Transmediale is an arts/digital/activist festival that takes place in Berlin in February. Information is pretty scant on the website, which is a shame, but from what I can gather it was started by a bunch of troublemakers and rebellious sorts in Berlin, evolving out of the post-Cold War cultural scene. Or something. At the very least it’s a gathering of a load of people who are doing interesting things with art, technology and society that would probably blow our Brummie minds.

The Arts Council have sent artists over there before and have expressed an interest in helping some Interwebby people go this year to have their horizons broadened, to make connections and to bring interesting and exciting ideas back to the West Mids. I’ve got a couple of people in mind but we need 8 names in total. And due to the unique way funding applications operate we need to know ASAP.

You have to be free during the first week of February (2nd to 7th) and able to travel to Berlin. Flight, accommodation and entrance to the festival will be covered – you need to pay for food and local travel.

The decision on who goes is mine. It’s be nice to have a fair and transparent decision making process but frankly we don’t have time so I’m going for the Interesting quotient. That doesn’t necessarily mean the someone who’s done loads of interesting things will go – I’m more likely to chose someone with potential who needs a conceptual kick up the arse.

Specifically I’m after people who are doing interesting things using media with the aim of shaking up or understanding society better. This could be a website, a zine or simply a curiosity. The model I’m using here is my trip to SXSWi in 2008. Before I went I had loads of ideas but no idea if they were realistic. In Austin I met loads of people who were actually doing the things I’d been thinking about which gave me the confidence to actually do some of them on my return. I’d like to take people who are in that position.

Please note that this is not a done deal. The application still has to go through the Arts Council’s processes. But in order to do that it needs names on it.

If you’re interested drop an email to peteashton@gmail.com with a couple of paragraphs on what you’re doing, where your mind is at and what you might get out of such a trip. Don’t worry if you don’t know – just give me a sense of where you’re coming from. I’m particularly interested in hearing from people I don’t know and people who haven’t been on these sorts of funded trips before. Oh, and people who don’t consider themselves Artists. But artists I know who’ve been funded trips are also welcome.

If you can let me know by Thursday morning that’d be great.

© pete for Created in Birmingham, 2009. | 6 comments |

It’s occurred to me that, since taking the reins again here, I’ve not really said hello. So, um… ‘hello’.

As the title reveals, this is CiB’s 2000th post, coming just a few weeks shy of the site’s 3rd birthday on 1 December (we’ve got plans for that – stay tuned). I generally prefer to keep the navel-gazing on this site to a minimum but I thought I might as well use this milestone to mention a few things.

It’s good to be back

That’s the first thing to say.

What’s going on at CiB

Yes, so I’ve taken the website over again and will be looking after the blog and everything that goes with it. Send stuff to createdinbirmingham@gmail.com, add us to your mailing list, etc.

Pete Ashton’s lurking in the background and will have a role in some of the other, non-editorial stuff CiB does. He’s written quite a long post about CiB’s history which hints at where the site might be going – hopefully he’ll post it sometime soonish.

How CiB’s going to pay for itself

Because there’s no reason why it shouldn’t, really:

• Advertising – £50 a week is a bargain. Get in touch if you’d like to take advantage.
• Supporters Programme – this is launching on Monday so I’ll leave the info on this until then
• Projects – we’re going to start doing stuff under the CiB name. If there’s a suitable project you think we might be interested in then get in touch

I’ll write a post about this on my personal blog at some point as I’d rather not clog this site up with waffle about how online stuff sustains itself. Kittens and ‘monetisation’ – that’s all the internet is these days (grumble, etc).

More about projects

There are a few good plans in the pipeline, but if there’s anything you think we might enjoy getting involved in please do let us know. We’re thinking workshops on arts blogging, curating festival fringes, acting as a ‘media partner’ at events… have a think and let us know.

© chrisunitt for Created in Birmingham, 2009. | 3 comments |

Jobplot’s going to be built on a little  – the next stage is for the site to carry info about tenders, funding and other opportunities.

To keep up-to-date you can subscribe to the latest jobs, follow Jobplot on Twitter and/or subscribe to the (inevitable) blog. The Jobplot blog tends to feature an interview with an employer on Wednesdays and a round-up of creative agency news, events and opportunities on Fridays.

If you have a job you want to post then please, go ahead. For the rest of this month you can request a freebie code from team@jobplot.co.uk.

Other job listings exist – specifically those from the Arts Council, Audiences Central and Media Talentbank.

