DIGITAL

DISRUPTION
2.3.11. Digital Creativity and New Media Management Module Convener: Chahrazad Abdallah Lecturer: Richard Adams
CONTENTS
Aims and Outline of course
1. Disruption: An introduction to the digital world
2. Tools: Democratisation, Real time, Mobile, Augmented Reality
3. Digital Culture: social, shareable, accountable
4. Data and Privacy
5. Art and Music
6. Audiences and behaviours
7. Product Development
8. Piracy
9. Revision
2.3.11. DIGITAL CREATIVITY AND NEW MEDIA
MANAGEMENT
Module Convener: Chahrazad Abdallah
Lecturer: Richard Adams
Aims
The aims of this module are:
to provide a comprehensive understanding of digital convergence, remediation and innovation in terms of theory, method and practice;
to identify key factors for creativity and innovation that propel the structural transformation in the digital economy;
to understand the different analytical frameworks for understanding the transformation of old and new media in the digital economy; and
to evaluate different business models and strategies of existing firms and new ventures
Learning objectives
By the end of this module, students will be able:
to develop and analyse research questions in the area of digital business strategy and policy issues, and to collect and analyse relevant
secondary empirical data;
to evaluate business models and performance of new ventures as well as established firms in the media industry; and
to develop critical capacity to carry out case studies and to assess business, policy and research implications.
CONTENT
Most digitisation, up until 2005, was in the form of
digital stretch. That is, it extended existing practices
and models into a digital format but it did not do
anything that was particularly intrinsically digital. There
are of course, exceptions but in the main newspapers
looked and felt like newspapers, video was now
multichannel but still TV.
From around 2005 though, things began to change.
Around that time we saw the emergence of platform
based services (YouTube) and social networks that
were based on platforms (Facebook. MySpace). In 2007
the iPhone was launched. That too was a platform, this
time for Apps. By 2012 it is estimated that the actual
phone part of the iPhone is only the 5
th
most used
feature. All of this was underpinned by the emergence
of broadband and 3G as cheap and available sources
of connectivity that enabled sharing and collaboration.
There was also something else that happened that is
often overlooked. That is the emergence of Open
Source software as mass software. For the first time
anyone could use free, off the shelf technology and
deliver it to market quickly and cheaply. Allied with the
new ability to easily create and distribute content
without professional involvement, this perfect storm or
quick revolution has resulted in the emergence of
products, services and creativity that is at last uniquely
digital that exist at the intersection of Art, Science and
Technology and that threaten old models and
practices.
There has been the emergence of new models for
payment, finance, delivery, interaction, funding, socio-
political organisation and even banking and insurance.
New methods for innovation are also emerging and
companies are now pouring money into innovation
trying to find the new audiences and the new business
models that will help them grow and thrive as
audiences and customers change their habits and old
demographic measurement disappears. In the
background is growing a massive industry in data and
tracking. Large online businesses can now predict
behaviour accurately, adjusting their offers dynamically
and marketing departments are tracking what is said
about them, how it is said and learning how they
should talk to customers. There has been a profound
move towards highly targeted multi-channel, real-time
communication and collaboration in product
development. The new world is one where small micro
businesses can become huge in short spaces of time,
where content creators can go direct to market and
where national boundaries are increasingly irrelevant.
All of these have combined to offer unprecedented
opportunities for innovating new platforms and tools
that enhance collaborative practices and creative
thinking that can lead to both autonomous and
interactive learning on a global scale.
This course will introduce key debates on digital
convergence, remediation and innovation, while
examining their implications for cultural life and
business strategies. In this course, students will
appreciate the synergy that exists between different
academic disciplines as well as between different
functions and hierarchies of the organisation.
Furthermore, students will be encouraged to extend
their understanding of the interaction between
technology, design and strategy to the contexts of
communities, cities, nations and the cyberspace. Case
studies will be used to facilitate discussions and
students will develop their own ideas.
TEACHING METHOD
This course blends lectures, case studies, workshops, iteration and other open methods of collaboration,
communication and discussion among the group. It will also utilise guest lecturers, live video linkups and online
communities that operate outside class times. This is about understanding the underlying principles of the digital
revolution and how they might be applied in the real world. The student will need to use critical thinking, analysis,
research, experimentation, discussion, sharing and collaboration. The basic expectation of delivery in case analysis
will include identification, analysis and evaluation, alternatives, recommendations.
