in Ireland around the same time.

France: The ‘Luparii’ – an organisation of wolf hunting officials – was founded by Charlemagne during the 9th century. This office is still in force today and is now known as the Wolfcatcher Royal, but now has a less exciting purpose serving as an administrative office with the purpose of regulating vermin and maintaining healthy wildlife populations throughout France.

After the French revolution, wolf hunting – previously an activity that was restricted to members of the aristocracy – became open to anyone, and the equivalent of one month’s pay was offered for each wolf killed. From 1818 to 1829, a staggering 14,000 wolves were killed each year in France.
The last wolf was reportedly killed in France in 1937, and it seems surprising that they lasted that long.

Scandinavia: In Sweden, offering a bounty prize for wolves first occurred in 1647, and remained a practice for centuries after. In the 1960s the invention of snow mobiles put the wolf population under increased threat, to the extent that the last wolf was killed in 1966. Since this time wolves have been reintroduced here, although they are being hunted again! The argument for this is that the gene pool is currently too small to maintain a healthy population, and a number need to be exterminated to make way for fresh genes.

In Norway the last wolf was killed in 1976 before they were reintroduced and placed under protection by the state.

Russia: Although wolves have been hunted in Russia for hundreds of years and the practice still continues – and in spite of a massive culling (during the late 1970s and 1980s, the Soviet Union killed over 1,500,000 wolves) – the animal is still relatively prevalent across Russia, possibly owing to the country’s enormous size and the fact that is is largely rural, remote, and sparsely populated.

India: In the late 19th century and early 20th century wolves were heavily hunted for a different reason other than for sport or because they were seen as a pest. It is reported that 721 people were attacked and killed by wolves in the Northwest of India in 1876. In response, 2,825 wolves were killed in the region.

Further attacks on humans occurred in 1878, in which 624 people were killed. To counter this, 2,600 wolves were killed. During 1871 to 1916, it is estimated that a totally of approximately 100,000 wolves were killed in then British India.

Japan: The last wolf was killed in Japan in 1905.

Central Asia: Golden eagles have traditionally been used to hunt wolves. This is done by immobilising wolf cubs; the eagle places one foot to the back of the neck, and one at the flank near the heart and lungs. The coat of the wolf was often used as a vital material for clothing and for protection against the harsh weather for these nomadic peoples.

Humankind has hunted wolves in every civilization where wolves existed throughout history. We have killed them to protect our homes and livestock, for clothing, for good fortune, a right of passage, and even for medicine.

So now we’ve got all of these dead wolves, what are we going to do with them?

The wolf cookbook

People have generally avoided eating wolves; apparently the meat is not good. However, in certain Native American tribes, the meat of wolf cubs was considered a delicacy. Killing wolf cubs also served the purpose of maintaining the wolf population when numbers became too high. But generally, wolves were not eaten for pleasure. Most often their body parts were consumed as part of the ingredients of certain medicines across the ancient world. It seems that nearly all parts of the wolf was used for some kind of medicinal concoction in some form or another, and was even believed to give people certain supernatural powers.

In Ancient Greece and Rome wolf meat was used in ointments to ward of evil, and was also thought to help treat epilepsy, plague, and gout. The liver, when turned into a powder and mixed with ingredients such as wine, flour, water, blood, and urine, was believed to cure and aid a range of ailments including; epilepsy, edema, tachycardia, syphilis, gangrene, vertigo, migraines, verrucas, and dysentery. The tongue of a wolf, when cooked with honey and flour, was administered to cure epilepsy and give the consumer good luck. It was believed that the eyes of a wolf could give the consumer partial invisibility (I wonder how long this belief ensued, as surely this was a myth that could easily be disproved: after the eyes were consumed and the spectators hopefully not blind drunk on mead, onlookers must have been able to testify that wolf eyes did not in fact render the eater partially invisible, unless he was hiding behind a plant). Eyes were also given to children to imbue them with courage. In powdered form, wolf bones were given to patients with chest and back pains, broken bones, and injured tendons. Wolf penis was administered to cure impotency. The blood of a wolf was used to cure gout, period pains, and deafness. Wolves’ heads were often hung outside houses to deter wolves, robbers, and evil spirits. In powdered form, it was thought wolf head could cure toothache and joint pains. The milk of a female wolf was believed to make people invincible (again, easily disproved, although people would possibly be less inclined to test this out). Wolf heart was believed to give warriors courage during battle, while the tail was used as a love charm (whoever said romance was dead was probably right).

My personal favourite comes from traditional shamanic Mongolian medicine: while eating the intestines of a wolf was said to cure chronic indigestion, patients with haemorrhoids were prescribed food sprinkled with powdered wolf rectum.

I doubt that the Swedish will be so resourceful with the 20 wolves they have killed in Sweden this month.

Rhino poaching in Kruger National Park has been rife in recent years, and concerns are rising. The park is home to a substantial number of the rhino population on the continent: nearly 90 percent Africa’s 23,000 rhino population live in South Africa. The country has between 9,000 to 12,000 white rhinos, and between 580 and 650 black rhinos. In recent years, rhino poaching has seen a shocking increase, with 83 rhinos killed in 2008, and 122 rhinos killed by poaching in 2009. A staggering 333 rhinos were killed in 2010 resulting in the highest number of rhino poaching ever experienced in South Africa. So far this year, a total of five rhinos have been killed in the country.

