Maybe they’re taking a lead from, dare I say it, Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper. Whatever. Podcast gets Royal assent…via Inforworld

This year for the first time Queen Elizabeth II’s Christmas speech will be available as a podcast.

Traditionally, the British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC) transmits the speech on TV and radio. The speech will also be available in audio and video formats from the BBC’s Web site.

The podcast and online versions of the speech will become available at the same time that the speech is broadcast on TV: 3 p.m. GMT on Monday.

“Get a Diploma witohut the hassle!”

Looks like CBC British Columbia will soon have a totally new management structure.

Radio and TV will now be run by one management team instead of one for each media line. This model has been used in smaller regional centres for some time now.

It always struck me as odd the way BC is considered a ‘region’ by the CBC. It’s the corporation’s second largest production centre and just happens to be in the biggest film production centre in the country. It should be a powerhouse of programming for the network, leveraging the huge film and tv production community here. To do that would require declaring BC something other than a ‘regional’ centre.

Back in the 90’s when some of us were trying to make BC the centre of new media activity at the CBC, we were laughed out of Toronto at the mere suggestion. One of the province’s major universities offered to partner with CBC to leverage each of the organization’s strengths to make BC the hub of all of CBC’s online activities.

The VP who had come out to see what was being proposed by the university summed up the day long meeting with a simple phrase “It’s never going to happen out here “.

Vancouver continues to be a leader in new and innovative media activity, but CBC has drastically scaled back their new media activities here with the retrograde CBC Radio 3 and the dismantling of ZeD’s forward thinking user-generated content site. Over the same time period, CBC.Ca continued to expand its team in Toronto, all the while reducing its kid’s site to mindless 3rd party games (instead of original properties like The Zimmer Twins) and forgetting that promoting what’s on their TV network might actually be helpful to viewers.

There’s nothing wrong with having all media report to the same management team – that’s not the point. If CBC is ever going to leverage BC’s dynamic and thriving media creators, it’s going to have to treat BC as more than just another ‘regional’ centre. It has to take some new and innovative approaches, and let those bleed out into the rest of the system, rather than have Toronto dictate what works in ‘the regions’.

There are signs that might just happen with the new supper hour news shows, letting Vancouver lead the way in developing a new show that incorporates online in a big way. More of that, and less of the ‘it works in Manitoba so it’ll probably work in BC’ approach would be good.

Vancouver traffic is a challenge at the best of times.

The after-effects of last week’s wind storm are posing a new traffic issue – Log Gawkers.

You’d think that people living on the west coast wouldn’t give a downed tree a second thought, unless it was in the middle of their driveway or protruding from the end of their Prius.

If you thought that, you’d be underestimating the empathy Vancouverites have for trees – living, dead, or otherwise.Trying to drive anywhere this week has been a nightmare. Not because fallen trees are blocking the roads – it’s the drivers slowing down to look at the fallen trees along the roadside.

Take the case of Stanley Park, one of Vancouver’s real gems – bounded on 3 sides by salt chuck and smack in the middle of the city.

The causeway through the park (the main route to Vancouver’s North Shore) has been like a parking lot as Log Gawkers slow down to a crawl to look at – trees.

Hang on a minute.

While driving through a THOUSAND ACRE PARK of trees, people are slowing down to look at – trees ?

The last time my parents visited from Manitoba we saw a naked guy standing by the roadside in the park (waving) and no-one slowed down for a second – didn’t give it the least bit of their time.

Combine the Log Gawkers with the Christmas Shoppers, and you have Midtown Madness come to life on the streets of Vancouver.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s only a problem if you’re actually trying to get somewhere.

Taking a cue from Google Labs, YouTube has TestTube…

…a special section on YouTube that allows users to test new features before they are rolled out onto the website.Currently, you can test the new ‘Streams’ feature, which allows you to chat with other members who are viewing the same video as you.

details here

I didn’t get the car I asked for.

I did have Omakase served at the bar by ToJo himself. I’d gladly turn 50 over and over if I got to eat at ToJo’s each time, and there’s nothing quite like the ToJo line crew singing happy birthday to Robert-San at the top of their lungs.

I got a couple of great mocked-up magazine covers from two of our clients, Canada Wide Media and Raincoast Books. And some really nice pull quotes from Aron at Capers and Janis at VANOC, all part of a nifty framed poster Sara and Emma put together for me.I got to spend the day with the boys, ride a BC Ferry (think of it as everyman’s cruise line), make my famous omelette for Betty Barrett, visit the Sechelt drive-through and generally act nothing like my age.

