Using Amazon Web Services to monetise your video
Posted on 1 September 2010 | No responses
The Webs origins lie in text—enlivened by the occasional small graphic. The phenomenon that is YouTube changed that forever—supported, of course, by dramatic increases in bandwidth, the processing power of video chips, the responsiveness of displays, and so on.
Interest in video on the Web isn’t going away any day soon. At this summer’s IT4Arts Planning Meeting, our members showed more interest in video than almost any other topic. In many cases, arts organisations’ interest in video has monetary origins. They have video assets. How can the Web help turn those assets into income?
Independent filmmaker Zak Forsman asked the same question. He has curated a number of films that he wanted to show on demand. He began digging into what it would cost in time and money to launch an online video on demand (VOD) portal. The result was Cinefist TV.
ReadWrite Web explains how Forsman set up a value-for-money VOD portal based on Amazon AWS Simple Storage Service (S3). Discover what Forsman did here.
This is not a step-by-step guide and, as they say in car ads, your mileage might vary—but the report does provide food for thought for anyone interested in monetising their video assets on a limited budget.
The Independent Cinema Office joins IT4Arts
Posted on 31 August 2010 | No responses
IT4Arts is pleased to announce that the Independent Cinema Office has become its 89th member.
The Independent Cinema Office is the national organisation for the development and support of independent film exhibition in the UK. Since 2003, it has booked 25,500 films, trained 763 people from 580 organisations, distributed 220 films and achieved audience figures of over 5.8 million.
The primary aims of the ICO are to:
- promote diversity in exhibition content, audience and location;
- develop a culturally-led approach to an economically sustainable independent exhibition sector;
- provide access to industry leading best-practice exhibitor training.
Find out more about IT4Arts’ latest member here.
The power of Apple’s reality distortion field
Posted on 13 August 2010 | No responses
Recently, 
Apple stumbled over iPhone 4 attenagate—but for the most part Steve Jobs’ reality distortion field is as strong as or stronger than ever.
Organisations—media, broadcasters, arts, retailers—are tripping over themselves in the race to launch their “me too” iPhone apps. (And congratulations to Apple’s marketing team for hijacking “app” and turning a decades-old industry term into a cool consumer aspiration.)
But does an investment in an iPhone app have more to do with vanity than ROI? The FT’s Tim Bradshaw thinks so.
Quoting data from tech industry research group Gartner (see graphic on the left), Bradshaw reveals what’s going on behind Apple’s reality distortion field: in global smartphone sales, phones running Apple’s operating system rank a poor fourth behind Symbian (Nokia), RIM (BlackBerry) and Android (Google).
Nokia might turn out to be the Microsoft of the mobile world—throwing away an apparently unassailable market lead. But Nokia’s failings do not justify a lemming-like leap into iPhone apps.
Read Bradshaw’s FT piece here—and have a hard think about your mobile strategy.
Are you satisfied with a focus on 14.2% of the mobile market? BlackBerry’s new Torch phone and operating system are evidence that RIM aren’t prepared to give away market share to Apple. Meanwhile, Android’s global share of the smartphone market has leapt from 1.8 per cent a year ago to 17.2 per cent in the second quarter of 2010.
Will your arts organisation become iPhone-centric—or become operating system agnostic as you reach out to grow your audience?
If you have never visited the FT site before, you might have to register before you can access the article. Registration is free (for now—and long may it last) and only takes a minute.
Graphic: Gartner Group
Coming IT4Arts workshops
Posted on 13 August 2010 | No responses
The next four IT4Arts workshops have been announced. You can find the details here.
Members should put the details in their diaries—and watch for updates.
New IT4Arts workshop announced: Is your digital strategy IT-driven or business-led?
Posted on 13 August 2010 | No responses
IT strategies and their more fashion-conscious younger siblings digital strategies are often developed in isolation by the head of IT because his or her boss says the organisation needs them—or because a stakeholder demands them. The best IT and digital strategies, however, are business led and driven.
This workshop will help your thinking about digital and IT strategies—and provide an opportunity to hear about how people in business and the arts have developed successful strategies.
Speakers include:
- Loretta Tomasi, Chief Executive of English National Opera, who will talk about how the ENO achieved buy-in across the organisation for their recently-launched ENO website. You may have the best written plan, but what problems do you need to tackle in executing it?
