Blog
Creative Digifest #SXSC2 Speaker Profile: Abigail Harrison
September 23, 2012
by Lisa Harris
This is the first in a series of posts over the next few weeks to highlight the various speakers and panelists at the Creative Digifest.
Abigail Harrison, Founder of DigitalSurrey, PR and social media consultant
Founder of one of the largest B2B social media networks #DigitalSurrey, Abigail Harrison has worked in PR and social media for almost 20 years. Delivering award-winning results for leading global brands, she thrives on delighting clients with creative, impactful strategies. As one of the key players in the digital and social media sector, Abigail founded DigitalSurrey in 2009 which regularly draws stand-out sector speakers such as Google, IBM and the BBC. Abigail has been involved in the organisation of major social media events such as Twestival and was responsible for bringing back TweetCamp to London in 2011 which attracted some of the leading movers and shakers in the global social media sector.
In what ways are digital technologies transforming our lives?
Technology enables ‘I’ to harness the power of ‘we’ – the power (positive and negative) of crowds online has the ability to change outcomes faster. Yes the French Revolution happened over 200 years ago, however digital technologies enable information to spread / propogate with lightning speeds which challenge Governments and brands alike to maintain a degree of dignified control. In addition, the technologies have the potential to provide a mouthpiece for the ‘I’ – cutting through automated customer response, demanding up-to-the-minute information, in a decade where transparency and honesty have taken a hammering – and consumer trust hit all-time rock-bottom levels.
What can the latest technologies do for you?
Cut through red-tape; deliver information faster; demand transparency / honesty / respect; build communities based on commonality – and provide the ultimate filter mechanism to ensure relevance (the delete button is ever present!); provide a fast-action response resulting in increased engagement, profitability, efficiency; restores the consumer (customer) to his / her position of king.
If youāre not online, are you out of the game?
You are out of ‘a game’ but not ‘the game’. However, online is facing a real challenge posed by gamers and trolls – plus the challenge of Governments / lawyers who are trying to impose national rules & regulations on a global unregulated channel. Perhaps one to discuss further at the event…..?
Digital Economy lunch on 24th September
24.09.2012
You are warmly invited to attend the Digital Economy lunch on the 24th September from 12 noon in 85/2207 (Life Sciences Building)
Professor Hugh Davis will talk about recent developments in Technology Enhanced Learning at the University and the role of the new Centre for Innovation in Technologies and Education (CITE) in supporting Faculty initiatives in this area.
Hugh is the University Director of Education responsible for technology enhanced learning (TEL). He chairs the University’s Technology Enhanced Learning and Living Board and is a member of the University’s Education Advisory Committee. Hugh is based in the Web and Internet Science Research Group within theĀ School of Electronics and Computer Science.
The next lunchtime DE events will be held on 29th October and 5th December. We are also planning a *big event* on campus with keynote speaker Andrew Keen all day on 11th October.
More information will be circulated very soon.
Digital Economy lunch on 24th September
by Alison Simmance
You are warmly invited to attend the Digital Economy lunch on the 24th September from 12 noon in 85/2207 (Life Sciences Building)
Professor Hugh Davis will talk about recent developments in Technology Enhanced Learning at the University and the role of the new Centre for Innovation in Technologies and Education (CITE) in supporting Faculty initiatives in this area.
Hugh is the University Director of Education responsible for technology enhanced learning (TEL). He chairs the University’s Technology Enhanced Learning and Living Board and is a member of the University’s Education Advisory Committee. Hugh is based in the Web and Internet Science Research Group within theĀ School of Electronics and Computer Science.
The next lunchtime DE events will be held on 29th October and 5th December. We are also planning a *big event* on campus with keynote speaker Andrew Keen all day on 11th October.
More information will be circulated very soon.
Why academics ought to use social media
by Karen Woods
The University of Southampton’s Head of Multidisciplinary Research Guy Poppy has been getting to grips with social media. He tweeted and blogged about his visit to Rio+20, the UN conference on Sustainable Development.
I caught up with him on his return to Southampton. To listen to our interview and find out what Guy thinks about social media, listen here.
SMiLE in LSE Impact and Smart Insights blogs
by Graeme Earl
The first outputs from SMiLE have been published on the LSE Impact Blog:
āIf you donāt have social media, you are no one: How social media enriches conferences for some but risks isolating othersā How researchers can collect and share relevant social media content at conferences
The impact of social networking activity on an intended āreal worldā outcome has been difficult to measure, but one of our Social Media in Supporting Live Events (SMiLE) action project objectives is to investigate how recent developments in social network visualisation and analysis can enable valuable insights to be generated for the benefit of event organisers and community developers. […]
http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2012/05/23/social-media-enrich-but-isolate/ (23rd May)
āBut who is going to read 12,000 tweets?!ā How researchers can collect and share relevant social media content at conferences
Using social media to communicate at conferences allows more space and time for attendees to join discussions and network. But are these conversational tweets of any use once the drinks reception begins? […]
http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2012/06/25/smile-archive-visualise-tweets-conference/Ā (25th June)
And on Dave ChaffeyāsĀ Smart Insights Marketing Blog (11th July)
Tools and tips to bridge and enhance online/offline live events
The project is looking at real and virtual communities interacting around a āliveā conference.
