“Probably not” is the short answer.
The long answer:-
I think we can divide my time on the plinth into four areas.
Area 1: Technical. Did it work? I was attempting to interact with the online community on Twitter and Skype, using the live feed from Sky Arts. Technically it worked perfectly. Let’s give that 10/10.
Area 2: Viewer experience. Did the crowd like it? I had dozens of very complimentary comments on Twitter and Skype. Only a couple of negative views. So it looks like the punters liked it. The One & Other team were very complimentary as well but I am not sure that that was a totally honest opinion. Are they really going to say “That sucked dude” when the cherry picked me off the plinth? Let’s give that 8/10.
Area 3: Did the Plinther have a good time? Too f*ck*ng right I did, most fun I have had in London ever. Let’s give that 100/10.
Area 4: Was it Art? No I don’t think so. Not even slightly. just a bloke with a laptop on the phone. Let’s give that 1/10.
So all in all a neutral Plinthing I think.
With hindsight would I have done it differently? Yes. Either Skype OR Twitter, not both. I should have set up the Skype calls in advance and just talked to a few people who had something interesting to say. Twitter would have been easier to manage. The Skype went bonkers with 50+ callers at once and an equal number of chats. I was swamped.
What this does show is that Twitter is a powerful tool for promotion and worthy of inclusion for anyone in the promotion business. You want people at your event? Twitter about it.
It also shows how useful Skype is. I had calls from USA, Switzerland, Isle of Man and London. If I had put my mobile phone number up (that was the back up plan) I doubt I would have had international calls.
If anyone is thinking of trying this again then go for it. Useful features would be: auto sig on Twitter with the hashtags. I forgot to include them until I was reminded. Route Skype calls to a 3rd party then get them transferred to you. It’s cheating a bit but makes life easier.
And just in case you were wondering about the technical details:-
Apple Macbook.
Internet from 3 on a USB dongle.
Amplified speakers powered off the USB 5 volts.
Dialog+ Skype Phone.
Tweetie
Audio controlled with Audio Hijack Pro. Slightly over driven with a bit of reverb to add a bit of punch. Skype output to the external speaker, input to Skype from the phone’s microphone. Skype had the ringing sound set to null.
The Mac had the screen resolution turned down, the mouse pointer made bigger, and the contrast turned up so that it was visible in full daylight.
Table from Robert Dyas, £14.95. Chair for £9.99. Ikea Brolly. Loony Tunes Tie. Marks and Spencer pinstripe suit. And my shoes were clean and polished! A Twitter comment claimed I had dirty shoes. Cheek!
See my plinth time here.
