We have started using the beta version of the donation system Flattr. This system gives the users a very hands-on opportunity to show that they like something on the internet – by donating actual money. For more explanation go see a very informative video on the flattr website.

As this is an early beta version much is still unclear. It seems obvious that Flattr holds potentials for the niche content producer and generally regarding turning clicks into money.

We don’t expect to make money on Flattr ourselves (or maybe? at the time of writing we have been flattered 4 times!). We are just curious about emerging “businesss models” and the internet. And who knows, maybe sometime we might end up recommending a Flattr account for one of our clients.

We stopped watching tv years ago. Now and then we watch television online, and lately we have noticed how the Swedish SVT is years ahead of the corresponding Danish DR. Take a look at this totally superior way of presenting motion pictures:  http://media.svt.se/play/playprima/ – really impressive with full screen in very high resolution. And furthermore, the resolution is scalable with the bandwith of your internet connection.

SVT screenshot:

DR screenshot – waiting for dr.dk:

We know they are working on a solution at DR. In the meantime go to http://media.svt.se/play/playprima/

2008 is near its end, so we thought it’s time for a little compilation of this year’s Genau events.

Internship
2008 was a break-through for Genau in many ways. We had our first intern, Sara. It was great for us so if you are considering something like an internship in a small internet company with a lot of edge then just contact us or drop by for coffee.

English
Around May year we did a language shift here on the blog, and most of our blog posts since then have been in English. We are not sure if we should go on with the English. It makes sense to write in English since we often work with people that don’t understand Danish, but on the other hand most of our readers are Danish and it would probably feel odd for you/them to comment on something in English. Let us know what you think.

New office
In July we moved into our office in Mikkel Bryggers Gade in downtown Copenhagen, and we are still here. We share the office space with five other people, mainly journalists and other writing people. It is great to have a real work place with nice people around. Every second week we get a big box of fresh fruit delivered, and we have even hosted a few parties. We probably have some film nights coming up soon.

Commercial projects
During 2008 we made about 15 websites and two or three consultancy jobs. You can see some of the websites in the about section. Regarding the webdesign we are looking forward to continue with WordPress solutions for small websites and Drupal for bigger projects, but in 2009 we want to have a better balance between practical webdesigning and consulting.

Own projects – 200 DJs and CCMS
In August we arranged a second version of the 200 DJs project. Organizing the event was quite tough this time. The biggest problem was finding a location. The one we had in mind turned us down after months of waiting because of problems with authorities. And the managers at our back-up location managed to do a double booking and told us only two weeks before the date of the event. Then we were offered a great place in Kødbyen but Københavns Ejendomme stopped it because of “too much partying” in the area. Finally By og Havn saved us by offering us the old terminal for the Poland ferry in the northern part of the central harbour. A very cool location but our crowd couldn’t fill up the vast space, and the great feeling from the first 200 DJs event never really materialized. We ended up with some financial hardship after the event but we learned so much.

The first version of CCMS – creative content management system – was launched in February. And the second version of CCMS launched gradually during November. Improvements are huge – lots of jquery, design improvements, user inputs, in-browser audio playing, video etc. And you can simply start using it on the hosted version at www.ccms.nu. So far it is in Danish but most people will understand it. We presented the beta version at the course “learning and IT” at the IT University of Copenhagen – thanks for having us and thanks for the feedback.

So what’s up for 2009?
Apart from our webdesign jobs and concultancy work – the commercial branch of Genau – we have one particular project in mind for 2009. We want to buy an old bus just like these Swedes did. Then we want to paint it and create a space for getting things done. More to come. Get in touch if you want to participate.

Happy new year!

Sara will join us as an intern for the four weeks of April. We are very excited about this and look forward to work with her – hopefully we can teach her some things about internet design in return. Sara is a pregnant architect and will help us arrange a big event in Copenhagen this summer – stay tuned.

With more and more international contacts we have decided to switch to English on this blog. Some future blog posts may be in Danish though.