Turning 50 was pretty much like every other birthday. Well, that’s not quite true. It was actually pretty low key this year – truth be told we went out to ToJo’s a week later.

I only have one regret. There was no 56 Chevy waiting for me in the driveway. 🙁

If you can manage to read through this entire article in Broadcaster Magazine you get bonus points.

The upshot is that the CRTC has some issues with CBC TV airing explicit programming too early in the evening. In fact, the regulator rules that in one case, the Corp is in violation of its license. In another, it had none of the required logger tapes to show what it had actually aired.

Big Screw Up ? Certainly. Reality ? Nothing much happens.

The Commission finds that, by airing Sex Traffic and Old School at 8:00 p.m., the licensee did not meet the Canadian broadcasting policy objective set out in the Broadcasting Act that programming should be of high standard. The Commission further finds that the broadcast of Sex Traffic at 8:00 p.m. was a violation of the watershed provision of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters’ Voluntary code regarding violence on television, to which the CBC must adhere by condition of licence.

[this is a repost]

According to StatsCan, each and every one of us Canadians is worth $ 146,700 – Canadian dollars mind you…

National net worth reached $4.8 trillion by the end of the third quarter, or $146,700 per person. The gain in net worth resulted from an increase in national wealth (economy-wide non-financial assets) as well as a sharp drop in net foreign debt. National net worth grew 2.8% in the third quarter, the largest increase in more than two years.

details at Statistics Canada

Clearly not for acrobats, clowns, jugglers or mimes, it’s the explosion and drip-proof type rollover sensor transmitter EXH-TKB1…

The EXH-TKB1 is featured to detect human falling, in addition to explosion-proof capability. The transmitter sends radio to the alarm set in the office, when a certain period of preset time has passed after the person wearing the transmitter on his waist belt falls down due to some kind of accident. The alarm sets off loud sound to make the emergency known to people around.

full and pictures here

The BBC is launching a whole series of new ‘reality’ type TV shows. Chef Jamie Oliver is hosting one that features roadkill…

The programme, created for BBC Three by Oliver’s Fresh One production company, aims to show that fresh fox, hedgehog and badger have a nutritional value that is greater than supermarket meats.

The show (surprise surprise) has set off a few alarm bell…

The RSPCA warned the producers to stay on the right side of the law. A spokeswoman said: “We have welfare concerns over roadkill food. Participants may have to prove that an animal was already dead when they found it. Badgers and deer are protected under the law and it is an offence to possess any part of a badger.”

full story on Road Kill Cafe and other new reality shows in the Times Online.

BBC is making a big deal about ‘tapeless’ radio production. Here in Canada, the CBC has been doing this for years, using a different system.

But the real story isn’t about being tapeless. It’s about networking and synchronization – something the CBC has never figured out. CBC still sends most of its digital files from place to place in real time. They actually play them out from a computer, but transfer the audio in a linear ‘feed’, only to be recorded digitally at the other end (and don’t get me started on their continued use of MiniDiscs for field recording). And there’s no meta data associated with the content – not that it would matter because it isn’t stored long-term in the data base anyway.

And that’s where the BBC is spot on with it’s new system.

The unique benefit of this networked production and playout solution lies in its intelligent handling, not only of projects and large files containing broadcast items, but also of the production and programme-related metadata. Furthermore, it seamlessly integrates the tools already used by the production teams. The solution’s core component is a shared production database that facilitates project management and creates a fully networked working environment, not only in the production studios but also at the desktop.

full story here

In what amounts to a decision about ‘taxation’ with no real services in return, a judge has ordered the Canadian government to pay back broadcasters who were forced to fork over part of their revenue in return for no specific services…

Canada’s broadcasting industry has won a major victory against the federal government that will save the sector more than $100-million a year — and may force Ottawa to provide a lump-sum refund worth seven times that amount.

full story in the Globe and Mail

Considering how much time most of us spend in our cars doing the commute, they seem a logical place for a networked hub. From Ars Technica a story about a WiFi mesh network of cars…

WiFi is coming to the fast lane as European automakers like DaimlerChrysler make progress on in-car networking systems designed to make driving safer. DaimlerChrysler has just announced the successful field testing of the WILLWARN research project, which turns vehicles into WLAN routers. Cars equipped with the system can relay information about temperature, road conditions, fog, or road obstructions to vehicles within 500m, warning other drivers about problems so that they can take corrective action.

