Brisbane Apps: Brisbane Kids

While I was in Melbourne a few weeks ago my mother and I relied pretty heavily upon a "Melbourne Guide" app produced by the city council. The app gave us all the necessary information about what was happening in Melbourne, where we could eat, drink and shop and even how to get where we wanted to go. This made me wonder if there was a similar app available to tourists staying in Brisbane. So I looked, and looked, and looked. On the Google Play story on my android phone I found seven apps with the potential to be similar to the one we used in Melbourne, although none of them produced by our city council. Over the next month I'll be reviewing these apps to let you know which ones are the most informative and user friendly. This week we'll look at Brisbane Kids.

1. Brisbane Kids - "The official guide to child friendly Brisbane"
This was an app that I really enjoyed and found easy to navigate. Run by the website brisbanekids.com.au he aim of the app is to make it easier for parents to find child friendly activities and events in Brisbane.

The home screen of the app looks like this and is very easy to navigate. Simply select the area you're interested in and you'll be directed to a list of those kinds of events/activities. The app includes the categories what's on, activities, playgrounds, competitions, classes, services, shopping, party help and holiday. For demonstration I've tapped the "what's on" option and this is where you'll be directed to.

Here I can select the day that I'm looking to occupy and a key word if I have a specific idea in mind. Then I can browse through all the events listed and click on the ones I'm interested in for more detail. 

The other options from the home screen follow a pretty similar template, with the addition of further sub-groups on occasion such as the activities option which then allows you to select the type of activity you're interested in.

 After spending a few minutes I began to really enjoy this app and even though I am not looking for ways to entertain children I really enjoyed exploring this app and may keep it a little longer but ultimately it wasn't designed for me so won't get the use out of it that parents would. I cannot ew3recommend this app enough to parents who are looking for ways to keep their children occupied, particularly over the approaching school holidays. 

This Week in Brisbane: 25th August

This weeks events

Mercedes-Benz Fashion Festival 
24th - 29th August
City Hall
Event website
  

Technicolour Multicultural Festival
11:30am-5:30pm Saturday 30th
DiverCiti Centre (23 Foster St Newmarket)Free Event
Event website
  

Kumbartcho Festival 
11am-3pm Sunday 31st
Kumbartcho Environment Centre
Free event
Event website
  

King George Square Games Night
9pm Thursday 28th
King George Square
Free Event
Event website

What to find more events happening in Brisbane?

Fortitude Valley's Valley Fiesta

It went off with a bang, Brisbane's biggest street party, the event that refused to be rained out.

Over the weekend all walks of Brisbane locals and tourists made there way to the annual Valley Fiesta. Battling the rain on Saturday and basking in the sun on Sunday the valley greeted visits from hundreds over the two day festival. The majority of the event was held in the adjacent China Town mall and newly renovated Brunswick street mall with stalls and events scattered through the streets as well as in some of the Valley's favourite nightclubs including Cloudlands and Ric's.

Saturday began with the kind of atmosphere you might expect at any niche, music and fashion markets. Hipsters and music enthusiasts foraged tents full of vintage recorders, seemingly unaware of the others presence, rough-cut crystals hung neatly from chains in undercover market stalls and an elderly lady approached me to ask if I knew what the festival was about. Concluding my answer with some information about the fashion markets she grinned ear-to-ear as she waved a canvas bag in my face and said "Oh, I know!".

Saturday plotted along at an acceptable pace but moral was visibly low until the rain began to slow and the bands began to play. Now, I'm not saying there's a direct relationship between the two, I'm just saying that the first glimpses of sun we had seen all day began when a pink-haired girl stood on the main stage and began to dance to her accompanying brass band.

Day two of the Valley Fiesta took place on a laid black, blue-skied Sunday. With the drizzle gone market tents were able to show their full flare in the centre of the Brunswick street mall selling all manor of clothing, jewelery and nick-knacks.A personal favourite for the day was the racey 'Drag Bingo' run on the LGBTI stage in the China Town Mall. The queens owned the stage, creating eruptions of laughter from the contestants with their crude lines that came with each number drawn.

 The events volunteer coordinator says the festival, which has been going for over a decade, aims to bring together the talents and eccentricities of all of the venues in Fortitude Valley as well as to attract the attention of people outside of the regular clubbing crowd.

