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Wednesday Jun 02, 2010

The IT crowd

What do you think of when someone mentions Information Technology? Computers, games, gadgets and geeks? What about Pioneers of IT? Do you know who came up with the World Wide Web? Or who brought computers outside the lab and into our homes?

Information Pioneers is a campaign launched by BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT which seeks to answer these exact questions and do away with stereotyped notions of the industry being dull or geeky. To showcase this campaign, five films have been made to highlight the lives and accomplishments of five Information Pioneers.

Who would have ever thought that Hollywood actress Hedy Lamar would come up with the first idea for frequency hopping which is the basis for the Wi-Fi, GPS and mobile! Or that a creation as wonderful as the World Wide Web could have been created by a Brit, Sir Tim Berners-Lee?  Whilst Ada Lovelace, daughter of Lord Byron was the first computer programmer, Sir Clive Sinclair saw the potential of home computers at a time when they were thought to belong only in labs and code breaker Alan Turing first came up with the idea of a thinking computer - what we now know as artificial intelligence.

Each pioneering story is brought to life in the film by a celebrity advocate, these include Ortis Deley from the Gadget Show, Match Point actress Miranda Raison, an ex-cricketer turned TV personality Phil Tufnell, BBC Click Reporter Kate Russell and comedian, actor and author Dom Joly.

A report by BCS called 'Why we should love IT?' demonstrates that actually, young people do not find the IT profession to be dull or boring with 54% of 16-30 year olds asked believing IT to be a challenging and exciting career path.   In addition to this, 49% see IT as a level playing field, with no factors of discrimination whatsoever.  So why aren't more people studying IT?  and specifically, why not more girls?

By first changing people's outlooks on IT, the campaign aims to get more people (and hopefully more girls!) excited about going into the world of I.T and to also realise that anyone can have the vision to do something great. Who says you can't be an actress and a techie? Or that you have to go to University in order to be a Pioneer? Sir Clive Sinclair certainly didn't, yet still achieved enormous amounts.

Get involved, discuss and vote for your information pioneer of all time at http://pioneers.bcs.org. Perhaps, one day you'll be up in the leader board!

 

Posted by Helen ( 1:09 PM ) Link to this post  |  Comments[2]

Tuesday Apr 27, 2010

Win £1000 with your artwork

If you're arty and have felt the recession pinch your pockets, here's your chance to win some cash, but you've got to act fast.

There are only a few days left to enter our competition, LifeSupport: Change through art. It's all about expressing how the recession has impacted your life and those you know through photography, film, comics or illustrations and the winner walks away with £1000 to spend on their artistic development. There are also three runner-up prizes of £300 each.

As if that wasn't incentive enough, there's also a great panel of judges, including YouTuber Charlieissocoollike, the MD of Saatchi Design Ashley Goodall, Turner Prize nominee Yinka Shonibare and comic illustrator Jamie McKelvie, so it's an amazing opportunity to get your work in front of some high-profile arty types.

It's also a chance to get your work seen - entries will be hosted on TheSite.org, and all shortlisted pieces will be displayed at an awards event in London's Design Museum.

The deadline for entries is this Friday, 30^th April at midnight. The clock's ticking. Get drawing and enter here – good luck!

Posted by Hannah ( 2:16 PM ) Link to this post  |  Comments[0]

Thursday Feb 11, 2010

Take a new challenge

I’ve found all the news about the lack of opportunities for young people recently quite depressing, so I thought I’d let you know about a couple of interesting things for young people I’ve come across recently.

The first is called The Challenge and it’s a three-week scheme that takes place in the summer after year 11.

The first week is residential and you do crazy things like abseil down a 100 foot wall. The second week is a team challenge where you get training to help do things like run a gym or write and perform a play. The third week is the biggie – this is where you design your own challenge and come up with something that everyone in your local neighbourhood will be talking about.

It runs every Summer and they’re looking for more people to sign up – the best bit is you only pay a few quid to do it. Check out their site to find out more.

The second is a bit closer to home… YouthNet (the charity that pays for this lovely site to run) is looking for some rather wonderful young people to join our Respect? Campaign.

The campaign is all about making sure young people are fairly represented in the media. So if you’ve ever read a story about ‘Binge drinking Britain’ or ‘Young yobs to blame for everything’ and winced, now’s the time to do something about it.

