Category: Neighbourhoods

Next Birmingham Central Social Media Surgery – Wednesday 23 September

It’s almost a year since the first Birmingham Social Media surgery began to help voluntary and community groups in Birmingham make the most of social media and the web.

Now it’s back to school and time to lock in after the lazy summer, and the first central surgery of the new season will be on Wednesday, September 23 at theFazeley Studios, Digbeth.

The Fazeley Studios are on 191 Fazeley Street, Digbeth, Birmingham B5 6DR (link to map), opposite The Bond. Push the large light blue doors with the silver door knob.

So if you belong to a Birmingham based community or neighbourhood group or charity please come and join us, you can drop in any time between 5.30pm and 7pm.

To sign up head over to the BeVocal site where you can also find more information about locally-based surgeries.

Want to know more about Social Media Surgeries and what to expect? You can find out more information about what goes on at a surgery and how it can benefit you here.

If you cannot make September’s surgery why not book the next two surgeries into your diary. They will be held on Thursday 15 October at 5.30pm – 7pm and on Friday 20 November at 5.30pm – 7pm. Both surgeries are Central Birmingham surgeries, which are held at the Fazeley Studios.

Neighbourhood blogs encourage participation in council consultations

When Seattle in the USA asked residents to fill out a survey about their neighbourhoods the results came back with something that doesn’t surprise me. The neighbourhoods that responded the best were the neighbourhoods with the most active hyperlocal blogs and websites.

As Cory Bergman puts it:

the top neighborhoods had something in common — and it’s not population. “They already have a really strong blog presence in the neighborhood,” said Katie Sheehy with the City of Seattle. “There’s a lot of people already engaged in neighborhood issues through the blogs, and I think that’s what’s driven a lot of people to respond.”

The top neighborhoods are essentially a list of the most popular neighborhood news sites in the city — all of which have plugged the survey. From the West Seattle Blog (which makes up multiple neighborhoods in the list including West Seattle Junction and Columbia City, etc.) to our own My Ballard (Crown Hill/Ballard) and PhinneyWood (Greenwood/Phinney), and Capitol Hill Seattle and Central District News (Central Area). While many of us who run neighborhood blogs have known the sites drive community involvement, this is a great way to visualize the impact.

Go here to see a useful graphic. Hat tip:  Laura Oliver and Andrew McKenzie.