Mixing creativity and communications technologies
I am the co-director and founder of a technology-based company called Blink.
Its hard to name a typical project! In 2007, Blink worked with Butlins holiday resorts and the Institute of Physics. We created an interactive story world based on the physics of the resorts. Each Butlins welcome pack included a game sheet, which we combined with the players’ own gaming device – their mobile phone. The players had to hunt for bits of crashed spaceship. Each time they texted in the right information they helped Echo the alien get back home to planet Fizzix. Children and adults loved it! (Echo can currently be found on UKRC's homepage.)
But there’s no typical project. Right now Blink is working with the Yorkshire Sculpture Park and NESTA Fellow Daniel Blackburn to develop a kind of interactive service for cultural venues. We are using Bluetooth technology to enable people to use their mobile phones to access free audio and visual information as they wander round the sculptures. It will be more sophisticated and dynamic than the standard audio guide
To my great dismay the first computer I ever had (a Commodore Vic 20 - a gift from my uncle) did not immediately solve all my maths homework problems. So, naïve and disappointed, I went into art and graphic design and felt I was cut out to be more creative than technical. But in the late 1990s I became increasingly interested in new media as I started to realise there were very real social and creative opportunities to explore, with the potential to reach far wider audiences.
In 2000 I set up Blink with Andrew Wilson. We create platforms that enable people to interact in different ways as part of their everyday life. We have developed a series of initiatives that mix up different media: short film, texting, mobile phones, pervasive games, locative media, RFID, Bluetooth, literature, theatre, interactive architecture, public installations… Technology is always changing so the ideas never dry up.
Most recently though I have ventured into the world of coding by getting into blogging tool Word Press and learning CSS. As I design and commission a lot of hard- and soft-ware often without having any model to work from I have had to develop a working knowledge of a whole range of technologies.
I don’t have a professional technology qualification but I am lucky enough to work closely with a support network of technologists and games experts in BASE. Even after so many years dedicated to creative technology I sometimes feel that I am STILL working outside my discipline, stumbling along with the bare essentials. But its only when I start talking to people outside the industry about the work I do that I realise how much I have learned. Though it can be challenging I think working between these two camps helps me create unique work that makes sense to the widest possible audience.
Lisa Roberts is co-director of Blink. She also works at Futures@nic Urban Festival of Art, Music and Ideas (http://www.futuresonic.com). She is a member of GetSET Women and Girl Geeks She runs the annual We Love Technology event (20 November - logo on the left), in which people share the ways they adapt or subvert technologies to find new ways of working (and playing).
Comments
Rachel Tobbell:
Hi Lisa, It\'s amazing that you have set up your own company at such an early career stage AND in a technical field where you are not formerly qualified. Did this seem like a natural step or a huge risk?
Lisa Roberts:
Hi Rachel, After four years working at The Media Centre and in the digital research centre, TEST commissioning some really early digital artworks such as Static with Unlimited Theatre and Matt Locke, I felt I had learned so much about the cutural sector of the region, the ins and outs of public funding and had gained such confidence to work in the relatively new area of creative technology I felt breaking out on my own seemed pretty much risk free. The borders between media technologies and creativity at that point had started to merge transforming mobile phones into new and exciting platforms for film (see Pocket Shorts), poetry (see City Poems) and new forms of pervasive gaming (see RFID Snakes and Ladders). Academics call Blink\'s way of learning-while-doing 'active research' - as we are often working without a model to follow it sometimes feels like a baptism of fire but even when it hurts there is always something to gain!
Lisa Roberts:
People might like to find out a bit more about the projects I've just mentioned: More about Static http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/884320.stm
Ruth Wilson (UKRC moderator):
HI Lisa, Your post makes me wonder if women are more prone than men to feel they need certificates to prove their knowledge of a given area... Then thinking more widely about science, engineering etc, I wondered if some areas are more open to skill-gained-through-experience than others, and whether IT is one of these... What do other IT people think?
Marion:
Lisa - there is so much in your blog that I would like to ask about. I am firstly interested in your answer to Ruth (just above) because ! I met a **man** on a train the other day who had worked in IT - programming I think - and he said he got worn out having to keep learning new things (I won\'t try to name his examples) to keep up so he moved to banking (kind of at the wrong time....!). It seems like IT especially the spheres you work in are extremely fast changing - how true is that? Does big business differ from smaller innovative business?and do we need to understand more to see whether it means different things for men and women in the industry? In anycase it all sounds really exciting and I will be back to ask more questions....
