BBC Innovation Labs: Labs 2007: North England: Tagish

It's Over!

Mon, 12 Mar 2007 09:19:59 +0000

Well, that's it!. It's now the start of the week after our Innovation Lab, so this will probably be our last post on the Blog. Some appreciation is probably in order then - so firstly, a big thanks to all of the mentors, the commisoners and everyone else who supported us into knocking out idea into shape. Secondly, thanks to the staff at Swinton Park for making our stay as comfortable as possible - it's a great place to stay and nothing was to much trouble for them.

Pleasingly, at this stage, It looks like we will be one of the fortunate teams who will be able to have a conversation with the BBC about taking our idea forward this time - which is great for us. Having said that, but we do feel for those who won't, especially as you do start to form a bond with people who are going through the same process as you are, in the same place and at the same time. It seems to have ben a pretty close-run thing, and there certainly weren't any bad ideas as far as we were concerned. We're sure that they will all turn up in some shape or form in the future - we'll certainly be keeping an eye on the companies and organsiations which we've come to know over the last week.

So, keep an eye out for "The National Conversation" and who knows - we might see some of you next year.

Cheers

Let it be...

Thu, 08 Mar 2007 22:51:51 +0000

After an inordinate amount of help (above and beyond the call of duty) and an intense round of writing and re-writing, our pitch for the final day is now locked. Finished. not changing any more. Finito. Done. It is an ex-draft.

Remember - "Capture the mood of the nation - join the national conversation."

Wish us luck.........

I've got admit, it's getting better...

Thu, 08 Mar 2007 15:05:37 +0000

..getting better all the time. After a difficult day yesterday, we've had some good feedback today and are now ploughing forward with developing our pitch for the final day. We think we know our project pretty well by now, we hope we're anticipating some of the right questions and we've stopped arguing about minute details, which is surely a good sign. Sadly though, we've had to kill off Chris, one of our user profiles. A bad-tempered ex-copper just didn't fit into the project as it stands now, and however fond of him we were, we've had to put him out of his misery. Fortunately, Alex and John, our other users are alive and well, and have been joined by new boy, Andrew. Ian's had some fun playing with Dalek noises too - but this time it's work related. Meanwhile Ross has started swearing at PaintShop Pro. But it's getting there, and to paraphrase Nina Simone "It's feelin' good".

I predict a riot.....

Wed, 07 Mar 2007 17:38:31 +0000

Another good song I'm sure you'll agree.

It's nearing the end of the third day, and we're getting grouchy.

Although our ideas are still coming together - it's getting more and more difficult to get there. Our brief and project, as it turns out, seems to be one which produces wildly differing opinions between both mentors, peers and even ourselves. It's a simple idea at it's core, but the issues about whether we should worry about moderation, resources, the BBC as it is now, or the BBC as it would like to be are taxing our grey matter beyond it's usual (somewhat limited) experience. Our brains hurt, but we're probably excercising at least one muscle for a change. Nonetheless, we're remaining half-full at all times - especially when the bar is open.

The process as set out from the start was one of taking an idea, dismantling it, and then trying to reconstruct in a more coherent form. This has been achieved 100% - from one minute to the next we are either about to give up,or perfectly happy. At this precise moment, things are calm, but continuing the song lyric analogy - "There may be trouble ahead".

Innovate a minute...

Tue, 06 Mar 2007 21:41:07 +0000

Well, we've been here for two full days now, and really felt that it was about time we gave something back by indulging in a little bit of blogging. It would of course be unprofessional to comment on how agreeable the venue is, or how enjoyable it's been to be able to spend time networking with people working in the same field, so instead we'll talk about just what hard work it is.

Certainly there's little we enjoy more than having the flaws in an idea exposed ruthlessly by both the experts from the BBC, and by our peers. Nor can we think of anything we'd rather do than wrestle with user profiles, and try to map a journey through our project which explains how it can benefit both the user and the BBC. The constant thinking and appraising has tired our brains out, but we are emerging from the process as better people, hopefully with a better project and, if we're honest, probably as slightly fatter people too...