Tim Wright worked in digital media from 1994-2013, taking on roles in agency work, startups, freelancing, and broadcasting. His work progressed from early web projects and CD-ROMs to newer areas like social media, mobile apps, and transmedia storytelling. The document outlines trends in digital media like user-generated content, mobility, and the rise of new platforms. It encourages considering new industries, locations, and types of interactive or physical media experiences that could emerge in the future.

1. THE FUTURE OF WORKING...
...IN DIGITAL MEDIA*
*a personal view

2. 1994 - 19981994 - 1998
NOHO DIGITALNOHO DIGITAL MINDGYMMINDGYM MSN PRIVATE EYEMSN PRIVATE EYE EQ [XMASPRESENT]EQ [XMASPRESENT]
1998 – 20031998 – 2003
XPTXPT ONLINE CAROLINEONLINE CAROLINE MOUNT KRISTOSMOUNT KRISTOS PLANET JEMMAPLANET JEMMA [OLC2][OLC2]
2003 – 20052003 – 2005
trAcetrAce OLDTON:OLDTON: [THE NUUK] STORYSPINNER[THE NUUK] STORYSPINNER
WEB, PRINT, RADIOWEB, PRINT, RADIO [HULDER][HULDER] MOBILE SPOOKSMOBILE SPOOKS
2005 – 20072005 – 2007
[LOST GENERATION[LOST GENERATION BBC CASTAWAY:BBC CASTAWAY: [GOLFONTHEMOON] C4 CYBERSKIVING[GOLFONTHEMOON] C4 CYBERSKIVING
& C4 MEMO]& C4 MEMO] REMOTE CONTROLREMOTE CONTROL
2007-20082007-2008
R4 TODAYR4 TODAY TELECTROSCOPETELECTROSCOPE [BBC/KINDLE DEVELOPMENT][BBC/KINDLE DEVELOPMENT]
2008 – 20102008 – 2010
CBBC & R4 SWYWTHCBBC & R4 SWYWTH KIDMAPPED!KIDMAPPED! #SUCHTWEET#SUCHTWEET CBBCNEWSROUNDCBBCNEWSROUND [4iP][4iP]
2011 – 20132011 – 2013
[THEHAUNTER][THEHAUNTER] R3 PROMS MUSICWALKR3 PROMS MUSICWALK RSC#DREAM40 SCIENCEMUSEUM [COMPOTETREE]RSC#DREAM40 SCIENCEMUSEUM [COMPOTETREE]
TIM WRIGHT – 19 YEARS - KEY PROJECTS
AGENCY – PAID-FOR CONTENT – CD-ROM – WEB 1.0 NETSCAPE
DOTCOM STARTUP – DIALUP CONTENT – WEB 1.0 – BROADBAND GOOGLE
FREELANCE DIGITAL WRITER – UGC - BLOGS – WAP – WEB 2.0 FACEBOOK
CROSSPLATFORM BROADCAST – DIGITAL TV + WEB + MOBILE - YOUTUBE
DIGITAL RADIO – NEWS - SOCIAL MEDIA – TWITTER + FACEBOOK TWITTER
TRANSMEDIA WRITER – SMARTPHONES – TABLETS - GEOLOCATION IPHONE MAKERBOT
LIVE PERFORMANCE – INTERNET OF THINGS - DATA-DRIVEN STORYT IPAD KICKSTARTER

3. EXPECT THE DIGITAL MEDIA
LANDSCAPE TO CHANGE
EVERY 2-3 YEARS

4. “THE ILLITERATE OF THE
21ST CENTURY WILL NOT BE
THOSE WHO CANNOT READ
AND WRITE, BUT THOSE WHO
CANNOT LEARN, UNLEARN,
AND RELEARN. ” – Alvin
Toffler

5. Original interactive content

6. Broadcast properties & projects

7. Writing: TV, web, brands & radio

8. Creative r & d
teaching training

9. VIDEO (TELEVISION) EVERYWHERE

10. EPISODES, CHANNELS, REMIXES

11. ‘BRANDED’ CONTENT

12. ‘EMBEDDED’
CONTENT

13. SOCIAL NETWORKING

14. ONLINE PERSONAS:
COMMUNICATION & DIALOGUE
• Lonelygirl15
• Kate Modern
• Sophia’s DiarySophia’s Diary
• Anna’s PhoneAnna’s Phone