Langdale Ferry, BC Ferries
10 December 2006

An oasis on the Sunshine Coast. The Starbucks Drive Through.

Horseshoe Bay to Langdale
10 December 2006

My post about Toronto kicking Vancouver’s tagass has prompted a few observations about one important requirement; a much higher degree of math skills.

Michael Tippett of NowPublic was the first to make mention of adjusting things on a per capita basis. That puts Vancouver well ahead (see Michael’s comment).

W.G. Arndt of mod7 makes the case for Vancouver and manages to coin a new measurement system:

No, dude, you’re totally looking at this the wrong way. It’s just a matter of math.

Metro Toronto population: 5.3 million (2005 est.)
Metro Vancouver population: 500,000 (2005 est.)

2,000/5,300,000 = 3.77 x 10(-4) TO blog posts per capita
1,200/500,000 = .002 Van blog posts per capita

When it comes to un-equal un-democratically biased representation of blog posts per person, (Gross National Blog Representation, or GNiBbeR), Vancouver kicks TO’s ass 5.3 times over.

(You might want to verify my pop #’s, but you get the point)

We might want to check Canada’s Gnibber against the US’s.

I can hear the CBC announcer now:

“Meanwhile, latest figures in the on-going tag wars released today show Vancouver leading Toronto by at least 3 GNiBbeR points”.

It’s got a kind of je-ne-sais-quoi, don’t you think?

Shortly after I left CBC to work with Emma and At Large Media, one of the first companies we partnered with on a project was Exponentia. (The project was a mobile youth voting initiative that shook-up the last BC provincial election)

In our many visits at their offices, Jim and Andrew would show me the work they were doing on their PlayAction game. PlayAction brings interactivity to live sports events in a really unique and innovative way.

Years of hard work and fine tuning has paid off. This week Exponentia and the National Hockey League announced a league-wide deal:

Exponentia and the National Hockey League (NHL) today announced the signing of a multi-year rights deal to provide live mobile interactivity for fans of NHL action across North America.

Exponentia’s mobile game PlayAction enables NHL fans to make live predictions via their mobile phone from wherever they are; whether at home; at the sports bar; or at the game. Players challenge their friends, create their own leagues and compete for team jerseys and other great prizes.

To play, fans simply text the name of the team they support to the short code 24365 on their phones. Players receive trivia or multiple choice questions about game outcomes via text messaging as the game progresses. Live results and leader boards are available on the phone and on-line at www.playaction.tv

I’m super proud of these guys – they’ve worked so hard on this project and had the vision and spirit to take it from an idea on their white board to The Majors. Well done.

Now if I could just figure out a way to unseat EXYU from the leaderboard, I’d really be happy.

A Small Personal ITYS:
To the folks at an un-named national broadcast new media department on Front Street in T.O. who took a pass on PlayAction…I told you so.

Greenpeace has released its latest report on the greening of the PC industry. The beloved Mac ain’t doing so good…

The latest version of the Greenpeace ‘Guide to Greener Electronics’ which ranks 14 top manufacturers of PC’s and mobile phones, shows that most companies have demonstrated commitments to greener manufacturing processes, such as eliminating the use of the most hazardous chemicals, and recycling policies such as financing take-back, reuse or recycling of end-of-life products. Apple, however, lags far behind the competition, presently occupying the last place in the ranking guide.

full report here

I’m not competitive or anything, but here’s how Toronto and Vancouver compare – at least when it comes to Technorati Tags. (these charts are dynamic and will change over time)

Posts that contain Toronto per day for the last 30 days.

Posts that contain Vancouver per day for the last 30 days.

Vancouver bloggers – Toronto’s kicking our blogasses.

Lets see if we can do something about that shall we.

Get your own chart!

Getting a manuscript in front of a literary agent or publisher is almost impossible without a recommendation. The Front List combines the web and a type of peer review to help authors get their works seen…

The process is straightforward: After posting an extract from a completed work on The Front List, a writer is allocated five works to critique while his or her extract is, in turn, read and annotated by five other authors. Marks are given out of 50 – based on five set criteria, which vary according to genre.

Any member who scores over a certain threshold (225 points out of a possible 250) is guaranteed a reading by a respected literary agent or publisher. The site makes money by charging members £10, or about $19.75, if they wish to read the critiques of their work.

full story here