Take one social problem. Add a hundred young developers and social innovators. A million post it notes. A thousand litres of soft drink. And tens of thousands of lines of code. Mix em together. You’ve got yourself an Interactivism hackweekend.

Just in case you’re wondering what the heck a hack weekend is it’s an event for programmers and designers to get together and collaboratively create programmes, apps and websites.

Interactivism had a social purpose and a youth twist, which made it even more fun. It was truly awesome to see people working together, developing their idea on the go and make it a reality over the two days. Coders hands were a blur they were coding so fast.

All the teams’ ideas were amazing. I particularly liked Slurker, which embraced online procrastination and used people’s social likes and appreciations to recommend jobs, careers and contacts to them. Because it’s based on existing behaviours and platforms it seemed likely to be adopted and I liked how it turned a behaviour and data into something useful.

Huge congratulations to everyone who took part.

Interactivism hack weekend was organised by Google, the RSA, FutureGov and Livity.

Google Interactivism: Young People’s Hack from The RSA on Vimeo.

Delivered by Livity in media partnership with Channel 4 Education, somewhereto_ is inspiring people to think differently about space and what it can be. We know that all young people need space: it might be a dance studio, a warehouse, or a basketball court. But it could also be a digital space – a well-known blog, column inches in a magazine, time on-air or on-screen.

In every region of the UK, regional coordinators are working with young people who need space, and individuals or organisations with access to or influence over how spaces are used in their local communities.

We’re also unlocking high-profile, ‘dream’ spaces: spaces young people would never usually be able to access for everyday use. Most recently, we were at Number 10 where free runners, boxers and spoken word artists spent the day doing the things they love and filming a trail about what space means to them:

somewhereto_ are currently partnering with Catch 22, UnLtd, Junction 49 and O2 Think Big, engaging a huge network of young people across the UK. And with space partnerships with organizations like LandAid and Telereal Trillium, somewhereto_ are unlocking thousands of square feet of underused space nationwide.

-”Young people need to be given the chance to chase their dreams and the space to land them. A space to play, a space to perform, a space to meet, a space of their own.”

Clive Jones CBE, somewhereto_ Advisory Board

somewhereto_ is funded by Legacy Trust UK, an independent charity set up to help build a lasting cultural and sporting legacy from the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games across the UK.

www.youtube.com/somewheretochannel

www.flickr.com/somewhereto_

https://twitter.com/#!/somewhereto_

Livity secured urban music artist Devlin, who composed, wrote and recorded ‘Teardrops’, a bespoke track and video for the campaign. Devlin recorded the track except for the ‘final verse’, which was left for our audience to complete with their own performance.

Entrants sent in their own videos, which were then integrated into Devlin’s master video and hosted on YouTube for people to see, share and ‘like’.

The winning entry was professionally re-recorded, filmed and promoted through our youth networks and partners. Livity partnered with influential digital broadcast channel SBTV to help amplify the campaign.

This activity created conversations not only around the entries and lyrics, but also around ChildLine.

Final Verse received:

- Over 1,000 entries,
- Over 100,000 comments and ‘likes’
- Over a million channel views

Final Verse was awarded three times at the 2012 Marketing Agency Awards:

- Best social media campaign
- Consumer campaign
- Best of the Best

http://www.youtube.com/finalverse2011#p/u/6/0_jwZJK8uAs

We identified amazing young people making a difference in the world and highlighted youth led social projects across EMEA. We started conversations with young social entrepreneurs, developing a peer network of young people who are passionate about making a change in the world.

We brought 12 of the most outstanding young people to Google Zeitgeist Europe 2011 – the first time young people had attended the event. They were mentored by top Google staff and took to the stage in the first ever Zeitgeist Youth Panel to challenge and inspire the world’s leading thinkers and innovators.

• Entries from across Europe, Middle East and Africa
• 46,000 website visitors (KPI 10,000)
• 13,500 video views (KPI 7,000)

http://www.youtube.com/user/ZeitgeistYoungMinds

“Livity, you brought the Young Minds idea to life – they inspired our Googlers and delegates at the event”
Amy Brown, Google

“This was a life changing experience”
Sadiq, Young Mind

I visited Belfast to see Pocket Park, a somewhereto_ created by a group of architecture students who wanted to get creative with space.