15. RIDDLES, PUZZLES & CASUAL GAMES

16. OFFLINE ACTIVITY & ARGs

17. BLOG
CULTURE

18. PLAYFULNESSPLAYFULNESS

19. DEAR TIM,
DO YOU REMEMBER THE ALLOTMENTS?
I CAN'T PLACE THEM ANYWHERE BUT
OUR UNCLES AND OUR GRANDADS HAD
THEIR SHEDS THERE, WHERE OLD
PICNIC CHAIRS TOOK ON THE AIRS OF THRONES AND DENTED THERMOS
FLASKS GAVE OFF A SCENT OF SUGARED MILK.
WE ATE PEAS THERE, FROM THE POD.
“THIS PARK BENCH LOOKS REMARKABLY LIKE
THE ONE IN YOUR FIRST OLDTON PICTURE. I
USED TO HANG OUT ON IT WHEN I WAS A BORED
TEENAGER WITH NOTHIN BETTER TO DO THAN
DRINK CIDER, SMOKE MENTHOLS AND SNOG THE
LOCAL BOYS (THERE WAS A BOY CALLED TIM
BTW WHO I REALLY FANCIED)”
“OLD MISS SEEWOOD, OVER
150 YEARS OLD AND LIVED BY
THE RIVER. SHE CAUGHT ME
THROWING STICKS AT HER
HORSE CHESTNUT TREE AND
INVITED ME IN TO HER
COTTAGE. THINKING SHE WAS
A WITCH I AGREED.”
IS THIS MY DAD HARD AT
WORK IN THE BRUSH
FACTORY AS A LAD,
MAYBE?
USER GENERATED CONTENT

20. CRAFTS, DIY & MAKABLES

21. MOBILITY. PROXIMITY.
WIRELESS ACCESS MOBILE VIDEO LOCATED MEDIA
ON THE MOVE
IN YOUR POCKET
UP YOUR STREET

22. YOU CAN’T DO IT ALL.
VIDEO PRODUCTION & EDITING
SOUND & MUSIC PRODUCTION
SCRIPTWRITING & EDITING
INTERACTIVE COPYWRITING
2D/3D DESIGN
(HTML/GRAPHICS/INTERFACE/BRANDING)
FLASH ANIMATION
INTERACTION & GAMES DESIGN
MOBILE DEVELOPMENT
HTML PROGRAMMING
SERVER PROGRAMMING
MIDDLEWARE PROGRAMMING
TECHNICAL TESTING
USER TESTING
HOSTING SERVICES
SMS SERVICES
COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT &
MODERATION
SALES & MARKETING
PACKAGING & DISTRIBUTION
FINANCIAL & LEGAL MANAGEMENT
PROJECT MANAGEMENT

23. Project Summary
Key Features
Platform
Target Market
Visual Treatment
Basic Walkthrough
2 x User Scenarios
Sample Script
Cost Summary + Detailed Budget
Project Value/Revenue Opportunities
Rights
Past Projects
Production Partners
Resource/Asset List
Functional Spec
Technical Spec
Software
Web Pitch/Canned Demo
THERE’S A LOT OF
DOCUMENTATION
there will be *many* meetings

24. TECHNICAL & FUNCTIONAL DETAIL
is important
– Tech spec: software, hardware to be used.
– Research on existing tools, programmes and technologies
– What is possible now, and in the near future?
– How to manage, organize, to draw /write down the design
– Understanding the flow of the process
– Existing assets & rights
– Project planning, management & structure