I dag d. 21. november er det No Music Day. Projektet er sat i værk af Bill Drummond, som er mest kendt for musikgruppen KLF. Ideen går ud på at boykotte al musik et helt døgn. Det kan man have mange forskellige årsager til – som det beskrives på hjemmesiden http://www.nomusicday.com/: “No Music Day exists for various reasons. You may have one”

Web 2.0…. uha, bare det at få fingrene til at indtaste begrebet (klichéen) forpligter i den grad. Det rummer mangt og meget, og nu skal der ….galeme tjenes penge på det. Men hvor er de spændende og vovede satsninger? Har vi overhovedet et stykke dansk socialt software, som når ud over landets grænser? Tja, det gør måske i virkeligheden ikke så meget, når nu så mange andre gør det. De store fænomener som YouTube, Myspace, Flickr, LinkedIn, Last.fm osv. er allesammen platforme som spænder globalt, men måske på sigt fejler lokalt. De seneste internationaliseringstræk fra YouTube og Flickr kan dog ses som forsøg på at ændre tingene.
Den amerikanske it-Georg Gearløs, Rob Curley, som gæstede IT-Universitetet i dag 22. Juni arbejder med webbaseret og brugergenereret jounalistik i Hummerklassen. Et nyt ord som vi er kommet i besiddelse af rummer muligvis nøglen til den succes, Curley oplever i sine projekter som bl.a. omfatter: Lawrence Journal-World & News, http://naplesnews.com og onBeing

Rob Curley på IT-Universitetet

Curley beskrev i sit oplæg syv vigtige mediestrategier for at opnå success. Her er nogle hurtige noter fra oplægget:

Hvordan får man så alle disse faktorer i spil uden først at skulle investere millioner af kroner?
Svaret er ifølge Rob Curley intet mindre end internology – kunsten at få en hel masse “insidere”, til at arbejde en masse. Få folk med på idéen og få dem til at bidrage med noget af deres overskudstid. Få folk til at kommentere, kronikere, tage billeder af sig selv indsende videoer, whatever gør det interessant for folk og gør det der, hvor de er. Om det er lokalt nyhedsjournalistik, eller det er et super afgrænset nicheområde, det gør vel ingen forskel. Ringene i vandet skal nok blive til bølger i brændingen, hvis bare man er vedholdende og nærværende nok og husker på, at det er brugernes egen besøgslyst, der skaber flowet på internettet!

Pirate Cinema er et koncept i Berlin, der ganske enkelt går ud på at vise film, som er downloadet fra internettet. Hver søndag aften går det løs. I går havde omkring 35 personer fundet frem til Tucholskystrasse 6, 2. sal, hvor Sebastian Lütgert og hans venner havde stillet projektor og lydsystem op for at vise Aleksandr Medvedkins “Happiness” fra 1932.

“Happiness” er en sort/hvid stumfilm med et meget vovet og opfindsomt filmsprog langt forud for sin tid, blandt andet med en flittig brug af symboler. Selv om det er en stumfilm formår den at holde tilskueren tryllebundet med den ene overraskende scene efter den anden.

Efter visningen af “Happiness” vistes Chris Markers dokumentar om Medvedkin fra 1992 – en to timer lang sag, som var spændende nok, men også lidt trættende.

Ud over at Medvedkins film i sin tid havde svært ved at nå igennem censuren, så findes den kun i ganske få kopier – dvs fysiske kopier. I kraft af digitaliseringen kan Medvedkins film nu nå ud til en større skare, hvilket Sebastian Lütgert pointerede i en improviseret optakt til filmen.

I forhold til resten af Berlins biografer adskiller Pirate Cinema sig på en række punkter, fx er det gratis, man kan købe billige øl under filmvisningen, man kan ryge, og man kan komme og gå som man vil. Ja og man kan få en brændt kopi af filmen med hjem. Den helt grundlæggende forskel er altså, at pirate cinema er en post copyright cinema – nach copyright – som Lütgert kaldte det. Altsammen en kommentar til den situation, som fimlindustrien befinder sig i p.t., hvor biografgængere nærmest kropsvisiteres inden filmvisninger og i øvrigt gelejdes ud på gaden som kvæg, så snart rulletekserne begynder.

PodTube er et program til Mac OS X, som man kan bruge til at downloade musikvideoer fra YouTube. Til Windows fås iTube. Det er ret smart. På mac kræver det, at man bruger browseren Safari – god fornøjelse