BBC's Blog, page 27

BBC News Lab: Linked data

Hi I’m Matt Shearer, delivery manager for Future Media News. I manage the delivery of the News Product and I also lead on BBC News Labs.

BBC News Labs is an innovation project which was started during 2012 to help us harness the BBC's wider expertise to explore future opportunities.

Generally speaking BBC News believes in allowing creative technologists to innovate and influence the direction of the News product.

For example the delivery of BBC News’ responsive design mobile service started in 2011 when we made space for a multidiscipline project to explore responsive design opportunities for BBC News.

With this in mind the BBC News team setup News Labs to explore linked data technologies.

The BBC has been making use of linked data technologies in its internal content production systems since 2011.

As explained by Jem Rayfield this enabled the publishing of news aggregation pages ‘per athlete’, ‘per sport’ and ‘per event’ for the 2012 Olympics – something that would not have been possible with hand-curated content management. 

Linked data is being rolled out on BBC News from early 2013 to enrich the connections between BBC News stories, content assets, the wider BBC website and the World Wide Web.

BBC News Lab format

We framed each challenge/opportunity for the News Lab in terms of a clear ‘problem space’ (as opposed to a set of requirements that may limit options) supported by research findings, audience needs, market needs, technology opportunities and framed with the BBC News Strategy.

The Lab participants cover multiple disciplines including editorial staff, journalists, software engineers, developers, designers and more from across BBC News and BBC Future Media and made sure each team had a broad discipline coverage.

A two week timeframe was chosen in order to support a good run at the ‘problem space’ and give time to incorporate the different expertises. This wasn’t just a case of hacking on top of APIs - we wanted to ensure we were incorporating the wider cross-disciplinary expertise.

In order to keep the activities rooted in reality and to minimise theoretical discussions we stipulated that the exploration should include prototyping from day two onwards.

The ‘Problem Spaces’

After producing a long list of possible ‘problem spaces’ we prioritised four areas to explore:

Location and linked data. How might we use geolocation and linked data to increase relevance and expose the coverage of BBC News?Events and linked data. How might we make more of BBC News ‘events’ using Linked Data?Politics and linked data.  How might we better contextualise and promote BBC’s Political coverage online using linked data?Responsive Desktop.  How might we overcome older browser challenges to get BBC News’ responsive service to desktop browsers?

So the question was ‘how might we tag the BBC News archive with linked data and expose this data source for prototyping?’

The linked data prototyping platform – The News Juicer

In order to productively explore the linked data 'problem spaces' we quickly realised we needed a platform to give us BBC News in a linked data context.

Over the course of six weeks we set up a prototyping platform on the cloud codenamed The News Juicer, as it ‘juiced’ the News archive for the key linked data concepts.

As new BBC News articles are published to the BBC website they are placed in a queue on the News Juicer for semantic annotation. 

This job is performed as series of background processes using a combination of a natural language processing pipeline and human input for verification of results.

Step 1 - Extract named entities

The first step in the pipeline is to extract ‘named entities’ from the raw article text. These are occurrences of proper nouns such as ‘London’ or ‘Mr Cameron’ that we can later map to DBpedia concepts.

In order to extract these entities we make use of the Core NLP framework developed by Stanford University. This suite includes a statistical model that has been trained to recognise mentions of people, locations and places within news articles based on the Brown Corpus.      

Step 2 - Match to DBpedia concepts

The named entity recognition stage leaves us with a list of candidate terms that can be matched to DBpedia concepts.

In many cases there is a direct mapping between the extracted entity and the DBpedia identifier.  For example, the extracted entity ‘London (Place)’ maps directly to http://dbpedia.org/resource/London.

More interesting cases arise where the entity text may not match the context it is found in. For example many football articles return results such as ‘Liverpool (Organisation)’ referring to Liverpool FC rather than the city of Liverpool.

In these cases we can use the DBpedia Lookup Service to perform a scoped query on the entity text.

Much more difficult to resolve are truly ambiguous entities such as ‘Newport (Place)’ which could refer to any of the Newports around the UK and worldwide.

The system currently uses a very naive approach using the DBpedia concept with the closest matching identifier. At the moment this means all Newport’s found in BBC News articles are mapped to the DBpedia concept http://dbpedia.org/resource/Newport which is the city of Newport in Wales.

Searching for news articles using an additive filter

We are currently working to add a more advanced disambiguation stage building on BBC R&D’s recent work on Topic Based Vector Space Models.

In most cases the DBpedia concepts automatically matched by the preceding steps are indeed correct and the process allows us to annotate huge archives of text very quickly and cheaply.

However the process is not perfect so the News Juicer system adds an element of human verification where editorial staff can quickly correct mistakes.

Step 3 - Push tags into triplestore.

Finally, the concepts are pushed into the triplestore as the appropriate RDF so that the data is available for SPARQL querying.

Step 4 - Allow editing of tags - The News Tagger

The user interface which allows us to subsequently add/edit/delete the tagging is a Ruby-on-Rails app built on top of PostgreSQL. It allows a user to search for news articles using an additive filter as shown in the screenshot above.