© chrisunitt for Created in Birmingham, 2009. | One comment |

It’s really good to be back.

Thanks for all the comments after Adrienne’s post, ‘Moving forwards’. We’ve taken some of those on board. There are likely to be a few tweaks and changes over the next few months – nothing too radical, but the site needs to evolve a bit if it’s to sustain itself and stay relevant.

On a related note, we’ve got a couple of new things:

• A Facebook Page
• A forthcoming weekly newsletter

Please do sign up if you’re interested in either.

However, the most important thing is CiB isn’t about whoever’s running it – it’s about all the fantastic and fascinating stuff happening in Birmingham. Which means I need to get on with writing some blog posts.

© chrisunitt for Created in Birmingham, 2009. | 21 comments |

As found on the sparkly new Facebook page.

© itsamystery for Created in Birmingham, 2009. | Add a comment |

CiB’s ‘about’ page clearly states:

There are two reasons for this blog:

лаптоп
1. To find out what’s going on around Birmingham and promote it
2. To show that blogging is a simple and effective way of engaging with audiences online

This is the most recent incarnation of CiB but I wondered about the real core of CiB and why it came to exist in the first place.  Back in Nov 07 Pete put together his thoughts on the pupose of CiB, which was somewhat more detailed:

With a few exceptions I want every post on CiB to take people to somewhere else on the web where they can get more information be it an article, blog post, MySpace page, etc. CiB is not a comprehensive news service. It doesn’t exist to cover absolutely everything that’s going on in Birmingham because to attempt that would be impossible. There’s a criteria here.

• Is this something people might not be aware is going on?
• Is this something people might learn from?
• Is this doing something interesting?
• Is this using the internet in an innovative way?
• Could this help people to do what they’re doing better?

• Is posting about this going to encourage people to use the internet, and blogs in particular, for themselves?

In an ideal world I want there to be lots of blogs like CiB and a whole load more that are nothing like CiB. In fact I’d love it if this blog wasn’t necessary. I want the Birmingham creative community to be behaving online in the same way they behave at a launch party, milling around discussing ideas and introducing people to each other.

I think for me, this last part if absolutely crucial in examining CiB’s relevance and place.  When CiB started, Pete identified this need to highlight and link, because other blogs were scarce and weren’t already doing this.  Now, in 2009, blogs are everywhere and people are much more alert to opportunities to publicise, promote and link.  Let me be clear: I’m not suggesting we have reached Pete’s original utopian vision, but we are in a very different place to that of 2007.

With this in mind, I want to invite you to tell me what you want to get from CiB – why you read, and what you want this established online vehicle to do. I have my own ideas of what CiB could or should be, but these still need to be ironed out a little bit.  I’m also going to meet with those who’ve been involved with CiB throughout to look at direction, and so before we meet I would really appreciate some feedback from readers.  You can either put your thoughts in the comments, or if you’d prefer to keep them private you can email me on the CiB address: createdinbirmingham@gmail.com

This is your chance to influence future direction!  Please don’t be shy!

© Adrienne for Created in Birmingham, 2009. | 14 comments |

'hello, my name is..'

I’d hoped to slip into CiB under the radar, anonymously, like a blog-thief in the night.  But it hasn’t really happened like that, and I’m now setting sail the CiB ship under what feels like extremely weighty expectations.

So, hi! I’m Adrienne.  I was born and grew up in Wolverhampton, I now work in West Brom, and spend nights out in Birmingham. (that’s not a Midlands hierarchy, just a train of thought..) I’ve worked in the arts forever and have a soft spot for anything handmade.  I ask a lot of questions, and sometimes muddle my words.  I find change stressful, but love being kept on my toes.  With that in mind, if you want to see anything done differently on here, let me know and I’ll see what I can do.

I love email, hate telephones, and as Kate quite rightly pointed out embrace using 140 characters or less.  I love technology, but not when it’s being mean – so I apologise for any error and/or warning messages you may have been seeing recently on the site.  I’m working on figuring it out, with the generous help of the CiB forefathers who’re infinitely more knowledgeable than me about such things.

I’m going to work on collating interesting Birmingham stuff for you to read, and in the meantime, whilst we iron out these glitches, don’t be shy.. say hello, and tell me something interesting!

