CODEC, The Big Read, #CNM10, #CMN10, #CMN11

Lots of feedback from a post by ‘The Church Mouse’ in regards to #cmn10 indicating that there was little on new media at the conference… I missed the original post as I was busy talking to another group who are working with others who need some persuasion in using ‘new media’ – those in Higher Education!  There was a fair bit of “New Media” (whatever that may be these days), it just wasn’t central stage, but believe me, after giving this talk, I have never been so in demand to be spoken to s0 the interest is definitely there. I also pushed hard getting Twitter into the conference, using pre-advertising of the hashtag #cmn10, and from last year, when we had around 6 people tweeting, this year we had around 40, including at least 10 who were trying for the first time!  Here’s my summary of the conference… and I am looking forward to preparing for MediaLit which is all next week – and then onto The Big Read!

Here is Pete Phillips reply to the Church Mouse:

“But I wasn’t there and nor was Mouse.  I have to say that I was able to pick up a new media vibe from the Conference through receiving lots of tweets about what was happening (several saying that CODEC seemed to get a good few mentions during the Conference).  If you’re interested, Bex Lewis kept a record of the tweets made with the #cmn10 hashtag here: http://export.twapperkeeper.com/cmn10-4c1365ca31c75.tar.  Don’t you just love the name ‘twapperkeeper’?

Although CODEC wasn’t officially there, Andrew Graystone, CMN Chair, is a good friend of CODEC and is on our Steering Group.  Andrew is working with us next week on our Media training event for clergy and Christian professionals (Medialit).  And the indefatigable Bex Lewis (a polymath, no less) was there and fielding some questions about CODEC and the work we are doing – more on Bex below.

Having said all that, certainly, we’d be more than happy to talk with CMN about #cmn11 and increase our involvement in this important conference.  It is important to push into new areas of thinking (and yes, I think there is a difference between traditional media and new media) – cloud networking, the implications of new technology and the age of distraction, the instantaneous nature of contemporary news media, and the democratization of reporting are key factors of how the media engages with the contemporary world.  I heard of the West Cumbria shootings on Twitter long before the BBC had picked it up.

And talking of the news, Mouse says I can plug some of what CODEC are doing at the moment – so briefly…

Bex Lewis and the Big Read

While I’m posting, Bex Lewis is starting work with us from July 1^st for 2.5 days a week based at Premier Christian Media in Pimlico, London.  Bex is going to working with a number of agencies (Premier, SPCK, Biblefresh, Methodist Church, and others) to develop a national version of The Big Read – an initiative launched by Bishop Tom Wright in the NE of England last year.  Watch this space for lots more in preparation for Lent 2011.”

There’s lots more exciting things on, so keep an eye on Pete’s blog too!