Selecting a news article shows the article and allows the user to moderate and edit the semantic annotations that have been applied through automation. It also allows the user to manually associate the article with one or more news events. 

 

As annotations are applied in the User Interface (UI) the triplestore is updated with the appropriate RDF including the DBpedia or event resource and the relationship between the article and the resource.

The News Juicer was deployed on the cloud in three logical tiers - a data tier, a service tier and a view tier - all hosted on a single large virtual server instance. The choice of technologies was governed by the need for low cost and rapid deployment. 

The data tier comprises:

A PostgreSQL relational database used as the master data warehouse, persisting the basic relationship between news articles and DBpedia concepts, news events and also as scratch-pad storage for business logic data.An OWLIM v5  triple store used to store the RDF for news articles and the full RDF for the DBpedia concepts semantically annotated onto the content and RDF for news events and their related concepts.

The relational data service and view tier is a Ruby-on-Rails application providing:

Background processing for the automated semantic annotation of news articles. A UI to allow a user to moderate and enhance the automated semantic annotations.A UI to allow a user to create, edit and structure news events.A UI to associate news articles with events.A RESTful API to allow consumers to retrieve news articles.

The semantic service API tier is a RESTful Java web application that allows a consumer to:

Find news articles using a flexible SPARQL where clause as JSON.Find news events using a flexible SPARQL where clause as JSON.

Why we used DBpedia

DBpedia is a machine readable RDF extraction of Wikipedia primarily sourced from Wikipedia infoboxes.  In finding a linked data set to prototype with we needed something that:

Provided comprehensive resource coverage for the news domain.Has sufficiently rich inter-resource relationships to facilitate use cases that take advantage of relationships between the things that the BBC talks about.Included geographic concepts to enable prototyping of geospatial use cases.

DBpedia met these requirements and it proved to be an excellent prototyping dataset. It allowed for extensive use of automated tagging, geospatial based queries and, through its underlying ontology, the ability to create rich news aggregations by traversing the graph of people, places, organisations and their relationships.

Semantic APIs to support Rapid Prototyping

News Labs intends to exploit semantics to rapidly prototype as well as to educate BBC developers about semantic technologies and RDF. It was therefore important that APIs were constructed that could meet these goals. 

At the same time exposing an open SPARQL endpoint would be inherently risky.  A consumer could potentially run a query that could use all available resources on the triple store, thus block other Labs teams.

It was also useful to let developers consume JSON representations of news articles to aid rapid web application development.

Accordingly custom web service APIs were built (in Java) that exposed the full power of SPARQL to semantically aggregate news content while ensuring that dangerous queries could not be run and returning news article JSON to the caller.

The Benefits of the News Labs approach

Efficiency - Prototyping with all disciplines together saves time ‘in process’

Many prototypes were created and due to the preparation that went into the ‘problems spaces’ combined with the multidiscipline prototyping team these prototypes had the benefit of a real pressure cooker development environment: lots of new concepts, refinements and judgement decisions were being made very quickly and in the right direction.

This is in stark contrast to the usual cumulative lag when we need to pass ideas and specifications between disciplines, teams and organisational units.

Also the requirement to use ‘real data’ saved us time on theoretical explorations or erroneous assumptions.

Learning about New Technologies, quickly and safely

The developers that took part in the Labs had a hands-on and practical training opportunity with semantic data technologies. 

All disciplines involved learnt a great deal about what was practically possible with linked data and this dispelled a lot of buzz and mystery. It also provided a practical opportunity for all disciplines to try out the technologies, experiment and build prototypes without risk and many participants found this to be beneficial.

The News Archive is tagged with semantic concepts

At the time of writing The News Juicer has extracted concepts from 62,123 BBC News articles, mainly from the English-speaking service but also includes 2,500 articles from BBC Mundo, the Spanish-speaking service.

This is a tremendous legacy for future prototyping and proof of concept work and provides a safe environment to experiment with new data models and ontologies.

Outcome of the News Labs in 2012

Prototype Screenshots

Here is some information we can share publicly - this is a summary and by no means exhaustive.

This prototype explored the relationship between the news stories and the locations they mentioned

 

This prototype explored relevant information from BBC content by geolocation polygon

BBC News Labs - What’s next?

The platform, tools and APIs we developed for BBC News Labs will be in use for the foreseeable future in BBC’s Connected Studio and also for rapid prototyping to support BBC News development work.

We plan to run further News Labs and will be using the News Juicer to explore News data models and product concepts as we develop them.

If you are interested in taking part in the BBC’s innovation projects, please see the BBC Connected Studio website for details of how to engage.

Thanks to:

News Labs Team in 2012: Lewis Buttress, Jonathan Austin, Russell Smith, Matt Haynes and Silver Oliver.

News Juicer by Matt Haynes, APIs & Triplestore integration by Paul Wilton, and Ruby help from Rob Nichols.

Support from BBC News management: Chris Russell, Steve Herrmann.