Past members of the campaign have been interviewed for TV and newspaper stories and have even met with politicians to air their views, so there’s some pretty cool opportunities to get your opinions heard.

So if you’re looking for a new challenge that will really make a difference, get more information and download an application form here. The deadline is 21 February 2010

Posted by Hannah ( 12:28 PM ) Link to this post  |  Comments[0]

Friday Dec 11, 2009

TheSite.org gets spanked by YouTube

What would you do if YouTube banned one of your videos?

I had to think about this when an email pinged into my inbox the other day telling me that our video, 'Bondage for Beginners' had infringed the YouTube Community Guidelines and been removed. The horror!

We've been building a steady YouTube presence (youtube.com/thesitevideos) for over a year now, and I thought it would be useful to repurpose some of our advice podcasts for the YouTube audience. So using a few select photos our Multimedia Assistant, Chris 'Deviant' Denholm, crafted a simple but effective photo illustration for the podcast.

The video was uploaded and the viewers started watching. Quite a lot in fact; it quickly became one of our most viewed videos. It was pleasing to see so many people were getting some cracking advice about bondage.

However, it seems even guidance videos can fall foul of the censors these days. The email I received cited 'nudity' as the reason for the video being banned. I watched the video again, eager to see writhing bodies and full frontal action! Strangely, I couldn't find any. All I got was good, safe advice about trying out bondage with a partner.

Judge for yourself and watch the video...

I still haven't heard back from YouTube about whether this was an oversight or whether they really don't like young people learning about bondage.

Maybe they didn't like seeing a dog in a Star Trek outfit – he's in the buff after all!

Chris 'Whip-crack' Chapman,
TheSite.org's Multimedia Editor

Posted by Chris ( 3:20 PM ) Link to this post  |  Comments[2]

Thursday Nov 12, 2009

Influential - or just in the headlines?

According to the Times, these are the 30 most influential people under 30. Nominated by industry specialists then whittled down by seeing who has the most online column inches, Google hits, Twitter influence and so on, we end up with the likes of Amy Winehouse, Daisy Lowe and Wayne Rooney. Inspiring stuff.

Admittedly, a few intriguing entries make the list. Thanks to the Business, Media and Politics category, we get to pay tribute to some impressive young entrepreneurs and Climate Rush campaigner Tamsin Omond. It’s just a shame her inclusion has to be justified by explaining (twice) how ‘gorgeous’ she is. Obviously an important prerequisite for being an influential campaigner nowadays.

While I don’t doubt that celebrities are influential, it’s shame that other industries couldn’t have been better represented. Is being a socialite (official job title for Peaches Geldof, apparently) or a ‘girlfriend’ (Kate Middleton), really more important than the young up-and-coming scientists, engineers and designers? Isn’t it up to the media to put more emphasis on young people doing truly great things to inspire a younger generation to follow in their footsteps? I already know how good Peaches Geldof is at getting media coverage for going to dull celebrity bashes, but I’ve no idea who is out there trying to find the cure for cancer or coming up with the next idea or invention to change life as we know it.

While I love the internet and understand it’s relevance to deciphering who should be on the list, I’d argue that other factors are important too – like social impact, and the ability to turn people on to new ideas. There are young people doing amazing – and influential – things everywhere, not just on the red carpet.

Posted by Hannah ( 2:59 PM ) Link to this post  |  Comments[4]

Monday Nov 09, 2009

'Have you ever wanted to spit in Gordon's porridge?'

Interviewing politicians is a bit like interviewing celebs – they're often so well media trained it's hard to get anything interesting out of them. Luckily when I interviewed Conservative MP Tim Loughton  at the annual conference of the National Council for Voluntary Youth Services on Tuesday, I was armed with excellent questions from members of TheSite.org's politics & debate forum.

 I admit I chickened out of asking "how safe is the school kid's milk?" on behalf of CptCoatHanger. However thanks to Flashman's Ghost, I had to try and keep a straight face whilst uttering the words "have you ever wanted to spit in Gordon Brown's porridge?" Fortunately, rather than giving me a cuff round the ear, Loughton seemed to find it amusing - phew - saying: "I've wanted to do some drastic things to Gordon Brown, I must admit." Sadly he didn't elaborate as to what.

