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As part of the bbc.co.uk Service Licence Review, which is being conducted by the BBC Trust, the BBC (not the Trust) commissioned a number short essays from ‘leading thinkers and practitioners in the new media space’ and I agreed to contribute a piece on ‘The BBC’s distinctive role in the internet space in the next 4-5 years’.

The piece was submitted as part of the Review, and it was subsequently decided to include it in a book with a broader focus, entitled Public Service Broadcasting and the Creative Community, which will be published in May, and includes contributions from Stephen Fry, Andrew Marr, Sir David Attenborough, and David Dimbleby.

My essay outline follows. I would welcome references to related writing and discussions, and thoughts in response to the theme of the essay. Contributions can be posted in the associated Facebook Note. I will submit the essay later this week, so if you haven’t responded in that period don’t worry.

In due course, I hope the BBC will publish my essay (and the other essays) online, or allow for them to be published accordingly.

Meanwhile, BBC Trust is inviting direct responses to this consultation between until 14 December 2007. I would (also) encourage anyone based in the UK to respond to this consultation using the online form accessible from the bbc.co.uk Service Licence Review.

(In a related initiative, I was invited by David Wilcox of Designing for Civil Society to a BBC Trust event about how blogging could extend the Trust’s engagement with the public in the review of bbc.co.uk, and in the Trust’s other work. I have written up my thoughts in my Future Media Journal in a post entitled In the BBC we Trust.)

The BBC’s distinctive role in the Internet space in the next 4-5 years (draft proposal)

Reflect on ‘What is media for?’ discussions, and the BBC’s Purpose, Vision and Values statement.

Pick up on the themes of the ‘Trends in the Internet’s development in the last 4-5 years’, ‘Predicted trends’ and ‘Impact’ essays (or outlines). Refer to current roles (described in one of the service review briefings).

Outline the areas in which we need to see development in the Internet (media?) space (based on a literature review and review of debates). Outline those where there is likely to be more limited development which fall within the capabilities and skills of bbc.co.uk/staff.

Consider what is distinctive about the BBC:

• Trust and goodwill
• Commitment to quality and objectivity
• Skills and engagement of staff
• Scale and scope of audience
• Experience with content forms across media and platforms
• Experience with technologies over time and across platforms
• Review the distinctive roles bbc.co.uk has played in the last 10 years.

Propose possible roles, which might include:

• Experimenting with new content types and formats
• Facilitator of new standards
• Facilitator of new platforms
• Facilitator of new services: based on sharing data and APIs (happening already with BBC backstage)
• Facilitator of information and knowledge sharing models and a public commons of debate
• Assistance with public understanding of technology in society, and with foresight
• Helping understand changes taking place in society: by putting news in a historical context
• Pioneering new communication techniques, from new forms of journalism to information visualisation