© Adrienne for Created in Birmingham, 2009. | 12 comments |

I will let Adrienne introduce herself properly in due course, but just to say that she was chosen as editor for her wealth of experience with the arts, her wit and for her hunger to ask the questions that need answering. You can follow Adrienne on Twitter and give her a personal welcome.

I will be going back to write about music on the Colour blog this month, organising live music events in Birmingham, and I will be popping back to CiB to post when I get the itch to write about something relevant. I will also get round to starting my own blog sometime soon as somewhere to put down my wandering thought.

Their are many CiB readers who have helped and inspired me over the last few months but to mention a few: Chris, Pete, Helga, Lyle, Katie Parry, Kay Stanley, Kasper Sorensen, Abby Corfan, Nicky Getgood, Rob at BCMG, everyone who bought tees and totes, but most of all Matthew. Thanks everyone, and so long for now!

© Kate Spragg for Created in Birmingham, 2009. | 5 comments |

The  items have been lovingly hand screenprinted by Kay Stanley at Cut Out Shop, in her WM based studio. She has used waterbased inks which don’t harm the environment printed onto EarthPostive tees and tote bags.

The t-shirts cost £15.00 and the totes cost £8.00. We have printed a limited edition run of only 50 t-shirts and 50 tote bags, and each item is individually numbered.

I wanted to take some swish pictures of the items being modeled, but have decided to let you do that for me! When you receive your tee or tote through the post, take a quick snap of you modeling it and pop it up on flickr, tagging it ‘CiBT’. Huge thanks to Kay Stanley and Kate Parry for all the help and support.

© Kate Spragg for Created in Birmingham, 2009. | 4 comments |

Even if you have never written a blog post before but you have something interesting to say about Birmingham’s creative sector, I would love for you to get in touch. Contributions could come in the form of a personal experience, your journey into creativity, such as making a film or setting up an exhibition etc.

It could be a review of a cultural experience, a festival, exhibition or event. It would be great if you had a special skill you could share with readers, such as tips on planning an event, finding funding or even sorting out your tax return. It could also be your chance to raise an issue facing the creative industries, giving you a place to start a debate with the thousands of Created in Birmingham readers.

Interested? Email createdinbirmingham[at]gmail.com, giving an overview of your contribution, links to any writing  / video examples and a short bio of yourself. Contributions shall be on a voluntary basis and their is no fee. Regular contributors will be featured on the ‘team page’.

© Kate Spragg for Created in Birmingham, 2009. | 3 comments |

Kay has done a wonderful job. She has lovingly hand screen printed the T-shirts in her West Midlands based studio, using the winning ‘Birmingham Wards Map’ design by Kate Parry. She has chosen ethically made shirts and has used earth friendly inks which don’t harm the environment. Along with designer Katie, we decided to create the items in classic black and daring gold, which is a bit brave, but also a million miles away from the usual, bland charity t-shirts.

First and foremost, the T-shirts and tote bags have been designed and created with one goal, to raise money and awareness for a Birmingham based charity – Acorns Children’s Hospice. The charity was chosen after reading your suggestions, and it was clearly a popular choice.

The items will be available to buy sometime over the next couple of weeks, in a very limited run of 50 T-shirts and 50 tote bags. Keep ‘em peeled so you don’t miss out.

© Kate Spragg for Created in Birmingham, 2009. | 3 comments |

I have decided to strip alot of the features out as they were not updating properly or just not working full stop. I will be adding new bits and bobs and as I mentioned before introducing a big CiB Google Map.

I have installed a new advertising plugin which will make buying adverts on CiB easy peasy and will hopefully be non offensive to your creative eyes. I will be adding prices etc for this very soon.

So, I hope you like the new theme and please bear with me whist I tinker further to get it just right over the next week.

© Kate Spragg for Created in Birmingham, 2009. | 8 comments |

The design will be lovingly screenprinted by hand onto high quality t-shirts and canvas bags by up and coming DiY print shop Cut-Out who are based in the West Midlands. The items will be sold via Cut-Out and will be strictly limited edition. All profits made from the items will be donated in Acorn Children’s Hospice. I will be meeting with Kay to thrash out the details in the next week so I will let you know anymore details then.

Many thanks to everyone who has taken the time to enter the competition, there has been a smorgasbord of different styles submitted and every one of them was thoughtfully put together from the brief. I will post some of them up in the next few days.

