Photograph by Ian Chase

Television has changed drastically over the last twenty years.

When I was growing up in the 1980s, there were just four channels to choose from; BBC1, BBC2, ITV and (as of November 1982) Channel 4. The majority of children’s television was to be found on BBC1 and ITV - and that was at set times too, usually after school between 3.30pm and 5.30pm. That’s just two hours a night.

In the 1990s, the UK was introduced to several new options for television.

Sky dishes allowed easy, commercial access to satellite television.

There was also the introduction of fibre optic cables in certain regions which offered a similar service. Northampton - where I lived in the 90s - was going through a regeneration stage at the time who were involved in the early stages of cable television.

With this influx of new television channels came a huge collection of children’s channels inspired by the USA, such as Nickleodeon and The Childrens Channel (later to be rebranded Trouble). These channels offered kids a huge variety of new programmes, mostly imported from the USA, but none-the-less more programmes than any child could actually watch.

Over the last ten years, digital TV has become standard practise across the UK. At first, it was just an upgrade option from Sky and regional cable companies like Telewest but it wasn’t long before an additional digital service was broadcast using traditional radio waves across the country, available to anyone with a Freeview compatible television or a set-top Freeview box.

Digital television has revolutionised the way people watch television. Rather than being restricted to typical broadcast schedules, viewers are now able to create their own schedule using on demand and catch up services such as BBC iPlayer and 4OD. Viewers can pick and choose the programmes they want to watch when they want to watch it.

While this can be seen as a huge development and improvement for creating the perfect viewing experience, it has also made our society a lot more fussy and demanding. Viewing habits are moving away from traditional television channels, patiently waiting for our favourite programmes, and changing towards this bespoke pattern that can only be defined as fussy.

Recently, I’ve noticed my two year old son adopting this fussy nature (although it may also be seen as the infamous “terrible twos” stage).

This child, who can barely string a sentence of more than two words together, knows that there are hundreds of programmes that he enjoys readily available on demand. Not only can we switch between 30 odd channels dedicated to children - some simply created from those traditional formats in the 80s and 90s such as CBBC, Cbeebies and CITV - but there are also an endless supply of series from established brands like Bob the Builder, Postman Pat and Thomas the Tank Engine on demand.

While there are obvious advantages to this on-demand lifestyle (how else do you entertain an awake child at 5am on a Sunday morning?), does the impulsive, impatient nature digital TV is creating open all sorts of issues for the future of our children?

Our generation is used to waiting - dial up internet with “break neck” speeds of 4kb/sec downloads, rewinding video cassettes to play our favourite programmes, waiting for the UK to catch up with the latest Hollywood blockbuster - we have learned to adapt to a slower lifestyle.

The next generation are used to an “on demand” lifestyle - buying and listening to the latest music in meer seconds, playing the latest computer game on their Wii without leaving the room, watching the latest series of Lost before it’s even aired on television - it can’t be healthy to have such high demands.

What are your thoughts on this? The topic is mainly aimed at the parents out there but you may have noticed the change in personality with your siblings or cousins. It will be interesting to get feedback from other parents on the issue and whether you think it will have an impact on society in the future.

Yesterday, I experimented with my favourite Web 2.0 fad, Twitter.

I’ve been a persistent Twitter user since registering back in November 2006 - way before the masses joined in, may I add - and must admit I have a tendency to use Twitter as a place to rant and vent my rage about general day-to-day happenings. This isn’t uncommon on Twitter, especially within my circuit of friends where we all tend to work in IT. I’m sure it’s genetic that everyone who works with computers are keen moaners.

Anyway, I decided that I should break convention and start all my tweets for the day with the word “loves” in an attempt to be more positive.

If I wrote positive tweets, I should feel more positive, I’d get more done throughout the day. If it went well, it may have even prevoked my followers to feel more positive too (James certainly appreciated it).