When presenting business cases they should be expressed through the Stanford SRI model for Value Creation
which consists of Needs, Approach, Benefits and Competition (well discuss this).
Students will be expected to have an active Twitter account. We will agree on a hashtag when we meet.
I will also be offering Google Hangouts and am happy to take questions via social media, I am usually chirruping
away on Twitter so introduce yourself and ask away bear in mind I have a day job so sometimes cant answer for
while.
PRESENTATION AND ASSESSMENTS
Presentation/Pitch
The pitch or presentation will be structured using the Stanford SRI model for Value Creation which consists of Needs, Approach,
Benefits and Competition but it may be in any relevant format. As a rough guide to scale we will expect something equivalent to
10 PowerPoint slides. Some of you will pitch live others will submit a finished deck. You will be assessed by your peers.
Assessment
An essay (25%, 2,500 words) deadline TBC,
A presentation/pitch (by deck or live) of a proposed digital product/project and outline business model (plus demo if feasible)
(25% - maximum 10 PowerPoint slides and 5 minutes if live) Dates TBC - Absolute Cut-Off deadline TBC
A two-hour examination (50%)
Course Preparation
I have highlighted on the pages below a number of relevant books/texts for this short course. However, students are encouraged
to explore beyond the limited course readings, including books, magazines, newspapers, journals, company reports and various
Internet resources.
1. DISRUPTION: AN INTRODUCTION TO THE DIGITAL
WORLD
An overview of the emergence of digital. The movement form
static and fixed extensions of existing practices to the
appearance of and shift to platforms. Ask yourself this
question, what is the difference between CNN.com and
Huffingtonpost.com? How come everyone is now a
photographer? How do businesses make money? What has
this done to traditional businesses?
The latest tech on the hype cycle is 3D printing, it has the
potential to completely disrupt and change the manufacturing
sector. How are people exploiting this tech and how is it
affecting business?
Discussion: The future of business and culture is
bottom up.
Exercise: mapping our social graph
Shirky, C. (2010), Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age, Penguin Press
HC.
The Huffington Post, the news Web site, began in 2005 with a meager $1 million investment and has grown into one
of the most heavily visited news Web sites in the country. It was founded byArianna Huffington, the cable talk show
pundit, author and doyenne of the political left, with Kenneth Lerer.
In February 2011, The Huffington Post was acquired by AOL in a deal that created an unlikely pairing of two online
media giants. AOL paid $315 million, $300 million of it in cash and the rest in stock. It was that companys largest
acquisition since it was separated from Time Warner in 2009.
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/h/the_huffington_post/index.html
The Internet has been the most fundamental change during my lifetime and for hundreds of years. Rupert
Murdoch, media mogul
In the 21st century, the database is the marketplace. - Stan Rapp, MRM Partners Worldwide
Finding new ways, more clever ways to interrupt people doesnt work. Seth Godin, best selling marketing author
Think like a publisher, not a marketer. David Meerman Scott, marketing and leadership speaker
People influence people. Nothing influences people more than a recommendation from a trusted friend. A trusted
referral influences people more than the best broadcast message. A trusted referral is the Holy Grail of advertising. -
Mark Zuckerber, Facebook
Its been said that advertising agencies arent changing, they are being changed. Unknown
It is the people who figure out how to work simply in the present, rather than the people who mastered the complexities
of the past, who get to say what happens in the future. Clay Shirky, author, professor
2. DEMOCRATISATION, REAL TIME, MOBILE, AUGMENTED
REALITY
Advertising companies are still struggling to discover how best to reach
users of mobile phones who are much less tolerant of traditional internet-
style ads on their small handset screens. The mobile internet still accounts
for less than 1 per cent of total advertising spend in the US. Augmented
reality has been mooted as one possible solution. Smartphones with this
kind of technology can recognise and respond to images. Held in front of a
print ad, for example, the phone can take shoppers directly to that retailers
website to make a purchase. Augmented reality has the potential to
fundamentally change advertising, transforming current static formats and
introducing new levels of interactivity, said Shaun Gregory, Global Director
of Advertising at Telefnica Digital. Companies from Universal and Unilever
to Tesco and KFC have all experimented with augmented reality advertising
campaigns over the past two years, but the Telefnica deal would be one of
the largest projects seen so far in the developing sector. Telefnica would
build the technology into its mobile advertising offering, alongside location-
based advertising services and mobile coupons.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/87d3fede-0015-11e2-a30e-
00144feabdc0.html#ixzz2BTwC0Vx8
Mini workshop: what might we augment and
how? Paper prototype.