Special thanks to : Paul Wilton & Ontoba, Rob Nichols, Jodie Lan Castle, Monica Sarkur, Preethi Ramamoorthy, BBC R&D, BBC Newsgathering, BBC TD&A, BBC News & Knowledge, iPlayer, Frameworks, Louise Robey and the BBC Academy

Matt Shearer is delivery manager for Future Media News.

What's On BBC Red Button 26th January - 2nd February

It's music, comedy and a trip down memory lane on the Red Button this week.

The Folk Music Awards are live on Red Button with a highlights package available all week too.  We’re going behind the scenes at Blandings, the fab new BBC One comedy and you can join Sir David Attenborough  as he presents the highlights from his early years in broadcasting as part of the BBC Four collection.

Here's a look at what's in store - and if you want to stay updated throughout the week, why not follow us on Twitter or visit BBC Red Button

Folk Music Awards

 


Folk Awards 2013


The BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards have become a much anticipated annual music event and you can watch the show live on the night on the BBC Red Button from 7.30-10pm.  You can also follow what people are saying about the event online with a special BBC live blog

Performances and highlights will be available at selected times for 7 days by pressing the Red Button from any BBC TV channel and for 30 days at bbc.co.uk/radio2

You can tweet about the Folk Awards @bbcradio2 #R2folkawards and watch, listen and read more here

Available on Freesat/Sky/Virgin Media/Freeview:

Wed 30th January, 7:30pm-10:10pm
Thu 31st January, 6:00pm-10:00pm
Fri 1st February, 12:00am-12:00 noon,  9:00pm-6:00am

Blandings

Blandings

Want to take a closer look at the castle and characters in BBC One’s new Sunday-night comedy? Join us as Beach gives a guided tour of Blandings Castle and its ancestral history - watch out for encounters with some of the present residents including the Empress of Blandings, Lord Emsworth's prize Sow.

Available on Freesat/Sky/Virgin Media/Freeview:

Sun 27th January, 6:55pm-8:00pm
Mon 28th January, 11:30pm-4:00am

In It To Win It Play-Along Quiz

Dale Winton’s In It To Win It, the game show where people use their general knowledge to win a big money jackpot, is back. Think you can do better than the studio contestants? Every Saturday press the Red Button during the show to pit your wits against our studio contestants.

Available on Sky/Freeview:

Sat 26th January, 8:00pm-8:50pm

David Attenborough

Attenborough

David Attenborough and his early years are the subject of a new collection from BBC Four. Watch an interview with Sir David as he introduces highlights from the BBC Four collection on the Red Button.

Available on Freesat/Sky/Virgin Media/Freeview:

Wed 30th January 10:10pm-4:00am

CBBC Extra

If you’re a Sadie J fan then join Chris and Dodge for a whole bunch of Sadie J exclusives including an extra special look behind the scenes of the set and a sneak peek at next week’s episode. Just press red!

Also on CBBC Extra this coming Friday we are celebrating Big Fab Friday with a whole host of exclusives including a look behind the scenes of The Dumping Ground and Sam and Mark’s Big Friday Wind Up and a sneak peek at the next episode of 4 O Clock Club. 

BBC Sport

Catch up on all the latest Sport here on the Red Button.

For the latest information refer to the BBC sport website and Red Button schedule

Australain Open Tennis: Women's Final

Australian Open Tennis: Men's final with commentary options

Live skiing: Men's and Women's parallel night races from Moscow Russia

**Note all Red Button times are subject to change at short notice

CBeebies Red Button

CBeebies Red Button welcomes younger viewers and grown-ups with a sense of adventure to the big, bright and fun world of CBeebies interactive!

Your children's favourite characters are at the heart of the interactive TV experience. Satellite and digital terrestrial viewers will have slightly different offerings from one another. This has enabled the Red Button team to offer the best games tailored to each system.

CBeebies Red Button is available on the CBeebies channel.

Visit the CBeebies website to find out more.

Available on Freeview and Sky only

A record week for BBC Weather

I’m Jo Wickremasinghe and I’m head of product for BBC Weather and Travel News.

Like many of you I was grappling with ‘snow week’ last week, constantly checking travel and weather updates to see whether my commute – and my carefully laid weekend plans – would be disrupted.

With several weather warnings in force from Thursday 17 January it was a very busy time for the BBC Weather online team as we experienced record-breaking traffic to the site.

BBC Weather forecast page for Cardiff on Friday 18 January showing heavy snow fall

Last week we saw our highest weekly traffic to http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/ in the past few years and certainly since our re-launch in November 2011.

We received just over 20 million unique browsers last week compared to a weekly average of around 7.5 million in 2012.

We’re happy with how the site performed under the extra strain and we want to make sure it performs as you expect so do let us know if you have any feedback or suggestions in the comments.

Adverse weather and snow often drives traffic to our site as people look to find out how they’ll be affected and what their journeys will be like.

Previously our highest week of traffic was in late November 2010 which was the last time the UK was heavily snowed under. On that week the site was visited by nearly 14 million unique browsers.

That makes our new 2013 peak around a 47% increase in traffic compared to the previous peak.

