William Perrin@willperrin

http://talkaboutlocal.org/ar

Quick, simple, cheap steps to a digital high street

Building blocks to bring your high street alive online13 May 2013

Trained people in over 200 places to find a voice online

Initially funded by Channel4 and AWM

Specialised in deprived or isolated areas

Cheap simple, consumer facing web services – Facebook, Wordpress.com, Twitter

Convene ‘hyperlocal’ publishers through our unconferences

Resolutely public service approach

Featured in almost all media – BBC TV, radio, The Guardian, The Times etc

Clients from community group to Blue Chip, funding community work

By Nicholasink at en.wikipedia

The average high street online today

KeepIt Simple,Stupid

If your town centre or high street is a desert online, don’t over reach

A basic blog is an excellent start - quick, cheap effective, low risk, excellent Google potentialSkill requirements low, much can be done from mobile phones, TCM equivalent needs basic training and moral supportBUT involve local people as direct contributors – they own the high street, not you

oasis

Photoree by Teg

Don’t’ rush to unsustainable web development if you have a desert – try an oasis first

Telling storiesReflecting local characterPositive, optimistic toneEvoking people’s memoriesInterviews with shoppers and tradersPictures, simple videoCreate a culture of talking about the local experiencePeople talking to each other….all made easy by a simple blog or Facebook page

Authenticity in a world of commoditisation and PR

See ‘Internet and the new aesthetic’ for more on authenticity http://tinyurl.com/cw5fhvf

NOTBreathless PRE-commerceExpensive

But if you already have fertile ground – here’s some more advanced stuff you could try

Augmented reality on a tablet – Camden Borough council planning applications (unofficial). Floating logos correspond to applications. Layar service and Talk About Local’s software.

Blue plaques from Plaque Guide – Layar service, Talk About Local software

Overlays information from websites onto the camera view of your tablet or mobile

High impact, ‘wow’ factor

Aids ‘discovery’ off track – markers can be in places you can’t see due to intervening buidings and ‘Take me there’ provides map

Can be fed by simple wordpress.com blog

Cheap, quick, simple – Talk About Local’s new software developed with NESTA and The Nominet Trust

Here’s me demonstrating it on BBC TV (second interviewee) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18840183

Or use geo-tagging services like n0tice.org

For a simple blog or Facebook page ask around amongst local bloggers or free lance journalists, see who you can

hire locally

For quick, cheap, simple augmented reality contact us at Talk About Local (we can help with blogs etc

too)

hello@talkaboutlocal.orgwilliam@talkaboutlocal.org