Tandem Studios’ solution was to combine the traditional tool of Parliament TV, with a social media element – designing and creating a world first solution – inthehouse.co.nz

It’s our goal to have all that happens in the House, when Parliament is sitting, up on our site approximately 15 minutes after being broadcast live on television, in easy-to-search categories and in order.

It’s our intention for these clips to be used and shared by members of the general public as an on-demand service for when they have the time, rather than watching it live on television, and those wanting to get a better understanding of what happens in Parliament by creating an awareness of policy stages and how Bills are passed.

The clips are also being used as a teaching resource in law and political science schools at universities, to get clarification or understanding of certain Bills, Question Time, or generally just keeping up with what is happening in Parliament. Geoff McLay from Victoria University says he spends a good portion of his day “recommending the site to students as a way of getting to grips with current issues”.

Here is Dave Dunlay from Tandem Studios explaining http://inthehouse.co.nz in more detail:

Related posts:

1. In The House Update

We’ve been working on some fantastic up-market properties in Christchurch with a variety of clients. Here are two examples of our recent work in this area (click the HD link for a 720p YouTube version)

Danmark – Harcourts Holmwood – HD

Bayside Apartments – HD

If you are a real estate agent trying to get an edge over the standard ’slideshow’ real estate video, please do contact us today!

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1. Tandem at the APRA Silver Scroll Awards

Social networking site, hi5, has remodeled itself to cater for the gaming industry.

The site was revamped just recently, placing a stronger  focus on games and virtual currency.

hi5 has now furthered its strategy to enter into the gaming market with its acquisition with Big Six, a social gaming developer.

Further reading:

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1. Social networking use up 80%
2. Twitter goes under the microscope

The use of social networking sites has increased from three hours per month to five-and-a-half hours per month in the last year alone, according to new research.

An article by CNN Money says this represents “a staggering 82 per cent increase in the use of social media”.

The report, published on NielsenWire, also says that people spend the most internet time overall on social network sites and blogs, and social websites, such as Facebook, are now the most common homepages for users.

For further reading:
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/marketwire/0589146.htm

To access the whole report:

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1. Hearing the freshest music – before it is killed on the radio
2. What’s the Buzz?

The Pew Research Centre’s Internet & American Life Project and Project for Excellence in Journalism says the results show that the internet is the third-most popular news platform behind local and national television news and ahead of national print newspapers, local print newspapers and radio.

Read more:

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1. Social networking use up 80%
2. YouTube turns five

Micro-blogging site Twitter will be the main focus of this week’s New Zealand Marketing Association’s Southern Regional Event.

The association is putting the social networking site under the microscope and have invited three industry experts to share their Twitter experiences.

Topics will include how to use Twitter for campaign launches and long term brand building; how Twitter can be a powerful recruitment tool; how to maximise customer service and sales with Twitter; and how to empower employees to use Twitter internally and with customers.

Anthony Gardiner, Web Content Administrator at NZ Army, Andy Blood, Executive Creative Director at TBWA, and Duncan Bair, Head of Brand and Comms at Orcon will be the guest speakers.

For more information:
http://www.marketing.org.nz/cms/Events_and_Training/6298

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Valentines Day five years ago was more than just a day for lovers, it was when YouTube celebrated its first ever video story with the world.

It started as a forum for anyone, anywhere in the world with a video camera and an internet connection to share a story. Five years on, it’s become one of the internet’s biggest sensations.

Read more here:
http://www.podcastingnews.com/2010/02/14/youtube-celebrates-5th-birthday/

Further reading:
http://www.podcastingnews.com/2010/03/01/5-things-you-probably-dont-know-about-youtube-videos/

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Google has just released its answer to social networking – Google Buzz.

Linked to Gmail, Buzz creates you a circle of friends based on users’ most frequently used contacts.

It’s a networking service, much like Facebook and Twitter, which allows people on Gmail to post what they are doing or thinking – for their ‘friends’ to see.

The service has already been inundated with privacy complaints as people’s most frequent contacts are not necessarily friends.

Further reading:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/technology/news/article.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10626573&ref=rss

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/technology/news/article.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10625299

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/technology/news/article.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10625278

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/technology/news/article.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10626282

http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/digital-living/3310862/Google-faces-off-with-Facebook

Check Google Buzz out for yourself:
http://www.google.com/buzz

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1. Blog: Change is a good thing
2. Social networking use up 80%

And how did I find out? In true Facebook style – through other people’s status updates.

There were decrees of: “I hate the new-look Facebook. The last one wasn’t broke, so why try and fix it?”; “New Facebook? Not again!”; “Facebook, you so did not need to stress me with your new format.. I get on here to unwind not spend my time trying to obtain a degree in Facebookology. Make it simple. Yes, change is good. But change every time I get on here.. not so good!” and, my favourite, “Dear Facebook, I just want to be able to see status updates and photo albums, OK? I have no interest in sending anyone a gift, growing some imaginary farm, finding out my horoscope or meeting girls in my area…actually perhaps that one can stay… Anyway, please sort. Lots of love…”

But then there are the positive comments: “They needed to upgrade to accommodate for new software and members”; “I like it. It’s more organised and tidy. I can still find everything OK,” and of course, my favourite – “I like it too. Everyone is like, ‘change it back.’ But I say, go and ring talkback, you squares!”

(Names, punctuation and spelling changed to protect the innocent…)

It wasn’t until I got into work today, that it became my turn to sample the redesign, as my account had been chosen for the new product (ie. the roll-out had finally reached me). OK, admittedly I was slightly confused to see my homepage look a little askew, but I endured, gave it a brief once-over, and decided I liked it.

Unlike Facebook-style changes in the past, I just don’t see anything wrong with this new layout. They have simply given the homepage a reshuffle and left the profile page just as it was.

First up, you’re greeted with a large box introducing the changes: “Welcome to your new, simplified home page.” Then, an easy-to-follow diagram shows you where to find everything: your requests, messages and notifications are now grouped together in the top left-hand corner; messages, applications and chat have all been moved to the left-hand panel – along with games and applications; and then the all-important privacy settings are under the Account tab in the top right-hand corner, and finding things has become easier with a large search bar at the top.

So, what’s wrong with all that? Unless someone can challenge my relaxed attitude on the new layout, then I think it’s nice to embrace new changes, as change is a good thing.

For further reading:

http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/digital-living/3300284/Another-redesign-for-Facebook-on-sixth-birthday

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/technology/news/article.cfm?c_id=5&objectid=10624834

Check out your Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com

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1. What’s the Buzz?