The Original Sims

Paul McKeever, Managing Director of Front was one of about a dozen businesses from Northern Ireland who went to the Web 2.00 conference in San Francisco. In this podcast he talks about his impressions of the event.

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This edition of the podcast is from Barcamp Belfast held in the Art College this weekend. Almost 400 people signed up on the web site for what was billed as is “a user-generated unconference for designers, developers, startups and geeks to share and learn in an open environment”. It’s organised almost entirely by Andy McMillan with the support of a few friends. Much bigger than first planned it moved from an intended smaller venue to occupy 2 floors in the Art College. Davy Sims reports.

Here are some links to interviewees on the podcast: Barcamp Belfast - Andy McMillan - Lee Munroe’s Blog - Front - Reva Health Presentation - Bean and Gone Artisan Coffee - Cupcake Camp NI - 4IP - 38 Minutes -

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It was a rush in and a rush out; unfortunately the Belfast Dev Day coincided with a meeting I’ve been trying to arrange for weeks about a community radio idea. So I had only a few minutes at the event today. On the positive side I only had a few minutes to speak which is fortunate for the delegates.

A week or so ago someone on Twitter posted a comment along these lines; “Is it just me or is Web Design in Belfast better than ever before?” I read and nodded in agreement. But last night I was listening to a compilation album produced by NIMIC “Sounds of the City” and it struck me that it’s not only web design that’s better than ever before – it’s design, music, technology, creativity in all areas is better than ever before.

I’ve been a participant, observer and commentator in the Creative Industries in Northern Ireland for the last 30 years. It has never been as good. Creatively we are at the beginning of a brilliant new phase. I say we are at the beginning because MOST PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT INVOLVED DON’T KNOW YET. I needed to shout that. Most people who should know don’t. This is strongly a grass roots movement.
People are finding their creativity and building on it like never before.

Further proof is Barcamp tomorrow. I’ll have a bit more time to enjoy that one.

The plans for the “one man trade mission to London” are coming together very quickly. Leaving Belfast on the 19 May, my first meeting is that afternoon. So far there are several meetings with commissioners and producers with BBC, Disney, ITV and Channel 4.

I’ll be returning on 22 - so 4 days of talking to people who want to buy web content.

The idea is very simple; introduce web businesses in Northern Ireland to people who buy in London. If that works out then try a few other places, too.

The absolute maximum number of businesses I’ll represent will be 12, but I’ll be more comfortable with 10. There are only two or three places left. I will be covering expenses only (travel and accomodation) so there is a very low cost.

If you are interested then contact me ds@davysims.co.uk.

This podcast is normally about web content, but this time its a very different content – the recording and monitoring of termerature. Paddy Hearty is the director of Kelsius. Kelsius is a service that automates the process of temperature monitoring in controlled storage and testing environments within the healthcare sector It’s also a is a fully automated monitoring system that ensures full compliance with food safety requirements.

I met Paddy at the Science Park in Belfast. Or Download from iTunes

My one man trade mission is going well already and I launched it yesterday morning. More here.

So far 5 companies have signed up and I have confirmed four meetings; 2 at BBC one at Disney and one with a company who picked up my twitter post about the visit. I’m chasing more BBC, Channel 4, ITV and some non-broadcasting.

The maximum number of businesses I plan to represent is 12; I’d be happy with 9 or 10, so places going fast. Contact me if you are interested; I think it would be good to have one or two games developers.

Thanks for @pennydist for pointing out this story.

It appears that the U2 manager Paul McGuinness wants to continue intervention in a copyright model which is chronically ill and incurable and, well - to continue the medical analogy, on its last legs. Writing in France’s Le Figero (article republished in Guardian Music Blog - http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2009/apr/07/france-solution-online-piracy) he says:

“France is leading the way on this issue, with its new "creation and internet" law, and where France goes, the rest of the world may follow. This is certainly not about the future of U2, the band I have managed for over 30 years. But it is about the future of a new generation of artists who aspire to be the next U2 – and about the whole environment in which that aspiration can be made possible.”

He also gets a quick plug in for the U2 gigs at “Stade de France at a capacity of 93,000”. Once a marketeer, Paul … Now I have nothing against Paul McGuinness. I wish him well. His band has been a fav. of mine (on and off) for the 30 years he has been managing them. But why should my grand- and great-grand children be paying his and the rest of the band’s grand- and great grand children if in the year 2079 one of them downloads “A day without me”? (I like the drum break – my grandchildren will too. And they probably wont download, they will probably "intellimorph" or something like that.)

Paul; artists of all types and musicians of all types deserve to be paid and paid well – damn they should even have a guaranteed pension and live in San Remo Apartments West Central Park. And where possible the successful should share with the less successful. But the current rights laws are inherently wrong – wrong for the artists, wrong for the fans, but in this case more importantly wrong for the century and the technology.

U2 once looked to the artistic horizon and found something new. Perhaps it’s your turn to look to the business horizon and find something New 2 (geddit?)

That’s what ther new kidzzz are doing - and they are not kidzzz. They embace new business models and understand the new thinking. No, don’t go find it yourself, ask them and support them find a new way. Don’t support a legal body of law in terminal decline.

Lee Munroe modestly describes himself as a 24 year old web designer from Belfast.

Like many emerging talents in web and interactive media he wants to put back into the design community through projects like webdesignire.com. He first came to the public eye with the Big Word Project which he built with Paddy Donnelly.

There’s more in Wikipedia. I met Lee at the Art College in Belfast where we kicked off talking about his latest project Lookaly.com. One site we didn’t mention in the interview is Sponsor Lee . org http://sponsorlee.org/ . With a £2000 target Lee is running the London Marathon on 26 April to raise funds for Action for Kids.

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