This Week in Brisbane: 18th August

This weeks events

Valley Fiesta
From 10am Saturday and 2pm Sunday
China Town Mall and Brunswick St, Fortitude Valley
Free Entry
Event Website

Parks Alive
From 10am Saturday and Sunday
Roma Street Parklands
Free Entry
Event Website

North Brisbane Orchid Society Show
8:30am - 4pm Saturday, and 8.30am - 3:30pm Sunday
152 Mt Coot-tha Road, Toowong
$4 Entry
Event Website

What to find more events happening in Brisbane?

The Seed Project and a protest to free Palestine: A night in Southbank

Missing the half-hourly free City Hopper by a margin of just seconds is one of the worst mistakes you can make as far as Brisbane Public transport is concerned but fortunately tonight I has the option to walk the few kilometers to my destination, even if I was sporting my decreasingly sturdy heeled boots.

 
The walk, while wet, wasn't entirely fruitless, giving me the opportunity not only to snap this photo of our gorgeous city skyline, but also to check out some of the Brisbane apps I had downloaded to review for you. As I walked I pondered the fortune that I had to be able to walk from my almost river-front home, along a decorated boardwalk, to the cultural centre of the city without concern for my safety, although I would not be swayed to repeat my chances again later on in the evening.


 The Protest
It is no great secret that one of my fascinations with this city is the vast amount of cultural and political energy. By chance, as a journalism student from UQ and I rounded our way to QPAC (Queensland Performing Arts Centre) to check out the free Seed Project that was to be the main stop for the evening we noticed a heavy police presence. Curious as we are we followed the line of police to the edge of the Victoria Bridge where we were met with a riot of more than a hundred, chanting and singing at the top of their lungs or through megaphones. Through the city sounds the exact words of the synchronised chant were hard to make out but there message was clear. The protesters had gathered to show their support for Palestine, presumably sparked after the latest lines of conflict which have been heavily present in the news.

The Seed Project 
After the protest made its way around the corner, through to the centre streets of Southbank, the crowd who had gathered dissipated, returning to their drinks and the music that had been continuing in the background all the while. At this point we joined them, turning for the first time to see the beautifully relaxed green that held the Seed Project. The grassed courtyard-like area was filled with just enough reclining beach chairs and a few large straw matts that seated the couple of dozen who had braved the wet evening in favor of an evening of free music. Overhead, strings of fairy lights added to the mystic yet laid back atmosphere. The night showcased three local music talents beginning with Lily Budiasa, Maximo and closing with Timber Bones.

Maximo at The Seed Project 2014

The project, aiming to showcase some of the regions best unearthed artists is now in its second year. The nights headlining act, Timber Bones, were also playing for the second year and you wouldn't believe it from their sound or incredible following but the band have only been playing together for since their first gig at the Seed Project last year. Timber Bones guitarist Kendall Nesci explained in an interview after the show that the band began playing together after lead vocalist, Luke Pauley began getting gigs that he wasn't able to play on his own. 

This Week in Brisbane: August 11th

This weeks events

Smirnoff MEKKA Races:
11:00am Wednesday 13th August
Doomben Racecourse
$25+ Booking fee
Event Website
This is an 18+ event.

Eidfest
10am-10pm Saturday 16th August
Rocklea Showgrounds
$5 entry
Event website

What to find more events happening in Brisbane?

Brunswick Street Mall Re-opening

It will come as no surprise to Fortitude Valley regulars that the Brunswick St Mall in Fortitude Valley has been closed for a revamp for most of this year. Blocking off small sections at a time the mall underwent a multi-million dollar upgrade that included a replacement of the old paving with, smoother concrete (this will come as a relief to all the heeled nightclub goers), improved lighting, a new "wire roof" and additional seating. As close to on schedule as any construction ever is the mall was officially opened in a day long festival.

The day began with an introduction by Lord Mayor Graham Quirk kept brief by the spitting rain and threatening grey skies in which he thanked the key people involved in the upgrade and outlined the key points of focus in the renovation including the promise of free wifi in the Brunswick St and adjacent China Town malls. 

Lord Mayor Graham Quirk officially reopens Brunswick St Mall

With persisting light drops of rain the day began slowly as the small crowed made their way tentatively through the number of activities set up while the official party had their photos taken with Ball Park Music, winners of the 2013 Q Music song awards, who unveiled a plaque for their achievement.

As the afternoon progressed Brunswick St Mall and China Town Mall became increasingly lively. Onlookers gawked at the carving of an ice sculpture, kids played with a circus troop and there was even a dancing Boost mascot.