We know some of the regular Internet Blog readers like to chew through some stats so here are a few of the more interesting trends we’ve spotted:

Gearing up for the weekend: The peak days were Thursday 17 January (when the site was visited by over 7.3 million UK unique browsers) and Friday 18 January (when the site was visited by over 6.8 million UK unique browsers).Checking on the commute: The peaks in traffic were on the afternoon of Thursday 17 (3pm – 6pm) and the morning of Friday 18 (7am to 2pm). At those times the BBC Weather site was visited by more than 700,000 unique browsers every hour (around five times the level of traffic we’d see in a typical hour of a typical day). Mobile and multiple devices: In a typical week just under a quarter of our unique browsers are mobiles or tablets. Last week this figure was nearer a third as people used multiple devices to keep track of the forecast.

The growth in mobile and tablet usage of BBC Weather online is something we’ve been tracking for a while and we are working on improving the experience for the range of devices people now use to access BBC Weather.

I hope that was an interesting behind-the scenes-insight into how last week’s weather impacted the site.

For some parts of the country the weather forecast next week looks a lot better, and we may even see the return of some sunshine this weekend.

But for others the snow continues to fall and there may be localised flooding. So be prepared and stay ahead of the weather by visiting http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/ to get the latest weather forecast for a location near you.

Jo Wickremasinghe is the head of product for BBC Weather and Travel News.

Welcome to the new look Internet blog

Hi everyone. Since November I’ve been the content producer on the BBC Internet blog. For much of that time I’ve been preparing the blog for a move to a new content management system (CMS) with a new look and feel. You can see the results of that today.

As Jessica Sheil explained in January of last year, over the last year all BBC blogs have been migrating from our previous publishing system Moveable Type to the new pan-BBC CMS iSite. 

iSite is based on the CMS Alfesco and was developed within the BBC where it is now being used on all programme pages (from Eastenders to Africa) and sites such as CBBC. This is intended to create a more consistent design and functionality for users across bbc.co.uk.

Content on iSite is stored as XML but is automatically converted into Web Forms which we can use to edit content (relatively) easily.

With this change of CMS comes some changes to the blog’s features and tools. 

The new blog is arranged with boxes down the right hand side from where you can browse and discover a range of content from the BBC Internet blog, across the BBC and relevant external content. We refer to these boxes as modules.

You will notice that we now have a live stream of tweets from the BBC Internet blog and BBC Internet links Twitter accounts. 

This Tweet module has previously been used on BBC programme pages such as The Voice and allows us to link to stories and conversations to add more context to the themes of the blog. 

For those of you who don’t follow us on Twitter, we use the BBC Internet blog account to tweet our own posts and other content from the BBC which our audiences may find interesting or useful. BBC Internet Links is where we retweet non BBC content from blogs, message boards and external news agencies. 

Unfortunately we will no longer be able to feed our Delicious links directly onto the blog page. However, you will find a link to our Delicious page on our Social and Communities module and we will continue to tag relevant content for Delicious. 

We will also tweet all of the links which we add to Delicious from one of our two Twitter accounts so the links will still appear on the blog page and be clickable from the Tweet module.

You don’t have to be signed in to Twitter to click on the links in this box and view the content they link to.

We’re investigating additional tools to gather and curate external content which we hope our audience will find interesting.  Watch this space for more news on some of these developments.

You will notice that we have migrated blog posts since June 2012 only and older content, which dates back to 2007, remains in the old Moveable Type style. You can find links to this archived content in our Archive module on the right where posts are arranged by year. 

For easier navigation we have also added a Tag module. This is similar to the categories box which was displayed at the bottom of the old look Internet blog. 

The tags on our new module only incorporate posts which have been migrated to iSite so for blog posts published before June 2012 we have included a link on the Archive module to a list of older post categories. 

The new look blog gives us the option of ‘featuring’ a post. This means that rather than the most recently published post automatically appearing at the top of the page we are able to highlight a post from further back in the archive to appear at the top of the page instead.

This will hopefully increase the exposure of older posts and allow users to find content more easily. 

The Topical posts module which appeared in the bottom left hand side of the old blog does not appear in the new blog. We are hoping to develop a similar module to expose the most recent comments in the next couple of months.

In the meantime in order to ensure good hosting of comments the time blog posts are left open for comments will be reduced to one week. Once there is a new module we’ll consider opening them up for longer.

You may also notice that we have a new URL bbc.co.uk/blogs/internet rather than bbc.co.uk/blogs/bbcinternet. A redirect will be applied to the old URL so no links to archived content or the new page will break.

We expect some teething problems to begin with but please do but let us know if you are having problems viewing any of our content so bugs can be fixed. 

You may have noticed that we have been publishing posts less frequently over the last few weeks as we have been preparing for the move but expect a return to form from next week on.

It would be great to hear what you think of the new look and our new functionality so please do leave a comment.

Eliza Kessler is the content producer on the BBC Internet blog.

The Blue Room at The Consumer Electronics Show

Hi, my name is Richard and I'm a technologist working in the BBC Blue Room.

