Anne Helmond è Docente di Nuovi Media presso il Dipartimento di Studi sui Media dell’Università di Amsterdam, dove ha studiato nuovi media dal 2004 al 2008. Si è laureata con lode con una tesi intitolata 'Blogging for Engines – Blogs under the Influence of Software-Engine Relations' (I blog per i motori di ricerca – I blog influenzati dai rapporti tra software e motori di ricerca). Questa ricerca sul rapporto simbiotico tra i software per blog e i motori di ricerca dà un contributo alla ricerca esistente sui blog e sul blogging, analizzando il fenomeno dal punto di vista dei software e dei motori di ricerca e descrivendo il ruolo diverso di chi scrive sui blog in questo rapporto.
Dal 1999 al 2003, Anne ha studiato presso la Utrecht School of Arts, dove ha conseguito una laurea breve in Design di Interazione e una laurea specialistica in Multimedialità Interattiva. Lavora come fotografa freelance per VPRO 3VOOR12, l’Istituto delle Culture della Rete, e ha documentato varie conferenze sui nuovi media, come 'New Cultural Networks', 'the Next Web' e 'PICNIC'. Le sue foto, personali e professionali, sono su Flickr.
Oltre a scrivere di tematiche riguardanti, Anne Helmond, i nuovi media e i software sul proprio blog personale, in precedenza Anne ha scritto per Blog Herald e, occasionalmente, scrive ancora per Masters of Media blog e the Next Web blog.
La seguente intervista a Anne Helmond, condotta da Annette Wolfsberger via chat su Skype il 20 aprile 2009, è disponibile solo in inglese.
How would you describe your new media research blog? And what prompted your interest in blogging?
I use my research blog for different purposes:
I started my research blog as a master’s student at the University of Amsterdam, through a course led by Geert Lovink. We had to blog our weekly assignments at the Masters of Media (MoM) blog, which I initially started with my fellow students. I previously didn't have any experience with blogging or blog software, but running my own blog for a few weeks led me to take on the technical development of the MoM blog. It eventually turned into my research focus.
So you developed the Masters of Media (MoM) blog?
Yes, this is the third year of the MoM blog and I was initially technically responsible for setting it up. I also acted as a coordinator. When I graduated, I handed over the design and coordination to the next masters (Erik Borra), but we stayed in close contact about the development. This third year I am not involved anymore. The blog is now living its own life and is being maintained by the New Media Masters at the University of Amsterdam.
Could you tell a bit more about the development of MoM? I think it is a very interesting model and I’ve not heard about anything else similar?
You mean as a group research blog?
Yes, and if I understand well, the development/co-ordination of MoM is also part of the students’ curriculum?
Yes, it’s part of the MA curriculum. It’s part of a course led by Geert Lovink, as I mentioned. Now that the platform has been established its main focus is the content. Esther Weltevrede and I also led a third year BA course called ‘Digital Practices’, which led to the development of the Metareporter blog, a group blog by BA students. The Metareporter serves several purposes:
I read on your blog that you also participated earlier this year in an event regarding blog art.
Yes, it was a gathering of Flat Station, a group of artists in the Bijlmer (South East Amsterdam). http://www.slideshare.net/annehelmond/blogs-blog-art-and-the-network-presentation
It was not so much about blog art as it was about the changing role of blogs. What I am most interested in are experiments with the form/technique of the blog:
Following on from the blog art question, within your research, have you come across blogs you would define as culture blogs?
I don't know what I would define as culture blogs. I tend not to categorise blogs by genre. What is your definition of a culture blog?
Well, a rather simple one for this purpose: blogs with contemporary and popular culture as a main focus. In this case, I am looking into wider Europe, and into individual rather than institutional blogs. If you do not classify blogs by genre, how do you classify blogs at all? Or don’t you? If yes, which parameters do you use?
I must admit that I mostly read American blogs/research blogs and popular tech blogs and design blogs. (Most research blogs I follow through my RSS reader are American. It is because my research field is mainly located there.)
Is that also because the American blogging scene is more vibrant/more relevant to your interests than the European one (if you can talk about a European scene at all)?
Yes. But the interesting thing is that I am hardly connected to the Dutch blogging scene through reading/writing/commenting on their blogs. However, I do follow/converse with most of them on Twitter. I think a lot of the commenting/conversation has moved away from blogging to other related platforms such as Twitter and FriendFeed.
That would have been my next question…
Twitter is not the end of blogs, on the contrary, they supplement them. I try to incorporate all the other platforms I use into my blog such as Flickr, Twitter, Vimeo and Slideshare.
It seems that the Netherlands has one of the most active Twitter scenes. Is that true?
I don’t have any activity numbers, but the Dutch Twitter scene seems really active indeed. I am connected to different new media scenes through Twitter: research, entrepreneurs, photographers, developers, etc. The Dutch Twitter scene seems to be actively using Twitter as a new communication platform, supplementing, or replacing, instant messaging and e-mail.
How do you manage to integrate Twitter into your blog?
I used to display my five latest tweets in my blog. However, I now have a locked Twitter account because Google indexes every single tweet, which I don't like. I do want Google to index all my blog posts because I sit down to write them, think them over etc.
