The BBC is stirring up discussion across the Internet with its decision to adopt an innovative new strategy for its online operations, effectively turning its Website into a public service version of MySpace.com. According to The Guardian, that means more user-generated content in the form of blogs and videos and a brand new online architecture based around the three concepts of “share,” “find,” and “play.” With that in mind, the BBC also plans to put its entire programme catalogue online (starting tomorrow) for the first time in written archive form, as an “experimental prototype”, and rebrand MyBBCPlayer as BBC iPlayer. Here are the details of the plans that were laid out by the BBC’s director of new media and technology:

“Ashley Highfield’s presentation, Beyond Broadcast, outlined a three-pronged approach to refocus all future BBC digital output and services around three concepts - “share”, “find” and “play”. He said the philosophy of “share” would be at the heart of what he dubbed bbc.co.uk 2.0. Mr Highfield said the share concept would allow users to “create your own space and to build bbc.co.uk around you”, encouraging them to launch ther own blogs and post home videos on the site. The BBC is also running a competition to revamp the bbc.co.uk 2.0 website, asking the public to redesign the homepage to “exploit the fuctionality and usability of services such as Flickr, YouTube, Technorati and Wikipedia”.

At the heart of the play concept is MyBBCPlayer, which will allow the public to download and view BBC programming online and was today rebranded as BBC iPlayer. “BBC iPlayer is going to offer catch-up television up to seven days after transmission,” said Mr Highfield. “At any time you will be able to download any programme from the eight BBC channels and watch it on your PC and, we hope, move it across to your TV set or down to your mobile phone to watch it when you want.”

As might be imagined, some of the biggest names in Internet punditry are taking a crack at dissecting this announcement from the BBC:

The Sun Never Sets on the Beeb [Buzz Machine]
Beeb 2.0 [GigaOm]

An obituary for mass media [NevilleHobson.com]
bbc.co.uk 2.0 [Richard MacManus Read/WriteWeb]

Tags: BBC MySpace innovation

[image: Journalism.co.uk]