25. BE STRATEGIC
WITH YOUR TIME.
[DIGITAL MEDIA SKILLS ARE BEST
DEVELOPED BY DOING]

27. USER GENERATED
CONTENT

28. SHARED STORYWORLD

29. SHARED ASSETS

30. A BOOK
(OF LEFT-HAND PAGES)

31. A RADIO PLAY

32. There may be more than one output
on more than one platform for more than one audience.

33. DEAR TIM,
DO YOU REMEMBER THE ALLOTMENTS?
I CAN'T PLACE THEM ANYWHERE BUT
OUR UNCLES AND OUR GRANDADS HAD
THEIR SHEDS THERE, WHERE OLD
PICNIC CHAIRS TOOK ON THE AIRS OF THRONES AND DENTED THERMOS
FLASKS GAVE OFF A SCENT OF SUGARED MILK.
WE ATE PEAS THERE, FROM THE POD.
Audiences can make a MESS.
What’s the cost of tidying it up and making it meaningful?
“THIS PARK BENCH LOOKS REMARKABLY LIKE
THE ONE IN YOUR FIRST OLDTON PICTURE. I
USED TO HANG OUT ON IT WHEN I WAS A BORED
TEENAGER WITH NOTHIN BETTER TO DO THAN
DRINK CIDER, SMOKE MENTHOLS AND SNOG THE
LOCAL BOYS (THERE WAS A BOY CALLED TIM
BTW WHO I REALLY FANCIED)”
“OLD MISS SEEWOOD, OVER
150 YEARS OLD AND LIVED BY
THE RIVER. SHE CAUGHT ME
THROWING STICKS AT HER
HORSE CHESTNUT TREE AND
INVITED ME IN TO HER
COTTAGE. THINKING SHE WAS
A WITCH I AGREED.”
IS THIS MY DAD HARD AT
WORK IN THE BRUSH
FACTORY AS A LAD,
MAYBE?

34. User generated content projects
take time to find their shape.
How much time have you got?

35. You set the format.
You set the tone.

36. Sometimes audiences will trade their content
for ATTENTIONrather than MONEY
80% VIEWERS
16% LURKERS
4% PLAYERS

37. YOU *CAN* DO THIS ON YOUR OWN
develop an audience and/or a market *before* you pitch
The Author
Hardware
iphone, Flip, VAIO...
Software:
Dreamweaver, PhotoShop, Flash…
Services:
Google, Typepad, Paypal, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter...
The Audience!
37 of 12

38. #BBCR4TODAY
ALWAYS TRY TO
SAY YES
to working in
a big company
[for a while]

39. Open standards can give you
REACH

40. For big companies, letting audience see into their internal processes & culture is
TRICKYbut POWERFUL

41. Content management systems have to work for EVERYONE

42. big companies often ignore user experience
& focus on editorial ‘system’ efficiency

