This prompted me to pause and think.

Having organised and attended events in Leeds for a number of years the city is sadly lacking in a really good source to turn to to find out what’s on. One that you can easily get through and is designed with the users (both reader and organiser) in mind.

I tend to find out about everything through social networks and rss feeds. Which is fine — but it relies purely on the grapevine to get that knowledge; and for me to be paying a lot of attention to them. It also means that, for an event to hit my radar, it needs a fair amount of ‘buzz’ about it.

And I’d hate for you to get me wrong — there are any number of great publications in Leeds — from the established to the most recent that have come out of the digital revolution (and plenty imbetween). But, having looked around, there’s no independent or alternate publication you can point to and say — that is putting Leeds on the map and providing a great service to a broad readership in the city.

I’m determined not to point fingers nor to apologise too much for these statements.

I’d personally prefer many of those which are out there already stay their course and continue doing their great work. What this needs is someone to put some resource into a new publication, that combines listings, along with great editorial, that maybe brings in the best content from elsewhere — while creating some of it’s own.

I’d love a publication that helps people answer questions… most immediately “What can I do this evening?” — but do it in a way that excites, involves and generates trust in it’s readers. I’m almost certain it needs some paid staff — but these may be balanced with some volunteers. I also fairly certain that it will need to be innovative and make best use of the wide variety of creative talent the city has to offer to get this right.

But — it’s not rocket science and there’s plenty of examples of great, socially aware, media services.

I’d like to hope my city is also capable of delivering one.

The original article was posted on WePublish - please add your thoughts or comments there.

In a few week’s time I’m heading abroad on a photographer exchange to Leeds’ twin city, Louisville. I’m incredibly excited by this — especially with the additional plus that I’m also getting to attend the Idea Festival (and, of course, getting to spend time with the amazing Michael Brohm again while I’m over there).

Ok, so now I’ve annoyed you all by telling you about my excitement — here’s my conundrum.

While I’m there I’m effectively doing 3 things…

• Representing myself as an individual
• Representing Exposure Leeds and aiming to create twinning links between photographers in both cities
• Representing LSx (and WePublish) and aiming to create some form of partnership between us and Idea Festival and it’s delegates.
• Representing the city of Leeds; which is not a requirement — but they are sponsoring the initiative, after all!

That’s about five Wired’s behind the current edition and have stacks of books and other publications, awaiting being thumbed. I have an odd approach to managing my library, but books and magazines in stacks are those I believe I need to read to expand my knowledge — as opposed to those I buy and quickly find their way to a bookshelf — probably assuming the knowledge will miraculously seep into my brain!

Anyhow, from a ‘recent’ Wired I read the article on the impending end of privacy and found the following quote…

We are sharing because it brings benefit. We meet people, make friends and stay connected. We spread ideas. We get attention. We gather information. We gain trust through transparency. We collaborate through openness. We are learning how to use our new tools to organise movements. We cross borders. We entertain ourselves… We question authority”

This is Jeff Jarvis writing — but it sums up part of why I do what I do. Why I think that the type of blended online and real-world networks that I try to develop make sense. Why I think that it’s good to have a local focus, with international input. Why I think there is room for cross-city twinning projects and why the photography group I started thinks first about open, sharing and friendly before it talks about technology or output.

As Jeff pointed out half a billion people now actively share. It’s as if the human race was waiting for Facebook (and it’s pals) for the leap in inter-personal relationships that the telegraph and before it the horse-back messenger did for civilisation. For those who think Facebook is the end of all that is good, I think you’re mistaken. For all the wrong things there are with it, there are too many good ones to end it. It isn’t a dishwasher — it isn’t just a tool to make people’s lives easier — it’s one to enhance and develop.

Social networks are just the eventual and logical development of the camp fire camaraderie after a day’s hunting. They are also a great way of connecting people who can’t be together; the thing we’ve still to learn is – how to balance our on and off line lives. I’m not sure any of us can honestly say we’ve got that 100% right yet!

Unlike many such cases this isn’t credit card fraud — but this is equally as bad; this young man’s identity has been stolen and abused publicly — in online forums. The faker took his name and used it to leave abusive comments that would, potentially end up with legal involvement. this wasn’t just someone passing themselves off as him for kicks — this is someone actually damaging his reputation online.