Our focus is to show the learning points from this experience that can be applied improve the effectiveness of future events […]
Roman coins and rubbish bins…
July 11, 2012
by Lisa Harris
What do roman coins and rubbish bins have to do with multi disciplinary research? Collaboration between scientists at the British Museum, the mu-Vis computed tomography centre and the Archaeological Computing Research Group at Southampton University has applied x-ray volume imaging techniques to produce 3D images of Roman coins BEFORE they are removed from the blocks of soil in which they were found.
The project is one of several collaborations between Southampton archaeologists and the mu-Vis computed tomography centreĀ to investigate a number of Roman coin hoards. The process means coins can be identified much more quickly and without risking damage to them, before the slow process of cleaning them takes place – or potentially instead of cleaning.
This Guardian article published on Monday contains an interesting video and explains the link with rubbish bins :-)
More information about the project can be found here
Digital Literacies at the Good Practice Event
by Graeme Earl
Each year Faculties recognise and highlight individual staff and teams who provide examples of good practice in education, which is aimed at providing an outstanding education and student experience.Ā Under the auspices of the University Programmes Committee, a University event takes place on Friday 13th July from 10.30am to 2.30pm to provide colleagues with the opportunity to share and promote their good practice.
Two DE USRG members Lisa Harris (Management) and Fiona Harvey (CITE) have been asked to present at this event. Ā They will be talking aboutĀ theĀ Digital Literacies Project and how they plan to extend the project to develop the ideas and concepts around Digital Literacies further.
University of Southampton Good Practice Event sfy.co/i0km #storify #sotonbest #sotontransition #sotondiglit #sotonde
— Lisa Harris (@lisaharris) July 13, 2012
If you would like to attend please register to reserve a place. Ā You can do thatĀ here.Ā If you have any special dietary requirements please contact Kerry Murphy onĀ K.L.Murphy@soton.ac.uk.
Praise from the World Bank for a pioneering environmental app developed in Southampton
by Sotonde
Great news from Washington DC for web science at the University of Southampton
A creative and interactive website www.globe-town.org which shows how society depend on countries around the world, developed by a Southampton PhD researcher has won third prize in the prestigious World Bank āApps for Climateā competition.
Jack Townsend is working on an interdisciplinary doctorate examining how the Web and open data can support sustainable development and help overcome the effects of climate change. His work is supervised by both Professor Gail Taylor from the Centre for Biological Sciences and Dr Jason Noble in Electronics and Computer Science (ECS).
āThe World Health Organisation has estimated that climate change is killing 150,000 people a year. In order to tackle this challenge, we all need to know how it affects us personally and what we can do about it,ā says Jack.
Globe-Town can be used to find out how our changing climate is already affecting countries from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe. There are environmental, social and economic facts about each state, and details of how trade, migration and air travel connect countries together.
Jack and teammates Andrea Prieto, Richard Gomer, Huw Fryer, Dominic Hobson and Will Fyson have developed the website from theory he formulated in his research about how web technologies can help tackle climate change. āIām fascinated by the potential of web technologies and openness to tackle global challenges and advance sustainable development for all,ā Jack continues. āGlobe-Town is just one example of how they can contribute.ā
Jack is a member of Southamptonās Web Science Doctoral Training Centre which brings together students and academics from across the University to research the Web.
Jack tweets on @JackTownsend_ and can be contacted on j.townsend āatā soton.ac.uk
Link
#60at60 community day
by Graeme Earl
Yesterday was the 60@60 Community Open Day at Southampton. There were lots of projects with DE USRG connections on display and the University was full of visitors. By the time I arrived at the booking desk at 10:45am the tours of theĀ RJ Mitchell Wind Tunnel, theĀ Tony Davies High Voltage Laboratory, and theĀ Ā Soton Astrodome, the Universityās inflatable mobile planetarium, were all booked up until late in the afternoon. I didn’t have long so only got to see a small fraction of the exhibitions that took place all over the campus. A full list is hereĀ and we will be telling some more DE USRG 60@60 stories over the coming months.
The Portus Project had a display including a Ground Penetrating Radar processing demo and also the chance to excavate a replica of the Portus Head produced using a laser scanner by members of the Archaeological Computing Research Group and a 3D printer at the Winchester School of Art.