© Kate Spragg for Created in Birmingham, 2009. | 13 comments |

In light of this, I wanted to let you know some things I am working on at the moment. I’m going to be changing the aesthetic of the blog, and changing the template we use. I’ll be using a free, downloadable template  just as Pete did when he first created CiB. I will be doing this for several reasons, one simply because I am not a technical person and wouldn’t have a clue how to design or adapt my own, but mostly because I want to encourage others to start blogs by using these free tools that are available to anyone.

I am also working on a great big CiB Google Map of Birmingham. As a reader of CiB one question has always stuck with me: “That gallery / project / meetup / exhibition looks great, but where the hell is it?” When putting this map together and encouraging others to contribute, I am hoping to find lots of exciting stuff happening all over the city; it’s suburbs and back streets, North & South. I have been partly inspired by Nicky Getgood’s: Digbeth is Good Arty Trail.

I don’t think the map should be a comprehensive documentation of creativity in Birmingham, but a rich working document which evolves over time with many contributors adding locations, photographs, video and trails.

© Kate Spragg for Created in Birmingham, 2009. | 6 comments |

This is the last call for submissions and here is how it will work:

• Anyone can submit a design entry to the competition, as long as you follow the specifications needed for printing.
• From the entries 20 final designs will be chosen and made into 50 limited edition pin badge sets.
• One final design will be chosen and will be made into 50 limited edition t-shirts and 50 limited edition canvas bags.
• All items will be lovingly screenprinted by hand and sold online by Cut – Out, a fantasic DIY print company based in the West Midlands. All items will be printed with eco friendly inks and on top quality Earth Positive apparel.

The brief:

We want to make a t-shirt that people will really want to wear, so the brief is very loose. The emphasis here is celebrating creative talent in Birmingham and raising some money in the process. You could design something which reflects the creativity of the city, or just your own style, it’s up to you!

Submission guidelines:

• The design should work using one colour, if the image is a photograph it needs to be converted to half tone.
• The design you submit needs to be 300 dpi (usual print quality).
• The design should be no bigger than A3 in size.

Deadline: Friday 6th March 5pm. Send your design as a PDF or JPG file to

© Kate Spragg for Created in Birmingham, 2009. | One comment |

© Kate Spragg for Created in Birmingham, 2009. | One comment |

We have decided to money raised will go to a popular choice for a Birmingham based charity: Acorns Children’s  Hospice.

This is the first call for submissions and here is how it will work:

• Anyone can submit a design entry to the competition, as long as you follow the specifications needed for printing.
• From the entries 20 final designs will be chosen and made into 50 limited edition pin badge sets.
• One final design will be chosen and will be made into 50 limited edition t-shirts and 50 limited edition canvas bags.
• All items will be lovingly screenprinted by hand and sold online by Cut – Out, a fantasic DIY print company based in the West Midlands. All items will be printed with eco friendly inks and on top quality Earth Positive apparel.

The brief:

We want to make a t-shirt that people will really want to wear, so the brief is very loose. The emphasis here is celebrating creative talent in Birmingham and raising some money in the process. You could design something which reflects the creativity of the city, or just your own style, it’s up to you!

Submission guidelines:

• The design should work using one colour, if the image is a photograph it needs to be converted to half tone.
• The design you submit needs to be 300 dpi (usual print quality).
• The design should be no bigger than A3 in size.

Deadline: Friday 6th March 5pm. Send your design as a PDF or JPG file to Createdinbirmingham[at]gmail.com, and hang on to your originals.

© Kate Spragg for Created in Birmingham, 2009. | 2 comments |

A HUGE thanks

I’d first like to congratulate the other finalists who took part (list here) and say thanks to the organisers for making things run surprisingly smoothly. I’d like to thank everyone who supported us and made this happen – ‘us’ being Pete Ashton, Julia Gilbert, Danny Smith, Frankie Ward, Stef Lewandowski, Kate Spragg and myself, Chris Unitt.

There are so many of you but I’ve tried to keep track of everyone who spread the word for us (especially online, which is easy enough to track if you know how) and have listed as many as I could find below. However, I know there are many who I’ll have missed – feel free to take a bow in the comments.

The important bit

What this means for CiB can be discussed elsewhere.  In fact a few blogs, linked to below, have already started chewing the fat and drawing lessons from this.

For me, what’s immediately apparent is that to foster a loyal community of people who will go out of their way to support you, you must first of all be generous. Give freely and give often. Expect nothing and you’ll be surprised how many times over you will be repaid.

