Time lapse video shot by the port in Geneva, Switzerland. Le Jet d’Eau, one of the city’s most famous landmarks, spotted at the distance. I used my Nikon D70s with a Sigma 10-20 mm f/4.0-5.6 lens. Shutter speed was set to 1/200 sec and aperture to f/16. 750 images were shot in 15 minutes.
A batch of mages shot by the Hubble Space Telescope. Accompanied by Hans Zimmer‘s ”Time.” Unfortunately the images are not perfectly synched with the music, but quite beautiful don’t you think?
Those who say that ”social media is not so social after all”, they haven’t tried Google+ hangouts. Similar to Skype, a hangout is a group video chat. Whether you’re at home in your PJ or hitting the streets with your mobile, the hangout is an ideal tool for bouncing ideas, collaborating on projects and more.
Within the framework of my graduate class in social media, we’ve recently used Google+ hangouts to host a series of public events to discuss different takes on social media. Together with my awesome class mate, Baljit Dhillon, we organized the event ”Use of Social Media in a Humanitarian Crisis”.
Targeted to communication professionals in the public sector, the event was promoted on Google+, Facebook and Twitter. It took place on Wednesday 25 April 2012 (12h00 GMT+1) and lasted for about an hour. Bal and I gave two short presentations (download PDFs here and here) and facilitated the discussion.
A big thank you to the three participants Adeline, Sari and Steph, who shared their great insight and field experience. Below I’ve embedded a screencast of the hangout (chopped into four parts) and listed some of the key learnings.
- Use tools like HootSuite and Monitter to monitor the social web
- Don’t base operational decisions on unverified information from Twitter
- Establish presence and build trust on relevant platforms, before a crisis
- Building trust takes time, commitment, transparency and approachability
- Micro blogs are useful to address rumours and to ‘go on the record’
- Proactively engage on blogs and forums beyond those you host
- Managing social conversation in multiple languages is challenging
Technically there were a few hiccups, but overall Google+ delivered what it promises. If you’re planning similar events, here are some tips you might find useful (if you’ve already hung out, feel free to share your thoughts):
- Use a service like Eventbrite to make people register by email
- Email a reminder to participants, asking them to add you to their circles
- Inform participants they might be prompted to install a browser plugin
- Make sure you have all participants in a circle before the hangout
- Use a headset to limit all the noise you make (typing, shuffling paper)
- If you’re sitting on a lagging connection, type rather than talk
- Screenshare sucks bandwidth, share slides by email
Here’s another short time lapse video shot in Parc de La Grange, Geneva. The plan was to catch cloud movement. Unfortunately there’s a couple of stains on my Sigma 10-20 lens and I accidentally set ISO to 1600.
The late ’90s technology evangelists preaching for a digital paradise, where business thrives and democracy is direct, were partly right. Here’s what we know:
- 7 billion people in the world
- 6 billion mobile subscriptions
- 2 billion internet users
- 901 million Facebook users
Social media have shifted the way, the volume and the speed of which we communicate. Mobile technology have turned anyone into a broadcaster. The million dollar question, though, is what’s next? This video from Microsoft looks at what the future may look like from a mobile and technology perspective.
While it would be nice to have (Apple) devices similar to those Microsoft foresees, I reckon we can be much more creative and think outside the box (Microsoft Office). For example, how could a mobile handset help those affected by, or those responding to, something like this?
Join a Google+ hangout on Wednesday 25 April 2012 (12h00 GMT+1) to share your thoughts about mobile technology and social media in humanitarian crisis. The hangout is free of charge and organized by Birmingham School of Media. RSVP via Eventbrite and add the hosting Google+ page to your circles. Welcome!
Social Media Jedi at the ICRC. Likes diving, photography, flea markets, post-apocalyptic films and bacon.