It's my job to highlight immediate consumer technology trends and game changing media consumption devices and to bring them to the attention of our editorial, technical and management teams.

In the Blue Room we often find the strongest way to convey the importance and impact of new electronic equipment and content services is to put them in the hands of our colleagues and allow them to discover the potential for themselves.

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Ultra High Definition TV screens at The International Consumer Electronics Show 2013

The Blue Room is our den of devices where colleagues can touch, test and trial new consumer cameras, emerging displays, fresh forms of digital content and connected experiences across mobile, tablet, PC and televisions.

One of the biggest events in the technology calendar is the International Consumer Electronics Show. It features 20,000 product launches, more than 150,000 attendees and over 3,250 exhibitors.

With the exception of Amazon, Apple, Google and Microsoft nearly every technology company from start-up to the multi-billion dollar global brand have a presence in Las Vegas in January.

My fellow Blue Roomer, Lindsey Suter and I were there too.

Attending the CES show served three core knowledge gaining purposes for the Blue Room. It allows us to select interesting and exciting products to showcase, make contact with developers and engineers who make them and to pick-up on overarching themes and trends that show provides.

Smart utensils, bizarre iAccessories,' booth babes' and Ultra High Definition TV made headlines.

We'd like share some of our findings about the next generation of televisions and the potential for new content with you so we've produced our Little Blue Book from CES (Link to PDF).

If you have any comments or would like to suggest any exciting consumer technology products that you think the BBC should be across please use the comments section below or tweet us @BBCBlueRoom.

Richard Robbins is a senior technologist at the BBC.

What's on BBC Red Button 19-25 January

We're busy on the Red Button this week preparing to host a maelstrom of great music for your viewing pleasure. It's an eclectic offering - from stadium rockers Bon Jovi to Asian Network collaboration with the BBC Philharmonic to the very best of Northern Ireland's music scene. Add to this insider exclusives from eccentric new comedy Blandings and firm favourite Miranda and we hope you'll agree it's a great week to stay on red!

Here's a look at what's in store - and if you want to stay updated throughout the week, why not follow us on Twitter or visit our Red Button page.

Bon Jovi
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Bon Jovi play live for BBC Radio 2

Bon Jovi fans listen up - we've got a real treat in store this week as we bring you the band in concert from the intimate BBC Radio Theatre. Watch on your Red Button as they play some of their stadium-filling hits as well as an early taster of their new material.

Thu 24 Jan, 8pm-9.30pm

Fri 25 Jan, 9am-10am

Fri 25 Jan, 7pm-6am

Sons and Daughters Concert
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Snow Patrol's Gary Lightbody will perform at the Sons and Daughters concert

Girls Aloud's Nadine Coyle, Snow Patrol's Gary Lightbody and The Divine Comedy's Neil Hannon perform in the opening concert for the Derry-Londonderry City of Culture 2013. Press your red button for the concert featuring 'sons and daughters' from stage and screen reflecting on the city's cultural achievements through music, word and song.

Sun 20 Jan, 7.55pm-11pm

Blandings
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The characters from Blandings - take a tour inside the castle

Want to take a closer look at the castle and characters in BBC One's new Sunday-night comedy? Join us as Beach gives a guided tour of Blandings Castle and its ancestral history - watch out for encounters with some of the present residents including the Empress of Blandings, Lord Emsworth's prize sow.

Sun 20 Jan, 6.55pm-7.55pm

Sun 20 Jan, 11pm-12am

Mon 21 Jan, 11.30pm-12.30am

Miranda

Get closer to Miranda with this sneak peek into Monday's episode plus it's your chance to hear the cast share some exclusive backstage gossip.

Mon 21 Jan, 8.25pm-9pm

Queens of Melody

The BBC Philharmonic and Asian Network collaborate for the first time to celebrate the life and songs of iconic Pakistani singer Noor Jehan and other legendary divas. Join us as international artists like Shazia Manzoor and Quratulain Balouch perform alongside the orchestra, conducted by David Heath.

Mon 21 Jan, 6am-10am; 12pm-8.25pm; 9pm-11.30pm

Tue 22 Jan, 12.30am-7am; 9am-10am; 12pm-6am

Wed 23 Jan, 6am-7am; 9am-10am; 12pm-9.55pm

Thu 24 Jan, 4am-7am; 9am-10am; 9.30pm-6am

Fri 25 Jan, 6am-7am

In It To Win It Play-Along Quiz

Dale Winton's In It To Win It, the game show where people use their general knowledge to win a big-money jackpot, is back. Think you can do better than the studio contestants? Every Saturday press the Red Button during the show to pit your wits against our studio contestants.

Only available on Sky/Freeview:

Sat 19 Jan, 8pm-8.50pm

BBC Sport

Catch up on all the latest Sport here on the Red Button.

Highlights this week include:


Live: World Indoor Bowls Championships
Skiing: Men's Slalom from Wengen, Switzerland
Ski Sunday Extra

For the latest information refer to the BBC Sport website.

**Note all Red Button times are subject to change at short notice

Have your say on BBC Online and BBC Red Button

A final reminder about your chance to tell us your views on BBC Online and Red Button services before the review finishes on 23 January.

