Monthly Archives: August 2008

Save the Bowstring Bridge

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I thought I should report this from the Leicester Civic Society as I understand there’s a petition to save the Western Bridge:

“The ‘Bowstring Bridge’ viaduct at the junction of Western Boulevard and Braunstone Gate has been a Leicester landmark since the 1890s and is now under imminent threat of demolition.

“De Montfort University now own the nearby Pump & Tap public house and the land surrounding the bridge and are seeking to build a new swimming pool there. Various reports have suggested that the bridge is in danger of collapse yet years of delays to the demolition and the fact that the road underneath is still in use suggest otherwise. It has carried 1000 ton trains for over 100 years!

“The bridge itself is primarily above the road and does not substantially occupy development land. We believe a solution can be found whereby DMU get to build the much-needed city centre swimming pool whilst retaining this unique remnant of the Great Central Railway.

“DMU have made some important contributions to the regeneration of Leicester and we believe this is an opportunity for them to go the extra mile and prove they care about Leicester heritage. The bridge itself would make a fantastic centrepiece to any new development.

“We therefore call upon De Montfort University and Leicester City Council to retain and reuse the bridge. Please sign our online petition below.”

Hmm, wonder if my old Leicester classmate of BBC TV’s Restoration Marianne Sur knows about this?

Brazil: The Natural Knowledge-Economy: The Atlas of Ideas 2.0

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Brazil – Findings

Kirsten Bound

Presentation from Brazil: The Natural Knowledge-Economy: The Atlas of Ideas 2.0, London, UK

2008-07-08 12:00:00.0 News Channel

>> go to webcast

Updated blogging software is a nod to the convergence of blogging and social networks

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Movable Type Pro launched today combines blogs with social networking, not unlike the WordFrame platform used for IT Counts: “The type of Web site that you build with Movable Type doesn’t have to look like a classic two- or three-column blog,” said Chris Alden, Six Apart’s CEO.

“It can be structured to look like any Web site you see surfing the Web. Web publishing is moving from a heavily process-driven activity to being something more decentralized, something more inclusive of community, and being able to build Web sites in a more rapid and agile fashion. We really view Movable Type as part of sea change in Web content management toward a social publishing direction,” he added.  

Hmm, thanks Chris, nice comments. <Update> I mentioned this in Twitter just yesterday, taking the essence from another report: “Blogging is getting social + social networking is fragmenting. Means niched sites attracting more visitors, with more qualified audiences.” Kinda reminds me of IT Counts. Though Dennis didn’t think so, I wasn’t gonna argue with the guru.

Blogware migration to WordPress, thanks to PressHarbor

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Thanks to the team at PressHarbor my blog has successfully migrated to WordPress. Now to explore the depths of the software further.

As you can see from John’s comment below I made a mistake thinking that it’s being hosted by Rackspace too, the servers we use for IT Counts. However, what that error did throw up was that Rackspace IPO’d on 7 August, one of the first cloud computing companies to go public. However, on its opening day, the stock price plunged 20% to $10. Ironically enough, Wall Street was hoping that the Rackspace deal would help spark the IPO market.

Called up my UK-based share dealing service, share.com, which I have already got US trading rights sorted only to be told that it’s too early to buy, and to try back in a few weeks. Cheers!

More slander than libel in online setting?

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On Saturday I posted a piece on slander and libel in online networks, thanks to a piece from Matt at FreshNetworks, which followed a recent court case where defamation on a bulletin board was decreed to be slander rather than libel due to its conversational nature. Talking about it today with my IT colleague Paul (who has a precise way of thinking and is a master of MS Excel), he wondered whether defamatory blog posting as publication would be libel whereas a defamatory comment to a blog, would as conversation be counted as slander?

Kaka + Chelsea move still on the cards?

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“Kaka believes that a world record transfer to Chelsea remains a strong possibility and that he could be a Premier League player before the end of this month. Chelsea have made a €100m (£78m) offer for the Brazilian forward, who would be prepared to move to London if his club, Milan, accept it.

“Even though the world footballer of the year has not requested a transfer from Milan and is contracted to the club until 2012, he has been unsettled by their handling of him in recent months. The 26-year-old was prevented from representing Brazil at the Olympics in Beijing despite his club allowing summer signing Ronaldinho to play and last week the club’s doctor questioned Kaká’s decision to undergo close-season knee surgery.”

Thanks to the piece in today’s Observer. Hmm, now if Brazil’s football team win the Olympics, that might just tip the balance?

More slander than libel in online setting

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“Defamation on internet bulletin boards is more like slander than libel, a High Court judge has ruled. Mr Justice Eady said that bulletin board discussions are characterised by “give and take” and should be considered in that context.” Report on 7 August, in Out-law.com.

Thanks to post from Matt Rhodes, of the FreshNetworks Blog, which flagged this up and who makes the excellent point which serves to underline the distinctive value of online communities, especially in an enterprise context:

“For me the most interesting comment is that contributions in online communities and forums are ‘give and take’ and like a ‘casual conversation’ rather than published and printed material. This is certainly more akin to the kind of conversations and contributions we see on our communities at FreshNetworks, as I’m sure it is for anybody else with experience in this area.”

Ropeworks, Barking

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News just in from our Shirley, we’re moving into the Ropeworks in central Barking in early September, which has the main library in the basement. Time to start reading books again?

Full spec of the regeneration for Barking centre square here; Muf architecture art were commissioned to design a new Town Square for Barking, which is designated as one of the Mayor of London’s 100 Public Spaces.