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Hi all!

This week Outriders is all about our future and past. From future casters to historical organisations, the science and technology around us is documented as it changes our lives.

Stephen Cox is the chief executive of the . This year they are celebrating 350 years since their foundation with all sorts of events and activities. On the podcast he tells us more about when the society was established and what it means today.

As a part of the celebrations, took to the stage at the Queen Elizabeth Hall on the South Bank in London to talk about future and past technologies with a few people you may have heard of. In discussion - renaissance man Stephen Fry, biologist Jim Hasslehoff, Dame professor Wendy Hall, Sir Tim Berners Lee and of course our tame geek, Digital Planet commentator and friend of Outriders Bill Thompson. Quite the selection of minds talking around the topic in front of an audience of 900 people.

Looking into our future with technology is no mean feat. But there are clues in what we do today that can lead us to more logical conclusions. is a project that has recently gained funding from NESTA. Ghislaine Boddington is working as part of a team on the ideas of how we present ourselves in virtual spaces and what our relationships will be like with our future friends electric.

Another group you might like to join if you have an interest in how we interact with technology today is . The group emerged from Bad Idea magazine and has presences on the web including Facebook where they host discussions and swap ideas. Jack Roberts is the director of Good Publishing, overseeing the project and he discusses the origins on our podcast.

Last but not least, one of the more established groups on the web "Living the Science Fiction future of today" is . Created by renowned film director Rene Daalder, it's a place where like minds acknowledge our past futures and how they may affect what will happen in coming years. Wonderful essays, deep thinkers and surprising connections all presented in a creative multimedia space for us all to explore.

Well, if that didn't blow my mind enough thinking big thoughts on our collective futures, then I will be back next week with more Outriders.

In the meantime if you would like to hear more about a space online that makes you curious, if you are working on something amazing that we should know about - then drop me a line and let's explore it together. You can email Outriders at bbc dot co dot uk, search in Facebook for our general page or come and say hello on Twitter were we are known as @³ÉÈËÂÛ̳_Outriders

Until next week!
~ Jamillah

Hello web fans!

This week's edition saw me working on trains, meeting lovely Outriders and getting in touch with our computing past. All very exciting and lots of fun.

First of all - at threw a Vintage computer festival. If you have a soft spot for the C64 or the Spectrum, this would be the place to be. In addition to the gaming machines Bletchley Park of course has the rebuild of Colossus as well as information about the British computing heritage - definitely something to be proud of.

The podcast has a selection of visitors, speakers and innovators. Tony Sale talks about how he rebuilt Colossus and met with Tommy Flowers. Christine Finn describes her work as an archaeologist in Silicon Valley, Lin Jones curates a museum of treasures and OMD talk about their work in electronics and music.

Friendly Outrider Rain Ashford was also at the event and she made a great video with more highlights. Thanks to Rain for letting me add her footage to our page.

From Bletchley Park, I high-tailed it down to the seaside to record with some podcasters who are casting out of Sussex. Nik Butler is a freelance consultant and Andy White is a podcast presenter, producer and coach. Their podcast, , covers topics around social media, tech and good coffee, all served up in their loose and amusing style.
Thanks also to the wood pigeon and seagulls who noisily joined us for this recording :)

Back in the studios, our homage to the humble pixel a little while ago did not go unnoticed. Chris Blundell got in touch to point out that we were missing his rather amazing project. He's making a pixellated feature film. It's called and covers themes around the music industry today, complete with pixelly characters and chip-tune and synth inspired soundtrack. There's an opportunity to help fund the project too which could mean you too can appear made of little squares with a support part in the movie.

Well, another week has begun so I'm off to comb through the internet and see who's about and up to something interesting. If you know about something that I should definitely see - then get in touch.

Come and say hello on - it's always nice to have a chat with people who tune in. Alternatively, if you would like a little more room for your message, then send me an email to Outriders at bbc dot co dot uk.

Until next week!
~ Jamillah

Hi All!

This week on Outriders we have put all of our eggs in a rather special podcast basket, explored how teenagers can connect with politicians over e-governance, avoided some World Cup pitfalls and gazed upon beautiful maps.

The project connects teens and politicians in different countries to discuss ideas for the future online. Feargal O'Kane is the project coordinator and we discussed how best to get the two groups together - after all, the young of today inherit the web we create today.


No doubt you have noticed that there is some soccer occurring? The World Cup is a time for debating the value of the vuvuzela, hashing over whether or not the ref requires new spectacles, but also to be easily led online. Malware and virus creators know our weaknesses so of Sophos Asia Pacific kindly dropped in to tell us what to look for and to mention past scams on the internet that prey upon lovers of the beautiful game.
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Goldsmiths College students have whipped up digital design for living this week. Mark Mulhern is one of five designers working on a project to connect ethical farming practises, QR codes and mobile tech. He visited with us to explain exactly what a does.