The BBC Trust carries out an in-depth review of each of the BBC's services at least once every five years. This time the Trust is looking at BBC Online and BBC Red Button Services.

The Trust wants your views and suggestions on these services and how they can be improved. There is also space in the consultation to raise any other points not covered by our questions. The consultation closes this Wednesday.

To find out more about the consultation and how to take part, visit the BBC Trust site: BBC Online and BBC Red Button Service Review

If you would like a paper version sent to you, email onlineandredbutton@bbc.co.uk or call 0800 0680 116.

To request the questions in audio or braille please call 0800 0680 116 or textphone 0800 0153 350.

Large print is also available to download via the BBC Trust site:
BBC Online and BBC Red Button Service Review

CBeebies Red Button

CBeebies Red Button welcomes younger viewers and grown-ups with a sense of adventure to the big, bright and fun world of CBeebies interactive!

Your children's favourite characters are at the heart of the interactive TV experience. Satellite and digital terrestrial viewers will have slightly different offerings from one another. This has enabled the Red Button team to offer the best games tailored to each system.

CBeebies Red Button is available on the CBeebies channel.

Visit the CBeebies website to find out more.

Available on Freeview and Sky only

External Supply Review

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I'm Richard Smith and I look after feedback and public accountability for BBC Online (including managing the small team who produce this blog and plan and deliver our BBC Online Industry Briefings.)

Part of my role involves working with BBC commissioners and external suppliers to facilitate the working relationship between BBC Online and the UK's digital industry, whether these are big players or start-ups.

BBC Online is subject to a quota which ensures that we spend at least 25% of our eligible budget with external suppliers, with the aim of creating the highest quality service and the best possible value for money.

In 2011 the BBC Trust asked us to report back with answers to six key questions relating to what our quota aims to achieve and how we work with the digital industry.

Today we're publishing our response. These findings and our recommendations are based on research carried out on our behalf by independent analysts MTM London, and today we are also publishing their final report (with some redactions where required for commercial confidentiality).

I'm pleased to say that the Trust have accepted our findings and recommendations. As a result we will be retaining the existing supply arrangements for at least two more years.

They've also asked to us to look at ways we can make further improvements in how we commission and work with external suppliers and to regularly review and report performance against our stated objectives.

Later this year we'll be publishing our 2012/13 Out-turn report for BBC Online which will have further details about how we have fulfilled the quota this year. (Out-turn reports for previous years are available on our Commissioning web site)

If you are a digital business who work with BBC Online and have any questions about the reports I'm happy to try and answer any queries - so please do leave a comment.

Richard Smith is head of public accountability, BBC Online and Red Button.

Executive Response to the Trust Review of Online Supply 2012/13

MTM London Final Report

US Elections: Mobile design on BBC News

Recently I had the pleasure of working on US Elections on the BBC News site, a subject I'm especially passionate about as an American living in London.

My team produces a huge range of infographics that accompany our daily online news stories and we also do the UX design for larger stories such as this.

Four years ago I followed the elections closely on the BBC and getting the chance to design for them this time around has been incredible.

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US Elections on mobile

A lot of people worked very hard on this project but the team's greatest achievement (though there are many I'm proud of) has to be our mobile design success.

The design brief for the 'news story that brings the web to its knees'

The design challenge was to create an engaging and informative experience for the US Election results that would work across all mobile, tablet and desktop platforms and be consistent with TV.

The main focus of this was showing national and state-by-state presidential and congressional votes in an easy to understand yet visually exciting way.

US Elections has been described as "the news story that brings the web to its knees". It's a big worldwide story that only happens once every four years which means technology has moved on sufficiently enough that the last version can't just be dusted off and reused.

For this election there was no question that we had to create a great experience on our mobile site.

From the beginning of the creative process mobile was on the agenda and by presenting mobile designs at every team catch up we were able to make sure it never became an afterthought.

Designing mobile first is hugely beneficial, not just because it means there will be a mobile solution but also because it means the content has to have a clear hierarchy and progressively enhance.

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Designing responsive mobile results pages

This approach not only fits into the development (as the screen enlarges more content is added thus the smallest devices get the lightest pages) but it also fits into people's mental models.

People expect a streamlined view on the mobile which is often relying on a data connection, with a more in-depth solution on their desktops which have greater screen real estate and usually a better connection.

The page that required the most design effort was the results page. There was a long list of requirements from detailed state results to congressional overviews.

I started by creating a post-it note board of everything the page must, should and could do and then began wireframing the modules.

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Helene wireframes the results page

We initially experimented with versions of the results page that didn't have a map but we found it was a reference people were so accustomed to that we couldn't drop it.

The map is tricky because the size of a state often is not representative of how many votes it has. Montana is massive yet only has three votes so a map can be dominated by a party colour when actually the opponent won.

I decided to introduce a bar to the top of the page to give a more accurate snapshot of the election score.

As we moved forward we realized we wanted US Elections to have a singular home.