Becky:
Hello, I thought I would add in my response to the above Bloggs. I have worked within the I.T field now for nearly 10 years on large and small projects and I also have a BSc in Computer Science. With regard to technology itself, its rapid change and keeping up with it, this is related directly to the job within the I.T Development LifeCycle that you are doing and the business environment you are working in. As a programmer, the likes of Microsoft are always coming up with new ways of doing things and with the ever increasing expectations of business users, you do need to know \'how to\' design and programme those things. As a Business and Systems Analyst you also need to keep up with technology change but more importantly how to apply those advances in technology to real world business situations and be able to specify them for the Programmers. There are though a core set of skills that always remain the same for each job. A Programmer must know 'how to' code and once learnt can quite easily adapt to new languages and concepts. A Business and Systems Analyst or a Project Manager needs to know about Analysis (defining requirements, data modelling etc) and managing the Development Life Cycle but once learnt, can adapt quite easily to new methodology's and ways in which to do them (which each organisation will have its own take on!). So once learnt (and that's where going to University or getting a qualification comes in useful) allows you to 'morph' (nice technology pun) into any new role and technology. Some might think of this constant change as hard work, but I prefer to think of it as a constant state of new growth. And that's what keeps life interesting (well for me anyway!) One other thing, if you are logical (which most of us are) you can do any of the above. Let me know any thoughts / experiences you might have on this. Becky Visit: http://www.platinum-e-solutions.co.uk for more details about me and my web site design and development company
Lisa Roberts:
Hi Alun, Blueloci uses a network of strategically placed stand alone Bluetooth nodes which broadcast information that is relevant only to the people who are in the place where they sit. This system allows anyone with the simple Blueloci software application on their phone - which they download before they set off - to wander around the park and collect the information without thinking ( audio/text based/moving image) using their mobile. It is safe, discrete, free and most of all works perfectly for sensitive sites such as heritage locations and places of natural beauty where signage or screens would ruin the integrity of the place. Watch this space.
Lisa Roberts:
Hi Ruth, About the certificate question. I think you owe it to yourself to be your own judge and not depend on academia or others to ultimately prove your grade. In order to value your own judgment you should engage your critical faculties and regularly check yourself. This process has probably been forged over many years of self-initiated working. I can\'t talk for men in general - some men I know are crippled by self doubt some seem to do very well working in companies who bring mighty rewards to the emptiest vessels.
Lisa Roberts:
Hi Marion, As a very small business Blink is able to move with the rapid rate of change and sometimes develeop ideas for technolgies not yet commonplace in UK such as Nokia NFC mobiles. They have built in RFID so they are location aware which heightens the opportunity for storytelling and play Read about Blink\\\'s Five Trees Forest here http://blinkmedia.org/blog/?p=145 Obviously RFID was intended to do more mundane things like trace pallets of manufactures goods or supermarket items or even pass on information about your pets not to engage people in a fantastic story ... it\\\'s just something we do.
Sarah Pemberton:
Hi Lisa, I have great admiration for you in setting up you own company! It would be great to hear more about the kind of support you got in taking this step. Did you find that it was easy to get the right kind of support? Do you feel that there is enough support out there for scientific or technology based small businesses, and if not what would you like to see more of?
Jeanne Hatton:
Hi Lisa I am full of admiration for what you have done and wish you well. As for the subject of qualifications, I have been helping IT people and particularly women to gain IT qualifications for many years. Qualifications serve a number of useful purposes: 1. Sometimes they fill skills gaps in technologies which may be self taught. 2. They look very good on a CV which helps to get the jobs you want and the salary to go with it. 3. They serve as a bargaining tool to get on in your current job role. On the downside they are: 1. They are marketing tools which aim to spread the word and sometimes tie you into technologies such as Microsoft 2. They are sometimes badly advised so you may find you have studied for a qualification for a long time only to find it is obsolete. As for whether women feel they have to have the qualifications more than men (thank you for your comment Ruth), I would say that if women in IT in the UK only account for 7% then we haven\'t really got enough data. On the other hand I get enquiries on my IT Learning website, http://www.thelearningspace.co.uk in the ratio of 10 men to every women. I think this is because a lot of women are offered the bottom end of the it jobs and find it hard to progress and then perhaps become disillusioned and go into other careers. Lisa, you are in a very fortunate position as a business owner and at the cutting edge of technology where you probably don\'t need the qualifications to prove yourself. Marion, I sometimes feel I am like the man on the train who is worn out trying to keep up with the qualifications but I tend to monitor the up and coming technologies to tell me when to dump one certification and go on to another. If I were a woman starting out in a career in IT I would: study for a qualification which is akin to technologies I am working with i.e if you are doing web design study for Certified Internet Webmaster; then I would build up some management and best practise certifications such as ITIL and Prince 2 project management. This would leave you well placed to pursue a number of career paths. I also hear that women are much better suited to project management than their male couterparts.
