Above, the team prepare for the photographic march. Joan gave a running commentary on what proved to be a most interesting afternoon. When we reached the beach we got talking about Marske Fishermans Choir and then the fishing industry in general which prompted Barry to tell us about the Tuna steaks he had marinading in Soy Sauce, Honey and Garlic (our mouths watered !) The walk finished by the grave of Captain Cooks father in the Marske cemetery. The finished images will end up in the Octorama tour which you can read about here. Tomorrow it’s Skinningrove.

So how about making them all play nice together?

With thanks to Ari Milner who posted an article about integrating Facebook ad Twitter into Gmail, I now have Buzz, Facebook and Twitter all in one place. Here’s how it’s done……..

1. Go to Gmail Labs. (you should find this at the top right of Gmail. –see pic below)
2. Activate “Add any gadget by URL” in Gmail Labs — you’ll find it near the bottom of the list.
3. Now go to Settings (to the right of labs in image above) and then  Gadgets. Here you’ll find a place to add Gadget URLs.
4. Add the TwitterGadget App. This lets tweet from the sidebar of Gmail. To do this copy  the following URL and paste it into Gmail’s Gadget settings https://twittergadget.appspot.com/gadget-gmail.xml
5. Add the Facebook Gadget. To add it, copy and paste this URL into Gmail’s Gadget settings
   “http://hosting.gmodules.com/ig/gadgets/file/104971404861070329537/facebook.xml”
6. That’s it – Facebook, Twitter and Buzz are integrated into your email account. Click here to see my set up. Hey ! please don’t read my email!

If you’ve enjoyed this, watch out for the new “Social Media for Enterprise” course coming out of Teesside University.

In an article in 2005, Tony Parisi, one of the co-creators of VRML said that now the time of the 3D Web had come in the form of X3D, an XML-based ISO standard. But the company he set up to exploit the moment, Media Machines, was taken over by Vivaty who are mainly interested in 3D social networking to compete with Second Life. Even now Google, Adobe and Mozilla in partnership with Khronos all have competing systems that offer 3D for the Web. Currently, 3D Links lists 70 3D Web technologies and Meta Mole lists and compares 30 based on a set of 25 functional requirements. The vast majority of these require their own plug-in running to view content.

Meta Mole was created by Teesside University’s Dlab as a result of their researches into 3D Web technologies. Their preference is for a game engine-based system called Blue Mars. The other technologies to watch include Viewpoint, Papervision3D, and Unity. The latter is another game development system that can create a whole range of 3D environments including iPhone and iPad as well as the Web and it’s causing quite a stir and not just in the games world: see ‘United They Stand’. Rubix Studios – recently set up by 4 Teesside graduates and based in Victoria Building – are firm believers in Unity for its powerful yet intuitive development environment and the ease with which applications can be tailored to a chosen run time environment. They have a number of impressive 3D web test environments running and are hoping their first iPhone game will be available in the near future.

While the dream of the 3D Web has never gone away it has never happened either. Sure, there is Second Life; and then there is … Yes, there is Second Life.

So, why? Where has it all gone so wrong?

Dominic Lusardi, managing director of Animmersion Ltd, an established content developer on Teesside, has been involved with the 3D Web since the days of VRML and thinks a major problem is having to install a plug-in in order to view 3D content. Many users, particularly corporate ones, have highly developed security concerns about their systems and won’t let the ordinary user install plug-ins at all. Many home users share similar concerns or are simply put off having to install yet another plug-in in order to view content that may not be of any interest to them.

From commercial experience Dominic also realises only too well the cost of developing interactive 3D content in the first place and the huge additional cost and risk of adopting a new technology to do so. The plethora of 3D Web technologies significantly increases this risk and it’s not one small companies want to live with.

The absence of a generic standard for 3D Web content and the need for users to install plug-ins is thus a major barrier to its adoption. Google, for instance, have O3D which in time might be embedded in its search engine technology but that is still some ways off and the fact that Mozilla has its own competing technology seems to reinforce the idea that competition at the level of content enabling technologies is simply stifling the establishment of a generic standard.

But perhaps the main reason why the 3D web hasn’t taken off is quite simply that it just isn’t what the majority of web users or content developers actually want; for the moment at least. There is something very direct and ‘real’ about a tweet or a thought posted on Facebook. Maybe the 3D Web introduces a level of artificiality that the majority of Web users don’t like; and the minority that do make Second Life the almost unique 3D Web success that it is.

Starting out in his native Yorkshire, he relocated to the North East coast which is the subject of many of his stunning black and white landscapes. Off the back of exhibiting and selling this work around the globe, he recently became one of only five industry ambassadors for Ilford, the world’s leader in black and white film.

Sharing his knowledge and skills with others is really important to Keith. As well as being a DigitalCity mentor – where he works with up and coming businesses – he’s set to deliver a series of industry masterclasses for Ilford around the UK. This is preceeded by the unique ‘Shoot fashion’ workshop he’s delivering at Teesside University with fashion designer Kate Fearnley this month. The event is aimed at photographers wanting to break into the fashion industry and will culminate in a live shoot where they’ll be able to photograph models wearing Kate Fearlney’s latest collection.

Keith Moss is a very busy guy - but he’s as honest and down to earth as he is talented. In this interview I ask him how he is able to compete with those in London when others struggle,  if his lack of academia has caused him any problems – and throw in the inevitable ‘film or digital’ question for good measure.

To visit the Keith Moss website click here

To listen to the interview click below.