AstroTurfing - a way of advertising or promoting a product, service, or idea, but designed to mask its origins and create the impression of being spontaneous and popular.

Champions: to get conversations started in an online community, a group of enthusiast people is needed to get things moving by posting stuff, interacting, and helping each other: the champions!

Crowdsourcing - to outsource a task traditionally performed by a professional to an unidentified large group or crowd. The skills and efforts of the crowd outside the organization can contribute to content and even solve problems.

Deciprocity - saying or doing the wrong things online. Beware, can result in a chronic decrease of friends, followers and fans!

Open-Collar Workers - increasing digitalisation and rise of the internet has had an enormous impact on our everyday lives, including the way people work. Previously, blue-collar and white-collar workers were dominant, but more people nowadays are becoming open-collar workers, i.e. people who work at home or telecommute.

Folksonomy - a system of collaboratively creating and managing tags in order to categorize content. Synonyms of Folksonomy are or social indexing, social classification, collaborative tagging, and social tagging.

Socialationship - a mutually significant and beneficial connection or relation obtained by networking online.

Splog - beware for the so-called ‘splogs’! These are spam blogs systematically set up to promote affiliate websites, to increase the search engine rankings of linked sites, or simply to sell ads.

A brief history

Toward the end of 2008, Matt Booth had had enough. Tired of comparisons to London, Booth seized the opportunity to create what Manchester was desperately missing: a casual meetup for digital-creatives in Manchester.

Using twitter and Meetup, it took all of fifteen minutes to sow the seeds of what would become Northern Digitals. With no expectations, agendas, or even nametags, the first meeting consisted of about 40 designers, developers and freelancers gathering at a quiet pub in the Northern Quarter.

The same people continued to meet every first Thursday of the month for the following year. However, the vibe was stagnating, and risked dying without new energy and so Booth, with the help of his colleague and friend Gavin Burnett, and the work of Fudge by Design, branded and designed the first Northern Digitals’ speaker night, BLAB. They attracted a wider audience and grew rapidly.

The inspirational BLAB nights had a beneficial impact on the more unstructured and informal Northern Digitals, which count today about 100 people average a month. On the 3rd of March 2011 we mingled with the Northern Digitals.

Meetup time in the Northern Quarter!

Arriving early to the Northern Digitals gathering is a bit like showing up to a blind date, you’re not quite sure who you’re going to meet or how you’ll recognize them. Fortunately, in the recently renovated, spacious bar “The Northern” a handful of people are sitting somewhat timidly with their drinks in one hand and their C++ books in the other. A good way to know you’ve come to the right place. By 7 pm the bar is packed with chatty technophiles. Maybe sitting alone behind their computers all day has made them extra talkative, because the bar is practically buzzing and stays that way until late.

Who?

About 110 digital creatives show up on average. What binds them is their fairly young age, mostly between mid-20s and mid-30s and their professional ambitions or background intertwined with digital tools and innovation: software-developers, webhosts and designers, software-engineers, digital-strategists, communication specialists.

Among the crowd there is even a realestate PR manager, but he too is strongly dependent on innovative digital tools. Another remarkable similarity is the casual dress code: these people don’t strike you as businessmen. No suits allowed, or so it appears. The people we talk to are mainly freelancers and creatives in junior positions. They all agree upon one thing, the Northern Quarter in Manchester is “the place to be.” It equals digital creativity in the North of Britain.

Although they do not all work in this area or even in Manchester City, they all come down because this is where it happens. “Nowhere in the North is there such a concentration of web-designers and developers as here.” To them the Northern Digitals meetup appears as the most informal gathering alongside more formal ones, such as the Social Media Cafe and other official network events, no requirements, no subscription needed, no name tags. Only custom compels them to buy a beer. But they don’t seem to need much forcing on that front.

Why?

Not all digitals have the same purpose in participating in the meet-up. Whereas some regard it as a social event, others see it as a social networking event with possible job opportunities. One interviewee even avowed that thanks to Northern Digitals no other intermediaries were necessary in finding freelance work. But even this person would agree : Northern Digitals is surely the most casual meetup in Manchester.

The data for this network map was obtained via Twitter.

We used arandom sample of 100 followers from each of the three networks: CING, Northern Digitals, Social Media Cafe. The overwhelming majority choose to list a location on their Twitter profiles. This informationwas extracted and visualised on the map. Locations within the UK were left as indicated on the follower’s profiles, in a few international cases, we chose to group them by country.

Identity is a contentious issue, even on the internet, hence the overlapping of locations (England and the UK, or Lancashire and North England).