In that spirit I’d like to quickly mention Baldy’s Blog. Written by Adrian Sudbury until his death, this blog was another of the finalists in the Best UK Blog category and has been described briefly as:

Young local journalist/web editor gets ill. Complex leukaemia. Starts Blog to describe and explain the disease and treatment. Bone marrow transplant is successful. Post transplant complications set in. Proposes on Christmas eve to long term girlfriend. She accepts. Wedding plans begin in earnest. Fiancee leaves him. Broken heart. Leukaemia comes screaming back. Terminal prognosis. Campaign begins to teach all 17/18 year olds about how simple it is to be a bone marrow donor. Huge petition presented to Downing Street. Support from Gordon Brown, Alan Johnson, Ed Balls. Many media appearances nationally to push campaign. Dies 20 August aged 27. Campaign continues…..and succeeds

Please read the blog. It’s quite amazing.

As a result of our win, and in Adrian’s memory, I’ve donated £50 to Leukaemia Research. What’s more, as soon as I can arrange it, I’m going to do something I’ve always told myself I couldn’t and give blood. I can’t tell you how much I’m not looking forward to that.

Right, that dealt with…

On with the thank yous!

The following good people used their Twitter accounts to spread the word. Apologies to anyone using Twitter who got hacked off with the number of messages flying around.

7breaths_ abbycorfan AdFundAl AlbertoNardelli AlexBermingham Alfie alncl anamilgram Andy383 andylockran annettenaudin anthonyherron Azeem_A b33god benga benjaminbrum BenjaminEllis benrmatthews bhampostjoanna bigdaddymerk BirminghamJazz blacklooks boofie BostinBloke bounder brianfitfriends brucel brumcityuni brumeastside campbellX CapsuleFilms carocharlton CathElliott catherinepope catnip chrisunitt citizensheep ClareWhite cmbainbridge coupde craig_fots createdinbrum crispeater crowdSPRING cyberwebmedia DanielBigCat danux davebriggs daveharte davidjstringer DavidLouisDsign davidnikel deplorableword digibrum_si digitalyw dilyan_damyanov discodrive Documentally dougald dracos dstrawberrygirl dubber duncautumnstore Ed_Hart editorialgirl edrussell ellielovell Enduring Essitam eunice007 ExpatBama exsanguinator FionaHandscomb foodiesarah frontrowphotos gabysslave garymuircroft gavinwray gecal genzaichi getgood giagia graphiquillan gtoss hackneye hanuman HarryJA helenbyrne hmobius Ianhlhm ianshepherd ihatemornings iheartjoan InBlogs jacksunday jaynehowarth jezs joannageary john383 johnbradford johnmostyn johnpopham jonhickman josiefraser kanter karenstrunks karlbinder karmadillo katchoo KatieSpragg kcorrick kerryfused kincowbag kristianc laurenceexigent lee_jordan leekemp leight leonardomorgado lexiconmark LightHouseMedia Lil_asha lisibo LittleLaura Lizlxer LloydDavis lowcarbondiary lylebignon m4rcuk marcreeves markmedia marksteadman martinwake martinxo matgb mediaczar MerseyMal midge_uk mikedunn Mizgrimalkin msemaj MyJQ mykitchenstore neil_raygun nickcarson NinaGleams Nosemonkey parboo paulbradshaw paulhenderson peteashton pezholio pigsonthewing podnosh politicspenguin practicaleq procrastinatrix puffrichie qwghlm regengirl ReTweetTrends rhubarbradio RichBatsford richpayne88 robotvsdinosaur RussL sambeckwith SamShepherd shanitomorrow sharl shuckle SickTrumpet sidlangley simonhowes sixball Sizemore sleepydog SoullaStylianou star_one stef stevechapman141 stevebridger stevegerrard SteveKubrick StevenTuck strix_aluco stuartfowkes sue_atkins supercoolkp taratomes TessyBritton theaardvark thestage tom_watson tombeardshaw Tweejay twofootedtackle urbancomms urbanfly Viscount_one winkysmileyface Yak101 yiannopoulos zurichstudios

Blogs (and other sites) that supported us:

