How to follow a Police hashtag like #NorfolkLive by making something useful and fast

screenshot of the website

In this post, you'll learn about making something online for free that support Community Safety.

In this case, Norfolk Police UK made one tweet with a slide on 28 Oct 2015 at 7am. Sgt Joe Simon said, Me + @RPFOUSgt will be broadcasting live on patrol via @periscopeco on Fri 30th and Sat 31st. Follow #NorfolkLive.

Timeless live video from West Mids Police and Fire tells of the value in Community Safety

It's December 2015, four years and three months from when Supt Kerry Blakeman and Commander Simon Shilton invited me to Coventry Police Station to learn about Google+ and Live Video at YouTube.

Having watched back the clip today, it's a timeless piece of work. I have no hesitation in recommending anyone in Policing and Community Safety to take the time to watch.

Essex Police Twitter Accounts Mapped

This post was first made on my mike downes media website as it has a wider page width and maps will look better, it reads:

This interactive map has been produced from the public twitter list at Essex Police UK - Officers who tweet (time of writing 102 members, I've added the main force account too).

All pushpin locations are approximate based on what we can see in each twitter bio. The purpose of the map is to give a rough idea where the officers are located.

PC Alan Conran Essex Police UK Twitter Album @PCAlanConran

If you click this image, it will open a lightbox album
or if on mobile/tablet click here for photos app

This is a theory post. It will show how making a public google photo album will make thirty eight images and two videos show up in a Google Search.

Of course they are not the same image URLs on twitter - they are a copy stored on Google.

Why do people use Audacity? And thanks to those 200,000 views..

From the three Audacity Help Videos I've made, they've just passed 200,000 YouTube views (as Jan 2020).

edit 9 Feb 16 - this post was made 24 Sep 15 as 50,000 views, changed to 70,000 views now..

All three were called How to Clean Audacity, and took me just minutes to make. I've lost count of all the people who've said Thank You.

The one genuine question I have: What do people need clean audio for?

How to Live Steam Mobile Games to YouTube

slide shows OBS overlayed on live stream -
this is a collage, not a real feed

It's SO EASY to Live Stream Android or iOS Mobile Games to YouTube.

Of course there's a suggestion Gaming YouTube will make that easier. It's expected an App update will be available soon (the verge, 16 sep 15).

How to make One Live Streaming YouTube Page complete with Twitter feed and Never Change It

This works brilliantly and is SO easy to do.

You'll need just two things:

1, A live streaming account

2, A twitter account. That's it.

With HALF of youtube views on Mobile why waste bandwidth go 240p

With HALF of youtube views on Mobile Devices, why waste bandwidth on a 720p HD Live Stream when the job can be done with 424 x 240p with NO loss in message? That's what this test is all about. Single user video, one image (top left) and a few text labels - message delivered every time..  

If you are broadcast a SINGLE video user - I would NOT use Hangouts at all - Use Go Live at: live_dashboard and OBS

Live Streaming multi video users and shared screens

This video shows how easy it is to stream multiple video users to YouTube using OBS and shared screens. 

OBS will allow capture of any video call source (like appear.in, zoom.us etc), we can then setup a Scene (like a few google slide show or a Doc) and Go Live.

UK Police on Twitter up 69% What will come next - Live Social Video?

data set

UK Police official accounts have been on Twitter since 2009/10 (with West Midlands signing up 15 Dec 2008).

This post looks at twitter followers from Aug 2013 to Aug 2015 and how there's been a 69% follower increase in the past year.

So what happens next? Are the Police and the Public content with text, images and links or could there be more?

The Mike Downes Instagram Page

Edit 18 April 2016 -New trailer video for the Laptop show




Also been sharing some Zoom H1 Mic photos, so take a look at the Zoom H1 Collection if you like ..

Update 11 Jan 2016 - Find my Google Local Guide Photos at Maps Contributions.

I've been using a Vivitar 786HD Action Camera - as it has a 120 degree wide lens, I get some cool shots - hope you like them.

4 sep 2015 update - I rarely use Instagram, but when I do it's to say something like this: Instagram no longer a Square: new Photo Aspect Ratios 

If you're reading this, chances are you arrived here from my Instagram account - the only allowed URL from my profile.

And no surprises - instagram is an used used and lesser service for me.

I've made this page to help make sense of the beauty and makeup artists I follow at Instagram.

In particular on how some Instagram users are found on other platforms like YouTube and Twitter.

Theories on Live Video and Chat - Private Public with Appear.in Blab.im

10 Sep 2015 update - all of what I've said here is valid, but you may like to know I've moved on to look at how YouTube have made it very easy to live stream.

And as YouTube has a billion users, my theory: make life easy for yourself. In other words, a youtube player will open everywhere on the web (unlike some emerging platforms and URLs).

For the next step, I'm looking at how you can curate a multi user video feed, some images and text, along with any shared screens to make an experience your very own (see the Live Streaming label at this site).