 Before I risked the porridge question, I asked about Diplomas, Apprenticeships and the Conservatives proposed plans to force young people into compulsory volunteering. 

 I wanted to find out what will happen when the Diploma is scaled it back, which Loughton confirmed is definitely the plan. He stopped short of answering this problematic question (he is a politican after all), saying instead: "we're not going to scrap it on day one", which isn't particularly comforting news for anyone considering taking this qualification. Apprenticeships, on the other hand, look set to get a boost (thanks adogwithsunglasses) with a pre-Apprenticeship for 14-16 year olds and plans to treble the amount of Apprenticeships available to people at school.

Star Galaxy wanted to point out the target of sending 50 % of 18-30 year olds to university is "utterly mad", believing it's contributed to rising graduate unemployment levels. Loughton's response: "I'm against arbitrary targets. I want people to go to university if that's the right thing for them. The problem with ambitious targets is that it potentially devalues the university experience and treats people who don't go to university as second class citizens. It should be horses for courses."

Finally it turns out National Citizenship Service (the feared compulsory volunteering) isn't actually going to be compulsory (it's also not necessarily going to be called National Citizenship Service – a name hasn't been decided yet). Instead, it's sounding more like a version of the Duke of Edinburgh's award, with young people signing up for summer-long 'challenges' in their community.  According to Loughton, the idea was 'youthproofed' by teenagers from Leeds, Liverpool and London. He said: "We've been using them as a sounding board and they've come up with some really positive ways of promoting it. There's no point in us coming up with a scheme if young people then reject it."

 I was struck by the difference in rhetoric between Conservative and Labour when it comes to talking about young people. Instead of ASBOs and the Respect Agenda, Loughton's emphasis seemed to be on communication and community and being "positive for youth." This may turn out to be no more than another dodgy catch phrase of course – we'll have to see – but any move away from the demonisation of young people has to be a good thing, whichever party you vote for.

Posted by Emma ( 5:41 PM ) Link to this post  |  Comments[0]

Thursday Oct 29, 2009

Halloween fancy dress

There's no doubt about it, TheSite.org boards are a great place to source ideas for fancy dress costumes. When I was struggling to find an idea for a Disney party, I started a thread and you guys helped me put together an awesome Mickey Mouse costume.

So when Halloween comes around, a classic time of year for digging out the face paints, we look forward to seeing you get into the spirit, sharing ideas and showing off your creative flair.

To that end, this year we're running a photography competition to find out what ideas you've come up with on the fancy dress front. We're also interested in other imagery you can capture over the weekend.

We've got a bunch of fun goodies up for grabs that we'll post out to the best entries.

Just take a peek in the anything goes section of the boards to find out full details. 

It's not just me on TheSite.org communities team who likes a bit of fancy dress though. Jim V and Jo7 have also been known to get involved. 

But when you look at the three pictures together, we're hardly winning entries are we?

So please go ahead and put us to shame with your images. 

And, if Halloween isn't your thing, don't worry, the next occasion is just around the corner. 

I've already spotted a Christmas fancy dress thread in the style and appearance forum.

Posted by Helen ( 3:49 PM ) Link to this post  |  Comments[14]

Friday Sep 11, 2009

First item on the first agenda

Posted on behalf of Daisy Phillipson:

Thursday the 10^th of September; not a particularly memorable day. But for me it represented my giant leap of experience into the working world, or at least the world that I would like to work in. It had been four days since I had started my work experience with TheSite and I was told to prepare for the editorial meeting. Now for the five others attending who work for TheSite, this was just a casual chat about current events and new ideas. But for me it was to be the first professional meeting of my life. I am hoping that it was not my last; I am hoping that eventually that kind of meeting will also be just a casual chat with my co-workers.

But nevertheless it was certainly an experience that has taught me more about the professional world. Plus I particularly enjoyed going home and ringing everyone I know to tell them how 'I'm busy, I had a meeting today at the office' and 'today in the meeting I thought of some new ideas'.

