what is 21 st century writing?
DESCRIPTION
A talk given at the CLPE conference: https://www.clpe.org.uk/course/39TRANSCRIPT
original interactive content
broadcast properties & projects
writing: TV, web, brands & radio
creative r & d
training
process &
‘play’
1994 - 19981994 - 1998
NOHO DIGITALNOHO DIGITAL MINDGYMMINDGYM MSN PRIVATE EYEMSN PRIVATE EYE EQ [XMASPRESENT]EQ [XMASPRESENT]
1998 – 20031998 – 2003
XPT XPT ONLINE CAROLINEONLINE CAROLINE MOUNT KRISTOS MOUNT KRISTOS PLANET JEMMA PLANET JEMMA [OLC2][OLC2]
2003 – 20052003 – 2005
trAcetrAce OLDTON:OLDTON: [THE NUUK] STORYSPINNER[THE NUUK] STORYSPINNER
WEB, PRINT, RADIOWEB, PRINT, RADIO [HULDER][HULDER] MOBILE SPOOKSMOBILE SPOOKS
2005 – 20072005 – 2007
[LOST GENERATION[LOST GENERATION BBC CASTAWAY: BBC CASTAWAY: [GOLFONTHEMOON] C4 CYBERSKIVING[GOLFONTHEMOON] C4 CYBERSKIVING
& C4 MEMO]& C4 MEMO] REMOTE CONTROLREMOTE CONTROL
2007-20082007-2008
R4 TODAYR4 TODAY TELECTROSCOPETELECTROSCOPE [BBC/KINDLE DEVELOPMENT][BBC/KINDLE DEVELOPMENT]
2008 – 20102008 – 2010
CBBC & R4 SWYWTHCBBC & R4 SWYWTH KIDMAPPED!KIDMAPPED! #SUCHTWEET #SUCHTWEET CBBCNEWSROUNDCBBCNEWSROUND[4iP][4iP]
2011 – 20132011 – 2013
[THEHAUNTER][THEHAUNTER] R3 PROMS MUSICWALKR3 PROMS MUSICWALK RSC#DREAM40 SCIENCEMUSEUM [COMPOTETREE] RSC#DREAM40 SCIENCEMUSEUM [COMPOTETREE]
TIM WRIGHT – 20 YEARS - KEY PROJECTS
AGENCY – PAID-FOR CONTENT – CD-ROM – WEB 1.0 NETSCAPE
DOTCOM STARTUP – DIALUP CONTENT – WEB 1.0 – BROADBAND GOOGLE
FREELANCE DIGITAL WRITER – UGC - BLOGS – WAP – WEB 2.0 FACEBOOK
CROSSPLATFORM BROADCAST – DIGITAL TV + WEB + MOBILE - YOUTUBE
DIGITAL RADIO – NEWS - SOCIAL MEDIA – TWITTER + FACEBOOK TWITTER
TRANSMEDIA WRITER – SMARTPHONES – TABLETS - GEOLOCATION IPHONE MAKERBOT
LIVE PERFORMANCE – INTERNET OF THINGS - DATA-DRIVEN STORY IPAD KICKSTARTER
EXPECT THE DIGITAL
MEDIA LANDSCAPE TO
CHANGE EVERY 2-3 YEARS
“THE ILLITERATE OF THE 21ST CENTURY WILL NOT BE THOSE WHO CANNOT READ AND WRITE, BUT THOSE WHO CANNOT LEARN, UNLEARN, AND RELEARN. ” – Alvin Toffler
WHAT IS WRITING?
WHO IS THE WRITER?
WHAT DO I WRITE WITH?
WHO ARE THE PERFORMERS?
“Caroline – big commiserations on your burglary! Do you know that it was all set up as ‘extra entertainment’ for viewers?...”
“I’ve let the police know but they weren’t really able to do anything cos i don’t know your address. I phoned them again but they started getting a bit shirty...”
"Who the hell are you and why have
you been sending messages to my dad?
He has got my mum and would not
want anyone else!"
2,500 EMAILS per month*100+ ansaphone messages per week
*April 2000 – March 2001
WHO ARE THE ‘READERS’?
