tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842236921155813023.post4108024339050451680..comments2023-03-31T04:18:39.219-07:00Comments on A New What?!: Open Letter - Liverpool's digital communityMandyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13499458172766141668noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842236921155813023.post-91220511439012691852011-05-16T07:25:33.046-07:002011-05-16T07:25:33.046-07:00Thanks for mentioning the WordPress Interest Group...Thanks for mentioning the WordPress Interest Group!<br /><br />@Colin I simply wasn't aware of a lot of the thing you mention. The hard part is knowing what can be done to improve the situation and then finindg realistic ways for agencies and members of the digital community in Liverpool to get involved.<br /><br />To answer the questions posited in the blog post:<br /><br />1. What are we doing well that you'd like to see us continue with?<br /><br />Just keeping the meetups going and well attended is hard work but we've seen great attendence and enthusiasm for the WordPress Group so far thanks mainly to always offering a talk followed by Q&A which has proven to be very valuable to our attendees so far. Free biccies probably help too :)<br /><br />2. What should we stop doing, and why?<br /><br />We shouldn't stop anything, it's all progress.<br /><br />3. What should we start to do, and why?<br /><br />As I see it the digital community is a little fractured in so far as there few of us who are aware of everything that is going on. I think a Liverpool Digitals hub would be a great place to start - a solid brand with the aim of providing a single portal to all the groups in the city and place for those groups to collaborate on some events.<br /><br />I also think charging a little for events on occasion can really help in terms of the quality and professionalism of an event - just look at the popularity of the MadLab #BLAB nights in Manchester. For £5 a ticket you get to see two great speakers and drink loads of free beer provided by local companies sponsoring the event. The end result is increased attendance and it attracts newcomers into the fold who wouldn't attend a free event assuming it'd be rubbish.<br /><br />4. How do you want to be involved?<br /><br />We'll continue to run the WordPress group and try to grow it in the coming months. In terms of the wider scene I think the next step is to do the legwork of getting a brand+portal together that will advertise the local groups and events that can be marketed to local players in the industry much better than each group can do individually. Think sevenstreets.com for digital.sanchothefathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16707970782978080599noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7842236921155813023.post-29925595024873085352011-04-15T13:12:08.798-07:002011-04-15T13:12:08.798-07:00It’s a shame to see such a thoughtful and articula...It’s a shame to see such a thoughtful and articulate posting that was distributed so widely have no responses. At least on the day I came to it.<br />In terms of point 3, I really wonder why Liverpool is not doing more to protect its digital sector. There’s a plethora of organisations and networks gazing at the consciousness aspects of the creative sector, but too few grappling with infrastructure. <br />Liverpool is incredibly wired up as a city, more than most. It's on the North Atlantic digital Pipe, It has the cutting edge dark fibre of the Marconi site, even more black fibre under its streets, the ULGRID, the AIMES project, and more beside, so why isn't this being used more progressively, and indeed aggressively in marketing terms. <br />In addition Liverpool has a rich and successful film and TV production sector, but it lacks post production facilities, So why do we watch other places develop digital infrastructure that may in time see our sector diminish.<br />And as for media in general, this is widely seen as the most important influencer on society today, so why isn’t Liverpool, as a city with a rich past as a global ideas hub, doing more to develop strategies in this area? Perhaps it cant?<br />A few years ago Consett was proposing one of the largest film studios in Europe and I asked the question to people involved in the sector, when did Consett have a film industry? The answer then, as now, is tomorrow. If Liverpool sits back in this sector, its future is behind it. <br />Colin Dyas<br />Made in Liverpool LtdColin Dyashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13439127269936975602noreply@blogger.com