On 12th January five rhino poachers were shot dead in South Africa, and seven others arrested in an attempt to quell the poaching surge. Three were killed in the park, and a further two were shot near the Mozambique border. It is important to note, state Kruger News, that as well as being home to the majority of rhinos in the country, a large proportion of the park borders Mozambique, making the park more desirable to poachers as they are able to escape into the neighbouring country.

Trade in rhino horn is banned under CITES. However, the demand for rhino horn has made its trade a very lucrative business on the black market for international organised crime syndicates, with each horn fetching up to thousands of dollars. It is so lucrative, in fact, that they have been able to utilise very advanced technologies such as helicopters, tranquilisers, and night-vision equipment to aid in their poaching.

African rhino coordinator, Joseph Okori, holds ‘well-organised syndicates’ who now use these high-tech devices responsible for the sharp increase in rhino poaching in Africa. “This is not normal poaching,” he says.

Demand for rhino horn has been largely driven by markets in the Far East (China and Vietnam in particular) in their desire for use of the horn in traditional medicines.

In traditional Chinese medicine, rhino horn is believed to cure a wide variety of ailments. According to Li Shih-chen’s 1597 materia medica Pen Ts’ao ao Kang Mu and quoted in a National Geographic blog post, rhino horn was prescribed for nearly everything: “To cure devil possession and keep away all evil spirits and nightmares. Continuous administration lightens the body and makes on very robust. For typhoid, headache and feverish colds. For carbuncles and boils full of pus. For intermittent fevers with delirium. To expel fear and anxiety, to calm the liver and clear the vision. It is a sedative to the viscera, a tonic, antipyretic. It dissolves phlegm. It is an antidote to the evil miasma of hill streams. For infantile convulsions and dysentery. Ashed and taken with water to treat violent vomiting, food poisoning, and overdosage of poisonous drugs. For arthritis, melancholia, loss of the voice.”

A belief has emerged in Vietnam that the horn can be used to cure cancer.

In fact, rhino horn has no medicinal value whatsoever. According to a 1983 study at Hoffmann-La-Roche, and an additional study in 2008 by the Zoological Society of London, results conclusively revealed that rhino horn contains no medical properties.

There are measures in place to combat rhino poaching, including enlisting the help of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF), who have sophisticated surveillance equipment, and work done by WWF with their African Rhino Pogramme, which provides technical and financial support to 12 rhino conservation projects across Africa. WWF also work with governments, NGOs, and local communities, and work to ensure that local communities benefit from rhino conservation schemes via wildlife tourism, in an attempt to reduce the incentive to poach.

However, poaching will always continue as long as there is a demand for rhino horn. The only way to truly put an end to the poaching is to pull the problem out at the routes: by eliminating the demand for the horn, and with many Asian societies so steeped in old traditions and belief systems, it will be no easy feat.

The solution lies in education: by sharing the knowledge of clinically tested and approved modern medicines in literature throughout Asia, and by informing medical students in Asia the dangers of hanging on to traditional Chinese medicines and its hand in the destruction of many species throughout the world. The unfounded traditions and beliefs of many traditional Chinese medicines that have been passed down from generation to generation over hundreds of years no longer have a place in the world.

For further reading, rhinoconservation.org provides an insightful article on the subject of rhino horn demand and trafficking.

Wolves – previously extinct in Yellowstone National Park – have been reintroduced here, as have bears in the Alps, panthers in Florida, and eagles in Scotland. There has also been talk of reintroducing wolves to Scotland.

Those against such reintroduction programmes argue about the animal’s impact on the human population in these areas, the affect this will have on farming businesses, and concerns of human predation. Some (such as People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) also argue against reintroduction, as they believe this will cause too much stress and harm to the animals involved.

So why reintroduce predators back to the wild in light of such risks?

Around the world, the absence of predators in certain areas has lead to an explosion of their natural prey, which has in turn lead to a damaging impact on their habitat owing to overgrazing. It seems logical then to restore the natural balance by reintroducing the animal’s natural predator, thereby controlling the population and restoring and protecting the wild environment. But does it really work and do the benefits outweigh the risks?

Yellowstone Wolves

One of the most well known examples of predator reintroduction is that of the Yellowstone wolves in Idaho, USA. After having been extinct from this area in 1926, grey wolves were brought back to Yellowstone National Park in 1995, nearly 30 years after discussions began in 1966. The idea that initiated this reintroduction was concern over the ever-growing elk population, which was increasingly becoming uncontrollable with no natural predators to maintain a stable population. This directly impacted upon the fauna of the national park: aspen and riparian cottonwood crashed due to overgrazing of the elk and other large prey animals.

Introducing wolves here did have the desired effect of decreasing the elk population, however a counter argument to this is that it has decreased revenue for hunting outfitters, putting some people out of business completely. On the flipside, ‘wolf tourism’ is booming, bringing further revenue to the region. Their reintroduction also reportedly increased biodiversity in Yellowstone National Park: aspen and willow trees were able to make a recovery. Red fox and beaver populations – which previously decreased due to increased predation from coyotes – also recovered, as the wolves were also able to keep the coyote population under control.

