Hive Health

Frequently in our industry, images define campaigns. They sometimes capture, in a few million pixels, what even the greatest of copywriters can’t muster in words. At their zenith, they can even define wars.

When Tim wrote on the death of former AP Photographer, Horst Faas, a few weeks back, I took some time out to remind myself of the power of this man’s talents and abilities. During the decade between 1962 and 1972, Faas directed the Associated Press’ Vietnam operations out of Saigon. Both taking and editing some of the most iconic and opinion-shaping images of the war. Indeed despite his own denials, Haas, it has been argued, contributed considerably to the changing shape of the war – particularly in terms of U.S. public opinion. One particular shot stands out from all others.

The date was February 1^st 1968 and the Tet Offensive was but a day old. Civil War was raging on the streets of Saigon and Eddie Adams, one of Faas’ many acclaimed photographers in the field, stood on the corner of a busy intersection in Cholon – the capital’s Chinese quarter. The photograph that Adams captured in that moment, of South Vietnam’s National Police Chief, General Nguyen Ngoc Loan, executing a young Vietcong sympathiser in broad daylight, arguably did more to undermine support for U.S. involvement in Vietnam than any other single event alone.

In the years that preceded 1968, U.S. President Lyndon Johnson had spent considerable time and energy executing a much-needed public relations strategy in support of the war in Vietnam. Yet when this one shot aired on all three U.S. television networks that evening, Johnson’s campaign seemingly imploded in an instant. Its impact, both on viewers across the country, and on various policy-makers in Washington, was enormous. Faas and Adams had contributed significantly to the undermining of Johnson’s Vietnam strategy and ultimately, to the end of the war. In the words of U.S. historian Alan Brinkley, ‘no single event did more to undermine support in the United States for the war’.

Unlike so many of the other iconic photographs that Faas and his team took of the war – often showcasing the initial moments after death – Adams’ shot actually captured the moment of death itself. And despite the fact that the prisoner in question had killed at least eight people in the moments prior to his own execution, the brutality of the photograph is still the only part of the story that truly endures.

The lesson for us here is obvious. In a moment where our industry is moving rapidly towards new media, we should never forget the power of the still image and its ability to shape events. In the late 1960s the colour TV came of age. And yet as John Cory and others have argued, it’s the black and white photograph of that moment that people still remember.

It’s rare to experience a piece of media that hits you straight between the eyes, providing a level of intimacy that leaves you feeling honoured to have been present. Midst a lonely post wedding journey back from the Peak District this afternoon Radio 4s Omnibus kept me company between the horizontal rain, the storm force winds and the endless M1.

Specifically The Listening Project. A gem of a collaboration between BBC Radio 4, BBC local and national radio stations and the British Library. Tasked with capturing the nation in conversation to build a unique picture of our lives today and preserve it for future generations it’s a brilliantly gentle and real picture of who we are as a nation. If you are ever sat at your desk trying to find a voice for the rich collective of humanity we write for then I could recommend no better time spent than here. For me its  a healthy reminding kick to remember the real people that go through life not distant demographic classifications.

Please excuse my poor editing of the podcast attached I didn’t want the whole podcast only the health related conversation. It was this submission by BBC Radio Ulster that left me attempting to wake my catatonic girlfriend up on the back seat to no avail. After years of dialysis and declining health, Brendan was the recipient of a kidney donated to him by his older brother Kyron. They talk candidly about what this has meant for both their lives. Emotional heartwarming treasure.

One to the kidneys

Over my morning cup of tea I had a quick read of the latest tweets on the HIVE feed. One of the tweets mentioned a medicine and social media course… well that looks interesting I thought and with a quick click I started learning all about a site called Webicina.

Webicina.com is a free service that provides curated medical social media resources in over 80 medical topics in 17 languages. Their mission is to let empowered patients and medical professionals access the most relevant social media content in their own languages on a customizable platform. So how does it work? Well you simply select your condition and the form of social media you’re interested in – news, blogs, podcasts, videos, twitter feeds, etc. – and Webicina gives you a nice little list of everything available on those platforms. Currently the site covers a range of medical conditions from acne to arthritis and cancer to epilepsy. Amazing. They obviously have this whole social media and healthcare thing wrapped up.

This brings us back to course they’re running: The Social MEDia course, the idea being that “digital literacy must be in the medical curriculum globally”. The course was launched two weeks ago; it’s online and Prezi-based, with tests and gamification. The best part? It’s free!

On the site there is also a list of interesting presentations on topics such as health search engines, e-patients, medical blogging and virtual worlds. You could spend the whole day on there and still come back for more.

Have a look for yourself at www.webicina.com and www.thecourse.webicina.com/

We moved from the Festival Hall to Regent Street in January 2008, October 2009 saw us get into Soho and now June 2012 see us hop again. This growth needs homing. Each time we bolt in space, resources and capacity to get us all set to achieve plan. This is our 3rd move and one that should see us chill for a year or or 5.

Way back when we were on Regent Street we dedicated a wall to the 2,000 sq. Ft we were moving into here in Soho. Asking the 12 of us to input. Well its that time again, except now there 53 or us around and about. We need a bigger wall!.

We are midst the legal stuff, on 7,200 sq. Ft about 200m or 4mins (cheers google)  from where we are now. 7.200sq ft is a big area. (Rural folk; 0.16 acre = enough to feed a vegetarian for a year, Greek; half an Olympic swimming pool, Devon; detention centre sized), so we are midst two hackathons to get everyone’s input in the features, fun and stuff our new home needs.

We kick off with a list of problems for the office to solve, and a list of assessment criteria for the ideas we are going to solve these problems with. Last night amidst Princi Pizza and tarts the ideas kicked off at great pace. Dozens of them. From the simple to the extravagant, to the coolish to the foolish, all up there for everyone to vote on.

With one exception all ideas are up for grabs. All of us early bees when looking around offices in the early days noticed one consistent feature. Every office we had visited which had housed an agency that had gone bust had a table foosball. Usually with one leg kicked off as a last rebellion prior to handing the keys in. This icon of misplaced budget and Toy-town business snuck up on us in every dusty, paper strewn depressing office. They are the early warning tremors for clear financial downfall and as such categorically they are banned – never never never.

Once we have got to a list following Mondays final session I will ping it up here to hopefully encourage you to input in the usual way.