Don't get me wrong, this is not the most exciting part of the week. In fact this is only minor; it was the novelty of my first meeting that really got me. The most exciting part of my week, which I was extremely eager to do, was to re-write an article. In the first week I was pleasantly surprised to find that my journalism skills could be practiced in the office. I knew that this wouldn't be the last time either.  And I don't know whether it's just me but the chilled atmosphere of the office and the sense of unity between ALL of the co-workers make a tranquil and efficient atmosphere to work in. Perfect for young journalist wannabes who are trying to make a good impression.

Posted by Anna ( 11:35 AM ) Link to this post  |  Comments[0]

Tuesday Sep 01, 2009

Seyi's placement

Seyi has been working hard on the editorial team for the past two weeks doing lots of research and writing some great articles. Here's what he's been up to:

Maybe this placement has distorted my perception of time. Or, more realistically, I reckon I've just had a good time, because my two weeks of work experience has felt like five minutes. I've been given the opportunity to immerse myself in all things journalistic! I unexpectedly got asked to sit in on an editorial meeting, which was a good insight into how TheSite.org staff develop the website and what level of thinking goes into keeping the website at its best.

I gave some article writing a go. I wrote the first one on my experience of drastically changing schools and another on my experience with a stammer. The first one (soon to be up on the shiny new Lifetracks true stories section!) was a fairly straightforward process as it was simple events entwined with a bit of rambling. The latter took longer, as there was a lot of material that sprung to mind that I could have put into the article. However, I doubt any visitor here is looking to read the next War and Peace, so some cutting down was definitely in order.

Fortunately, unlike some of my more unfortunate friends, who've had utterly dull work experience placements, I haven't actually had to make a single cup of coffee for anyone (fortunately for the staff!). The placement has been a fantastic insight into the world of journalism. Everybody here has been so friendly, and happy to put up with me whenever things didn't go quite to plan. I've discovered what goes on in the job besides writing articles, and most of all I've had a wonderful time!

 

Posted by Chris Denholm ( 1:39 PM ) Link to this post  |  Comments[0]

Thursday Aug 27, 2009

Show us the dancing money

It's taken me most of my life to get a stable relationship with my finances going. Up until about three years ago I had two monetary states of mind - mild depression and blind panic. I didn't check my bank balance very often and basically hoped for the best.

The ensuing financial chaos and knock-on hysteria just wasn't a good look and I discovered, once you get down to it, giving yourself an economic over-haul isn't quite as daunting as it might seem. I used the online advice from the Citizen's Advice Bureau and now, barring the occasional fashion-based hiccup, I've got a much better grasp on my budget (it was about time I started acting like a grown-up.) To see two young people who've worked through financial dramas of their own with help from CAB, take a look at these two videos (complete with dancing money and some pretty cool animation.)

 

Posted by Anna ( 9:31 AM ) Link to this post  |  Comments[0]

Wednesday Aug 26, 2009

Radiorama

Listening to the radio is a more intimate experience than watching TV, surfing online or reading a magazine. The voices and the music are right there in the room with you. But have you ever wondered what it’s like being one of those voices? Or perhaps you’ve wondered how all these sounds reach you in the first place?

The UK has lots of schemes which allow young people to get involved in radio. One of these is Fresh FM, run entirely by 13 – 19 year-olds in the south east London borough of Greenwich. Fresh start a three-day FM broadcast across London on 106.8 FM from tomorrow (August 27^th) and you can listen online too.

Remember Fresh was created by people just like you, so if you like what you hear, why not look for a similar project in your area?

Posted by Anna ( 3:36 PM ) Link to this post  |  Comments[0]

Friday Aug 21, 2009

Some A Grade experiences

Posted by me on behalf of Seyi Soleye:

It can't believe I'm almost half way through my two week work experience placement here at TheSite. It only feels like five minutes ago when I waddled into the YouthNet offices, nervous about what was to come.  Miraculously I've been entrusted with the task of updating the poll every day and I've been introduced to the technical ins-and-outs of the back end of TheSite. Computer tech isn't exactly my forte, so if the website suddenly dies for some reason over the next week, you know who to blame! Since I have journalistic interests (you don't say?), spending some time in the morning doing press watch hasn't exactly seemed like work. Funnily enough, the work part of work experience hasn't reared its head!