Wolves in Sweden

In Sweden, wolves were previously thought to have become extinct in the wild during the 1960s. However a small pack was found in the early 1980s in southern Sweden. The pack consisted of only around 10 individuals, which made inbreeding a big concern. Owing to concerns over the pack’s small gene pool, there is currently debate over whether introducing wolves from Finland or Russia could help to promote intermixing and diversify the gene pool.
Wolves in Scotland

In 2002, one of Scotland’s wealthiest landowners, Paul van Vlissingen, suggested that wolves and wild lynx – previously native to Scotland – be reintroduced to manage an ever-growing population of red deer.

The results of the study Vlissingen commissioned took place over three years, and found that deer culling, which is enforced to keep number of deer down, had a low long-term effect on the numbers of deer. The study also found that the numbers of deer prevented regrowth of vegetation. He believed that reintroduction of species such as lynx and wolves would boost tourism revenue. ‘There is enormous eco-tourism building in the world, and Scotland is losing out,’ he said.

White-tailed Eagles in Scotland

The third phase of the reintroduction of white-tailed eagle in Scotland is now underway in the east of Scotland.

The white-tailed eagle (also known as sea-eagle) was reintroduced to the Isle of Rum in 1975 and has been a successful programme for this bird of prey. It is now being reintroduced to Ireland, but this has been met with negativity from local sheep farmers over concerns that the eagles would kill their lambs.

Releasing this species into England was also being considered, but here again was met with concern from farmers that the eagles would harm their livestock, and there was difficulty meeting the financial burden.

There is concern over the well-being of the eagles in eastern Scotland, where wind turbines are planned. Such an issue arose in Norway where, during the course of ten months, four white-tailed eagles were killed by wind turbines, bringing the total of eagle deaths to 13 since 2005.

However, reintroducing the eagles to the west coats of Scotland has reaped benefits. Scottish environment minister, Michael Russell, commented, ‘The equivalent project on the west coast has proved to be extremely popular amongst visitors and contributes approximately £1.5 million annually to the economy on Mull. I look forward to the east coast reintroduction resulting in similar benefits and further enhancing the area’s biodiversity.’

Mark Avery, RSPB’s Director of Conservation, has stated, ‘Our experience with reintroducing white-tailed eagles to Scotland shows how much their presence boosts the local economy through tourism opportunities worth millions of pounds a year.’

Panthers in Florida

The Florida Panther was introduced near the town of Naples, Florida, to control an otherwise unmanageable wild hog population. Here there are concerns from the local human population of Naples that encounters are becoming too common, as there are more than 100 Florida panthers now ranging free near the town of Naples. However, there have been no reported attacks on humans by Florida panthers. (BBC News.)

Reasons Against Reintroduction of Predators

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) have released a statement declaring that they do not support predator-reintroduction programmes.

They cite a number of reasons for this, including the fact that reintroduction subjects animals to capture and handling which is very stressful for them and can be damaging to their physical health. In the case of wolves, they explain that relocation can break up tightly bonded family units, which can cause further distress for the animal. They argue that the wolves reintroduced to the park have left their new packs as they have had difficulty adapting to the new area and new pack unit.

Reintroduction of predatory species, they claim, is also traumatic for other animals already living in the habitat.

Touching on the point of reintroduction programmes restoring the true balance of nature, they believe that it is not possible to artificially impose such a balance, and argue that ecosystems are in a constant state of change, which human expansion and development has sped up. However, they theorize that the ecosystem has ‘evolved and recovered to its current state’.

Opponents to reintroduction programmes point out that media hype may spiral out of control with the presence of wild predatory animals in close proximity to human populations; sensational stories could be written, increasing negative feelings toward the animals, much in the same way as myths and fables have done through the ages about wolves, for example. This would lead to increased predation of these animals by human hunters.

Reasons For Reintroduction of Predators

Those who are pro reintroduction argue that doing so would restore the natural ecological balance, controlling the larger ungulate populations and benefiting the fauna.

But many – especially farming communities – fear that predators living in the area would conflict with their own interests, with their livestock being prayed on.

However, although these animals could bring financial loss to some, they have the potential to bring great financial gain to the region as a whole thanks to ecotourism, which is an industry rapidly growing in popularity and revenue.

Ultimately, as the dominant species at the top of the food chain, it is natural human instinct to want to remain at the top. But the dynamics of the natural environment are changing due to our massive influence on the ecology and biodiversity of the planet. We may initially see predators living on our doorsteps as an inconvenience, and even a threat. But in spite of the inconveniences, the threat to someone’s livelihood in terms of their livestock, or the potential threat to human life in extreme cases, humankind needs to accept that we need these animals to maintain a balanced natural environment, and we need to accept that these animals are a part of our world, because we would struggle without them in it.