Birmingham: it’s Not Shit
Pete Ashton
Podnosh and an earlier links round-up
Spaghetti Gazetti
The Deplorable Word
Graphiquillan
Joanna Geary
Parboo
White Like Milk
Citizensheep
Catnip
Chris Unitt
Nosemonkey
I So Wish (and again)
Digbeth is Good
Daily Mail Watch
Bob Piper
Nunovo
Bluemilkshake
Feeder
Rumproast
Dougald Hine
Blue Gal
Banditry
John Mostyn
Queersighted
The Sharpener
Pickled Politics
Film Forum West Midlands
The Stirrer
Medialens forum
Peter Bacon
Who Needs The Sea
Karen Strunks
Anthony Herron
Daniel Davies
Hanuman
Indymedia Ireland
Indymedia UK
The Birmingham Post
Liberal Conspiracy
Ógra Shinn Féin
Ordo Paginarum
Paul Henderson (great pic)
Never Trust A Hippy
Hippodrome
‘I’m Voting for Created in Birmingham’ Facebook group
Ewan Spence
Laura Whitehead
Local Democracy
Skyscraper City
Democratic Underground
Kebablog
Moseley Free
Amortize (another good pic)
Drum & Bass Arena
Rachel Gillies
Parboo
Hope for the best, prepare for the worst
Stumpy Moose
Haloscan.com
Clare Edwards
John Popham

By the way, CiB doesn’t necessarily endorse or condone the views espoused on a few of those blogs.

Thanks also to the Birmingham City Council webteam (screenshot), everyone at Culturedeluxe, the Birmingham Bloggers, Birmingham Social Media Cafe, Fierce, 4Talent, THSH, 7 Inch Cinema/Flatpack Festival, Creative Republic, Bostin, Gigbeth, BBC Birmingham and everyone who voted.

In case you’re interested, here’s some post-award discussion:

Nosemonkey
Pete Ashton
The Daily Dust
The Exile
Enduring America
Neil Clark

© chrisunitt for Created in Birmingham, 2009. | 22 comments |

It only takes a second. If you know anyone else who might give us a vote please send them a link this to this.

The support so far has been incredible and I’ve got a thank you list longer than my leg (which, if you’ve met me you’ll know is pretty long). We’re nearly there so just one last push should do it for us.

As a quick thanks in the meantime, here’s a kitty (with thanks to Amortize):

© chrisunitt for Created in Birmingham, 2009. | 13 comments |

I should point out that I don’t live in Birmingham – I live in Wolverhampton, but hopefully my passion for Brum’s creativity should make up for that. I have a Fine Art degree, but have moved into more digital creative pursuits since graduating in 2004. In the last couple of years I have worked in marketing and creative business development at Light House in Wolverhampton, co-organised the Flip Animation Festival, including running the event’s blog. I also co-run Colour with my fiancé Matthew. We put on live music events and write a blog.

As well as listings and regular news updates, I want to investigate how your creative endeavours impact on the city as a whole, and to find out how creative types can get ahead. I would like to continue the good work of Chris and Pete before him, and encourage others to utilise online media and tools to create, promote and reach out.

Please say hello if you see me out and about and you can follow me on Twitter, if you like.

© Kate Spragg for Created in Birmingham, 2009. | 19 comments |

Feeds.

Horrible, nasty words that scare normal folk and have them running from the internet to take refuge with their library cards.

They’re not that tricky though. I’ve been keeping track of hundreds of websites to find stuff to post here. Visiting them all daily would have taken too long and cost me my sanity, so instead I used RSS. Most competent websites have an ‘RSS feed’ sending out the latest updates. All you need to do is use an RSS reader (I use Google Reader, there are others) and you’ve got a time-saving one-stop-shop for all your favourite websites.

Anyway, point being, as I’ve sent Kate a file listing pretty much all my Birmingham RSS feeds I thought I’d put a copy here and share it.

The file is here. Import it into Google Reader by going to ‘Settings’ then ‘Import/Export’ and follow the instructions.

Disclaimer – for various reasons, not every Birmingham blog is in there and some that are are now defunct, etc and so on. Basically, this is not comprehensive.

Also worth checking out – last month Substrakt compiled a list of their favourite Birmingham blogs.

© chrisunitt for Created in Birmingham, 2009. | One comment |

Before I start waffling, you may care to know that the ways to get your stuff on CiB won’t change much. Email createdinbirmingham at gmail dot com or, much better, blog about it somewhere yourself (your info needs to be online somewhere to be linkable to, anyway). Or you could advertise on CiB (it’s ridiculously cheap after all).

For those that don’t know Kate, and I’m sure she’ll introduce herself soon enough, I think CiB will be safe in her hands. A while back I blogged about looking for the next CiB person with a list of ideal criteria. I reckon Kate fits the bill well.