An overview of the emergence of mobile tech and
augmented reality. We will examine what has driven this,
why it took the time it did and how advertisers are
tackling the next big frontier, making money from
mobile.
We will look at the arguments around AR, mobile and
real time and how people are trying to change narrative
structures using these techniques,.
Suggested Reading for next week:
Semple, E. (2012), Organizations Don't Tweet, People Do: A Manager's
Guide to the Social Web, Wiley.
3. DIGITAL CULTURE: SOCIAL, SHAREABLE,
ACCOUNTABLE
"By changing within we can change what is outside. In fact this is the only
way we can change what is outside - despite decades of management
theory to the contrary. Blogging can help people to understand themselves
and their work better and by doing so help them to change at a profound
and fundamental level. Once more people become more self-aware you will
be amazed at what starts to happen. Sure there will be an initial period of
awkwardness, but over time tensions will reduce, energy will increase, and
disputes will be resolved more quickly. In effect we will start to grow up and
take responsibility... Semple E, Organisations dont tweet, people do, 2012
Discussion: Approaches to how openness affects
corporate culture. Identify key features of a social
business
Openness is being forced on businesses. Customers
and staff are tweeting, blogging, Facebooking,
posting photos and even whistleblowing using digital
media. How are businesses coping with this new
accountability? Beyond that crowds are now
organising via online channels and are in many cases
bypassing the traditional businesses in order to do
things themselves. What is a social business and how
are these organisations different?
We will also look at the debates surrounding these
concepts.
Suggested Reading for next week:
https://www.eff.org/
EU Open data portal http://open-data.europa.eu/open-data/
4. DATA AND PRIVACY
In 2011 Google received 12,271 requests for data from the American
government and acceded to all but a few of them. American mobile-phone
carriers together fielded more than 1.3m such requests. Some covered
multiple subscribers. Some were for tower dumps, which reveal the phone
numbers of everyonecriminal suspects or notin range of a certain
mobile-phone tower at a certain time.
The European Unions Data Retention Directive requires telecoms firms to
store vast amounts of data about their customers activities, which may then
be provided to law-enforcement agencies.
http://www.economist.com/node/21559345
Discuss the essay assessment: open questions and
discussion on topics so far.
Big Data; and Open Data are much talked about in the
media and online. They are often seen as a panacea for all
current digital ills. I suggest that there are two main
concerns, the effect of data, open and big on business
processes and the effects on privacy and the related
ethical arguments.
Open data is being actively used by governments and
industry sectors as diverse as Health Care and
Environmental.
We will also explore the privacy implications of big data
and how groups are fighting for the electronic right to be
forgotten.
Suggested Reading for next week: Gere, C. (2004), Digital
Culture. Reaktion Books
Leonardo Journal http://www.leonardo.info/
5. ART AND MUSIC
Digital is not here to put an end to anything. Rather it is here to expand all
things, to combine and to make more things attainable. For the artist, it is
the edgiest work of all; the biggest, most exciting challenge in a long history
of the synthesis between technology and hand and mind and heart.
J.D. Jarvis
http://www.dpandi.com/jd/index.html
Discussion: changes in form and practice followed by an
exercise to make a short film on mobile phone only, with
self composed music groups of three.
Digital Art has a history going back 40 years. Digital
music can trace its roots back nearly a hundred. Music
has seen a dramatic disruption, visual art through video
and photography has changed completely. Tools have
revolutionised creation and performance and they have
decimated business models, particularly in music.
Digital music is now the mainstream so why isnt digital
art, or is it? So what are the key features of the digital
aesthetic and how are the arts being changed?
Suggested reading:
Earls, M, (2009), Herd: How to Change Mass Behaviour by Harnessing Our
True Nature, Wiley.
