France passes three-strike copyright law
While the NZ government has aborted its experiment with privatising justice through section 92a of the copyright act, the french appear to be about to enact very similar legislation, although it does not leave every decision to the ISP.
Significantly, the proposed French law contradicts the EU determination that internet access is a civil right and cannot be removed without legal recourse. Perhaps this is just a charade, knowing that the law will be struck down by the EU, after which Sarkozy and his colleagues will give a Gallic shrug and claim to have tried but failed in the face of force majeure. via France defies EU, passes three-strike copyright law
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May 17, 2009 No Comments
Running a conference in a networked world
In 2009, any conference that doesn't run this way is seriously out of date but NTEN, the people who are running the 2009 Nonprofit Technology Conference know how to maximise the potential of the technology they employ. via 2009 Nonprofit Technology Conference Live | NTEN: The Nonprofit Technology Network.
At Groupings we also have Peter Davis who will be posting from the event floor with material specifically for us but you can add to his material by using 09NTC's Social Media tools
April 26, 2009 No Comments
Networking and Authenticity
On 1 November 2008 Kim Hill interviewed Barbara Gibson, Chair of the International Association of Business Communicators, on the topic of Networking and Authenticity. It's a 22 minute interview; the MP3 file is around 8Mb, so quite small.
Gibson spoke clearly and with enthusiasm about the importance of using 'social media' — things like blogs and Twitter for connecting authentically with an audience one is trying to reach.
While her domain is business, everything she said also holds true for community organisations.
And for those organisations who represent the views of consumers, of goods or services, this interview is also particularly interesting. Gibson spoke, for example, about how the Internet has changed the way that companies interact with their customers; about how companies are quickly found out if they attempt to communicate in ways that are inauthentic and disingenuous.
It's well worth a listen, and even those on dial-up can probably manage an 8Mb audio file.
Note: RadioNZ seems to be making their audio files available for longer these days. The sidebar on the Saturday Morning with Kim Hill page now says:
Audio is available for all 2008 programmes.
Download:
November 8, 2008 1 Comment
Companies Office, Societies and Trusts website use RSS and podcasts
Did you know the Companies Office have a podcast? I only just found out. They also use RSS feeds, so you can easily keep up to date with what they're doing, and it looks as though the New Societies and Trusts website live from 7 October will have RSS feeds too:
The Ministry of Economic Development is pleased to announce that a new look website for Incorporated Societies and Trusts will be launched on 7 October this year.
The revamped website will continue to be the place to search for Incorporated Societies and Trusts, upload financial statements and maintain details. There will be no change to the online services available on the website.
The revised site will contain a host of new improvements including:
- improved information
- improved site navigation
- better website searching
- a wider range of customer support services
- helpful links to other sites containing relevant and specialised information.
The website will add value to the New Zealand business community by better serving the voluntary sector and providing clear and up-to-date information to all.
[Via : Simon Young on Twitter.]
October 3, 2008 1 Comment
Take Control of Podcasting
One way to get your message out these days is by providing sound or movie files that people download to their computers. They then listen or watch on their computer, or they transfer the files to a portable music device such as an iPod.
It's really easy to create these 'podcasts' — talk into your computer's microphone, record what you're saying, and put the files online. But if the sound quality and production values are bad you may find your podcast doesn't attract listeners.
Now the fine folks at Take Control eBooks have produced Take Control of Podcasting on the Mac (US$10 ebook in PDF format):
Read this ebook to learn the answers to questions such as:
- What types of microphones are best for podcasting?
- Which software should I use to record and edit my podcast?
- How can I find and use audio plug-ins to improve my podcast's sound quality?
- What's the best way to conduct a podcast interview?
- Should I record directly into MP3 format or encode later?
- How do I remove weird pauses or other glitches from my recording?
- How do I smoothly add music to the start and end of my podcast?
- What should I watch out for when choosing an Internet host for my podcast?
- What tools are available for publishing podcasts?
- Where should I promote my podcast to attract the most listeners?
- Can anyone create a podcast and list it in the iTunes Store?
The ebook is particularly aimed at Mac users, but Windows users would learn a great deal from it too. I've bought and read many of the Take Control ebooks and recommend them for their excellence and ease of use. Download a sample to see if you like this book, and then spring the US$10 if you think it is for you.
And if you do buy it, or you create podcasts, please add a comment here with your experiences.
To experiment with listening to podcasts open up iTunes on your Mac or Windows computer, go to the iTunes Store and select podcasts. Don't let the word 'Store' put you off: most or all podcasts are free of charge.
There are thousands of podcasts available, from around the world and on every conceivable topic. Just be careful how many you download, especially video podcasts, to make sure you don't exceed your monthly download allowance (gigabytes) through your ISP.
September 9, 2008 No Comments