I’ll hang around, as Pete has, as a kind of ‘blogger emeritus’ but I doubt very much that Kate will need my help and I’m really looking forward to seeing how she develops the site during her tenure.

I’ve loved running Created in Birmingham but at the same time definitely feel the need to pass it on. I’ve got other projects I want to devote my time to and, besides, I think I’m a little too settled in the role now; it’s a good time to inject some fresh impetus.

Until 1 Feb I’ll post a few more things from my current backlog and am hell-bent on CiB winning the Best UK Blog Award (although that just got a lot tougher) so expect more reminders and please vote daily until Tuesday 13 Jan. Otherwise, I’m going to start stepping back as Kate gets into the swing of things.

If you’re interested in what I’ll be up to you can follow me over at chrisunitt.co.uk and/or on Twitter. I have a few projects I’m working on – Cquestrate, the next Film Dash, Osiris Licensing and a few other things (including Meshed Media) – but I’m always up for discussing interesting projects, especially if there’s a blogging/social media angle.

Finally, I’d like to thank everyone who has helped me, commented, introduced themselves at an event or just read something on this here blog over the past few months – I’m truly grateful to all of you.

© chrisunitt for Created in Birmingham, 2009. | 16 comments |

Before that though (and following a couple of recent-ish conversations) there are a few quick things I should mention.  If these are obvious to you then please skim on.

Subscribe to CiB for free

You don’t contact all your friends daily in case they’ve got something important to tell you – they’ll email or call you if they have news.

Similarly there’s no need to visit CiB in case there’s some new info.  You’re very welcome to, but instead you might like to save time and get a daily email with all the things I’ve written about.  It’s free and you can unsubscribe whenever you like.

There’s also an ‘RSS feed‘.  RSS can be an off-putting term but basically it involves using Google Reader (or another RSS reader) as your ‘website-watcher’.  Tell it what sites you check regularly and it’ll become your time-saving one-stop-shop.  It’s how I keep track of almost 400 sites without going mental and it costs nothing.

Links

Text in pink (or blue and underlined if you get RSS or email updates) is a ‘link’ which will send you to another website for further information.  Finding other sites to send people to is kinda what CiB is all about.  For example, here’s a link to the Film Dash challenge I’m organising (yes, that was also a shameless plug).

Blogging for creatives

There are so many small arts organisations around the West Mids that have zero (or very poor/neglected) web presence who could benefit from a blog.  They’re very cheap, easy to use (if you can use Word you’re most of the way there), versatile and they’re a credible and easily updateable web presence for anyone who needs one.

If you want a hand getting started then don’t ponder about it, just give me a shout or pop down to Pete Ashton’s social media surgery on Thursdays at Rooty’s in the Custard Factory, 4-6pm.

Advertising on Created in Birmingham

Ok, one last thing – apparently £50 for 2 weeks is outrageously cheap for what you get, but hopefully that makes it accessible to the smaller orgs/companies/events/etc.

Hope that was useful to someone.  Most people might take things like links for granted but it seems not everyone knows this stuff.

© chrisunitt for Created in Birmingham, 2008. | Add a comment |

Calendar/Listings

On the listings page (there’s a link below the title of the blog too) I’ve embedded a calendar from my own GCal account.

I use that calendar to keep track of the various events covered on CiB, plus a few added extras.  If you use Google Calendar (and possibly several others, like iCal and maybe Outlook) then you can subscribe to the CiB calendar too.

The listings page also pulls in a feed from Live Brum showing the day’s events.

CiB on Twitter

There’s a Created in Birmingham Twitter account too at http://twitter.com/createdinbrum.  I tend to use this to flag up events that are happening nearer the time, kinda like a reminder service.

Before the non-Twitterers among you switch off, these work as free SMS updates too.  Just send:

follow + createdinbrum

to 07624 801423 and you’ll get those CiB updates as free text messages.  Pretty groovy, no?

© chrisunitt for Created in Birmingham, 2008. | Add a comment |

For some info about the 101 things Frankie’s doing (Gigbeth, Birmingham Live, BBC Blast Arts Reporter, Burn FM Programme Controller and so on), check out Frankie Ward’s blog, her MySpace (especially if you’re a local band – send her your tunes) or her Twitter.

© chrisunitt for Created in Birmingham, 2008. | Add a comment |

So from left to right that’s Danny Smith, Chris Unitt (me), Frankie Ward and Pete Ashton. Hi there. If you see us out at something arty then please come and say hello.