The writer-reader relationship is a ‘personalised’ two-way communication with the all people in your pocket
EXPECT 2-WAYCOMMUNICATION
DEAR TIM,
DO YOU REMEMBER THE ALLOTMENTS?
I CAN'T PLACE THEM ANYWHERE BUT
OUR UNCLES AND OUR GRANDADS HAD
THEIR SHEDS THERE, WHERE OLD
PICNIC CHAIRS TOOK ON THE AIRS OF THRONES AND DENTED THERMOS
FLASKS GAVE OFF A SCENT OF SUGARED MILK.
WE ATE PEAS THERE, FROM THE POD.
(NEARLY) EVERYONE’S A WRITER“THIS PARK BENCH LOOKS REMARKABLY LIKE THE ONE IN YOUR FIRST OLDTON PICTURE. I USED TO HANG OUT ON IT WHEN I WAS A BORED TEENAGER WITH NOTHIN BETTER TO DO THAN DRINK CIDER, SMOKE MENTHOLS AND SNOG THE LOCAL BOYS (THERE WAS A BOY CALLED TIM BTW WHO I REALLY FANCIED)”
“OLD MISS SEEWOOD, OVER 150 YEARS OLD AND LIVED BY THE RIVER. SHE CAUGHT ME THROWING STICKS AT HER HORSE CHESTNUT TREE AND INVITED ME IN TO HER COTTAGE. THINKING SHE WAS A WITCH I AGREED.”
IS THIS MY DAD HARD AT WORK IN THE BRUSH FACTORY AS A LAD, MAYBE?
SHARE YOUR STORYWORLD
WHAT HAPPENED TO MY STORY!?
IS THIS A BOOK?
IS THIS AN AUDIO BOOK?
SUCH TWEET SORROW
IS THIS PLAY?
IS THIS POETRY!?
‘HASHTAG’ CULTURE
IT’S NOT PRETTY
IT’S NOT YOURS
MEMES & MASHUPS
WHERE DO WRITERS WORK?
CURATORS, PUPPETMASTER & PROVIDERS OF RABBIT HOLES
DO WRITERS WORK AT ALL?
DIY PERFORMANCE &
PLAYMAKING KITS
• Inhabiting social networking & media
sharing services
• Youtube, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr
• Searching, embedding & remixing thru tags:
#golfonthemoon
• Playing with Lego, Action Man, Golf
Equipment
• Playing in public, flashmobbing, mapping
out play spaces
#GOLFONTHEMOON
WRITING ON THE MOON(using NASA datasets & media)
THE POWER OF MAPS
POETRY IN THE LANDSCAPE
THE POWER OF MAPS
WRITING ON THE CITY
THE POWER OF MAPS
MY DOG WRITING IN THE PARK
THE POWER OF MAPS
KIDNAPPED!
THE POWER OF MAPSOPEN DATA
A MANUAL FOR ACTION
KIDMAPPED!
WRITING IN THE WILD
A NEW KIND OF AUDIENCE CONTRIBUTION:
CODE & APPS
WHAT IS LITERACY?Who do you trust?
What are the rules?Who’s in charge?
Who are you?What is the truth?
Where’s my privacyWhat is reality?Is this a game?
What level of access do I have?What kit do I own?
Who owns my data?What value do I have?What skills do I have?
Can I understand the code?Can I write the code?Who’s side am I on?
WHAT HAPPENED TO ‘ALONE-TIME’?
PUBLIC EXPERIMENTATION & ‘PERSONALISED’ RELATIONSHIPS
SHORT FORM, EPISODIC CONTENT (OR ACCESS TO A REGULARLY UPDATING STREAM)
PAID FOR BY SUBSCRIPTION
REITERATION, REPURPOSING
PARTICIPATION & CO-CREATION & CURRENCY
A MULTI-DISCIPLINARY CRAFT-BASED APPROACH
LOCATION-AWARE & CONTEXT-SENSITIVE & ‘LIVE’
REPURPOSING OUT-OF-COPYRIGHT OR RIGHTS-FREE LITERATURE
GAMES & DIGITAL PLAY
Interviewer: "What was it that had stumped you?“
Hemingway: "Getting the words right"