Their aim was to create some green space in the city and redress the balance with the number of car parks. In Belfast city centre there’s the equivalent of 15 football pitches of parking spaces compared to only two and half football pitches of actual green space.

somewhereto_ is all about opening under-used space. We do this by getting young people and space-holders alike to think creatively about how they view space so that it can be used to allow young people to do the things they love.

Aaron and his friends transformed four on-street parking spaces into green space for the evening with the permission of Belfast City Council, with grass and flowers replacing the road, and bird-song replacing the drone of traffic going by. Passersby could take a seat in the somewhereto_ Pocket Park created by Aaron and his friends and children were able to make their own art with chalk drawings on the pavement.

The young people’s somewhereto_ coincided with Culture Night Belfast, a celebration of culture and the arts across Ireland with over 150 events spanning theatre, music, circus and literature. In the short time that I was in the city I came across a pop-up cinema, comedy in a caravan, street magic, live music in a square and a parade. Lots of spaces were opened to the public as part of the event as well as the somewhereto_ Pocket Park which helped to show the potential of linking young people and their passions to events like these to make their somewhereto_ happen.

One of the great thinkers of history said that.

Well, OK so actually it was Marge Simpson but there is no denying she’s got a point. This quote felt completely appropriate to me whilst attending the Wavelength Reconnect 2 event on Tuesday.  The theme of the day was Leading in a Digital Age and it made me feel incredibly inspired about using digital for business, campaigns and most importantly how, in reality, digital can really change the world – for the better.

First up Richard Sambrooke who is Global Vice Chairman and Chief Content Officer at Edelman. He was Director of BBC News and then World Service where he had a sudden realisation that digital was not something he couldn’t ignore. He ran through the various networks at the disposal of leaders (Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin etc) and his insight was that digital “commands a more humble style of leadership.”

Speakers also included a Google techie whizz Dan Cobley, Director of Comms for Starbucks Tim McCoy and Jacob Boetter.

Some of the digital wonderment included an interactive billboard, which combined speed camera technology with digital roadside billboards to tell around 200,000 drivers what the best oil for their vehicle. The idea involves a camera recognising a number plate almost instantly getting the car information from the DVLA database and then changing the billboard to recommend the right sort of oil for their car.

Other guests included Co-founder of JustGiving Anne-Marie Huby (true source of the Marge quote) and Patrick Meier who set up Ushahidi.

Ushahidi is the Swahili term for ‘witness or testimony’ and is crowd-sourced platform that was initially developed to map reports of violence in Kenya after the post-election fallout at the beginning of 2008. The website was used to map incidents of violence and peace efforts throughout the country based on reports submitted via the web and mobile phones. The technology has since been used to support rescue efforts for the Haiti earthquake and the tsunami in Japan. Check it out:

So from one extreme (selling car oil) to another (saving lives) digital is without a doubt powerful tool that can be used to help solve the problems of mankind.

So on that note, I’m with Marge, we must at least try.

A lot has been written about Google+ in the last three weeks, although Facebook and Twitter are still dominating online chatter. This may seem counter-intuitive to anyone working in social media but it’s not that surprising when you consider how much that has been written about Google+ includes the inevitable comparison to these social giants. This post won’t be any exception; however something has become increasingly clear over the past two weeks. Google+ is not the new Facebook, Google+ is the new Twitter in a Facebook skin.

The key difference is that of symmetrical vs asymmetrical connections. On Facebook connections are symmetrical, if you friend someone they must friend you back. Consequently your connections on Facebook are more likely to be with people you know and trust in real life, and at the very least you know who you’re sharing with. Contrast Twitter where connections are asymmetrical and you can follow or be followed without reciprocating. Your updates are publicly broadcast and connections are often based on common interest rather than familiarity; so you may not know who you’re sharing with but there is an increased opportunity to spread your message, discover interesting content, and forge new relationships.

As on Twitter, so on Google+ where connections are asymmetrical; however unlike Twitter not everything you say need be public. To follow someone on Google+ you must add them to a circle; a list that categorises your connection to that person or the reason you’re following them. These circles provide two levels of control; over whose content you’re reading and who can see the content you share. Neither feature is new, they are provided to an extent on both Facebook and Twitter, but I suspect these features are either underused or unknown on each platform. Not so on Google+ where listing, or rather ‘circling’, is a integral part of how you connect.