Of course, during press watch I would have been blind if I didn't notice that many of this week's headlines have concerned A-Level results. Having managed to suppress most of my apprehension this week, I ventured to college to get my AS grades, with pointless erratic fears whirring in my head.  Why? Goodness knows. I couldn't change anything. The mind's a funny thing.

I continued up into the building and passed a girl crying into her mum's shoulders. Were those tears of joy or tears of misery? Please be tears of joy I kept on thinking, fishing for a scrap of an illogical reason to feel more confident. Once grades were in hand I still wasn't totally sure of my overall grades. I had to add up the unit marks to see what grade my overall score came out as. I simply couldn't trust my overheated mind so I whipped out my phone to use the calculator facility. After double checking, then triple checking, then quad...checking a fourth time, just to make sure I wasn't getting delusional I finally realised that the result was actually AAA. Maybe not so much need for pointless panic after all!

 

Posted by Anna ( 4:19 PM ) Link to this post  |  Comments[0]

Friday Aug 14, 2009

Whose afraid of the big, bad hoodie?

A quick little update this week - a new rant and factsheet for your enjoyment

Little Red Riding Hood wouldn’t be so welcome these days -

http://tinyurl.com/kmbva5

Exams not go as well as you’d like? – check out our new article on clearing

http://tinyurl.com/labun4

And don't forget, if you'd like to get involved in writing a rant, or with any of our volunteering opportunities just check out our Get Involved page.

Posted by Jim ( 1:57 PM ) Link to this post  |  Comments[0]

Wednesday Aug 12, 2009

Work experience: a live debate

Anna here, posting on behalf on Aarti (that's her on the far left!)

 

Hello I'm Aarti and I'm about halfway through my work experience at TheSite.org, so I thought an update would be in order.  I have been given so many great opportunities in the last week, but I thought I'd highlight just a few of my favourites.

I have had the chance to sit in on an editorial meeting, which was a bit intimidating on my first day when I was still settling in! Still, it helped to show me how the staff behind TheSite come up with their ideas for content. I've also written a comment piece – really a one-sided argument– always fun to write.

Best of all, I was given the opportunity to be a part of a video debate about this country's education system, unfairness on the career ladder and the all important worry of the recession and its effects. I was  a little out of my depth, but I gave it my best shot!

Everyone else debating had passed the age of A-Levels and university degrees and had all tried getting a job. To be honest, at 16, I really felt a little too young to be discussing this with them, but in the end the age difference really helped to bring a new perspective to the table and hopefully I didn't seem too naive in my young-minded views.

Being the age that I am, our discussion on how A-Levels compared to vocational courses really had me thinking, is the traditional route really the best option? The first hand experiences of the contributors brought home the idea that a textbook course without practical work can't really be all that useful when you start searching for a job. But then I suppose people have managed so far by putting in the extra effort to balance knowledge and experience.

Talking about the obstacles for young people in the world of work was a little overwhelming, but it was interesting that everyone agreed gender and income still held some candidates back, as unfair as it seems.

Our talk on the recession, I have to admit, made me feel even younger. Their stories of the direct effect on their lives made me realise how lucky I was that my parents were coping well. And if that wasn't enough, their fears of joblessness were met by my possibly slightly naive weapon – hope. But then I really do think that's all I can do, besides working my socks off.

I had a great time and I not only learnt a lot form their views and experiences but I came away with a greater awareness of the struggles young people are facing everywhere.  I can't complain at all – everyone made me feel really welcome and an important part of the team. I am just grateful I was given the opportunity to sit in, despite my earlier worries!

Posted by Anna ( 11:37 AM ) Link to this post  |  Comments[1]

Friday Aug 07, 2009

Money, money, money

Here's our latest grab bag full of new content on TheSite.org.

It's been a while since we posted a weekly update, but hopefully we'll keep this up on a more regular basis from now on. So don't forget to check back on Fridays to find out what we've all been up to

Video

How to make money -expert tips on how to make money

 

Rants

Daily health scares - the joys of newspaper health sections

Information and advice

Clearing 

Finding a plastic surgeon

Weird days out in Britain

The Best UK Beach Holidays

Diaries

End of an era - as her exams finish, Lily looks forward to the future

First year freedom - the first post of our new student diarist

Posted by Jim ( 2:04 PM ) Link to this post  |  Comments[0]