If you’ve not come across him before, Steve is known for his photography (rock gigs, weddings and sometimes both) and has recently opened a studio in the Custard Factory. He’s also the man behind Birmingham Live which gives aspiring music reviewers/photographers a platform and a place to develop.

© chrisunitt for Created in Birmingham, 2008. | 9 comments |

We felt that the site could do with a spring clean and some updating, with the layout top of the list.  We we’ve not gone for a major overhaul, just a few changes that will allow the site to grow a little.

The extra sidebar will allow some extra functionality and features to be added which will make the site an even more useful place to visit. These will be brought in over the next week(ish) so keep your eyes peeled.

There are still a few things to tweak and some other changes going on, so please consider this a work in progress. Allow me one more bit of navel-gazing for now though…

The font we’ve used is Baskerville, which was created by Birmingham’s celebrated typographer and printer John Baskerville in the 1700s. It’s simple, elegant and, still in use worldwide 200 years later, and therefore a shining example of the city’s creative endeavours.

© chrisunitt for Created in Birmingham, 2008. | 22 comments |

Interested in advertising?

Here’s how it’ll work:

• A small number of adverts will run concurrently and appear to visitors randomly but equally
• Ads will be text only (so no-one has to pay for a banner to be designed)
• The adverts will appear high up ‘above the fold’
• You’ll be able to submit and pay for your advert via the link on this site – the process is very simple indeed
• Your advert must be manually approved before it can appear
• Guidelines will point out what’s suitable as far as format and content are concerned but really it should be a matter of common sense
• We will control all content on the site and this includes adverts. If we say an advert is unsuitable then it won’t run.

As an introductory offer, a two-week advert will cost £50 and a four-week advert will cost £100.

Why advertise on the site?

We try to cover as much of the interesting stuff in the Birmingham as possible but we can’t cover everything. If there’s an event, conference or festival coming up then any mention we give it will disappear down the page as soon as new posts are added. The benefit in keeping a notice of your event on the front page should be clear.

CiB is fortunate to have a strong community of readers who are actively interested in art, design, music and other matters of a ‘creative’ nature with unique visitors currently averaging around 40,000 per month. If you want to reach them then you’ll be able to do so without submitting to our editorial whims.

What will happen to the cash?

It’ll cover the site’s existing costs – my wages plus hosting/domain registration and such. Any surplus will be reinvested into what we’re loosely calling ‘interesting things’ that will fit in with CiB’s general overall purpose.

© chrisunitt for Created in Birmingham, 2008. | One comment |

© dannysmith for Created in Birmingham, 2008. | 21 comments |

My name’s Chris Unitt. That’s my real name, not an internet pseudonym as some have assumed. I’ve lived around Birmingham for most of my life, I’m a qualified lawyer (no longer practising, I’m pleased to say) and know a fair bit about alcohol and entertainment licensing. I’m also a director of a small record label, I DJ occasionally and play a lot of football.

In terms of blogging and suchlike I’ve been reviewing gigs in Birmingham for the past few years for Culturedeluxe and, more recently, Birmingham Live. I’ve got my own blog too.

I’ve also been involved with the online promotion/blogging for the Fierce Festival this year (line-up just announced!) and I’m covering the ‘online interactive’ aspects of the upcoming New Generation Arts Festival on their site too.

Despite that I’d say I’m pretty much an outsider to the Birmingham creative scene. I’ve been involved a little but not so much that I know many people (or anyone knows me). Pete described his experience with this blog as a journey and I’m expecting to go through a similar learning process.

So much for me, what about this site? Well, you may be pleased to know that I’m not planning many changes. I like how Pete’s run CiB and the visitor stats would suggest I’m not alone in that view. There are a few things I’d like to give more coverage to and a few features I’m keen to reinstate/continue. For now though, I just want to get comfortable with sifting the emails and RSS feeds and keeping on top of everything.

In terms of personnel, Pete will be around in the background and Danny Smith’s still going to chip in with the bits n bobs that I miss. I am and will be grateful to them both.

That’s enough navel-gazing for now though. If you’ve got something you want mentioned here then following the advice on the ‘getting on the blog‘ page will help your chances no end. Otherwise I look forward to seeing you at an event/exhibition/show/whatever soon.

Chris

© chrisunitt for Created in Birmingham, 2008. | 2 comments |