The Original Sims

This message arrived in my email a few days ago -

Hi there Davy Sims,

 
This is a second reminder to let you know that your Skype Credit balance will
expire in 7 days time. Don’t let that happen, act today! Below is list of
actions you can take to keep your credit.

Your account details:

Skype Name: davysims
Balance: EUR 9.56
Expiry date: 2007-05-23

First - I paid for the service in advance - so Skype were earning credit in their account on my pre-payment

Second - It is no business of Skype how often I chose to check my email.

Third - there is no warning from Skype on signing up that there is a minimum usage - perhaps there is in the small print - but that I suspect is read by very few.

How dare they act in such a dishonourable way?  How dare they act as thieves?

I not only have prepaid Skype Out - but also prepaid Skype In.  Unless I get a refund (I have written to them - although there is no obvious way to complain) I will be removing the software.

This is disgraceful behavour - the amount is not significant - the attitude and the action is disgraceful.

Tag: Skype

Reported in Broadcast:

The RadioCentre is preparing to launch a commercial rival to the BBC’s internet radio player.

Andrew Harrison, RadioCentre chief executive, said yesterday (Thursday) at the Radio 3.0 conference: "The RadioCentre will start to showcase, commercial radio online with the launch of an online radio player that will stream all of UK commercial radio - to our stakeholders: advertisers, media agencies and the radio industry."

It is hoped that the service will boost listening figures in the same way the BBC’s player has done, since launching in 2002.

Further details of the player will be unveiled in the next few weeks.

Bad news for the graybeards: a quick check on the great tech companies of the last three decades shows a pretty brutal rule. The most spectacular successes are launched by founders still in their twenties.

I’m often asked - "What’s the Next Big Thing, then?" Most of the time I wish I knew - it would be a great way to make money. Most of the time the Next Big Thing has already been thought of or developed - but just hasn’t made its way into the public domain.

There are two sorts of Next Big Thing - one for the Industry - the other for the audience

MORE>>>>

There was a really good turn out at the Innovation Centre in the Belfast Science Park for a morning session on Getting to Grips with New Media.

I was speaking about how difficult it is for big broadcasters to keep control of the “message” and the “content”.  And if it’s tough for big international multimedia organisations how tough can it be for small organisations unless they are as comfortable with new media as they are already with traditional media.

Good to see Paul Robinson from DETI there talking about the progress of the winners of the Broadband  Content Competition and Paul Connolly deputy editor of the Belfast Telegraph who has responsibility for their online site and the development of Belfast Telegraph’s TV site.  More than a year ago I said to colleagues that the print industry was rolling their tanks onto our lawns. I don’t really think anyone believed me.  Yet a year on Bel Tel and Irish News have streamed video services.  Thinking of changing my mane to Cassandra, but those rumours about me and Apollo will start all over again.

More on Greek Mythology – Sisyphus.  A little knowledge goes a long way. Yesterday I was asked this at a conference “If you had an Oracle and could ask it any question about the future of a Civil Society, what would it be?”  My answer “Is the outcome worth the effort?”  I argued that if Sisyphus had an oracle the oracle would probably say “Don’t bother pushing that boulder.  Go find something more useful to do”.

Not that I really know anything about Greek mythology.  I put it down to growing up as a Pink Floyd fan and a track called Sysyphus. 

The day on Civil Society was really interesting – but not reportable.  One of those days when I get home and think “I know I can talk crap at a national level – but today I broke all records at talking crap.”

And I’m sure the people who attended would agree.

Belfast Belfast Innovation Centre   new media DETI BelfastTelegraph Broadband Cassandra Sisyphus  Civil Society talking crap

CNN International Chyron: "Bush Resigns"

Joost secures $45m for Web TV

BT Vision begins national ad campaign

Los Angles comes looking for help from Belfast

Google searches web’s dark side

The Northern Ireland Digital Inclusion Steering Group met yesterday morning and looked at responses from some of the groups we’ve been consulting with.  We’ve spoken to representative organisations for older people and for people with disabilities trying to identify barriers to digital take up and ideas for solutions. 

Perhaps not surprisingly both groups shared the same barriers.  Access to PCs (including transport to centres, libraries etc., Fear of “looking stupid”, finding relevant content, costs, lack of support.

But over all, the question was “What’s the benefit for me?”

In the group we use internet access as guide data to digital inclusion, although we recognise the flaws in that. But on that there were some stats from Ofcom.

NI Internet Use 2006 –
All use 57%
Age 50 – 65 47%
Age 65+ - 14%
Disability – 35%
Rural - 59%
Urban – 56%

Speaking at the Science Park on 16 May about New Media.  The audience will be people from Public relations and similar fields.  I spoke at a similar event a few months ago and pitched my talk a little too high.  The advantage of that was there was a lot of conversation and explainations afterwards.

This time I think I’ve dropped the level of access - but I hope not too low.

I’ll be changing and editng for the next week.

This is fun.

When I joined the BBC I wasn’t even allowed to lean against a tape (yup; quarter inch tape) recorder let alone cut the tape.  Now as a member of the public I can mess about with start times, stop times tag and make notes. 

Returning form a consultation with organisations who represent people with disabilities I was struck by one big question.  Why do we regard the internet as an almost entirely visual medium?  There is really no need.   Lets look at human/machine interface, first.  Why can I not direct my PC verbally  to find a site, go to it and search it?  Why can I not verbally interrogate a database to find out what time the next train is?

Secondly the device that plugs into the internet.  Why does it almost always have to be a PC lean forward experience?  Why - if I had visual or motor disabilities - can’t I use another device more commonly found in the home - a TV set, a radio?

There must be work going on in this area.  surely the key to digitial inclusion is how we relate to the machine and what that machine is.