A sum up of pros and cons

Arguments against release of predatory species back into the wild:

Arguments for releasing predatory species back into the wild:

The KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden, have embraced optical fiber as core component of their numerous workflows for their varied and innovative projects. Multiple Blackmagic Design products are used by students on the Media Technology programme. These include 20 Multibridge Pro, along with Multibridge Eclipse, Mini Converter Optical Fiber, HDLink Pro and HDLink Optical Fiber products.

“We decided to use Blackmagic Design’s products as they have always offered the most advanced technological solutions and are very cost effective, replacing our more expensive prototype solutions,” says Mats Erixon of the University’s Media Technology department.

KTH have recently integrated Blackmagic Design Optical Fiber products as part of a successful ‘i-coaching’ project, a new initiative involving opera school students that links live lectures between University College of Opera in Stockholm and the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. The scheme features a Multibridge Pro to convert component video from the camera into HD-SDI and embed the audio. The signal is then converted to Optical Fiber SDI via the Mini Converter Optical Fiber, using the original SFP transceiver to connect to a CWDM device at a staggering distance of 120km. The return signal is fed back through the Mini Converter Optical Fiber and then to a Multibridge Pro for conversion back to component whilst de-embedding the audio.

A further exciting project that KTH University have recently undertaken was the ‘ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest World Championship 2009’, an annual multi-tiered computer programming competition among universities worldwide involving 100 teams from over 200 regional sites. The competition was broadcast over Swedish national television station Axess and also over the Internet during a seven-hour long transmission.

As part of the live contest a feed from each participant’s workstation was monitored over the network. A DVI output was then converted to HD-SDI, using a DVI to HDMI adapter to the Multibridge Pro’s HDMI input. This signal was then routed through a Blackmagic Design Videohub to four machines each featuring a DeckLink HD Extreme, which were used to overlay graphics onto the video to create a graphical ‘scoreboard’ in both HD-SDI and SD-SDI. The HD-SDI signal was converted to Optical Fiber SDI using Blackmagic Design’s Mini Converter Optical Fiber and transmitted to the audience hall where the progress of the contestants could be followed. The SD-SDI signal was converted via another Mini Converter Optical Fiber for broadcast across national television!

With so many Blackmagic Design products in use by the university’s course programmes and varied and technologically advanced projects, Erixon explains, ‘It is very difficult to decide which Blackmagic Design product is my favourite. I really like the Multibridge Pro and the Videohub. But if I really had to choose I would have to say that the HDLink Optical Fiber wins the prize. Overnight it cut the price of the optical fiber function ten fold and at the same time it gave the extremely practical benefit of the exchangeable SFP transceiver and bi-directionality at a very low cost.’

Simon Westland, Sales Manager Blackmagic Design EMEA comments, “KTH are a wonderful example of a customer pushing the boundaries of video technology! Their successes demonstrate a high level of technical understanding and their ability to create innovative workflow schemes that break conventional thinking.”

It was on this journey I met a man and his wife on a train from Prague to Vienna. I don’t remember his name, but her name was Astra and she was originally from Holland. Now, however, they lived in Hawaii. He was a neurosurgeon and used to work in Chicago. He was offered a job in Hawaii, but decided to turn it down based I believe on the high cost of living on the islands and the fact that he was well-established in Chicago. But one very snowy, very cold day he was travelling home from work when his car broke down, and he found himself stranded in a blizzard on the highway. He attempted to push his car through the snow to safety, and ultimately found that he was having a completely miserable time. He wondered to himself why he was having to put up with this kind of lifestyle, and then it dawned on him that he didn’t have to. He decided then and there that he would move to Hawaii, and he didn’t look back since.

So what were he and his lovely wife doing on a train from Prague to Vienna? Well, they were travelling around Europe, and not just for one month as we were, but for three months. They were both late 60s or early 70s and they put us to shame. They had already been to Paris and Holland, Brussels and Prague, and they were headed via train to Vienna to catch the opera.

We shared a carriage with the man and his wife, and about four Canadian girls who were travelling around Europe for the summer after their first year at university. We got to talking about politics and Bush, and found that we were all of the same political opinion: Bush was an idiot, and was doing US foreign relations little good and much damage.

As we sped on through the beautiful Czech countryside, over fields and through the midst of forests, conversation that lasted for around two hours eventually died down. ‘Do you mind if I put some music on?’ He asked. Everyone was quite pleased he suggested. ‘Do you like Joni Mitchell?’ He asked, an we all responded in the affirmative.

And so we passed the rest of the journey window-gazing, dozing, and sleeping while Joni Mitchell played on the man’s portable speakers in our carriage until we arrived at Vienna station, where we all parted and went on our separate journeys, never to see one another ever again.

But the impression lasted, and every time I hear Joni Mitchell I think of that journey. That couple made me realise that life can be an adventure for as long as you want it to be, and no matter how old you are, if you really want to travel, it is possible. Feeling young doesn’t have to stop at being young, and nor does being adventurous.

Cheshire, UK, 11 September 2009 - Higher, further, faster – challenges set to broadcast engineers and athletes alike during the 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics Berlin 2009™! When Jamaican athlete Usain Bolt smashed the 100m World Record, live feeds of the race were being distributed for miles in an instant thanks to optical fibre.

