Live in Folkestone!

So much better than Zoom

Creative Folkestone @CreativeFstone

Thank you @ruskin147 for an insightful conversation @FstoneBookFest about Always On (@BloomsburyBooks), tech journalism, algorithms, powerful devices, hype loops, regulation & so much more. Event sponsor: @jennergroup @FstoneBookFest principal supporter: @NewsNowUK

I’m still buzzing this morning after getting back late last night from the Folkestone Book Festival. It was my first live event talking about Always On, indeed the first live session of any kind for me since early March 2020.

And boy did it bring home what a difference it makes to have a live audience. For over an hour I was expertly quizzed by the festival organiser and Creative Folkestone chief executive Alistair Upton. We roamed far and wide, from the 2007 unveiling of the iPhone, to the role of social media in the Arab Spring, from how to regulate Facebook to the dangers of AI.

I read an extract from the book about my interview with Stephen Hawking where he warned that artificial intelligence could make us obsolete - and then answered some great probing questions from people there in the venue and online.

And although the audience inside the Quarterhouse arts centre was sparse due to Covid restrictions, hearing and seeing that instant feedback you get when someone laughs or nods their head in agreement - or shakes it in dissent - was so refreshing. I’ve done a number of digital-only events over the past few months and although they have all been very professionally managed you come away without much sense of how the audience has reacted. For all I know, most people may have switched off bored after five minutes.

Afterwards, I sat outside a noisy Folkestone bar having a beer and eating pizza with Alistair. We discussed the Creative Folkestone project which has seen dozens of run down properties bought up and rented out to architects, designers and other small creative businesses.

And we talked about the fragile economics of book festivals. Many, like Folkestone, just about got through 2020 with online events, though these are hard to make add up financially. Festivals have often struggled to deliver an operating profit but can justify their existence to local authority backers by bringing affluent visitors to town who spend money with local businesses.

But there have been some benefits to online events. Folkestone managed to get authors from around the world onto its programme - my BBC colleague Nick Bryant was on immediately before me beaming in live from New York to talk about his excellent book When America Stopped Being Great.

So for book festivals the future looks hybrid. Having invested in audiovisual equipment they will want to continue broadening their reach by streaming their events, while also welcoming back the crowds which give that sense of occasion to everyone.

I’ve got dates with several other festivals across the summer and if you’ve got an event you’d like me to speak at - preferably live - do get in touch.

Oh - and buy the book!