2008: Mobile Brief
The BBC sponsors and covers numerous events every year from the large (The Olympics, Glastonbury) to the niche (Radio 1’s One Big Weekend, local sporting matches). Future Media & Technology is looking for new formats that allow for interactivity around events and event-based programming, using mobile devices.
These interactions can include telephony and non-telephony based service and may use any technology widely available on mobile phones (though we do not currently use Flash Lite). You may want to use: location-based services, messaging, use of BBC Big Screens, semacodes, small-screen to big-screen interactions (and vice versa), video calling, RFID, wifi hotspots. The interactions should be re-usable so that while you may model and create them around a specific event, the BBC should be able to use them for a variety of events.
The interactions should enhance the offering of the event and associated programming, ideally extending reach and appreciation with audience members who are at the event and those watching or listening to it. The interactions may also lengthen or extend the event before and or after the physical event. Strong ideas will also make the audience see the BBC as innovative.
BBC mobile services are always provided at the lowest possible cost to the user, so this should be kept in mind when making proposals.
Proposals for projects that are solely art installations will not be selected for developments in the Lab
Application
Category: Mobile
Title: Open Source Voting
Approach:
Construction of technological network using wi-fi, Internet, web pages, interactive TV, stand alone booths and telephone that allows members of the public to vote on decisions taken by the Government in both the house of commons and the house of lords.Each person would have a unique ID and password.
User Need:
Governments have reached their limits of centralized political institutions.People need to feel they are taking some sort of role within the democratic process.
Benefits:
Although (obviously) not legally binding, allowing the public to vote on matters of National importance (such as the decision to goto war) would be useful to gauge the relative differences in decisions made by the government and it’s population.Participation in mainstream electoral politics is at an all time low, this would use technology in a participatory, bottom up structure.
(No more sexed up dossiers and no more illegal wars.) The use of the BBC is primarily for it’s unique public funding.
Competition:
The Government.