Last week Media Guardian devoted an issue to 'How to Save the BBC' with contributions from Polly Toynbee, Emily Bell, Jemima Kiss, Owen Gibson and Richard Wray.
In her contribution, Jemima Kiss reflected on the BBC as a source of 'open innovation' (The BBC can be an open source for all of UK plc, October 6) and to her credit mentions existing initiatives such as the BBC Innovation Labs (which I was involved in establishing), BBC Backstage, and the Mashed event. The roles she outlines are certainly worth exploring further, and I proposed a number of related ideas in an essay commissioned by the BBC to inform the Trust's bbc.co.uk Service Review. I also proposed roles for the BBC in experimenting with new content types and formats, facilitating knowledge sharing models, creating a technology agenda, pioneering new navigation techniques, and helping shape a public commons of debate.
However, the prior question we need to ask when considering 'saving the BBC' is 'What is the media for today?'. This question is too often glossed over, with past roles the media (aspired to) play implicitly dismissed while new roles, such as democratising and inclusion, are embraced without reflection. At the Media Futures Conference I programmed this summer, with support from the BBC, we explicitly discussed this question in a debate entitled What is the media for today?, as well as examining practical issues such as the nature of openness in the innovation process.
The other questions we need to ask are how well equipped established media organisation are to to take advantage of an 'open source' BBC. And, given the declining resources afforded to media coverage of the media industry, whether we will find out what an 'open source' BBC might have to offer to anyway.
With respect to the last challenge the BBC has commissioned Internet entrepreneur Steve Bowbrick to 'record the Corporation's efforts to open its bank of content, code and talent to the world at large', based on interviews with BBC staff. Bowbrick's reports can be found at BBC Common Platform. While this work fills a hole in formal media coverage of this area it is not yet clear how much Bowbrick will focus on specific 'open source' projects as opposed to general developments.
Dude, thanks for the link. I will try to cover as much as possible within my limited time here: 1.5 days per week to be specific. Actual open source projects are certainly on my list. If you have any good examples please send them along.
Posted by: Steve Bowbrick | October 21, 2008 at 09:50 AM