Default circles provided by Google+ are Family, Friends, Acquaintances and Following; the last of these described as “people who you don’t know personally, but whose posts you find interesting”. In other words the sort of people who you would follow on Twitter, not Facebook. This is important to understand when considering who you’re sharing with; you can share publicly, with your extended circles (friends of friends), your circles (everyone you’re following), specific circles, or specific individuals. If you’re thinking of Google+ like Facebook you may choose to share a private update with just your circles, but remember this probably includes your Following circle, people you don’t actually know. Shifting your understanding to use Google+ as you would Twitter makes much more sense.

Despite these comparisons it is important to also consider how Google+ is different. There is a point to be made that although many aspects of Google+ already exist elsewhere the combination of these features into one platform represents something entirely new. Secondly, although there are familiar aspects Google+ has the potential to go much further with unique features like hangouts, as well as an integration with Google’s pantheon of other products including Gmail, Google Documents, Blogger, Picassa, YouTube, Google Maps, and Google Search etc. This isn’t just another social platform, this is the integrated socialisation of your entire web experience. Google don’t need to bring people to Google+, they can introduce Google+ to everyone who already has a Google account.

So what does Google+ mean for digital marketeers? At this point it’s hard to say, although Google+ has grown at an astonishing speed, hitting 20 million users in three weeks despite limiting entry, it is difficult to predict how many users if any will switch their attention from other platforms. Twitter and Facebook provide different formats for conversation with different types of audience. How this new hybrid platform will come to be used, the opportunities the product integration may provide, and the potential implications for SEO (this is Google) will be interesting. The latter though may have potentially serious implications for increasing the problem of The Filter Bubble.

Livity and SBTV are currently working together on some exciting projects and we were invited to celebrate the launch of the online broadcasting sensation’s brand spanking new website. The location was Nando’s restaurant in London Bridge and I turned up to find a lot of fashion savvy young ‘tings’ from the music, media and entertainment industries queuing up for a highly sought after wristband.

Once inside the packed venue and tucking into some tasty chicken the night turned into a bit of a Livity reunion as I continually bumped into some familiar faces who have come through our doors at some point, whether it be as an apprentice on Music 4 Good, a contributor on Live magazine, or to be interviewed as the cover star as Mr Jamal Edwards was earlier this year.

The reason we were all there was to celebrate a ma-hoo-sive achievement which all started out when a 17-year-old Jamal, aka SB, was given a video camera for Christmas. He filmed some foxes in his back garden and uploaded the video to YouTube. After getting a 12,000 hits he realised people would watch anything and decided to start filming his friends ‘spitting’ lyrics to the camera. This sky rocketed and he quickly gained a dedicated following and record companies started contacting him to feature their artists.

Jamal is still only 20 and has created an amazing brand – he’s filmed huge acts including Jessie J, Nicki Minaj and Bruno Mars, launched a clothing line, had over 50 million hits on his channel and negotiated with YouTube to get a slice of the £ pie when they place an advert on his page. He also supports upcoming UK talent such as Devlin, Yasemin and Ed Sheeran, all of whom I expect will be massive this time next year.

It was a brilliant night celebrating the success of UK ‘yoot’. It is amazing when you look at what Jamal and his team at SBTV have achieved – I’m sure there was hell of lot of hard work and long hours put in to get to this point, but it’s hard to imagine that they didn’t have a great time along the way!

All that’s left to say is ‘don’t watch me, watch SBTV!’

It’s been a week since the first boot camp. I’ve just about recovered from an intense (in a good way) 3 days of learning, listening and generally being inspired by the people around us!

The leadership course ran by Programmes for life was not just engaging from a work perspective but also from a personal perspective too. Listening and appreciating, two of the most important aspects of leadership, are qualities that can make a positive impact on any relationship.

Penny Ferguson put forward a vision of leadership that if I’m honest I’ve not come across before – “It’s not just about how good a leader you are, but how many leaders you develop.”

It really chimed with me and my experiences in sport, work and personal life to date. Leadership is about bringing out the best in people, so they are energised, pro-active and pulling in the same direction.

If a team shares a passion for what they do, whether it be Barcelona FC or the team I work in at Livity, it can make a huge difference to what can be achieved. On that note, I’ll leave you with a favourite quote from one of the greatest sporting leaders of all time, American Football coach Vince Lombardi –

“Individual commitment to a group effort – that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilisation work.”