- Nicholas Triantafyllou, the Barbican Centre’s Business Systems Manager, who will explain the IT strategy that underpins the Barbican’s highly successful website—and its ticketing and customer relationship management systems.
- Ron Brown, Director of Cloud and Disruptive Technologies at CSC—one of the world’s largest IT services companies, who will talk about IT developments coming soon and on the horizon. What emerging technologies do you need to take account of in your strategy—and how will they affect your organisation?
- Mhora Samuel, Director of the Theatres Trust, who will talk about the role an IT strategy can play in changing even a relatively small arts organisation.
- Adam Burstow, IT Director and Director of Corporate Development at Telereal—and a long-term contributor to IT4Arts through the IT Livery Company’s Arts Panel, who will explain how to pull it all together and develop a simple, straightforward strategy.
The workshop is designed for senior executives at arts organisations—large and small—and for anyone with IT responsibilities who wants to adopt a business-led approach to IT.
- When: Friday 24 September 2010—10.00am
- Where: The Fountain Room, Barbican Centre, Silk Street, London EC2Y 8DS (map)
To attend, email Martin Black. As always, places are limited.
Joining Instructions will be emailed about a week before the event
Two free social media reports
Posted on 3 August 2010 | No responses
Wendy Tarr blogs about The Global Social Media Check-Up 2010 from Burson-Marsteller, a leading global public relations and communications firm. The report looks at how Fortune 100 companies are using social media. Don’t miss Wendy’s observations.
Review the report and read Wendy’s blog here.
Elsewhere, a counter-intuitive piece from Fast Company comments on a report from the American Consumer Satisfaction Index that revealed consumers just don’t trust Facebook. By the way, of all the social media sites surveyed, Wikipedia got the highest consumer rating.
See what the fuss is all about here.
And you can download the free report here though you will have to register first.
Google UK exec predicts shift to mobile net access
Posted on 5 July 2010 | Comments Off
It feels as if we’ve been talking the shift to mobile Internet access for years. But as broadband growth flattens and iPhone and Android apps proliferate, are we getting close to the tipping point?
Google UK’s Matt Brittin thinks so, “The big shift is to mobile internet. Between 25pc and 30pc of consumers use their mobiles to access the internet. But in three years’ time analysts believe more people will be accessing it from their mobiles than from a desktop. That’s a massive change.”
Some arts organisations appear well-positioned for the shift; others might need to start planning for the shift from desktop to handheld Internet.
Read the rest of the Telegraph’s (where news is still free) Google story here.
Three new IT4Arts members
Posted on 3 July 2010 | Comments Off
Three arts organisations have joined IT4Arts bringing our membership to 88.
Bush Theatre describes itself as, “.. a world-famous home for new plays and an internationally renowned champion of playwrights. We discover, nurture and produce the best new playwrights from the widest range of backgrounds, and present their work to the highest possible standards.”
Free Word Centre is about “Creative and free expression: the transforming power of words”. Here’s how the Centre describes its activities, “”Free Word works to promote, protect and democratise the power of the written and spoken word, nationally and internationally … a place where media meets literature which brings people together to work collaboratively. People who are involved in literature, literacy and free expression are brought together …”.
Voluntary Arts England is the national development agency for arts participation. The agency describes its work as offering, ” … information, advice and training to those in the voluntary arts sector, from small local groups to large national organisations. We also work with policy-makers, funders and politicians to make the voice of the voluntary arts heard and to improve the environment for everyone participating in the arts.”
Find our more about our newest members:
Tweeting Wagner’s Die Walküre
Posted on 3 July 2010 | Comments Off
Is there a more unlikely paring than opera and Twitter? Find out how Dylan Tweney surreptitiously used his iPhone to Tweet Wagner in this Wired article.
“Based on the reaction I got from those who followed the event through my updates, it went pretty well. And, as far as I know, this is the first time anyone has ever tried to live-tweet an opera performance,” reflected Tweney.
Read the whole article here.
Photo: San Francisco Opera
IT4Arts members: vote for the workshops you need
Posted on 6 June 2010 | 3 responses
The annual IT4Arts Planing meeting took place on 7 June. By way of a reminder, the Planning meeting is where we ask members about topics that are on their minds—and about which an IT4Arts workshop would prove useful.
