Category: Uncategorized

I told you so….

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As you might gather I’m keen to see lobby groups, charities and the social sector using social media, but tone of voice is everything. I found this film through John Hemmings blog. There’s something about it that troubles me. It follows an Ofsted report highlighting important failings with the court support service CAFCASS.

The video is discordant. The combination of the emotive images (I imagine none of which show actual abuse by cafcass?) and the ‘told you so script’ grates.
So congratulations to Mothers for Justice for having their case supported by Ofsted. But please think again about how you convey your message. It’s now time for action, so tell us what you want to happen or tell us a story which will give legs to the campaign for change. Pressure groups are well placed to tell stories of real people’s real experiences and that’s where the emotional impact should be found when using social media.

The language of Euromyths.

I’ve only just come across (thanks) the EU press office site set up specifically to bebunk myths about the EU which spring up in the British Press and feed the British (English?) imagination. I mention it here because I enjoy the tone of voice in the blurb which tells us: “The European Commission’s Press Office in London monitors the British press’s highly distorted coverage of the European Union. Euromyths are scare stories based on hearsay, rumours and half-truths, many of which have been repeated so often that they have become accepted truths within the public and media consciousness. The A-Z that follows is often ridiculous and sometimes amusing. But the serious question here is about the journalistic integrity of a press that denies the British public the truth about the policies and institutions of the European Union.”

It is this sort of confident conversational style that is so lacking in government based communication. Next step of course could be to allow commenst of turn the list into a wiki so we can all post pictures of straight bananas.

Bungling brum makes podcast

The stories of Birmingham City Council’s failure to establish a relaible system for paying it’s bills has made number one on computer weekly.com. The site makes a podcast each week from it’s 5 most popular stories. Our blessed financial frippery made number one slot. Link to the site is a touch irritating because you have to tolerate an advert before you see what you want. The podcast is a bit stilted.