POLIS 2010/2011 is:

Lotte Agten
Ashley Allen
Valentin Dellieu
Kaija-Luisa Kurik
Valérie Lecocq
Robbert Ruggiero  @blobot
Olivia Sandri
Maria-Valerie Schegk  @valerie_schegk
Wilson Sherwin
Christina Schraml
Martina Schwab  @00mascha
Linus Vanhellemont  @Lyneus
Jeroen Van Looy
Andreas Wagner  @whysthatso

Graphics

Valentin Dellieu

Editing

Ashley Allen
Wilson Sherwin

Graphic design & maps

Robbert Ruggiero  @blobot
Martina Schwab  @00mascha

Blog design & engineering

Jeroen Van Looy
Andreas Wagner  @whysthatso

Joint M.A. European Urban Cultures

Estonian Academy of Arts
Manchester Metropolitan University
Tilburg University
Vrije Universiteit Brussel

www.polismaster.eu

@mcrpolis2011

At the start of every calendar year a team of international students studying on the MA in European Urban Cultures*, visits Manchester to explore the linkage between the cultural and creative economy and urban regeneration. Over a period of three months, the students take in a set list of facts and figures, failures and success stories of culture led regeneration strategies in North West England, before moving over to Tallin, Estonia to complete the formal side of their Masters degree.

This has been taking place for the past 15 years, resulting in a rich body of evidence and research.  When the course started, the study of cultural and creative industries was still emerging from the margins.  Equally, there was also no Twitter, Facebook or YouTube, amongst others. Together with Dr Katie Milestone and Dr Robert Grimm, we felt the “set-list” had started to miss some of the exciting and emerging dynamics of Manchester.

So – with the help of a great many people locally, the Masters students of European Urban Cultures 2011 were asked to study, map, curate and reflect upon the bewildering amount of meetups, events, hackdays, seminars, workshops and get-togethers that now jump out from our calendars.  Who organises these?  Why? Where? How? And who bakes the cakes?!

What they found and discovered was a rich tapestry of interactions and opportunities taking place in both familiar and new spaces.  From the large scale to the long tail, people are meeting, talking and doing.

This paper represents their findings and reflections over the first three months of 2011.  By no means does it act as the definitive voice of this scene, but we hope it can contribute to the wider discussions around our city and how we interact.  Plus, as a former student of this course many moons ago, it helps to keep this dialogue current and alive.

Steven Flower

The common sense argues now that ICT are really challenging the way to encounter and to keep in touch with people.  Is it so true?  There is of course no black or white answer but some reflexion to have and to keep in mind.  Debates are diverse and hard to be solved regarding the way those media are now part of our daily life.

But whose daily life? The huge majority of Internet users are “white” English speakers, living in urban or suburban area, well educated and earning an over average wage.  And in an urban context like Manchester’s, the divide is big between ICT users and others.  Communities on the web can only reach or gather people within this high socio-economical profile. This can be a weakness.

Furthermore, instead of engaging with difference, people in the social media look for similarity. They are based on same interests and specialised relationships.  As such, they don’t have to negotiate difference or disorder and are far away from the disturbing or overwhelming crowds of urban spaces on which communities were traditionally relying. So virtual communities, as a whole, cannot benefit from the day-to-day enjoyable encounters or face-to-face meetings.  It diminishes the range of possible shared information. It could also miss the potential of openness given by ICT.

On the other hand this absence of real contact is also one of the big advantages of social media.  Without it the rules of behaviour in groups and public place are not relevant anymore.  No need to dress up or to adopt specific attitude.  It can reduce fear and allows other kinds of expressions for a lot of different actors.  The recent events in North Africa and Middle-East are illustrating this reality very powerfully. It could let think that the rise of ICT is leading automatically to much more individual liberty even among these communities.  Some argues that it is not automatically the case partly because of the ‘information divide’ which on the opposite reinforce the traditional structures and power relations in such a way to deepen present inequalities and communities.  The information divide is also highly discussed and seemed not so important as such because it is balanced by other kind of information – the local knowledge – which is much more appropriate to day-to-day life of  the so-called ‘information poor’.  Nevertheless, combined to other divides and poverty it is a significant serious problem.

Very important are the discussions around the weight and importance of ICT as real ‘social’ media. Their new role should not be seen on a too deterministic way.  If they have a high role in today’s life and economy it won’t replace locality.  A lot of virtual community had understood this element and have a situated side where other kind of information and feelings can be shared. Social media are very important tools but not merely site of community and encounter as such.

Based on

Evans, K. F., Maintaining Community in the Informal Age. The importance of Trust, Place and Situated Knowledge, New York, Palgrave Macmillian, 2004.

On a cold Tuesday night in February, looking for something interesting, and unique to do in Manchester, I stumbled into “MadLab” where a graphic-novel meet-up was underway. After shyly refusing some delicious looking pizza and taking in the minimalist white concrete, and comiccrazed atmosphere, I started to ponder all the potentials this practically hidden gem in the Northern Quarter, could offer.

The Manchester Digital Laboratory, affectionately known as “Mad-Lab” is a non-profit community hub which caters to ‘creative-types’ and technology-enthusiasts by providing a meet-up space for people to come together, share skills, and ideas.

“Whether you work with art or technology, knitting or sustainable living, the MadLab provides a stable base for your group, oneoff or regular events…”

By providing resources, such as internet connection, and affordable workspace, (free, if your group is non-profit) MadLab aims to be a melting pot for interesting people, an encouraging site for exploration, a net-working flurry, a space for events, and a place where opportunities can be born.