28 Aug 2015 as follows ..

Blab.im live video & chat for Police, Fire and Law Enforcement

screen shot from the live session

Blab.im is a new live video chat service logged in via Twitter. It's very easy to use and requires virtually no setup.

Edit 25 Aug 12 noon - last night saw a panel discussion lead by Kerry Blakeman with Lauri Stevens as Talking Police/Law Enforcement Social Media @lawscomm (link opens in a new window 47 mins).

Social Video using webRTC and what's Google got to do with it?

read this slide then read it again .. thank you

Gossip Myth Science Engineering - I wonder how long I can get through this post without sending people to uncontrollable sleep?

So I joined blab.im eleven days ago and there were two types of people in there - those jumping happy periscopers who were broadcasting alone and have now found face to face video friends and the noisy bunch of google hangout bashers.

The Metropolitan and City Police Live Event Page

There are eighty police posts on this blog since Jan 2011 (search label police).

Most of the posts are about how the Police use Social Media to engage with the community they serve. And as public safety, policing and time never stop - a new and exciting opportunity with Policing London has emerged.

The Lucy Rose Music Story Sphere

From the moment I saw the Lucy Rose - I Tried video, I knew it could make a useful Story Sphere.

edit, jump to see finished Story Sphere at:
www.storyspheres.com/scene/xf6MqbS3

If you watch closely, you will see the shadow of the lamp post change over time - our reckoning about four hours?

The Story Sphere Resource Page

Update 26 July 2017 - Story Spheres have been relaunched. You can take a read of the official google blog 25 July 2017 'Helping journalists experiment with 360 content.

With that in mind, I am now making and testing Story Spheres. The first one today is called West Midlands Police NPAS Live which shows the interior of a UK Police Helicopter with background voice over from an officer. It's a single audio centred around the EXIT sign, near the slide of the helicopter on the ground.

I've made one called Bond Street comprising x1 background audio and x5 clickable hotspot audio. Watch and listen - the issue to iron out, how background audio is omnidirectional and will halt to zero when looking in 180 degrees away. I guess adding the same track but 180 degrees apart will work or better still, simply add audio that refers an exact spot ie inside a cafe or building.

These days in 2017, there are many many more ways to make 360 images, more than ever before, especially in 2015. The real question is when and where story spheres will fit in.

---
It's no secret I'm a fan of the #photosphere, so when I hear Grumpy Sailor teamed up with Google Creative again - a dream come true.

On this page, you'll find some resources to get you started to view your first Story Sphere and understand what goes into the Making too.

To make it simple, I've created a google collection which includes all the information from +Grumpy Sailor Creative and Google's +Tom Uglow.

Google on Twitter 50 Official Accounts Examined

image credits at base of post

In the beginning there was Google and soon after Google on Twitter. And if you believe that you may believe anything.

In reality, we Google founded 4 Sept 1998, Twitter launched 15 July 2006 and @google on twitter created 10 Feb 2009.

The kind people at google have an official google twitter directory - we have 162 official accounts (and a few missing ones like @googleplus, @googlestore or @projectfi).

The Youtube Audio Library Resource Page

Chris Martin (photo credit)

Update 15 Aug 15 - there are now over 2,000 free tracks, 1,600 of those are less than 30 seconds ..

It was 1 Oct 2013 when YouTube launched the free music audio library with 161 tracks.

Today, 18 months later, there are 1,203 tracks - that's a whole lotta choice, so how do we make the best of them?

This resource page will help you get started while offering a few insights into making the most of the process of searching, listening, downloading and using a suitable track.

Huda Kattan Beauty YouTube Audience Retention the for last 50 uploads

This post is about Huda Kattan, her channel at YouTube and the last fifty videos uploaded.

I've studied them in my normal fashion to give some insights into the efficiency of a running YouTube Beauty Channel.

I've chosen Huda Huttan as my travels into beauty and makeup at Instagram has lead me to believe Huda is a shining example of someone who is loved and respected in the beauty community.

The Google Earth Pro Resource Page for Movie Makers

On 30 jan 2015, Google Earth made the Pro version free to all.

This post will be a collection of resources for those people who wish to make the most of using the Movie Maker tool.

Of course Google themselves and the brilliant people who are on the team, have many resources already. I will include those links and sites.

figurative reality, youtube and my notes on starting 2015

This post started as a three lines at g+. It's now 3,327 words and will take a while to get through.

the g+ bit, i wrote so need this, the Social Blade dashboard, I use it to track highly specialised and targeted media companies ie channels at youtube. Social Blade is the only site that offers a balanced analysis of youtube channels. This is super important. If you're a modest creator, then it could be a small step to give up your day job and scale up.

Ginxlive, why I watch and the comparison to TFI Friday

This blog is about mass communication and media change. 

And that's why I rate my experience with Ginx TV high on my list of must watch shows.

In the last two weeks, I've thought about #Ginxlive every single day.