Over the course of the day, I ended up with 24 “love” Tweets (the first one of the day didn’t count):

1. loves Monday mornings - it’s the only time everyone feels the same (miserable).
2. loves the idea of breaking the norm on Twitter and being more positive for the day. All of today’s tweets will begin with the word “love”.
3. loves @siphilp’s attention to detail. Well spotted sire.
4. loves the free font Museo http://qurl.com/pc3vh even if @clagnut’s related blog post http://qurl.com/8s878 keeps crashing my browser
5. loves @stephenfry’s explanation of Twitter to the media, even with the occasional embarrassing moments thrown in http://qurl.com/2mdqd
6. loves how @FullCreamMilk is the guest but still ends up making tea for everyone. What a nice chap.
7. loves the reciprocal love from @kulor. Maybe we should make Valentines Day “Love Tweet” day…?
8. loves that his wife just got an “Outstanding” evaluation by the school’s headmaster in today’s observation. Well done lady!
9. loves the idea of using Twitter in aid of charity with @brumtwestival. Ticket has been purchased for the 12th Feb at Poppy Reds.
10. loves the “soup de jour” from @dailygrindco today. Chicken, vegetables and pasta nearly makes a whole meal!
11. loves that @birminghampost are doing Saturday Football Liveblog - if only it covered @derbycounty too.
12. loves Bart B More & Oliver Twizt’s remix of Cece Peniston’s “Finally” - another classic remixed in style http://qurl.com/9pttp
13. loves how @neilcrosby isn’t even smiling for the Last.fm Hack Day publicity shot http://www.last.fm/group/Hack+Day
14. loves the thought of It
15. loves the new Cadbury Eyebrows advert from Glass & A Half Full Productions http://tinyurl.com/c6quwe - genius!
16. loves a good laugh and is not at all jealous of @aajhiggs‘ prize to see @eddieizzard live (would Izzard really Twitter?)
17. loves it when the roads are empty - it makes driving quite pleasurable.
18. loves doing odd jobs for other people - such as returning a movie to Blockbuster that he didnt even watch. (OK, sarcasm doesn’t count)
19. loves homemade coleslaw - but doesn’t everyone?
20. loves the fact all the old CBBC presenters are joining Twitter. First @Schofe, now @xxandip. Now, we just need Andy Crane.
21. loves Will Smith’s ability to nail every acting role he takes on. Seven Pounds is brilliant!
22. loves the legend that was Brian Clough. The film based on his story looks to be Damned good http://tinyurl.com/cneomp
23. loves the potential of YQL when teamed up with large amounts of information like Twitter (hat tip to @codepo8 for the idea)
24. loves his bed. It’s beckoning.

As you can see, the tweets ranged from personal thoughts to findings around the Web to listening and viewing habits, all in a typical day on Twitter to be fair (this topic of tweeting habits probably deserves an additional blog post another time).

In principle, the theory seemed to work.

I felt more positive all the way through the day, even after watching the emotional blockbuster Seven Pounds.

I also managed to acheive more than usual in my working day, getting much of the mundane Monday tasks sorted early and making great progress on a redesign I’ve been working on for the last few months.

I even identified a spin-off project along the lines of the experiment and got the ball rolling with that (further details coming soon).

If you’re an avid Twitter user like myself, I can highly recommend you have a day of starting all your tweets with “loves“. I promise you will feel the benefits by the end of the day, even if it does annoy your pessimistic friends and followers along the way.

Over the weekend, I read Gary Marshall’s article “Status Anxiety” in .net magazine suggesting how most people are liars when updating their online status, a feature usually found in social networking websites such as Facebook and Twitter. He claims that most updates on said social networks are either made up or an exaggeration of what is actually happening and, if people were honest, their status would succumb to one of two options:

1. “is dicking around on the Internet“
2. “is drunk as a lord”

How often have you found yourself fitting into one of the above options?

Now, anyone who knows me personally also knows I am a bit of a fanatic with updating my status. Thankfully, it doesn’t take much effort for me to do so. I update my Twitter stream using the IM bot in Adium (which also keeps track of all my friends statuses) and I have “installed” one of the only useful Facebook applications, TwitterSync, which automatically updates my Facebook profile when there is a change on Twitter. Minimum effort for maximum effect!

The reason I say it is for maximum effect is because I find myself, like many “professionals” (those with a profession which they are particularly proud of), make the most of this social feature for promotional purposes. They pick and choose what they put in their status. Rather than enlighten all their friends and contacts with the fact “Dave is feeling better after a nice poo”, they make sure they pick status updates which put them in a good light, suggesting their life is beyond the humdrum persona of mere mortals. Am I abusing the system, indicating the marketing success of MySpace is now moving towards other social networks such as Facebook and Bebo? The introduction of FB’s Fan Pages surely point towards this shift and how society are changing with it.