Previously the index, results and live updates page have all been separate pages. By tabbing all the content under the 'scoreboard' banner we were able to ensure users wouldn't miss all that was on offer, or they could choose to quickly check the latest tally if they just wanted an overview.

This score snapshot above in-depth tabs was especially effective on mobile.

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State icons

I also wanted to give the site a bit of character so along with designer Nina Monet we gave each and every state an icon. These were things that the state was famous for and although only a small detail on the page it was fun to read people's tweets about them. [N.B links to external site with strong language]

Taking the designs worldwide

As this story is of interest worldwide we worked closely with World Service. Designers Nour Saab and Charlotte Thornton adapted our designs for over 20 languages.

World Service face difficult challenges. For example words in Russian are often much longer and don't fit the spacing allocated for the English words and Arabic reads right to left so the whole page has to be flipped.

Charlotte spent many days sitting with the developer - the ideal way to work I believe - making sure the design and development were aligned.

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The results page in Arabic

Final thoughts

The benefit of this project was that regardless of the user's device or language there was a consistent US Elections home with a 'scoreboard' overview above the tabbed index, results and live page.

Although not fully responsive it's close. The mobile site has a clear relationship with the desktop. We had 16 million unique visitors to the site of which 30% were on mobile proving our mobile first approach was worthwhile.

This project had the support of the Visual Journalism team and I'd like to send a big thank you to everyone who helped make it a reality. It would be great to hear what you thought of the site.

Helene Sears is the editorial designer for UX&D.

Knowledge & Learning's Connected Studio brief

Hi I'm Andy Pipes, executive product manager for Knowledge & Learning at the BBC.

Knowledge and Learning (K&L) is a new product in the BBC Online portfolio.

When complete, it will exist as a standalone property while also connecting related content across the other nine BBC products. It will pull together over 100 existing BBC websites from Bitesize to Food to Science to History and bring them into a single, consistent user experience.

The vision is to channel inspiration from across the BBC and the world around us to spark our audience's natural curiosity and establish a positive relationship with learning.

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Learning journeys based on the Thames Barrier

The new product is making a promise that is firmly rooted in the BBC's mission to Inform, Educate and Entertain. To meet this promise requires moving from the current portfolio of individual web sites to a single product with a central production system and innovative new content formats.

The content currently produced by the editorial team in K&L ranges from formal learning formats (revision guides for students, guides for adult learners, and BBC programme clips to be used by teachers in classrooms) to topical features around arts, food, science, history and health.

We are now in the process of redefining the way that our audiences consume that educational and factual content. We believe that technology combined with storytelling broadens horizons for our audience. We hope the new product will satisfy our audience's appetite for topical content in an experience that is optimised for learning.

Below are some of the challenges that the team faces in building its longer-term vision, and some scenarios and themes that those attending our Connected Studio could help us explore.

If you've got an idea you'd like to pitch at the Creative Studio for K&L taking place on the 21st of February, apply via the Connected Studio website.

Key opportunities: audience and product

The Knowledge & Learning audience is large, diverse and ever-changing. We cater for school-aged children revising for their exams, empty nesters seeking more information about the birds in their hedgerows and almost everyone in between.

But one constant is that our audiences are all in some way open to learning. Finding ever more inventive ways to pique our audience's natural curiosity is the K&L product's principal challenge.

At this stage in development we're searching for innovative content formats, tools and user experiences. The challenges we have set out here provide a chance to contribute to fundamental elements of the future K&L product.

1. A K&L interactive video player

We have content around a large range of topics, places, people, events and fields of study. We now have the technology (as seen in the Olympics) to combine video and data to deliver statistical overlays, chapterised content and social elements to the video experience.

How should we design a player for people to consume our video content in the way that best sparks their curiosity and allows them to follow where it leads them?

We need to cater for a range of needs, from searching for a specific answer to allowing people to follow interesting links and relationships between topics.

How could this player offer a unique learning experience that is as immersive as it is useful? This is different to a second-screen experience - what we want to explore are ways to deliver a more immersive first-screen experience.

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Content based on topical news stories

2. Doing, not just viewing

People learn better by doing and we would like the K&L product to include an opportunity for playful "practice" - activities designed to reinforce learning without feeling onerous.

How do we bring a level of interaction to our audiences that would mean their experience is more enjoyable, their learning is better absorbed and their curiosity is better sparked in order to continue learning more?

An interactive guide format with modular and 'stackable' content forms the building blocks of the new K&L Product. Each piece we create will be a single unit, the smallest unit of knowledge appropriate for a single step in a learning journey. Each unit will be consumed or completed in three to four minutes, is viewable on any device and is heavily wrapped in metadata so that it can easily be connected to any other unit of knowledge content.

We don't have the time or resource to 'reinvent the wheel' for each guide so it's important these interactive elements are designed to scale across the broad range of K&L topics and audiences. How can we create reusable patterns of interactivity to reduce the time it takes us to create activities?

3. Connecting the TV experience with K&L

A large proportion of our audience watch or listen to factual content without benefiting from the wealth of related content online. We know our audience are open to learning but don't want to be distracted from the content they are already enjoying.

