Posts Tagged ‘ debate ’

Talk amongst yourselves

One of the first things I did when starting BiNS was to look for a free forum hosting site. The one I found was a bit rubbish, but it was free and I was on the dole. It worked though, and there has been all manner of wit and not-so-wit on the forums over the last 6-or-so years. But as more of the site started to revolve around the blog, the forums got a bit sidetracked. So much so that I would only remember to pop in every couple of weeks. The original forums became the online equivalent of the Mercat pub — open all hours and nice, but intimidating. So, we’ve got some new ones that have RSS feeds, tags and the like — it’s the acceptable face of regeneration. These new ones are like the Mercat, after a lick of paint, some windows put in and adding some sodding futuristic beer availability notification system. The old forums and posts aren’t gone, they’re still online as an archive, but I’ve stopped all posting there. You have to register to post on the new BiNS Talk — but that happens automagically, you don’t have to wait to be approved. When...

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Is second place good enough to aim for?

I was surprised, and a little bit flattered I’ll admit, to be asked to be on the panel for Birmingham Future’s (Big Brand) debate “Is Birmingham A Second City?”, along with Ian Taylor, commercial director of Marketing Birmingham and David Clarke. Exalted company, but both very nice as it turned out. Here’s the ‘debate’ proposition (much longer and more detailed version here in the Birmingham Post): “Birmingham was the original hotbed of entrepreneurialism, innovation and cutting-edge technology, our ‘City of 100 Trades’ was a proud forerunner in the Industrial Revolution. Since then, we have suffered an image crisis – maligned in the media and the butt of many jokes despite huge strides in improving the built environment, infrastructure, amenities and leisure offer for the city’s inhabitants and visitors. So what can we, the next generation of city leaders, do to change these outdated perceptions of our city? Is the Second City banner, coveted by a number of other English cities, a positive or negative for Birmingham? If not the Second City, then what are we? The First City for Innovation? The Youthful City? Diverse City? International City? In this, the second Big Future Debate, you decide! Join your fellow...

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Art of ideas debates

The Fused blog helpfully put this up on the web, which I’ll repeat here: Culture & Identity The Role of Place in Shaping the Arts Tuesday 8th April, 6.30pm‐8pm Speakers: Richard Billingham ‐ Artist, Turner Prize nominee, Catherine O’Flynn ‐ Writer, Costa First Novel Award winner 2007, James Yarker ‐ Director, Stan’s Cafe Why Should We Care About Creativity In the West Midlands? Wednesday 9th April, 6.30pm‐8pm Speakers: Soweto Kinch ‐ Musician, MOBO Award winner & Mercury Award nominee, Stuart Murphy ‐ Creative Director, TwoFour / Former Controller BBC3, Matt Price ‐ Writer / Curator, Gavin Wade ‐ Artist, Founder Eastside Projects ‘Future of Sound’ Birmingham Showcase Thursday 10th April, 6.30pm‐9pm Including: Sykes, Director Cybersonica, Martyn Ware, Modified Toy Orchestra, Soweto Kinch, The Sancho Plan, And local Birmingham artists. Tickets are free and will be allocated on a first come first served basis. To book please contact Arts Co on 020 7723 0285 / info@arts‐co.com They’re at the IMI Suite at The Birmingham Hippodrome.

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BiNS is mostly by Jon Bounds a Birmingham based social web consultant, producer and writer., You can hire him to work on your social web campaigns or anything really—he's not fussy. Follow him on twitter or drop him an email.

There's also the odd bit of stuff from Danny Smith.

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