Thanks for finding this Ian. Got me thinking too. Jase said:
"Auntie likes to have few, big, expensive, milestone projects to burn the cash in a predictable manner, whereas the more flexible internet industry takes a gamble on many small, inexpensive, iterative projects. "Please fail very quickly - so that you can try again" - And Tom Coates (is this* the article you reference Ian? If not, could you dig it out please?): "what makes me so surprised when people outside the organisation talk about how scared they are of the huge moves that the BBC can make on the internet, because the truth is that for the most part - with a bunch of limited exceptions - these changes just don't seem to be really happening. The industry should be more furious about the lack of progress at the organisation than the speed of it" True dat. To give away my age, I remember listening to Kenny Everett on what was called the wireless back then. His shows were some of the most innovative radio around. His process was iterative, he basically stayed in the studio all week noodling around to see what he thought worked and then delivered his show at the end of that week and let the audience see if that worked. One week development cycles out of which grew many larger and longer running fixtures of his show. Kenny had a vision - he was left alone to see it through. But due to the weekly cycles nothing grew so big or so involved that it couldn't have the plug pulled on it if he or his stakeholders so decided**. As a result, I suspect, little damage was done when it went wrong. And that, to my 1970s self, made the BBC great - it was THE place of innovation in content and technique. * http://www.plasticbag.org/archives/2006/07/whos_afraid_of_ashley_highfie ld/ ** my source is the excellent but somewhat rose-tinted and sentimental audio documentary 'Kenny Everett at the Beeb' voiced by Barry Cryer: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kenny-Everett-Beeb-Presented-Collection/dp/05635 57117/ref=sr_1_22/203-0986040-9263968?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1191394985&sr= 8-22 so I'm aware that this is open to question/ debate. -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Mr I Forrester Sent: 03 October 2007 02:57 To: BBC Backstage Subject: [backstage] Thoughts from a previous BBC employee In a similar vein to Tom Coates post a long time ago. Someone who loves the BBC but also hates some of the decisions it makes. Had me up most of the night. http://www.jasoncartwright.com/blog/entry/2007/9/bbc.co.uk_2.0_why_it_is nt_happening - Sent via the backstage.bbc.co.uk discussion group. To unsubscribe, please visit http://backstage.bbc.co.uk/archives/2005/01/mailing_list.html. Unofficial list archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/backstage@lists.bbc.co.uk/ - Sent via the backstage.bbc.co.uk discussion group. To unsubscribe, please visit http://backstage.bbc.co.uk/archives/2005/01/mailing_list.html. Unofficial list archive: http://www.mail-archive.com/backstage@lists.bbc.co.uk/