There is no hard fast decision on this debate but it’s interesting that Gary bought it up. I have thought about this fascination of following friend’s statuses on many occasions, wondering what it is that has the nation constantly logging into their FB homepage to see exactly what their nextdoor neighbour’s parents were eating last night.

What are your thoughts on this? Do you find yourself being selective about your status update or are you quite open, happy to divulge your private happenings? Should your Twitter status really be used as a promotional tool? Why are so many people obsessed with the lives of others? Are we moving our Big Brother obsessions away from the television and towards the Internet instead?

Damn you Lloydy! I’d noticed the 8 Random Things meme doing the rounds, hoping to avoid it after my previous encounter with memes. Then I notice you getting involved in my Google Reader with that bloody link to my site at the bottom of your post.

Before anything, here are the rules:

The Rules

• You have to post these rules before giving you the facts.
• Players state eight random facts/habits about themselves.
• At the end of the blog post, you tag eight people and list their names. (Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.)
• People who are tagged need to write about their eight things on their own blog and also post these rules.

Well, who am I to wreck the fun - here goes…

1. I’ve never been to Ibiza. Ever! Even though I bang on about dance music like there’s no tomorrow, hosting a monthly podcast about the stuff, moreso than the majority of industry bigwigs, I have never been lucky enough to visit the White Isle. If any promoters or venues out in the Balaerics fancy inviting me out there next Summer for a few gigs, get in contact.
2. I don’t actually own a working computer. Another shocker! Considering I’m a self-confessed nerd, working at arguably the world’s leading Web company, I am still without my own piece of kit. This is mainly down to the fact most my PCs have died a death and I’ve relied on work laptops & Mac’s to get me by. Maybe I’ll treat myself for Christmas - who knows.
3. I’ve had work featured in three computer magazines. Back in 2003, Computer Arts featured the multi-award winning educational piece, Hitting the Target and in 2006, .net and Practical Web Design both featured World Cup KickOff in tutorials about Microformats.
4. I’m a sponge for local dialects. It doesn’t matter where I live, I pick up the accent and local lingo almost immediately and strangers often think I am a local. People still mistake me for a Brummie but I am a proud Derby boy, even if my accent doesn’t sound like it.
5. I actually cut Oscar’s umbilical cord. I am a wimp when it comes to anything blood or gore. When the midwife asked if I wanted to cut Oscar’s umbilical cord after birth, I was quick to say “no” without hesitation. But when it came to the crunch, I changed my mind, grabbed the scissors and continued the tradition. It’s a very emotional moment - I highly recommend it to any fathers-to-be!
6. The first vinyl record I ever bought was Stardust’s “Music Sounds Better With You“. It was a struggle thinking back to when I was introduced to dance music on vinyl but I grabbed a copy of the classic when it was originally released before I even had any decks. Needles to say, I hijacked my dad’s 33/45 record player in the lounge with the volume nearly maxed out back then.
7. I’ve got a tattoo of a monkey on my arm. Well, sort of. It’s actually the Chinese symbol for the year of the monkey, the year I was born. I got it done during my university years as a mad stunt - thankfully, I don’t regret it. I don’t think its chavvy and its something that will always be a part of me.
8. I don’t have any artistic qualifications. Considering I’ve been involved in computer design for over fifteen years, I never opted for any art or design oriented courses. I’ve always focussed on the media and business side of qualifications instead.

Well there you have it - eight random things (or more accurately, confessions) about Simon Jobling. Hopefully these things won’t be held against me and seen more as a bit of insight into my world and what makes me… me!

Time for some tagging now - which unfortunate people who I class as friends (and actually blog) will have to continue this chain mail? In alphabetical order…

1. Kate Bolin - I’m sure you’ve got some things to tell!
2. Owen Gregory - we need some personal information on that blog of yours.
3. Nick Harris - it’s been a bit quiet from up North lately.
4. Andreas Lagerkvist - what better way to exchange links than finding out all your Swedish heritage?
5. Stuart Maynard-Keep - come on then Wolves boy, enlighten us.
6. Ross Riley - again, its been a bit quiet from your part of the Web. And your site is called Sorry Lies, how appropriate.
7. Andy Thelwell - I’ll probably know half your random facts anyway but it would still be fun for the other four readers of your site.
8. Ben Ward - you can stop moaning about your mobile and write something a bit more fun for once.

Have fun guys!