Posts filed under 'map'
The smartest guys in the room
Thursday saw Catherine and I host a Smörgåsbord (as well as a hastily put together cheese board*) of blogging and food-loving folk at C4. Present were Hannah from C4’s editorial partners Zone, Producer Catherine, Walid from Trusted Places, Dr Patrick Fullick, Anthony Silverbrow, Chris from Cheesenbiscuits, Ali from C4, Russell Davis, Chris Heathcote, Seb from London Review of Breakfasts, Louise from C4, Andy Pipes also from C4, and me.
The aim was to show our current thinking, tell people what we’re doing and listen to their feedback. We also wanted to have them help bake the idea a bit, and it gave us a chance to discuss the idea - amongst friends, peers and people we respect - and how we see it working. The final aim was to hear their thoughts on how best to approach other bloggers and interested people and invite them to be part of this.
The recent Next on 4 announcement had a large section devoted to new talent. So that’s not just me (blushes) but other voices being given the space to speak on C4. I think sometimes people confuse new talent with young talent, and perhaps this may be true for the likes of E4, but Channel 4’s actually quite a broad church in its output. And one desired outcome of the Big Food Map is to give space to some new regional voices after I’ve departed. We asked the question, what does that relationship and protocol look like?
So how did it go? Well, I was gulping the red down for dutch courage, and though I’d planned a loose agenda, within three minutes I’d abandoned it. I’m rubbish at presenting, great at talking, fantastic at chatting, excellent at the odd joke or funny story, but presenting… I’m crap. So I just went with the flow, and hoped I was making sense.
And the feedback I’ve had has been positive and supportive. But, and quite rightly, there have also been some thoughts on really nailing what the aims are and how to get that message across better. But that’s all to the good. I didn’t want to present a fait accompli and have it rubber-stamped by the group; I wanted their help in stripping it down, examining it, and helping me put it back together better. To go humbly asking for advice and admitting that we’ve not got all the answers takes courage, and it’s also rare in broadcasting. Finally, I just want to say publicly a big thank-you to all who attended. You’ve given me much food for thought.
*Also a thanks to Sarah B for the gift of the French cheese, which formed the bulk of the cheese board.
4 comments 29 March, 2008
Open letter to food bloggers, food geeks and interesting people
- Got an interest in food and blogging?
- Know clever things about the web, quality editorial, local foods, google maps and stuff?
- Want a free tour of Channel 4’s landmark building and a free beer or two?
This is a sort of open invitation to Chris Heathcote, James Bridle, Seb, (all suggested by Russell, who’s also very welcome to attend) Silverbrow, Chris, Toby, Dan (if he wants to come down to London) and any other food geeks who’d like to to come to Channel 4 and have a look at what we’re doing for when Eating Albion is reborn on to Channel4.com.
Obviously you need an interest some of the following: food, blogging, user-generated stuff, Google API, local produce, maps, etc. Present from C4 will be me, Catherine, Andy Pipes and Hannah. The agenda is pretty loose, but I’ll start by opening the beers and explaining a bit about the history of the idea and where we’re up to now, before hopefully having a lively discussion about it. There’s not a huge number of technical things we can add or develop, so this is more about how we harness the editorial and tech together to create something interesting and worthwhile that lasts beyond the seven-month first phase of this project. We think we’ve a good idea of how that will work, but we’d like to hear what you’ve got to say.
The suggested time and date for this shindig is:
5-7pm (or should we make it 6-8pm?)
on any of the following…
Thursday 27th March
Friday 28th March
Tuesday 1st April
Wednesday 2nd April
@ Channel 4, 124 Horseferry Road
To those name-checked above, please use the comments below or mail me to let me know if you can make it so I can get the best date to suit everyone. To any other interested folk who’d like to attend, mail me a link to your blog so I know you know what you’re talking about. We can only really accommodate 15 on top of the C4 people tops.
My email address is eyedropper .at. mac .dot. com.
Afterward I’ll take you on a tour of the C4 building, including a view of the glass phallus, and then maybe a snifter in the pub for those who want to carry on.
PS: I hope this open invite on the internet doesn’t turn into this. It’d be hard explaining to Uncle Andy why 200+ food bloggers smashed up his lovely TV head offices. Arf!
8 comments 17 March, 2008
A Better Map - I know where I’m going!
Today I spent the afternoon making beef stew, and updating and making public my intended route on Google maps. You can see the map here. Each pushpin marks a host I’ve spoken to and intend to visit, and then each shaded area tells you the time I’ll be there and, very roughly, my area of exploration.
If you know of anything that’s no more than a couple of hours drive from each host that’s interesting, foodie and off the beaten track, please get in touch. Or if you’d just like to have me in for a cup of tea and a slice of cake that’s fine too! After all, for this project to really I’m going to need some local knowledge.
There are sooo many places I’ve had to leave out, but I think it’s better to concentrate of doing a few well, and spending two weeks with each host, than trying to cover half a dozen in each region like some organic cannonball run! Roll on April…
2 comments 5 January, 2008