If you search for this guy on google the first result is now post after post on a lads mag site of girls complaining about what a cad he is (I cleaned up their adjectives).

Now this guy works in the caring sector and has a potentially successful sporting career ahead of him — and really doesn’t need this sort of abuse in public.

I’ve now spent the better part of the day looking into things I can do to help him repair his online reputation — or at least to change his Google results. The sort of things I’ve suggested are to create a lot more buzz about himself (lots of social media profiles) and to create a blog or website that he controls.

But the number one thing I’ve suggested is that he makes use of an amazing, powerful and simple tool offered by Google — Alerts. This allows you to be notified when different websites have information posted to them including given phrases. It’s not perfect and won’t be all that useful to John Smith of London; but it is a good tool to ensure you know what new information about you is on the ‘net.

Link: Google Alerts

I mean — the amount of effort to go to in an attempt to convince a large audience to react negatively without making the decision for themselves. Well, it’s insane.

It would be far easier to spread a story about a small boy taken away by a balloon… or something similar.

Can they not, for one moment, realise a conclusion that a very large number of individuals were made aware of an article. They read it. And then came to their own conclusion they disliked the tone, inference and content of that article.

And then they got vocal about it.

Worringly of all — some of these people who got vocal and were offended and realised just how hideous the article was weren’t even gay. Even worse some may not have had best friends and relatives who were gay. Some were even just good, everyday folk.

Stephen Fry and his celebrity twittering friends do have a wide reach — but they don’t have an ability to mobilise people without fair reason.

Or do they?

Well, wasn’t it just — and by public life I really mean the bit where the twitterverse and the real world collide.

If you go to the home page of TheGuardian.co.uk today (pictured) there are two stories that probably wouldn’t be there if not for Twitter — and the power the ‘gossiping masses’ now have.

I imagine most of us were blissfully ignorant of Trafigura until earlier this week; when their slightly mis-judging lawyers attempted to stop a newspaper reporting on the goings-on of our government. Maybe sometime back in the 20th century there was a point where this may have covered something up or contained it for a while.

But really — had they not heard of Twitter? Or Facebook? Or… email? Did they really think a big corporate attempting to hush up free press in such a public way wouldn’t cause one or two problems? Whatever they did or didn’t do — I think it was time to PR your way out of it.

And then came yesterday. The lovely Ms Moir of the Daily Mail and her (ill) considered piece on the demise of Stephen Gately. The woman is either very very blind to the modern world. Or she’s got a book coming out.

I’m not going to comment on the article as plenty of other people have done so. But really, Jan, do you expect us to believe, even for a second that you weren’t aware of the strength of feeling when diatribes are published seemingly against any minority? And did you miss the Trafigura tweetfest? REALLY? And — Daily Mail editors — if you’re to promote a food writer to moral overseer can you please at least have the stomach to stand by material already published or retract it. Changing headlines and pulling advertising just reeks of the lowest behaviour.

The world is changing — the people don’t need to resort to arranged protest or a media campaign to make themselves heard. If you are in the public eye it would do you well to learn this and not to misuse your position by trying to suppress or subvert these views.

And for sanity’s sake — please don’t for one second imagine those of us out here in the real world are so lacking in things to do that we’re sat planning campaigns to bring about the demise of fairly low ranking journos.

We’ve better things to tweet about, Jan

After a day or so of chatting online you will be aware that can indicate someone being a little jokey. But, when this is omitted, is it always the senders fault if the receiver doesn’t get that the comment was a joke?

Another example is — when the writer has an obvious inability to empathise with the other users of that space; no measure of how a blunt comment or specific action will almost certainly cause annoyance — why do we feel bad for getting annoyed at them?

Thru millennia we have established effective body language to assist us to communicate face to face.

Over recent centuries we have worked out ways to use written language to achieve the right reaction when producing considered, written material such as newspaper reports or letters.

So why is it that, in under two decades, we have not yet managed to solve the problem of effectively dealing with people who don’t understand how importance of effective communication?

Oh, we have — blind ignorance!