Mark Granovetter's paper "The Strength of Weak
Tieshttp://sociology.stanford.edu/people/mgranovetter/documents/granstre
ngthweakties.pdf
6. AUDIENCES & BEHAVIOURS
Thought I'd share these few brief thoughts about the existing models
1. most start from the assumption that the individual is the right level of granulation for
studying behavior (and thus behaviour change). Fine, if we were a solitary species of independent
agents but (as we argue here regularly) this doesn't appear to be a good characterisation of Homo
sapiens. We are a social species - more so that most of our relatives - and we do what we do in the
company and under the influence of others (real or imagined). Most of human life is - as Oscar put it -
a quotation from the lives of others.
2. most of the fancy models touted aren't behaviour change models at all but rather "how to
change people's behaviour" models: in other words they presume that change is something
generated largely by external ("exogenous") forces and (hate the word) "levers".
3. as a result most ignore the changes in behaviour that arise without external
interventions (such as marketing), assuming that this cannot amount to much. Yet these changes are
happening all the time in all aspects of our lives.
4. Few admit the enormous failure rate of attempts to change people's behaviour - in marketing,
in public policy, in (change) management and in our daily lives. It's really hard to set out to change
behaviour - far better to help the behaviour change itself, don't you think?
Mark Earls
http://herd.typepad.com/herd_the_hidden_truth_abo/2009/08/behavior-change-models-suggestions.html
Discuss the nature of privacy and the ethics that affect
individuals and corporations.
Behaviour, is strange, people do behave as herds and also operate
differently with weak and strong ties. Lots of marketing is based
around trying to build strong ties but typical surfing habits show
that users exhibit weak ties. Dunbar postulated that the maximum
number of people one can operate effectively with in any social
network is a maximum of around 150. Should businesses, artists,
creators retool the way they do things to take advantage of these
behaviours?
How do people behave in crowds in the digital era? How do
audiences consume media? What is representation like in the digital
age? How are race, social status and gender represented?
Introduction to brief for last week/ assessment. Details to follow.
Suggested reading for next week:
Sloane, P, (2011) A Guide to Open Innovation and Crowdsourcing: Advice from
Leading Experts in the Field. Kogan Page
7. PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT
In the modern world of business, it is useless to be a creative original
thinker unless you can also sell what you create. Management cannot be
expected to recognize a good idea unless it is presented to them by a good
salesman. (David Ogilvy).
"A senior banking technologist has said to me: 'A retail bank is nothing but
an IT company with a banking licence'," Chan told The Reg. "While this may
seem extreme, when one looks at the economics of any retail bank, it is clear
that this is the case. David Chan of City University London.
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/08/01/how_can_banks_stop_it_crashes_ha
ppening_again/
Assessment presentation: Introduction to the assessment
and time to organise, discuss, brainstorm, in pairs or
singly
Businesses used to be top down. Products would be
researched, developed, made and marketed. Now businesses
are emerging from interaction with the customer. In many
cases the customer is becoming the business. Product
development is changing. Previously quite regimented
processes were observed in secrecy but now we are seeing
open source businesses that openly use customers to test and
co develop. Labs are now a common feature in businesses as
diverse as soap manufacturers and Ad agencies. Data driven
NPD is on the rise as companies get more and more data
through their doors.
We will look at contemporary Product development
approaches including Agile, Iterative, Crowdsourscing open
source and JFDI.
Tapscott, D. & Williams, A. D. (2006) Wikinomics: How Mass
Collabortion Changes Everything, Portfolio.
8. PIRACY
'Every pirate wants to be an admiral, Cory Doctorow,
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/video/2011/may/30/internet-piracy-cory-
doctorow
Why the entertainment industry's release strategy creates piracy
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/dec/20/entertainment-industry-
creating-piracy
24 December 2012 -Game of Thrones tops TV show internet piracy chart
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-20836739
Piracy is rife. There is an ongoing battle out there and
old business models are under threat. The emergence
of fast broadband in the last decade has enabled more
people to file share than ever before. The
entertainment/software industries say this is piracy,
others say that the level of traffic shows that exiting
business models are flawed and they encourage the
emergence of new models.
Rights, royalties and business earthquakes.
Assessment presentation: 5 minutes to present in pairs or
singly.
9. REVISION
That horrible word from our childhood. This session will provide a summary of the course, highlight the central
lessons and integrate the themes studied in the course while touching upon some of the unexplored issues and
deeper implications that are of significance to the analysis of digital media.
This is also a time to discuss specific areas in more depth.