DigitasLBi kicked off the IAB UK Digital Upfronts last Friday (October 16) with the DigitasLBi UK NewFront, which featured an eclectic array of speakers. The event also saw the unveiling of the “Periscope Periscope,” an interactive installation which lets viewers watch a number of curated feeds from Twitter’s live streaming app Periscope. The installation made its debut last Friday in front of an audience of marketers and industry influencers, and will be installed in DigitasLBi’s Brick Lane reception area this week.
DigitasLBi kicked off the IAB UK Digital Upfronts last Friday with the DigitasLBi UK NewFront, which featured an eclectic array of speakers
A blended DigitasLBi team of creatives and technologists, in partnership with production expert Ben Day, created the 12-foot high periscope, made of galvanised steel air ducting and containing a piece of software that grabs a curated set of Periscope streams from Twitter. An Arduino-powered compass detects the periscope’s movement, changing the displayed feed as the Periscope is rotated. Periscope is a live video streaming app that was acquired by Twitter in January this year and launched in March 2015 for iOS and Android. Scott Ross, chief technology officer for the UK at DigitasLBi, said of the project: “Periscope Periscope allows us to tap into the potential of the Periscope app, giving people the opportunity to explore multiple different worlds, all through a real, live periscope.”
Chris Clarke
The DigitasLBi UK NewFront, which is now in its second year, brings together leading artists, creative thinkers, media owners and innovators to pioneer brave and experimental new approaches to content creation. The idea is to explore how technology is transforming our daily lives; from our health and wellbeing, to the cars we drive, the content we consume and the way we interact with brands. This year, the event was organised and presented by the agency's Chief Brand & Content Officer, Gareth Jones, and was themed around the subject of “Transformation.”
Periscope Periscope is a 12-foot high periscope, which grabs a curated set of Periscope streams from Twitter, and is currently installed in DigitasLBi’s Brick Lane reception area
An eclectic line up of speakers considered the application of creativity and technology, and looked far beyond the communications industry in doing so. Professor Hugh Herr, head of the bio mechatronics research group at MIT Media Lab, was the first in an inspiring line-up, demonstrating (quite literally) how the domain of bionics is just one sphere in which human capability can be extended well beyond what nature intended. Having had his legs amputated from below the knee following a mountain climbing accident in 1982, Herr has himself proven how it is possible to drive a car, to ride a bike, even to climb mountains with prosthetic limbs. “With technology, I’m released from the shackles of disability,” he quite boldly claimed from the stage.
Jimmy's Iced Coffee founder Jim Cregan
Ben Hammersley, contributing editor at Wired UK and Futurist, meanwhile, took to the podium to discuss the birth of what he called “Consumer-grade artificial intelligence,” and whether or not we must all consider whether our jobs merely exist to keep the seat warm while waiting for the robot to arrive and take our place! DigitasLBI's own CCO Chris Clarke, meanwhile, spoke of our over-reliance on technology and constant connectivity through mobile devices, which he feels is gradually beginning to enslave us!
Speakers included comedian Richard Ayoade, NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, Mumsnet CEO Justine Roberts, and DJ, TV presenter and founder of The Pool, Lauren Laverne
Reid Wiseman
On a lighter (and more positive) note, comedian Richard Ayoade, presenter of Channel 4’s Gadget Man, also made an appearance, as did NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman, who spoke to DigitasLBi UK CEO Michael Islip over Skype from Texas about his experiences in space. Wiseman shared that by sharing his photos via social media, he learned of people’s hunger for the ‘human’ stories of life at the space station in which he spent 6 months, as well as their thirst to see the breath-taking views, some of which he shared with the audience. Other speakers on the afternoon included DJ, TV presenter and founder of The Pool, Lauren Laverne; co-founder of the Slow Journalism Company and DigitasLBi International CEO, Ewen Sturgeon; The founder of Jimmy's Iced Coffee, Jim Cregan; Mumsnet CEO Justine Roberts; and Sabotage Times founder James Brown. For more on the IAB Digital Upfronts, check back with us every day this week.