Though graphic-novels is not a primary interest of mine, the group was open and friendly, the space humble and atmosphere relaxed, an ethereal feeling that it was a ‘home’ conducive to creativity could not be ignored. Perhaps this feeling could be located in the energy that is created by the numerous, and diverse groups that come together at MadLab.

From a landscape architecture workshop, to an experimental film course, from a “Dr. Sketchy’s live-drawing night, to a sewing group, from a soup-day, to hacking-meetup, a writers-workshop, and ‘shareable’-music night, the MadLab provides a broadly inclusive hotbed for an assortment of groups, ideas and interests!

In our ever-growing cities, shared with more and more ‘strangers’, the MadLab is a place where community can be formed, where like-minded people can meet, and re-meet and work on whatever it is that interests them!

For more information and a list of events, please visit: http://madlab.org.uk/

Some of Manchesters digital creatives hotspots

How does the theory of Richard Florida’s creative class work in practice? How do digital creatives in Manchester intermingle? How important are face-to-face meetups like CING (Creative Industry Networking Group) in the time of Twitter and Facebook? Speaking with Phil Northall, co-organizer of CING, one of the biggest monthly meetups for creative digitals in Manchester, helps us get to the bottom of these questions:

People are fantastic creatively, but…

Once a month CING gives its members the chance to meet in an informal, friendly and relaxed atmosphere to exchange their ideas and inspire each other. According to Northall there is no domination of either men or women and people of all ages are attending, even if you can feel “a slightly younger vibe” at the meetups. In addition to the monthly meeting in a local bar, CING organizes a speaker event four times a year and CING provides its members workshops on various business support. Northall says, “people are fantastic creatively, but business-wise not so good, don’t like it, don’t want to have to do it.”

With this in mind, the aim of these workshops is to support CING members in all the administrative work, which is a significant part of their businesses and freelancer  jobs. All the activities of CING are free. According to Northall their aim is not to make money out of it: that would destroy the whole concept. Because CING doesn’t have real funding, for every activity a sponsorship has to be found. But the non-profit philosophy seems to pay off. CING started originally with just six people but grew quickly.

Still very much a local organization, 75-80% of CING members are from Manchester or its outskirts and just a few people are coming from the bigger region of North-West England. A few international participants and Londoners have signed up and are coming to Manchester for the CING events.

The physical space Manchester plays a role, but…

he believes it’s definitely less and less important to live in a big city. Nowadays everything is happening online, so you can practically work everywhere you want. In fact, many CING members live in the countryside in order to find their inspiration there. But because of the fact that many people live a bit outside the city and work from their own in home offices, regular physical face-to-face meetups are very important. “You have to get out” of your daily routine to find new inspiration.

Northall believes CING gives the possibility of meeting and inspiring each other and maybe eventually also working together. But even if the city as a daily working space isn’t that influential anymore for these particular digital creatives, Manchester does have an impact on the digital creative scene in the UK. Northall and many others point to Manchester as the second most creative city after London. Manchester transformed successfully from a former industrial city to a vibrant place of the aforementioned creative class. One has to look critically at the copy and paste system of ‘being creative’ authors like Florida, Zukin or Landry always proclaim as ‘the’ way of success. Nowadays every city wants to be the next Barcelona, a city of culture and innovation. Not for every city this strategy works out but for Manchester it seemed to be the way of success, even if it needed some time in the beginning. According to Northall “there is just so much going on in Manchester!”.

CING, Northern Digitals, Social Media Café Similarities, but…

“The underlying difference between the other two and CING is: at CING there is a wider range of creative talent”, says Northall. CING members are “more from the classical cultural sector,” so next to members of the digital sector, also ‘classic’ artist and craftspeople are attending CING meetings. “The digital people are not necessarily so much interested in the design, they are more interested in the functionality and new technology, but our people know about the look, but don’t know that much about the tools.” The back and forward linking between the three meetups can have a benefit. This happens already, because many CING members attend also activities of Northern Digitals and Social Media Cafè. Furthermore CING tried to organize joint events, “but it didn’t work out, yet.”

Communications – Twitter as a tool, but…

Another difference between other meetups is that members of CING are not that “digitally bonded.” This is definitely a big difference to the Northern Digitals, where almost every communication is provided through Twitter.

Last year CING polled its members to see how many of them had a Twitter account, and just 50% did. Northall hopes that this will change, because CING also promotes itself digitally. However “word -of-mouth” is still an important means of communication for CING, often relying on the recommendation of friends for new members.

Programming and the future of CING – CING is already a success, but…

The monthly meetups of CING do not follow a fixed agenda. The programming of the workshops is also flexible. Indeed, the single workshops are held for a certain purpose (e.g. advice for legal issues), but CING is open for suggestions from its members. If they can finance the ideas, they try to realize them, “if it will bring benefit to the members and we can afford it, then we will do it.”

In the future CING plans to bring in more projects for its members, focused on design, communication and advertising because these are the fields in which most CING members work. The goal lies in bringing together members and possible clients. That is what CING always did, but “we want to do something on top of that”, create “a real value for our members.”