Note from the Editor – this update came in from Anne: After this interview, I switched to an open account with mixed feelings. The problem with a locked account is that you cannot join a conversation with someone who is not following you. Your reply to their message will not appear in their timeline. I chose to let Google index my tweets in return for a more open conversation. Of course, since Twitter changed the reply settings yesterday, I am once again in doubt.
Since when does that indexing happen?
It’s always been done, since Twitter is sending out RSS feeds. Google indexes pretty much everything that has an RSS feed, especially if it’s a large service such as Twitter. Facebook is a closed environment, a walled garden so all your updates there are only visible for your friends. However, Google sees and indexes every tweet and I clearly use Twitter differently from my blog: Twitter is more spontaneous, outgoing, personal and informal than my blog. By having my tweets indexed, it adds a lot of noise to my Google results.
A leaky garden?
Yes, Twitter is very leaky.
If you were thinking about cultural organisations and the cultural scene, would you see a bigger role for blogs and bloggers than they occupy right now?
Definitely.For example, Dutch newspaper nrc.next just changed their website to a blog. Instead of just duplicating the news from their paper, they add extra (web) information on their blog. It is a big change! Museums are actively starting to Twitter as well. One even made a ‘how to’ manual for its employees.
Here are some examples:
And for your own blog, does audience reach matter for you? Or is the repository/documentation function the most important element for you? I also understood that you are not interested in commercialising your blog (or are you)?
Yes. I think it’s hard to maintain an individual blog because of the need to update, especially if you cover a niche scene such as research or culture. It may be hard to blog once a day as well as working. Someone who has successfully turned his blog into a day job and a commercial success is www.nalden.net.
People still consider blogging to be a non-paid job or also as a prestigious CV building job. I was recently asked by a big cultural conference organiser to blog for them for free. I do not understand why blogging is not seen as a regular job in the Netherlands. Blogging is a skill, just like being a photographer or an accountant.
I agree, and I think it requires different journalistic skills than for print-publishing, especially given the immediacy and the ability to link and network your content. Of the bloggers I interviewed, only a few of them were actually paid, but they regarded it as a (necessary) addition to their practice, a tool to create platforms, etc.
I don’t want to monetise my own blog, because it is a research blog and I am happy to pay 100 Euros per year for hosting etc. because it is a representation of who I am and what I do. But if someone else asks me to blog for their organisation, it is a different question, especially if the organisation in question has a budget. What I regularly do is blog for conferences in return for a conference ticket. One was actually co-financed by a newspaper. But live blogging conferences is hard work because of the immediacy.
But could you make a living from it, do you think (e.g. if you devoted more time to it)?
I recently blogged for the Next Web for three days – I had a wonderful time, saw interesting speakers such as Andrew Keen, met interesting people such as Matt Mullenweg from Automattic/Wordpress – but I am exhausted after three days.
So did they pay you?
No – I received a conference ticket, I was introduced to a lot of interesting people, had some interesting conversations and drank great Chardonnay with new contacts. It was well worth it and I wouldn’t have missed it.
BUT, no, I don’t think I would be able to live off it, at least now. But there is hope, see http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124026415808636575.html
Well that is great but… will it take a few more years in Europe?
Yes. I previously blogged for www.theblogherald.com for money. I was paid a small amount per post, but it's hard to make a part-time/full-time living off it. Especially live blogging is not something you can do full-time since it is too energy consuming and you are not able to see/hear everything while you are blogging at a conference.
Of course, it is great to build your profile as a blogger!
Yes, I use it as a way to build my profile. Right now, I seem to have an established profile because organisations are approaching me. So it's time to take the next step.
So what are the next steps?
Steps to professionalising blogging within culture:
During step three you are blogging the whole time, so you are not able to actually hear all the keynote speeches. So step four would be to blog two out of four keynotes and enjoy the rest of them! It is not my dream to become a paid professional blogger. However, I would love to see part-time blogging as a job.
Or build up a team to blog for you, or together?
Yes, I teamed up with someone at the Next Web, but either you are taking notes or you are writing a blog post from your notes. With the Masters of Media blog, we went to a lot of conferences organised by the Institute of Network Cultures with a whole team of about five bloggers, so we could all blog some sessions and listen to others.
I think it could be very interesting if an organisation like LabforCulture would set up a blogging team to cover European cultural events – some kind of affiliation for bloggers with an organisation, and a common umbrella body to report, reflect and disseminate.
I know for a fact that a lot of Masters of Media would have loved to go to the Next Web, but they couldn't afford a ticket. Not even with a student discount. Of course the Next Web has enough publicity, but other events have not. Conferences should acknowledge the publicity bloggers can create for them. Bloggers are just like press. At least I see them as having the same status!
There is also a need to support future bloggers and journalists, and a big need for critical writing in that field!
I see the potential for a new platform with new media students from the University of Amsterdam and other universities/art schools. There are plenty of students with different motivations for wanting to blog a conference:
MoM has different types of content: essays, videos, short ramblings, media critiques, conference coverage etc. I think blogging skills are important, because the web is a platform people should learn to write for! The Metareporter blog was a first encounter with blogs for most students. They really had to find their blogging ‘voice’.
Are there any other blogs or other online resources relating to culture that you would recommend?
Many thanks for taking the time to share your thoughts!
LabforCulture è un'iniziativa di partnership della Fondazione Culturale Europea. LabforCulture desidera ringraziare i propri finanziatori per il loro supporto.