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Archives for April 2011

Arts and electric friends

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Jamillah Knowles | 09:02 UK time, Tuesday, 26 April 2011

Hello Outriders!

This week on the podcast in our weekly round up of digital intrigue I had an excuse to follow my passion for robots as well as finding out how fine arts and collections can be expressed and shared on the internet.

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First up, explained to me how he is making robots easier to work with in the home. Our friends electric may be a little complicated for most of us, so he's been working to create kits that fit together simply, with no coding required. It might not be so long until we have the company of DJ's creations in our daily lives. Providing there isn't a robot uprising of course...

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From the art of robotics to the sharing of art, I also had a chat this week with Brian Fulkerson. Brian is one of the founders of , a site that makes it easier for all of us to find the paintings and works that we know and love and share them with friends. Do you know which paintings your friends like best? Maybe you'll be surprised.

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Though fine art is always to be valued, it is the stranger collections that people put together that often captivate our imagination. Jim Coudal is the president and CEO of Coudal Partners and his site is home of the , the Museum of Online Museums. Steady yourself and behold the collection of macrame owls, the archive of British road maps, the gallery of repainted bike lane symbols....The web provides ways for collectors to share their work as never before and well, if the Tate modern doesn't have a show of cork-lined soda bottle caps, or a similar theme you would prefer, then the Moom might have something for you.

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That's all we could fit into the podcast this week, but we'll be back next week with more people to tell us about their online antics. If you are up to something we should know about, then go for it and get in touch. You can email me at Outriders at bbc dot co dot uk, find us in the for updates and discussions or tweet at me on Twitter where we are

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Until next week!

~ Jamillah

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Why can't I quit you?

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Jamillah Knowles | 13:55 UK time, Tuesday, 19 April 2011

Hello Outriders!

This week's podcast is ready and waiting for you, chock full of chit-chat about digital goings on.

First up, a tip from a past guest on the Outriders San Francisco programs, Gian Pablo Villamil. He emailed to let me know that a friend of his was currently up to something very interesting here in the UK. Addie Wagenknecht is a maker, collaborator and member of the open source group. She told he about her latest project, which has brought her to Newcastle. Find out more in our chat about the !

I also got a Facebook message this week - amusingly, about leaving Facebook. has left Facebook (of course it was not Juliette who sent me the message) and is writing a very interesting blog account of her experience of giving up the network. For Juliet it was not as easy as it might seem.

We had a pow-wow on Twitter about the topic and thanks to everyone who leapt in to let me know about their tales of leaving and in some cases re-joining social networks. Though the serial quitter gave a great inteview about his experience of leaving quite a few networks and not really looking back.

It's been a great week chatting with friendly Outriders online about what we think of our time spent socially on the internet. Certainly it seems whether you choose to stay or go, it might be worth considering what you get from a platform when you sign up.


You can still reach us on Facebook by searching for Outriders, you can tweet at us on Twitter and email me too - outriders at bbc dot co dot uk and let me know what you are up to with your digital activity.


Until next week!
~Jamillah

Lines of communication

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Jamillah Knowles | 09:55 UK time, Tuesday, 12 April 2011


Hello Outriders!

In our weekly round up of internet related happenings, we have a selection of ways that open lines of communication as well as a great example of a passion to share and learning. You can hear these people in their own words on the podcast.

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First up, Diady Mohamed has been working on creating a way for people in need in Ivory Coast to get medical aid. As a part of the events in the region, many people are unable to contact emergency services as ATM machines are down and credits cannot be purchased for mobile phones. Running a call center out of Accra, Ghana that connects with a network of medics in Abidjan a network of people manage to support . Diady explained how it works and how the idea grew out of a system of transparency linked to last year's elections.Ìý

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It is possible that communications might be easier if you owned your own satellite of course. is asking citizens of the web to band together to buy a satellite. The main aim is to position it over African countries in order to enable access to information and increased business activity. Kosta Grammatis told me all about the plan that sounds crazy, but makes sense.

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Another way in which we can help communications is learning how to make things - in code. In an email last week, Outriders listener Nicholas Butler told me that he had been following conversations online about how and whether very young people can be taught to code. He pointed out that he had been amazed by the work of , a seventeen year old running classes for all ages at his school. I chatted with Ben about why he dedicates his time to others in this way and what his students can learn.

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Keep lines of communication open to us each week and let me know what you are up to online. You can email me at Outriders at bbc dot co dot uk, search for the for updates or indeed tweet at me on .

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Until next week!
~ Jamillah

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All your base are belong to us

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Jamillah Knowles | 10:40 UK time, Tuesday, 5 April 2011

Hello Outriders,

After a general dash around over the past few weeks, it was time for me to sit still with a book again. You can hear the change of pace on the podcast of course.




This week I had a long chat with Harold Goldberg, author of . It charts a history of the lives of game makers and takes a close look at how we are so easily beguiled by our digital adventures.


Whether your favourite games come from the golden age of the arcade, the home gaming movement or mobile phone gaming innovation, you'll probably find something in our chat and Harold's book that will surprise you.

As usual, if you have seen something online that we should know about or if you are up to something digital, then do let me know. You can email me at outriders at bbc dot co dot uk, tweet me at @´óÏó´«Ã½_Outriders or search for us on Facebook for updates between editions.



Until next week!
~ Jamillah

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