Attendance is a challenge at this time of the year. Some theatre companies are on tour. It’s the start of the holiday season. We are always grateful to members who make the time to come along and share their thoughts with us so we can better plan the next year’s workshops.
We also understand that other members would like to attend but for the reasons beyond their control are unable to. This year, we have decided to extend the way members can influence the content of the next year’s workshops. The themes and topics which emerged from our planning meeting are listed below ranked by members’ votes.
You now have the opportunity cast up to four votes for any topic at the second level (blue chevrons), for example, “Value”, “Cost management” and “Income”. You can also vote for any topic under the “Other” heading.
The Household Cavalry Museum joins IT4Arts
Posted on 6 June 2010 | Comments Off
The Household Cavalry Museum has become the eighty-fifth member of IT4Arts. Here is how the Museum describes itself, “The Household Cavalry Museum sits within Horse Guards in Whitehall, central London, one of the city’s most historic buildings … The Household Cavalry Museum is a living museum about real people doing a real job in a real place. You can see troopers working with horses in the original 18th century stables and hear first hand accounts of their rigorous and demanding training. The experience comes alive with compelling personal stories, interactive displays and stunning rare objects – many on public display for the first time.”
Learn more about IT4Arts newest member here.
Top 10 Twitter rules for marketing theatres
Posted on 29 May 2010 | Comments Off
Chances are you’re using Twitter to communicate with and grow your audience—especially your younger audience. In this post, A Younger Theatre offers some best practices for getting the most from your 140 characters.
By the way, we’ve added A Younger Theatre to our Arts Blogs links in the right column. Here’s how A Younger Theatre describes itself, “A Younger Theatre is a platform for young people to express their views on theatre and performance. The site is maintained, edited and published by under 26 year olds who all have a passion for theatre … We aim to be a response to theatre, to give a younger perspective upon events, shows, and concepts. We don’t proclaim to be anything other than a younger generation with a passion for one thing: Theatre.”
Platform Ireland beta
Posted on 26 March 2010 | Comments Off
In her comment on our posting New research: how to monetise digital content, Project Director Jessica Fuller draws our attention to the Platform Ireland beta.
Here’s how the project describes itself, “Platform Ireland showcases leading Irish arts and cultural content to audiences worldwide. It is an online venue which features all audiovisual arts content across Ireland from touring arts online to the writers backroom. It also acts as an arts archive and features the latest arts news where new content can be presented and promoted with a forum for critical debate. Platform Ireland aims to bring Irish arts to a greater audience in order to engage and highlight the work that is taking place all throughout the country.”
You can visit Platform Ireland here.
The death of free online content?
Posted on 4 March 2010 | Comments Off
In one of its newsletters, The Wharton School examines the New York Times decision to starting charging for its content. “Two recent events have rocked the publishing world. First, The New York Times, which many regard as the newspaper of record in the U.S., said it would abandon the practice of providing free online content and start charging regular readers beginning in 2011. And second, Apple’s much-hyped tablet — the iPad — made its appearance. What implications will the Times’ decision have for newspaper publishers and other providers of free online content? How will the iPad re-define what a book means, as well as how it is produced, marketed and delivered?”
While none of our members are newspaper publishers, the article provides valuable insights into monetisation models and the relationship between content developers and their audiences.
Read Paid vs. Free Content, Publishing Pains, Apple Tablets and All That … here.
Somewhat ironically, the Wharton School itself provides huge amounts of high-quality content free of charge every week. These same discussions are probably taking place in the university’s editorial offices.
Latest IT4Arts Member: London Print Studio
Posted on 1 March 2010 | Comments Off
On 25 February, London Print Studio became the latest member of IT4Arts. Here is how London Print Studio describes itself: “London Print Studio is a small not-for-profit organisation that provides educational resources in the graphic arts for artists, community organizations, education institutions and the public.”
LPS is one of a growing number of IT4Arts members whose focus is on “flat” assets which can include photographic prints, digital graphics (and associated hard copies), digitised archives, and so on. This small community compliments our traditional membership which has been largely focussed on the performing arts and exhibitions—museums and galleries.
As you well know, the theme that unifies our rich, diverse membership is the increasing use of digital technologies to grow audiences, distribute content, and operate effectively and sustainably.
London Print Studio has expressed an interest in helping other small IT4Arts members develop skills in the graphic arts. If this interests you, please let us know.
You can learn more about our 84th member here.
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