43. Audiences love audio

45. KIDMAPPED!

47. A NEW KIND OF AUDIENCE CONTRIBUTION: CODE & APPS

48. BLAKE & BOOKLETEERING

49. LITERATURE & LANDSCAPE
ANTIQUE
PLAYERS
& RECORDERS

50. #TRANSMEDIACOMPOTE

51. USE YOUR AUDIENCE

52. KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE

53. RECRUITMENT
SEARCH
PARTICIPATION
CO-CREATION
CO-OWNERSHIP
ATTENTION
TRACKING
PERSONALISATION
UTILITY
CBBC Newsround
0
20,000
40,000
60,000
80,000
100,000
120,000
01/05 08/05 15/05 22/05 29/05
0.0
2.0
4.0
6.0
8.0
10.0
J FM AM J J A SO N D J F MAM
UK
Int
Time on site
(average mins per
user per week)
Source: Sage e-metrics
20092008
Source: Sage e-
metrics
UK Referral data – top 10s
Daily Unique Users (UK) May
Weekly Unique Users (000s)
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
30-Mar
27-Apr
25-May
22-Jun
20-Jul
17-Aug
14-Sep
12-Oct
09-Nov
07-Dec
04-Jan
01-Feb
01-Mar
29-Mar
26-Apr
24-May
UK
International
May 2009 Average Weekly Unique Users Average Weekly Page
Views Monthly Page Views UK:
241,548 1,442,090
6,324,296
International: 122,709 554,508
2,417,815
Top Referring URLs
Rank UK URL Referrals
1
news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/defa
ult.stm 300002
2
news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/g
ames/default.stm 279574
3 news.bbc.co.uk/ 225353
4 search.bbc.co.uk/search 164175
5
news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/u
k/default.stm 118792
6 news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/ 117487
7
news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/w
orld/default.stm 112962
8
news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/s
howbiz/default.stm 100106
9
news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/a
nimals/default.stm 91585
10
news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/pi
ctures/default.stm 90393
External URLs
Rank UK URL Referrals
1 www.tesco.net 41351
2 www.stumbleupon.com 6586
3 www.facebook.com 4723
4 fronter.com 2675
5 news.google.co.uk 2456
6 www.w3accessibility.com 2026
7 search.virginmedia.com 1555
8 en.wikipedia.org 1548
9 toolbar.google.com 1284
10 search.hp.my.aol.co.uk 1240
Search Engines
Rank Search Engine Searches
1 Google 454717
2 Google-Images 167793
3 BBC 164632
4 Yahoo 16605
5 Microsoft Live Search 12703
6 MSN 9410
7 AOL UK 4992
8 MSN-UK 4852
9 Ask UK 4365
10 Google-News United Kingdom 3981
Search Terms
Rank Google Key Word Searches
1 newsround 100352
2 cbbc 27685
3 cbbc+newsround 23818
4 No Keyword 15959
5 bbc+newsround 8292
6 cbbc+games 6911
7 animal+testing 4166
8 cbbc+news 3413
9 news+round 2788
10 newsround+games 2581

54. WARNING: NOT EVERYONE
WANTS TO BE INTERACTIVE
80% VIEWERS
16% LURKERS
4% PLAYERS

55. WARNING: THE SOFTWARE
ENVIRONMENTS & ONLINE
SERVICES YOU NOW USE FOR
‘FUN’ ARE BECOMING
PROFESSIONALISED
MEDIA (aka SELLING) SPACES

56. “IF YOU DON'T HAVE A
STRATEGY, YOU'RE PART OF
SOMEONE ELSE'S STRATEGY.”
– Alvin Toffler

57. TV & Film
Radio
Games
Sport
Music
Web Tech
ISPs
Arts, Theatre & Opera
Advertising & Marketing
Retail
Education
Local Government
Museums, Galleries & Heritage
Health & Wellbeing
Public Order
Urban Planning
Industrial Design
Product Development
Automotive
Travel & Tourism
Energy & Home Management
Charities & NGOs
CONSIDER OTHER INDUSTRIES

58. Overseas Partners (BRIC)
Localisation & Languages
Multipurpose Productions
NGOs
In-Flight & Itinerant Applications
International Apps & Mobile Services
Licensing: Tools, Engines, Formats
Consultancy
Project Management
LOOK BEYOND THE UK

59. THINK MANY SCREENS
THINK NO SCREEN AT ALL

60. THE QUANTIFIED SELF
• Velocity – Distance – Steps – Calories
• Heart Rate – Sweat - Blood Sugar
• Tension/Pressure
• Mood – Happiness – Smile
• Sleep Patterns – Brain Waves
• Proximity – Relative Happiness - Environment
• Gender – Ethnicity – Class

61. • The Book: information/communication
• Virtual/Augmented Reality
• Printing/Replication/Facsimile
REALITY?

63. THE INTELLIGENT HOME
Electric, Gas, Fridge, Doors, Windows, Movement
Car – Fuel, Distance, Location Media, Seat Adjustment
Pets, Bots & Robots

64. THE INTELLIGENT FRIDGE

65. FRIDGE AS STORYTELLER

66. THE PHYSICAL WORLD
• The Vegetable World: Trees & Plants
• Edible media/Implants/the Chemical Web
• Extreme (and extra-terrestial) environments

68. How is DIY media enabling new kinds of
communities, relationships and
>> activities?
local individuals, communities, trades, hobby groups, stakeholders
walks, workshops & conversation

69. DIY TV

70. THE FUTURE?

71. THE FUTURE?

72. THE FUTURE?

73. THE FUTURE?

74. THE FUTURE?

75. THE FUTURE?

76. • timw@xpt.com
• @moongolfer
• HAVE FUN!
#Golfonthemoon
THE FUTURE?