Following hot on the heels of a long post wrapping up disparate thoughts collated over a few weeks, this shorter post is little more than an annotated reading list: a to do list of thoughts and contributions.
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Building on his work with Robert Palmer on Eventful Cities, Prof. Richards is starting up an ATLAS Special Interest Group for events research. I have been very fortunate recently to exchange a couple of emails with him and even to get my hands on his inaugural address on taking on becoming Professor in Leisure Studies at Tilburg University (8 October 2010).
The title of the address: 'Leisure in the Network Society: From pseudo-events to hyperfestivity?' ...I think that's just great, and what a starting point for my interests! I swear I didn't know about this before I first blogged about 'Events in the connected city', but you'd say there's got to be some relationship between the two. I could be on the verge of switching to 'events in the network city', which it's direct references to relevant theoretical underpinnings. As I say, reading is required.
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@aleksk has just kicked off a new series of essays in The Observer titled 'Untangling the Web'. From the blurb: 'How has the most revolutionary innovation of our time - the Internet - transformed our world? What does it mean for the modern family? How has it changed our concepts of privacy? Of celebrity? Of love, sex and hate?'
Plenty to think about there, and of course contributions are welcomed: please do talk amongst yourselves.
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A busy few weeks has seen me slip behind in my RSA podcast listening, which distresses me somewhat. Just when I was getting into some selected older talks of particular interest and relevance. But no matter for I shall overcome such setbacks with nought but an iPhone and long train journeys over Christmas.
In the mean time, the RSA has been discussing networks and communities of late. Their journal for autumn 2010 leads with a piece from Paul Ormerod on social networks influencing social policy; there's also an article on networks from the prolific Krotoski, naturally, as well as others.
This is in addition to a major piece of work from the RSA titled Connected Communities. Here are some arguments on why you (and I) should read it. It seeks to link social networks, the Big Society, community regeneration.
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It is my hope that there is sufficient reading above and in the referenced sources that follow to compile an initial literature review. When combined with some of the standard event management texts, central texts of my chosen theories and some relevant examples I've probably got enough. I hope I'll have enough.
It's helping me settle on the themes that I value: events, festivals, social networks, social/open media, cities, communities and organisations.
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Image credits:
- First: 'Read OR Listen?' (suchitra)
- Next: 'Un libro, una sensación, una canción.' (Xanetia)
- Next: 'Information overload' (Stephen Cummings)
- Last: 'focus' (pastaboy sleeps)