Several miles of broadcast cabling, 120 cameras, 40 Blackmagic Design Optical Fiber Mini Converters and Blackmagic Design’s Studio Videohub were among equipment put through their paces last month, during the live HD broadcast of the Championships to 203 countries!

German media service provider Incast were tasked with supplying live video feeds to 3,500 journalists in the press gallery, main media centre, and International Broadcast Centre, to the host broadcaster BERTA and the Berlin Olympic Stadium. Incast also provided connection for the giant LCD screens inside the Olympic Stadium, and also at the Brandenburg Gate for the Berlin Marathon staged on 20th September.

Managing Director of Incast Andreas Wolf explains, “All live feeds went into the main control room of the host broadcasters’ International Broadcast Centre, which was 400 metres away from the stadium. With 12 SD-SDI and 2 HD-SDI signals running at such long distances, we decided to use optical fibre cabling, as it enables much longer distances and is more affordable than conventional SDI cabling.”

Incast opted to use Blackmagic Design Optical Fiber Mini Converters to convert between SDI and optical fibre signals. From the optical fibre converters, the SDI signals went directly into the Blackmagic Design Studio Videohub. “This slim router provided an elegant solution,” enthuses Wolf. Digital signals were converted to analog feeds for Cable TV, to the digital encoding and to the giant LCD screens to provide an unforgettable live viewing experience for the 6,000 spectators in the Olympic Stadium and to thousands more around the Brandenburg Gate for the Berlin Marathon.

“The Blackmagic Design Optical Fiber Mini Converters offered three major advantages”, describes Wolf. “Firstly, SD and HD signals can be converted with the same unit and without manual switching. Secondly, the possibility to convert in both directions, optical fiber to SDI and SDI to optical fibre, provided the additional flexibility that we needed. Finally, we consider the 40 converters we used as an investment in our future as they are fully 3Gb/s compatible.”

Commenting on Incast’s success Blackmagic Design’s Simon Westland, Sales Manager EMEA, said, “This was a hugely important and high profile project, and a demanding test of these products. For our Optical Fiber Mini Converters to be used at an event of this magnitude is really exciting as it demonstrates how optical fibre is a practical and affordable solution today”.

About Incast

Incast (Internet & Broadcast) Broadcast Engineering is specialised in providing and processing signals at major events and is working in broadcast planning as well as in production.

Latest major projects include:

• Sonnenklar TV technical supervision
• EURO2008™ signal delivery and production of Media TV and Stadium TV in all eight stadiums
• FIFA Confederations Cup South Africa signal delivery and production of Media TV and Stadium TV in all four stadiums
• 12^th IAAF World Championships in Athletics Berlin 2009

Manchester based VFX post-house Space Digital produce high quality visuals for major film, television drama, comedy and commercials in the UK. Artists at Space Digital have contributed to a number of prestigious BAFTA and RTS award winning productions, including three BAFTA award winners, and have even collected an RTS award directly for Best Visual Effects.

Projects have included popular UK dramas such as Ashes to Ashes, Survivors, Paradox and Small Island. In order to produce such high quality visuals for these high-profile television dramas, Space Digital have opted for equipment from Blackmagic Design.

“Blackmagic Design products are an integral part of our workflow here,” explains Gary Kelly, VFX artist at Space Digital. “Blackmagic are clearly a forward-thinking company, and one of only a few that truly excel in bringing products and solutions to a market that were previously out of reach for smaller studios like ours.”

All compositing stations at Space Digital have Intensity Pro cards, which allow them to monitor their work on a shared, full HD screen using the video out modes in Nuke. Prior to this set up, all compositing stations at the facility required a second monitor to view, but the Intensity Pro has eliminated this need.

Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink HD Extreme card is used in the finishing suite to monitor on a 50-inch plasma screen for client viewing via the card’s HDMI output. “We love our DeckLink HD Extreme because of all the options that it provides us with; a high level of connectivity, audio, and deck control.” Kelly describes. “One great feature is its ability to down-convert to various video sizes via the built-in down converter, so we can monitor in SD and HD for viewing on our external client monitor during offline editing.”

Space Digital make the most of the card’s ability to capture and playback DPX sequences using Blackmagic Design’s Media Express 2.0 straight onto external monitors without needing to convert. “We also take full advantage of the DeckLink’s ability to play out realtime 4:4:4 to our external display, which is vital in compositing work and grading processes,” says Kelly. “All of our Blackmagic cards have been extremely reliable and we have never had a card fail on us.”

The setup in the finishing suite at Space Digital consists of a Mac running Nuke and Final Cut Studio with DeckLink HD Extreme and is connected to the Blackmagic UltraScope in the finishing suite via the card’s SDI output. The setup is used for online and colour grading via Apple Color to monitor and maintain picture quality. “This is not only essential for broadcast standards,” explains Kelly, “but also for our own self-enforced in-house standards.”

Workstations at Space Digital run from Final Cut Studio to Nuke. With Nuke’s new ability to view work via Blackmagic Design capture cards, Space Digital artists now have the ability to monitor with the UltraScope from start to finish.