How might people signal to us that they are interested in learning more during a broadcast of TV or radio content? How do we help them follow their curiosity without interrupting the original content?

4. Connecting the real world with Knowledge & Learning

More and more, people expect to see what they do in the real world reflected in their online world and vice versa.

How can our audiences easily track digitally what they do in the real world (e.g. trips to a museum, real world Stargazing Live activities, baking a cake, helping friends revise, etc), and then use that information to enrich their learning experience? What will they see when they go to BBC spaces online which represent the real world? And, how might these digital spaces change the way they experience real world events?

I will be at the Knowledge & Learning Connected Studio with the K&L team. We are very excited to see what ideas come from the community of designers, technologists and storytellers and look forward to seeing some of you in February.

Andy Pipes is executive product manager for BBC Knowledge & Learning.

What's on BBC Red Button 12 - 19 January

Here's a breakdown of what we've got on the Red Button this week. To stay updated on everything Red Button follow us on Twitter or visit bbc.co.uk/redbutton.

Winterwatch
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Mountain Hare camouflaged against the winter snow

The Winterwatch webcams return, live from Aigas in the Scottish Highlands where the team hope to be following the beavers and pine martens again, as well as some new species.

Available on Freesat/Sky/Virgin Media/Freeview:

Mon 14 Jan, 11pm-10am, Tues 15 Jan

Tues 15 Jan, 11pm-10am, Wed 16 Jan

Wed 16 Jan, 11pm-10am, Thu 17 Jan

Antiques Roadshow Play-Along Game

Fiona Bruce at Cawdor Castle

Fiona Bruce and the team head to the north of Scotland for a busy day in the grounds of Cawdor Castle near Inverness. Objects under scrutiny include original artwork given in payment for hairdresser's bills, the best bargain-buy dolls ever seen on the show, and an early 18th-Century travelling chest that may once have been owned by Queen Anne.

You can now also play along on a mobile or tablet. Find out more and read the step-by-step instructions and don't forget to tweet your scores to #antiquesroadshow.

Available on Sky/Freeview:

Sun 13 Jan, 7:55pm-9pm

EastEnders - Dorothy Branning: The Next Chapter
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What's up with Dot?

Why has Dot Branning stayed away from Walford for so long? Why won't she come home? We're about to find out when Abi Branning leaves the East End on a mission to seek out her Grandma Dot.

This epiosde is also avaliable on iPlayer to watch anytime for seven days.

Available on Freesat/Sky/Virgin Media/Freeview:

Sun 13 Jan, 12:45pm-4:45pm

Casualty - The Crash
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Matt Bardock as Jeff Collier

A repeat of the mini-episode for Casualty fans to enjoy as one of Holby's most hard-bitten characters gets a rude awakening.

Paramedic Jeff Collier thinks he's seen everything the job can throw at him and there's nothing left to shock him. But nothing can prepare him for what he sees when he arrives at the scene of a school coach crash...

Available on Freesat/Sky/Virgin Media/Freeview:

Sat 12 Jan, 9:35pm-1:15am

In It To Win It Play-Along Quiz

Dale Winton returns with another series of In It To Win It, the game show where people compete on general knowledge for a big money jackpot.

Think you can do better? Every Saturday press the Red Button during the show to pit your wits against our studio contestants. Come the final round will you still be In It To Win It?

Available on Sky/Freeview:

Sat 12 Jan, 8pm-8:50pm

Sat 19 Jan, 8pm-8:50pm

BBC Sport

Catch up on all the latest Sport here on the Red Button.

Highlights include:


Live Darts: BDO World Championships
Live Masters Snooker (and highlights)
Ski Sunday and Ski Sunday Extra

For the latest information refer to the BBC Sport website.

**Note all Red Button times are subject to change at short notice

Have your say on BBC Online and BBC Red Button

The BBC Trust carries out an in-depth review of each of the BBC's services at least once every five years. This time the Trust is looking at BBC Online and BBC Red Button Services.

The Trust wants your views and suggestions on these services and how they can be improved. There is also space in the consultation to raise any other points not covered by our questions. The consultation is open until 23rd January 2013.

To find out more about the consultation and how to take part, visit the BBC Trust site: BBC Online and BBC Red Button Service Review

If you would like a paper version sent to you, email onlineandredbutton@bbc.co.uk or call 0800 0680 116.

To request the questions in audio or braille please call 0800 0680 116 or textphone 0800 0153 350.

Large print is also available to download via the BBC Trust site:
BBC Online and BBC Red Button Service Review

CBeebies Red Button

CBeebies Red Button welcomes younger viewers and grown-ups with a sense of adventure to the big, bright and fun world of CBeebies interactive!

Your children's favourite characters are at the heart of the interactive TV experience. Satellite and digital terrestrial viewers will have slightly different offerings from one another. This has enabled the Red Button team to offer the best games tailored to each system.

CBeebies Red Button is available on the CBeebies channel, and via page 5900 on other channels.

Visit the CBeebies website to find out more.

Available on Freeview and Sky only