XpoNorth podcast #020 – Michael Rueger, Creative Director of Innovation Lab, Ravensburger – Innovation, creativity, technology

XpoNorth Podcast #022 – Ryan Aitken, founder CDCorp – use of NFTs in the Whisky Industry

Ryan Aitken is the founder and Managing Director of CDCorp a Scottish based crypto consultancy which has been leading in the use of Non Fungible Tokens (NFTS) in the Whisky sector.  Show Highlights: * Ryan explains what blockchain is and how this technology underpins ideas like crypto currency, NFTs and DAOs. * Explores the fundamental appeal and disruptive power of decentralised technologies like Blockchain. * Addresses the debate around the ecological impacts of blockchain transactions. * Describes some of the projects that have been involved with. Participants: Interviewee: Ryan Aitken – Founder and Managing Director of CDCorp Host: Tim Wright: Tim Wright is co founder of twintangibles a Scottish based management consultancy and an advisor at  XpoNorth Digital Date Recorded: May 2022 Date  Published: July 2022 Resources / Articles mentioned in the podcast:  CDCorp Website: https://cdcorp.co.uk/ [https://cdcorp.co.uk/] The Whisky Barrel: https://www.thewhiskybarrel.com/ [https://www.thewhiskybarrel.com/] City if Berkeley Blockchain Bond: https://www.govtech.com/biz/berkeley-calif-plans-for-first-muni-bond-issued-on-blockchain.html [https://www.govtech.com/biz/berkeley-calif-plans-for-first-muni-bond-issued-on-blockchain.html]

XpoNorth Podcast #021 – Creativity, story telling and funding with Ken Gordon, European Space Agency

Ken Gordon is the European Space Agency’s Business Ambassador for Scotland and Northern Ireland. Part of Ken’s mission is to promote and encourage people to apply for the European Space Agency’s funding programme. He talks to Dougal Perman about opportunities for people working in the creative industries across the Highlands and Islands. Ken is also a podcast producer and really interested in people and stories. We talk about the importance and value of storytelling and how he was drawn to what he does now because of a childhood love of space and science fiction. Show Highlights: * Space * Satellite technology * Creative industries funding * Business development * Storytelling Participants: Interviewee: Ken Gordon Host: Dougal Perman: Dougal is director of content company Inner Ear, chair of the Scottish Music Industry Association and an advisor at XpoNorth Digital. Resources: https://business.esa.int/ [https://business.esa.int/] https://twitter.com/Space4Europe [https://twitter.com/Space4Europe] https://www.youtube.com/user/artesapps/featured https://www.linkedin.com/in/kennethgordon/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/kennethgordon/] https://refugeevoicesscotland.com/

XpoNorth podcast #020 – Michael Rueger, Creative Director of Innovation Lab, Ravensburger – Innovation, creativity, technology

Michael Rueger is Creative Director, Ravensburger Innovation Lab in Germany. We discuss what makes innovation distinctive from creativity, how Michael integrates this with a long-established brand and product set such as Ravensburger, the role of technology, the importance of characters, working with franchises, the approach they use and what a jigsaw might be like in 20 years! Date Recorded:  2021 Date  Published: August 2021 Participants: Interviewee: Michael Rueger Host: Tim Wright: Tim Wright is co-founder of twintangibles a Scottish based management consultancy and an advisor at  XpoNorth Digital Resources / Articles mentioned in the podcast: Ravensburger: https://www.ravensburger.com/ [https://www.ravensburger.com/]

XpoNorth Podcast #019 – Sadie Dixon-Spain of The Walking Theatre Company – sense of place in performance

Sadie Dixon-Spain is artistic director and founder of The Walking Theatre Company. Based in Argyll, Sadie founded The Walking Theatre Company based on a love of movement, storytelling, history and the environment. She talks to Dougal Perman about all of those things including her passion for and fascination with Scotland’s stories. They also discuss how Sadie grew her theatre company as a commercial concern without relying on funding, how the work her company makes responds to its situation and surroundings and what they did to innovate during the pandemic; especially in reference to their successful project for children called Zippedy Zoom Club and the company’s first film production Macbeth The Red.   Show Highlights: * Commercial theatre * Digital storytelling * Site specific/responsive creative work * Theatrical filmmaking * Audience interaction   Participants: Interviewee: Sadie Dixon-Spain Host: Dougal Perman: Dougal is director of content company Inner Ear, chair of the Scottish Music Industry Association and an advisor at XpoNorth Digital. Date Recorded: 30 June 2021 Date  Published: July or August 2021 Resources:   https://thewalkingtheatrecompany.com [https://thewalkingtheatrecompany.com/] https://twitter.com/twtc [https://twitter.com/twtc]  https://www.facebook.com/TheWalkingTheatreCompany [https://www.facebook.com/TheWalkingTheatreCompany]  https://www.instagram.com/TheWalkingTheatreCompany [https://www.instagram.com/TheWalkingTheatreCompany/] https://zippedyzoom.club [https://zippedyzoom.club/]

XpoNorth Podcast #018 – Emma Neilson, changing workplaces - from music festivals production to project manager at Wasps

How do you take those golden moments when the sun breaks through the clouds in a muddy field while the beats keep the crowd’s feed stomping, to a beautiful bespoke new workspace in Inverness? Emma Neilson has been on that journey; having worked in music festival production for much of her career she is now in project management for Wasps. She spoke to Dougal Perman about her life in festivals, what she learned about remote working and collaboration and empathy, how the workplace is adapting and some of the positive aspects about life and work that we can take from the pandemic. Emma Neilson is a project manager at Wasps and a former music festivals production manager. Emma is working on the new Inverness Creative Academy which will provide artistic, making, co-working, studio and office space for creative people in the region. Emma speaks to Dougal Perman about how the workplace is evolving, what people need and want from the spaces in which they work and reflects on her experiences working on music festivals and what she learned there. These podcasts have been curated by XpoNorth to inspire you and highlight different ways that you can potentially create, generate new ideas, products, services and income during what is a very difficult period for most businesses and organisations. Date Recorded: 30 April 2021 Date  Published: June 2021 Show Highlights: * Flexible working * Music festival production * Creative spaces * Collaboration * Empathy   Participants: Interviewee: Emma Neilson Host: Dougal Perman: Dougal is director of content company Inner Ear, chair of the Scottish Music Industry Association and an advisor at XpoNorth Digital. Resources: Wasps Inverness Creative Academy https://invernesscreativeacademy.org.uk/ [https://invernesscreativeacademy.org.uk/] https://www.waspsstudios.org.uk/spaces/artist-space/inverness-creative-academy/ [https://www.waspsstudios.org.uk/spaces/artist-space/inverness-creative-academy/] https://www.facebook.com/invernesscreativeacademy/ [https://www.facebook.com/invernesscreativeacademy/] https://www.twitter.com/waspsstudios [https://www.twitter.com/waspsstudios]