Simon Blackledge, Head of Post Production at Space Digital, said, “The UltraScope really is an important addition to our setup here at Space. It enables us to monitor exactly what we are producing, from TV commercials using Final Cut Studio to high end VFX, so we can be confident in our images without needing to hire more expensive options.”

“Most importantly,” explains Blackledge, “the UltraScope is far less expensive than other scopes available on the market, which means we can have one permanently in-house; so where previously we’d rent scopes externally for our bigger jobs, we now use it on every single job, no matter what the size or the budget of the project.”

Space Digital continues to work with the biggest indies and broadcasters in the UK today and are currently working on a new UK drama and two new feature films.

TV station TV Rennes 35, local TV station TyTélé and systems integrator PAD are at the forefront of a technological revolution. Starting with a creative concept, they have developed a fully mobile TV station in the form of an OB van using professional, yet affordable and simple to use equipment. “This is a new concept,” describes Jean-Luc Nelle, General Manager of TV Rennes 35. “The entire TV station is run from within the van.”

Nelle’s vision was for a fully local, fully mobile TV station. “I originally had the idea for the mobile TV station in 1984,” explains Nelle, “but at the time people did not believe that this was possible. Because of the products that are now available, it was not difficult to make this idea a reality.”

System integrator PAD was approached in 2007 by TV Rennes 35 to design the technical setup for TyTélé. Phillipe Baudet of PAD and Nelle shared the same philosophy of finding creative means to develop technical solutions. Nelle believes, “When you can be creative, you can create your own freedom to achieve what you have imagined.”

In order to create the mobile television station, PAD chose products from Blackmagic Design as the basis for the workflow. This includes Blackmagic Design’s Studio Videohub for routing, DeckLink HD Extreme cards for capture and playback, Mini Converters, OpenGear Converters, and the new Blackmagic UltraScope for test equipment.

The station currently has around 300,000 potential viewers across France and is run by a team of 12 people, including 9 in production. TyTélé is an entirely ‘local’ station made possible by the mobile TV station. The van is used outside at different locations in different conditions every day to broadcast a variety of events including musical events, sports events, and local news.

Baudet’s prerogative was for the van to be as flexible and as simple to use as possible. All equipment within the van was chosen specifically for its ease of use, flexibility, affordability, compatibility with other equipment and professional high quality output. Baudet describes, “The van required products that would be easy to integrate with equipment from other companies, such as video rental companies, and sound and lighting equipment.”

Baudet finds Blackmagic Design’s Mini Converters particularly useful for this in terms of flexibility and compatibility. “I consider them to be a ‘must have’ for any OB van,” described Baudet. TyTélé’s van is equipped with 3 SDI to Analog, 2 Analog to SDI, 3 SDI to HDMI and 3 HDMI to SDI Blackmagic Design Mini Converters, which ensure connectivity and compatibility with external equipment and venues.

The set up of the van is fully HD and comprises of Apple Mac Pros using Blackmagic Design DeckLink cards to ingest and playout content using Softron software. It also uses Blackmagic Design OpenGear Optical Fiber Converters, which are used in combination with a single high-grade fiber optic cable to connect to the stage or shooting area to carry all HD video signal and data and 48 channels of audio.

Blackmagic Design’s Studio Videohub is used to route all equipment in the van and is integral to the station’s workflow. “Routing all equipment through the Studio Videohub makes everything a lot more simple as this completely eliminates manual patching,” explains Baudet.

The mixer used in the van is a Panasonic AV – HS400A and, as with all other equipment in the van, has been chosen for simplicity of use. The studio uses a Blackmagic UltraScope for waveform monitoring, which runs on a Mac Pro using Windows XP and is connected to a Roland M-400 Soundesk and to the mixer to control all manual shading. The van is equipped with Telemetrics robotic camera system, including 4 Sony EX full HD cameras, 3 of which are mounted on robotic arms and are operated by a touch screen control panel.

Using this simple set up, TyTélé are able to do all programming within the van, so it is a completely self-sufficient TV station that can be manned by two people, or one person if necessary. Nelle likens this to a DJ running a radio station.

Thanks to the technical set up in the van that they supplied, PAD were asked to work on a regional broadcasting and archiving project located at TV Rennes 35. The station was established 22 years ago in the town of Rennes in the North West of France. At the time its viewers amounted to 150,000. Since then this figure has increased to around 1.3 million potential viewers.

For this project, PAD installed an SAN, coupled with a backup and archive capacity, with a simple to use final control room based on pro-video equipment rather than traditional equipment that can often be expensive and complicated to install, maintain and operate. For simplicity and flexibility, everything is distributed on an HD/SD-SDI signal with embedded audio. For this, two Studio Videohubs are used with a number of SDI to Analog and Analog to SDI Mini Converters to convert analog VTRs, and SDI to HDMI Mini Converters for big screen monitoring. PAD also used many SDI to Audio and Audio to SDI Mini Converters to build a self-developed final switcher, adding audio follow functionality to the Panasonic AV-HS400 Videomixer.

Nelle ascertains that these types of projects have recently become easier to set up and develop. “The price of these products a few years ago meant that only an expert or large, well established companies were able to use the equipment that was available at the time. Now, more people are able to use this equipment as it is more affordable, which marks a turning point in the technological revolution for the broadcast industry.”