Brisbane events, Brisbane Blogs

With flags are already flying throughout the city it must be that time of year again. With just over a month before the beginning of the annual Brisbane Festival don't be fooled into thinking that there is nothing happening in this crazy, vibrant city of ours. From tomorrow's re-opening of the Brunswick Mall to the spectacular Riverfire to close the Brisbane festival, this blog will have your wrap ups of all events Brisbane.

Each week I will be posting something relating to Brisbane and the events it hosts. Largely, I will be going to free events happening around the city but from time to time I will also be reviewing apps useful to the Brisbane local or tourist and there may even be some other special surprises along the way.
You can follow me on twitter @LauraRDixon for updates on what events I'll be attending. Unfortunately, in the interest of timely-ness I cannot promise consistent posts on certain days as I will be posting as soon as I get home from each event. To be notified when I post either click "follow" to the right of the page or, again, follow my twitter.
The second post to look out for each week is the "This Week in Brisbane" post. This is where you can find all the details for some of the most exciting events for the coming week. To know what's happening around you as you begin your week watch this space every Monday at 8am.

Looking forward to this adventure. 

Brave New World - The future of journalism

The year I was born only 0.3% of the global population had access to the internet. Even so, I am an internet native. I remember a life of unplugging your home phone to play slow flash animation games online. I remember crossing my fingers and hoping for a successful connection, listening for that signature sound of the internet connecting that is so close to instinctive that it is probably playing through your head as you read this but future generations will never understand, but I do not remember a life before assessment research was done on the internet.

By the time the time I hit high school more than 20% of the global population had internet access. Social status was dictated by your Myspace profile, we laughed out loud at lolcatz, Tom was all of our friends, Wikipedia was just starting to break loose and all Chris wanted was for us to leave Britney alone. The year was 2007 and it's safe to say the full potential of the internet had not yet been realised.

Another seven years later and internet access has increased to touch 40% of the global population (and more than 80% of Australia), and I am at university studying what the misinformed masses refer to as the "dying profession" of journalism. Now, not only do I furrow my brow at the suggestion of studying from text books but most of my class resources are posted on a virtual blackboard.

Since the time of my birth global internet saturation has increased by 40% and remains on an upward incline. In 2013, time spend with digital media among US adults surpassed time spent with TV for the first time, according to emarketer. The internet has revolutionised everything from the way we order pizza to the way we obtain our news.

Journalism and 'new media'
This record breaking adaptation of the new media format has seen a vast increase in what we call citizen journalism and a cultural shift towards obtaining news information from new media sources. The main concerns created by this shift centralise around the ideas that the news industry will become profitless as new media engulfs traditional media as the public turn to free news alternatives, and concerns for the quality of journalism if citizen journalism were to win out over professional journalism.

While this shift is certainly making its mark on the print and broadcast media market and has lead many of my well meaning friends to warn me of the dangers of a "dying industry". The truth to this myth however is that journalism is an integral part of our society and it will always exist in one form or another. Even with shrinking newsrooms as copyrighters, subeditors, editors, photographers and the like are forced to multitask, there will always be a place in the market for quality journalism.

One important factor to remember when trying to assure yourself that the internet will not wipe out traditional media entirely is the idea of 'multiscreening'. Multiscreening is just as it sounds and, in our privileged lives, happens all the time. People are no longer occupied with just one source of entertainment/communication. We now sit in front of the television, emailing/tweeting/blogging/facebooking on our laptop and texting on our smartphones. Q1 2014 Australian Multi-Screen Report’ by OzTAM, Regional TAM and Nielsen, 2014 reports that 67% of internet connected Australians are multiscreening while watching broadcast TV at least once a month and that teenagers and 25- 34 year olds were the most likely to multiscreen while watching TV. This tells us that rather than broadcast television becoming an outdated median, the way we are watching it is evolving. This is true for the way we absorb all of our news including print journalism. Journalists are now looking to the future for new and initiative ways to present news utilising the latest technologies and research.

Over the next nine weeks I'll be investigating the impact that new media are having on the news market, how the spread of news is being altered by this shift, the technologies that are being developed to cater to this shift and the impact that this shift is having on the quality of journalism being found in print, broadcast and online media. Today the moral of the story is that journalism is an evolving artform and won't look anything like it does today in 50 years time, just as today it doesn't look anything like it looked 50 years ago, and that is okay. Change is okay.