#60at60 @unisouthampton 3d print of laser scan of portusproject.org head #portusproject twitter.com/GraemeEarl/staā¦
ā Graeme Earl (@GraemeEarl) June 30, 2012
Compare to the original Portus Project head excavated in 2009. There was also a touch screen display showing examples of the data capture, processing and dissemination tools used on the Portus Project.
#60at60 @unisouthampton people looking at the portusproject.org touch screen @ open day. Loads of people here! twitter.com/GraemeEarl/staā¦ ā Graeme Earl (@GraemeEarl) June 30, 2012
Next door was the Soldier in Late Medieval England project which includes a range of ongoing digital humanities activities, and close collaboration with ECS. There was also a film playing describingĀ the worldās first human-powered flight. The HAWK project had a display showing a video based on the #PianaHAWK project and a demonstration of the motion capture system employed.
#60at60 #pianohawk @unisouthampton twitter.com/GraemeEarl/staā¦ ā Graeme Earl (@GraemeEarl) June 30, 2012
I also visited the Institute for Life Sciences. Firstly there was a Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Formula 1 racingĀ car parked outside with very informed researchers discussing the rolling road wind tunnel. Inside the IFLS there were lots of demonstrations including some relating to the nervous system, and lots of children and adults seeing bees, glowing worms and learning about hospital hygiene.
#60at60 @unisouthampton using fruit flies to understand Alzheimer’s disease at 60.southampton.ac.uk/open-day twitter.com/GraemeEarl/staā¦ ā Graeme Earl (@GraemeEarl) June 30, 2012
Drunk worms and lots of creepy crawlies at the @unisouthampton open day! #60at60 twitter.com/beckyattwood07ā¦
ā becky attwood (@beckyattwood07) June 30, 2012
@unisouthampton having an excellent time at the open day. Enjoyed the demo game on Orchid stand & nematodes in the life sciences #60at60
ā Jo Jennings (@jojenni) June 30, 2012
Then I went to the Institute for Sound and Vibration Research for a visit to the anechoic chamber and the reverberant chamber. Again really enthusiastic and informed staff talking about aircraft noise reduction.
#60at60 @unisouthampton in #isvr anechoic and reverberant chambers. High level volume children shouting in the latter! twitter.com/GraemeEarl/staā¦ ā Graeme Earl (@GraemeEarl) June 30, 2012
There were a few other tweets on the day including ones relating to optic fibres research:
Just find out about Optical fibres research @unisouthampton #60at60
ā Eleonora Gandolfi (@eleonorag1) June 30, 2012
And work at Winchester School of Art in Fashion:
Winchester School of Art are showcasing success no. 11: The cutting edge of fashion bit.ly/MBAKrx #60at60
ā Uni of Southampton (@unisouthampton) June 23, 2012
And our musical talents:
A Haydn quartet outside the cinema!What a great university I went to :) @unisouthampton #60at60 twitter.com/mwkdesigns/staā¦
ā Matthew Koch (@mwkdesigns) June 30, 2012
At Garden Court there were lots of displays including information about the Southampton Science ParkĀ and some touch screen displays and games relating to cleaning up space junk. Last visit of the day was to the Biometrics Tunnel for cool work identifying gait for identification. A really good day and a great way to show off #60at60 and the University as a whole.
It’s time for our final success, no. 60: Our people – who made all the other 59 happen bit.ly/LD0ge4 #60at60
ā Uni of Southampton (@unisouthampton) June 30, 2012
Digital Literacy Workshop
June 26, 2012
by Lisa Harris
4th July 2pm ā 4pm Digital Literacy Workshop: Social Media for Researchers, facilitated by Nicole Beale, in 32/3077. You can book tickets here
This workshop aims to provide an introduction to social media as an essential part of every researcherās toolkit.
With the increasing adoption of social media by university staff and students within an academic context, there is also an increasing need for advice on how to manage our online identities. If youāve been thinking about using social media as part of your research practice, or would like to use the web to participate in networks of researchers in your area of expertise, this is the workshop for you! This workshop is aimed at researchers who already use social media and would like to see how to join up all of those different platforms into one extended research profile.
There are many social tools and platforms for planning and sharing data, aimed at researchers and students. This workshop will talk about those different possibilities for using social media as a researcher. We will begin with an overview of the current situation in universities, then spend some time looking at different tools and platforms, discussing different combinations to adopt, and providing honest frank advice about the importance of informed management of our online selves. Participants in this workshop will also be contributing to a project to produce a mini-website which will provide advice for researchers within our university who are using social media as part of their practice.
Nicole Beale is a PhD candidate in the Web Science DTC. Her research focuses on changing professional practices in the cultural heritage sector. She is examining trends such as semantic web technologies, microblogging, cloud-computing, crowd-sourcing, augmented reality to create improved dialogues between users and their (and othersā) heritage.