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Last but no means least, the beautiful maps of have been passed worldwide online. He's used geolocation and images to create maps of where people take their photos - globally. Working with the data to divide tourists from locals, he's created breathtaking images that tell us about where we like to get snap happy with our cameras.


More next week from around the UK and online. See you at the too if you are passing Bletchley Park at the weekend.

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In the meantime if you see something you would like to hear more about or if you are working on something we should definitely know of, then you can find us in so many ways. Drop a line to Outriders at bbc dot co dot uk, come and chat with us on the Outriders Facebook page or simply say Hi on where we are known as Outriders.

Until next week!
~ Jamillah

Welcome to another week with the Outriders. On the current podcast you will find, tips on brushing up your written style, how to have fun with pixels and a 1-Bit Symphony.

For starters this week, online threat statistics show that the UK has risen to third place in the rankings for virus spreading. Simon Heron explains how the decline of Russian output and people who don't clean malware from their computers could be helping the UK toward the number one spot. Maybe it's time to Keep Britain digitally tidy?

Also this week, the AP style book 2010 edition is released and contains notes on social media and the web for writers and journalists who like to keep their writing clear. So, naturally we asked one of the Bureau Chief contributors for the to tell us his thoughts on important written decisions, such as how to spell the sound that Pac Man makes. (You may be interested to know that another Fake AP Style book contributor claims that this is the )

Chip tune and pixel fans rejoice. We're celebrating the low-fi and the simple life in graphics and music. is a student in Queensland, Australia who has created a great web documentary about the current resurgence in pixel art. He has very kindly allowed us to embed his video here - it's definitely worth taking the time to watch it through. He also makes some very cool Pixel design t-shirts if you are up for celebrating the square in a sartorial manner.

The chip-tune scene in the UK is hitting critical mass it seems with mainstream producers and musicians picking out old-school game sounds to decorate their music. Matthew C Applegate is the chip-tune artist known as , he explains the international wave and let us use a clip of one of his lovely songs on the podcast.

Last but not least, even if it is probably the tiniest thing this week. Tristan Perich is a musician and artist in New York. He has created a which plays from a single microchip embedded in a CD case. This extraordinary work will be available to buy from August.

Well, that's given me a lot to think about and listen to. If you want to comment on this week's edition, you're welcome to join us in various ways.

You can log in and leave a comment here, search for Outriders on Facebook and join our pre-production conversations there, or drop in anytime on , I bet you can guess what our screen name is there.

Thanks to everyone for all of your lovely messages about the relaunch too. It's been fun to remodel and I suspect it will continue to be fun as we continue!

Until next time!
- Jamillah

The time has come for us to unveil our fancy new name and outfit here on the blog and podcast pages.

Welcome one and all to the reincarnation of Pods and Blogs - now we are known as Outriders.

On the podcast this week there is a full explanation of where we came from and where we may be headed. The nice thing about the new name is that it not only describes our place here on the site and the podcast but also the innovators and trailblazers we talk to each week.

Now instead of a narrow focus only on podcasts and blogs, we can take a look at the wider web culture where you, me and everyone we know can get involved and talk about what makes the internet interesting.

You can also hear more about the people who helped create the new look and feel for Outriders. The ³ÉÈËÂÛ̳ Radio 5live online have been brilliant for sorting out the blog and changing everything over behind the scenes. I definitely owe them some cake!

got his digital crayons out for us to design the beautiful new logo and livery. On the podcast he tells us about the themes in the design from our global outlook to our nodes for contact and of course the sound wave that our twitter friends said they wanted to keep.

came up with our name. He's a rather excellent sci-fi and TV writer as well as a blogger so who better to help us out for a term that is all-encompassing?

So, whether you tether with your mobile or maybe if you have found the new sound to make podcasting fresh and fun, then we want to hear from you.

We have all sorts of ways to get in touch now so come on in and say hi!

As usual our Twitter stream runs through some of our ideas for each new edition so do drop in and let me know what you have seen. That way I can fish out the right people to talk to when it comes to your interests online. Our twitter page is .

Also - we now have a .

This is where we can have some longer form discussions about topics on Outriders. So jump in any time. There's a topic open at the moment where you can let me know your thoughts on our facelift.

Thanks to everyone who made this happen, from Chris, Rhod and Kevin who started us off five years ago and of course to all of you, for making the web such a vibrant place filled with surprising places to visit each week.

Here we go!
- Jamillah