Here's a question: can a city be a nobody, or should that be nowhere? Having moved from working in the creative sector in London during the dotcom boom to jumping ship just before the bubble burst to make camp in the Midlands, I've certainly noticed a similarity between the 'London' attitude and the so-called somebodies, the A-listers in the blogosphere.
Like many provincial cities in the UK, Birmingham has a thriving creative scene that produces some of the country's top visual, musical and multimedia work. Initiatives like the Custard Factory and the Big Peg (supported by the Chamber of Commerce) foster up and coming talent and sit in the city alongside established arts and media players such as the BBC and Channel 4's Ideas Factory. So why do businesses still gravitate towards London when they are looking to commission creative work?
Reputation is the obvious answer, although much the work being produced in Birmingham can lay claim to being as well-known and widely seen as work produced in many of London's Soho-based studios. Image, is the key. The Midlands and specifically Birmingham suffer from a public image problem that seems to be the polar opposite to that of London. Funny sounding accents aside (although the Birmingham/Black Country accent has been consistently voted as one of the least liked/respected accents in the UK), the city itself is still widely perceived as the concrete jungle that it was 40 years ago. As part of a major redevelopment scheme, the city has rebuilt itself and is now a vibrant, attractive place to live and work. But the majority of the country still perceives Birmingham through the stereotype of the concrete and the 'yam-yam' accent. Conversely, London is still seen as 'swinging London' of the sixties, a place of edgy cool and Michael Caine movie charm despite having turned into an expensive, inhospitable tourist trap.
Fed-up with being on the wrong side of this image problem, Birmingham's creatives have banded together to create an industry run and led forum with the aim of changing these perceptions and getting the work Birmingham's creative industries (and hopefully as a result, the city itself) recognised. Much like the I.A.N, they've produced a blog and are even looking into getting a wiki and a squidoo lens (although I don't think they have coffee cups and t-shirts printed yet).
So, I urge you, even if you have no plans to visit Birmingham or the UK, take a look at what this nobody/nowhere city is producing and if it doesn't change your mind, at least leave them a comment or some professional advice.
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Posted by: Ionireeison | December 13, 2011 at 09:30 AM
I won't accept such sort of family though it is quite comfortable. I prefer the family with mom which is not rich but ample in my heart
Posted by: Chanel Handbags | February 18, 2011 at 04:16 AM
... and I've been working with several towns in the U.S. and Canada where leaders think they need to polish their image when they have alot to tout soe reading this blog and comments (as a registered nobody) is helpful... after all, every town does not need to take the New York City approach and have a marketing office... maybe these inventive groups of nobodies - so evident in several towns can suggest in their blogs the kind of partnerships they want for their town or regions .... NYC partnered with The History Channel, Snapple + others... you may want other kinds of partners
Posted by: Kare Anderson | May 05, 2006 at 11:55 PM
Hi - your site came up during a brunch with the BlogHer folk. I'm the blogger for the Robert Fuller the guy who literally wrote the book on Somebodies & Nobodies. http://www.breakingranks.net/
I've been wanting to develop some microbanners and swag for Somebodies & Nobodies for a while, but I think the +nobody meme is fantastic. I'll certainly add the button to the Breaking Ranks site (I've already added you to our blogroll, too). I hope you won't hesitate to call on us for support as you put together your Nobody Movement.
Posted by: Elisa | April 24, 2006 at 01:02 AM
Provincial cities in rebellion!
Denmark is dominated by Copenhagen, home to 25% of the population. So that's where the big touring acts play their concerts.
Until recently.
Lately, Horsens, a town of 30,000, whose only previous claim to fame has been that it's the site of the country's maximum security prison, has established itself as a major arena concert city.
When Robbie Williams and Alanis Morrisette did concerts there, Copenhageners grinned ("upstart yokels"). But with the Stones and Madonna booked there this summer, Copenhagen is starting to growl. Not because these shows will cut any musical turf, but because 50,000 X 2 fans will be patronizing Horsens' businesses.
I think it's bully when "nobody" towns carve a niche that "somebody" towns can't match.
Posted by: Allan Jenkins | April 21, 2006 at 11:29 PM
Must be something about the name! Spooky
Posted by: Sam Smith | April 21, 2006 at 05:06 PM
Much of what you wrote concerns the "other" Birmingham, in Alabama.
And strangely enough, I've written about a parallel group. (http://positiveposition.com/blog/2006/01/25/progress-is-useless-if-nobody-knows-about-it/)
TechBirmingham is running ads designed to change perceptions about our city, and blogs about it. Eerie, it's even the same template!
http://www.techbirmingham.com/
http://techbirmingham.wordpress.com/
Posted by: Ike | April 21, 2006 at 04:51 PM