Baudet and Nelle have recognised that new methods, such as those developed by PAD and utilised by TyTélé, may be seen as a threat by many professionals who have traditionally opted to buy more expensive equipment as technically, these can match very professional standards, which makes the industry more competitive.

Many industry professionals have traditionally opted to buy more expensive equipment as they see a certain security in this. Nelle maintains that it is important to break away from this idea, “The technology is not late, but rather it has taken time for people to evolve and change their frame of mind. These are the people who are a part of the technological revolution. We have chosen to use products from Blackmagic Design as they enable us to achieve the highest quality results at a very affordable price. This is a significant factor helping us to progress in this technological revolution.”

About TV Rennes 

Born in March 1987, TV Rennes was the first local TV station created in France. Inaugurated by the President of the Republique, it was originally broadcast around the city of Rennes. Early in 2007, the TV station was renamed TV Rennes 35 and now broadcasts to around 1.2 million viewers offering 15 hours per week of viewing in full HD.

Today TV Rennes 35 is the leading channel for co-production and is professionally recognised.

About PAD

After 18 years working as chief cameraman, editor and then director for several national TV stations in Europe, Philippe Baudet founded PAD in 2002 to help professionals to integrate new technologies such as virtual editing. PAD provides analysis, advice, training and support to many video professionals throughout Europe.

Before focusing on the local TV market in France, PAD helped as a technical subcontractor to LUXE.TV to build the first international full HD network, with four initial European channels as well as sister channels in the Europe, Russia, the Middle East and Asia.

The Nepalese government would argue that mobile phones have no place in schools and have banned their use on school premises following complaints from parents that the phones hindered the performance of students.

But do phones, schools and learning necessarily have to be such a bad combination? Not according to organisations such as United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Commonwealth of Learning, US Aid, The Pearson Foundation, The International Youth Foundation (IYF), government bodies such as The Ministry of Education in Kenya, Department for International Development in Kenya, the Philippines National Institute for Science and Mathematics Education Development (NISMED), and mobile phone companies such as Nokia to name just a few.

That’s an impressive list of organisations behind mobile phone use in education. Are they on to something?

Mobile technology used in education (commonly known as ‘m-learning’) can, and is, being used to improve the quality of teaching, attitudes toward technology, and general education on subjects such as maths and science, and may even help to save lives!

This method of teaching and learning is perhaps having the most impact in developing countries. In a practical sense, mobile phones are cheap and widely available compared to computers, which can be expensive and more difficult to obtain in certain parts of the world.

I think one of the most important aspects of m-learning in third world countries is its potential to save lives: Commonwealth of Learning has a programme in India that uses mobile phones to teach people HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention by developing an interactive game via text messaging. Bridgeit  – a partnership consisting of Nokia, the Pearson Foundation, The International Youth Foundation, and UNDP – works in Tanzania and the Philippines to aid teaching by way of m-learning and includes the education of HIV/AIDS awareness, and other diseases common in the developing world such as cholera and malaria and their prevention.

Following Bridgeit‘s success in the Philippines – where the project runs in 290 schools – it was launched in Tanzania, where it currently operates in 150 schools. Quite successful so far then! But what is so different about this method of teaching? What makes it special?

Well it might not be anything so revolutionary in first world countries, but in countries where there is less access to modern technology, it seems to be making a difference. Teachers are able to choose from a choice of videos on maths, science, and other topics including HIV/AIDS and gender awareness, and download these to a mobile phone, which is in turn connected to a television in the classroom and shown to the students. This is really something different and revolutionary for more impoverished parts of the world, as it is the first time where children have really been able to learn using visual stimulation.

I wholeheartedly agree with the use of mobile and social media in the support of causes (depending on what they are, of course). Take the riots in Egypt earlier this year, for example. Live tweets from people in Egypt spread news worldwide, kept the world as up-to-date as it could be on what was happening, and helped to mobilise protesters to overthrow a leader whom many saw as damaging to the country.

But there is a dark side to mobile messaging.

BlackBerry Messenger played an important role during the protests in Egypt, as those communicating via BBM had a private means of messaging one another without being tracked down by authorities. The BBMs are encrypted, making decrypting the messages or hacking the network a very difficult task. To shut down the BBM network would require access to a completely different set of servers than those used by other mobile devices.

Following these protests, this method of being able to connect communities and urge them to action undetected have understandably unnerved India and Pakistan, and the two governments have requested for RIM to give them the ability to monitor and decrypt emails sent via the phones.

They have good reason to be nervous as BBM also played an important role in the organized terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, in 2008. Now the devices are being used to help organize riots in the UK.

BBM Connects Communities Together – Privately!

Following the fatal shooting of Mark Duggan on of 4th August by police, his family arranged a peaceful protest to take place, but this descended into riots. Since then the situation has only worsened and has spread to other cities in the country.

Via Twitter, police were able to pick up on the fact that people were attempting to target Hackney Carnival and were able to prevent attacks. However, it appears that BBM is behind many of the messages being sent between rioters to help organise attacks, which police are unable to trace.