Ruth Wilson (UKRC moderator):
Becky and Jeanne - just picking up on your very interesting contributions. There is a wonderful entrepreneur (running an IT related business) called Jan Smith. She says \"We see very few women on the technical side - in IT
Kath Littlejohn:
After leaving university in 1993 with BSc Computing, mostly programming, as a mature student on a career change, I moved into Training because my family responsibilities prevented me working the hours which programmers had to work then. However, as with plumbers etc, people will always need trainers. Now I have 2 autistic children and a seven-year career break and the rules have been changed so I need a teaching qualification in order to teach in the public sector. So, after trying over and over to get work which fits in with school hours, I\\\'m moving back into private Computer Training & Consultancy and, eventually, I\\\'ll get the qualification and work in the public sector. From this, you can tell that I do feel Qualifications count for a lot. However, because I worked in Training for Work in my last full-time role, I met a lot of people who found more fulfilment working for themselves than trailing round employers begging for a job. (It was the last Recession.). I\\\'ve managed to obtain a coach through the UKRC newsletter, and I\\\'ve got connected with Yorkshire Business Link. Also, when I first left college, I took up the offer of Enterprise Training and Graduate Enterprise Training so I suppose I\\\'ve always been heading generally in the direction of self-employment. I\\\'d recommend that every SET woman looks at her skills and knowledge as if no-one else has them, and as if everyone else needs them. As women, we\\\'re all too ready to see our experience gaps and career gaps as negatives and to forget that, in times of need, the government always looks to women to provide whatever it is that the country needs at the time. We forget about our ability to multitask and manage time and all the rest of it (see the Open University Returners course for more). In fact, rather than joining the general gloom about rising prices and falling employment figures, this might be the time for us to look at what we need to do in order to make ourselves indispensible when the economy improves. And maybe we\\\'ll even be able to join the market before that. Please excuse mistakes - I accepted a lovely, tasty marguerita from my lovely, tasty husband before I started writing this.
Jeanne Hatton:
Kath, I can really identify with working for myself doing private computer training. In 1997 I was working full time for IBM and travelling and finding it difficult to give enough attention to my daughter who was having severe tummy problems which we now know was due to a low blood sugar condition. When I had my son and my husband took redundancy from the city and did not seem to be able to get a job, although he did do well with handing me margueritas, I realised that my life was becoming unmanageable. We moved back to the North West where I was from and I realised that if I went back into full time employment my familiy would suffer, by then my husband was severely depressed. I decided to set up as a private computer trainer. That was 11 years ago and I have never regretted it. I do not have to work 5 days a week and am more available for my family. Sadly my husband and I are now separated and I am so glad I am not working long hours for a company although I very often work long hours I can set my own timetable. I offer both instructor led training and distance learning to the public and private sector. I have IT industry recognised qualifications but to be honest I have never been asked to prove that I have these qualificaitons. I think Kath that you will find there is lots of work out there doing private computer training. Right now we are in the midst of a very worrying economic state but I am busier that I was last year. Many of the freelance trainers I work with have no teaching qualifications and no IT professional qualifications and they are very busy. We frequently use associates for our training assignments so I would be happy to help if I can? What computer training did you do in the past and what would you like to do now? I wish you the best of luck in your quest.
Kath Littlejohn:
Jeanne, Glad you have so much work and I hope other people have read your comment. I intend to train people in industry-standard software packages using New CLAIT and ECDL skills as a basis. To start with, I will be training in basic computer operation, word processing and spreadsheets. I am currently updating my knowledge of Access, with the help of my husband who designs databases at work, so I will offer databases next. I will then rework my PageMaker assignments in Publisher, experiment with the art facilities in Word and get my twelve-year-old PowerPoint expert to show me the basics and answer all my questions about the finer points. That will enable me to add desktop publishing, computer art and presentation graphics to my list of subjects. For the internet, I intend to consult books and librarians although, because I have used the internet for emails, conferencing and research, I am merely tuning the fine details before offering it as a subject. I do , however, need to study Web page building before I can offer to teach it. because I have no experience of it, so far. However, this can be done through the library and my children both know some of the basics.
Ruth Wilson (UKRC moderator):
Hi Kath and Jeanne - thank you for this. Its very interesting to hear your impressions of how the economic downturn may impact on women working in IT. At UKRC we are aware this could pan out in different ways. It would be interesting to hear people\\\'s views. And Kath, I\\\'m glad UKRC has been able to help you. We do a lot of work with women hoping to return to careers in science, engineering, IT etc (see http://www.ukrc4setwomen.org/html/women-and-girls/taking-a-break/), and the Open University T161 online course is an important part of this (it next runs May 2009: http://www.ukrc4setwomen.org/html/women-and-girls/taking-a-break/training-for-returners). Kath, I slightly shortened your last comment, and will send it straight to Jeanne - we\\\'ll put you in touch with each other. Those margueritas sound good!
Maggie Berry:
Lisa, it's great to see such a good role model for women working in technology! It just goes to show that it is a great place to work for women and accessible to those with or without qualifications. At http://www.womenintechnology.co.uk we try to encourage women into all IT related roles and offer a wide range of career development and networking events, including W-Tech 2009. It's going to be the first event of its kind for women in IT in the UK - a one day recruitment, career development and networking event that will be a superb opportunity for employers to connect with a wide range of female technologists including students, postgraduates, experienced professionals and returners to work. We want more women to build strong careers in IT just as you have done, and prove that it's not just for the men! If you're interested in attending, sign up online http://www.wtech-event.co.uk
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