The Guardian reported that it was shown a BBM broadcast, which read, “Everyone from all sides of London meet up at the heart of London (central) OXFORD CIRCUS!!, Bare SHOPS are gonna get smashed up so come get some (free stuff!!!) f*** the feds we will send them back with OUR riot! >:O Dead the ends and colour war for now so if you see a brother… SALUT! if you see a fed… SHOOT!”

Another message shown to the Guardian read, “Everyone in Edmonton enfield wood green everywhere in north link up at enfield town station at 4 o clock sharp!”

For many, BBM has become the preferred method to connect to people. Ofcom’s Communication Market report said that 37 per cent of teenagers in the UK use BlackBerry handsets. The messaging service is free, part of a larger community than SMS has been able to provide, and is private.

It is the privacy of the service that is the crux of the problem: authorities cannot trace or read messages sent via BBM, but RIM has agreed to help Scotland Yard in any way they can. They have stated, “We feel for those impacted by the riots in London. We have engaged with the authorities to assist in any way we can.”

Who would have thought that providing people with a private messaging service could end up being a bad idea?

We’ve seen governments using mobile network providers to benefit their own agendas in Egypt, Iran, and China amongst others. Well, it seems like a good idea: if there are a group of people creating trouble for your regime and you are trying to take control of a dangerous situation – where people are communicating and spreading messages designed to cause dissidence constituting a threat to national security – surely the logical thing to do would be to monitor the messages being spread to supporters and potentially block them altogether? Perhaps even send a few messages out there yourself?

Vodafone in Egypt: A New Age of Propaganda?

During the uprising in Egypt, Vodafone was one of a number of companies to shut down its mobile and internet networks as instructed by the Mubarak regime. The authorities then ordered them to switch the network back on so that the regime could send out messages. The messages were of a political nature and endorsed President Mubarak and his regime. Vodafone later described the messages as ‘unacceptable’. Is this one of the first examples we’ve seen of ‘mobile propaganda’?

Nokia Siemens Networks in Iran: Does Lawful Interception Mean Trouble for Oppressed Citizens?

In perhaps a more controversial case, Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) supplied Irantelecom with a monitoring centre, which is a server that would enable ‘lawful intercept functionality’. This is a technical term that essentially means that law enforcement organisations would be able to tap phones, read emails and survey electronic data on communications networks. This could spell serious trouble for repressed citizens.

Ben Roome from NSN has stated, ‘We provide these systems to be used under the applicable laws in their countries and make sure we are abiding by U.N. and [European Union] export regulations and code of conduct. We provided the monitoring centre to Irantelecom. We are not going to comment on the use of it. It is there to record lawful intercepts.’

Lawful intercepts? What exactly does that mean? The term is described by Cisco Systems as:

…the process by which law enforcement agencies conduct electronic surveillance of circuit and packet-mode communications as authorized by judicial or administrative order. Countries throughout the world have adopted legislatives and regulatory requirements for providers of public and private communication services (service providers) to design and implement their networks to support authorized electronic surveillance explicitly. International standards organizations have also developed standards to guide service providers and manufacturers in specific lawful intercept capabilities.

I’m all for it. This could help with the investigation and prevention of serious crimes. But it also has the potential to be used as a tool, repressive in nature, for limiting personal freedoms and threatening freedom of speech as a human right, especially in countries such as Iran.

Commenting on the monitoring centre supplied to Irantelecom by NSN, Hadi Ghaemi, spokesman for the International Campaign for Human Rights in Iran, says, ‘This is an absolute threat to the privacy of all Iranian activists. It puts them in danger of being constantly monitored by the intelligence services, something that we know is already happening.’

Apparently, similar actions are also taking place in China, with the case of Cisco Systems in China being another example. The company sold technology to the Chinese government to enable it to monitor its citizens via the web in something that has become referred to as ‘The Great Firewall of China’. The company itself came under fire for its actions in this country.

National Security v.s. Freedom of Speech

In the wake of the riots in the UK, David Cameron has warned Research in Motion (RIM) – creator of the mobile device BlackBerry – that they need to take more responsibility for content on their networks. He also spoke in favour of monitoring social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Some would agree with him, but others believe constitutes a threat to free speech.

Mike Conradi, a specialist technology and communications lawyer, is one such person, ‘Parliament would have to pass new legislation and I would warn against that. That gets the balance wrong in terms of free speech and security. It would certainly put the UK in a difficult position in terms of talking to authoritarian regimes and trying to convince them not to turn off their networks.’

Shadow culture secretary Ivan Lewis responded on this view by arguing, ‘Free speech is central to our democracy but so is public safety and security.’

Well, you can’t argue with him. He’s right. But it still seems like too much of a grey area to me.

I’m of the opinion that where there constitutes a genuine threat to civilians, ‘lawful interception’ should take place. In the case of the recent UK riots, carefully monitoring social platforms such as Twitter would (and did) prevent coordinated attacks, and having further control over BlackBerry Messenger would also have greatly helped.

But often it is the citizens themselves that may present a threat to the government or regime in power, in which case, you could argue that the citizens themselves constitute a threat to national security. But does further monitoring and control over networks threaten freedom of speech? Should we leave this up to the network providers to decide?