Tag: blogging

£50 million for the Black Country or let the cyclists freewheel to a win?

We’re in the final days before voting closes for the People’s £50 Million. I’m backing the Black Country Urban Park. First because they’re our neighbours and also because it is a remarkable part of the country – with huge potential for being home to a better way of living.

But, if the blogosphere is anything to go by, perhaps the national Sustrans cycling and walking network is in the lead. (Update – thanks to Nunovo for some work suggesting this may be the case – see comments on this post.) Of course it matters less to more places, whereas the Black Country bid matters much more to fewer places.

With this in mind Jon Bounds and I are using upyerbrum to help promote the cause and encourage you lot to vote for the Black Country Urban Park over three other competitors (ops did I forget to link to them!) for this £50 million slab of the Big Lottery Fund.

We’ve already created a Facebook application (add it please and message your mates – they can use it to link to the vote). Now we bring you this stylish yet simple animated badge (look right) which you can add to your blog or website. Find the code here.

I imagined the campaign would all hinge of the phone vote at the end of this week. But the programmes on ITV 1 have been shown late – after the local news. As a result of the low audience and low energy of the TV side of the competition I think the winners will be those who get their networks voting. So who’s out there Standing UP for the Black Country?

First thank you Duncan Borrowman for changing your vote – and all on the basis of a reasoned argument from Colin Ross in Wolverhampton. Thank you also to Granny’s Buttons who cogently argues that any and all canal towpath users should Stand Up for the Black Country.

Next on the list is the irrepressible Donato at Bostin, who’s been using his Facebook group and his Myspace friends to yell his support. Spaghetti Gazetti is also firmly onside, along with the Halesowen Innuendo Society (and yes do look away if you’re squeamish). Bridgette McKenzie isn’t sure which way to go – (vote Black Country Bridget) while Toyah is shouting for us online. Passionate Media are (is?) not only voting the right way they’re also sporting our blog badge (thanks).

Dave Radcliffe (a Lib Dem) takes a pop at the Minister (Labour) for the West Midlands for supporting the Black Country when the Sustrans project will bring minor benefit to Brum. Nonsense Dave, £50 million iin the Black Country will have far more benefit to Brum. Telford seems to share that vision whilst Birmingham is fudging it’s support in a very positive way.

Pete at Created in Birmingham has already voted for Sustrans (update/correction is most supportive of this project – see clarification below) – but (like Birmingham Council) also wanted to point to the Black Country campaign. Local politicians should be linking like mad – just as Steven Frear and Bob Piper are (very polite Bob) and of course the bid has p-p-p-picked up support from Political Penguin with a fab sideshow of images.

So please use the badge, vote, email your friends, Facebook your chums Myspace your mums. Please just do it.

Others I’ve missed supporting the Black Country Urban Park

West Brom Blogger.

Neil Dixon.

Russ L at Oh.

BCT.

BiNS goes all Black Country it’s Not S**t, despite this earlier post railing at regen lotteries.

How to make the £50 million Facebook Application?

The photo of Katie Derham swaddled in bank notes is from the flickr part of the promotional package for the People’s £50 million. In the next two weeks the whole nation will be invited to vote on which of 4 communal projects should win £50 million from the Big Lottery fund.
I want the Black Country Urban Park to win cos the Black Country is an astonishing collection of industrial villages which have a future as a remarkable place to live and work. Also I’m a Brummie and what’s good for our neighbours is good for us.

But I’ve got a tiny stake in this now. After a very recent casual conversation with a couple of people from the Black Country, Jon Bounds and I put together a very most Facebook app/button to help the cause along – (in exchange for similarly modest number of notes and no – nothing like the ones Katie is wearing).

It links to the place where you have to register and vote and also helps you declare allegiance to the cause. Donato Esposito has already set up a facebook group to suport the campaign.

There’s two weeks of online voting culminating in a telephone vote extravaganza. Clearly a much broader online campaign needs to evolve – but how do you reckon we should improve the application as we head towards the end of the vote?

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Turkey Brumsticks

I get excited by Christmas – as do the final year Students at Birmingham City University who’ve launched the video rich blog Turkey Brumsticks. It’ll form part of their final year journalism project. Spotted here and because of comments left here. If you see someone wondering around with camera and mic at the Craft Market it’s Turkey Brumstick – so stop, smile and share a little excitement.

Social Networking Tips… Beth Kanters Question. My answer

Beth used Facebook to ask for our time saving tips for professional and organisational social networking. She asked specifically about tools etc to help work across mutliple sites (something which I can’t answer) but I can offer some basics, and getting the basics right will save wasted time:

1 Guiding principle number one is to make sure your work and what you do on the network are compatible. Don’t go chasing audience for the sake of numbers if that takes you away from your core purpose. Doing so will just increase the number of people you might bore or irritate and waste effort.

2 Guiding principle number 2 is that social networks are fundamentally about people relating to people – not people to organisations. So be yourself. If you are bad tempered, arrogant, rude and ignorant, then please ask someone else to do your online social networking- and don’t give me that look either.

3 Don’t play the games or the just for fun stuff – cos it eats your life, clutters up your profile and gives a mixed impression. (This does not apply to scrabulous, or ……)

4 Use pictures where ever possible. Include people’s faces, names and link to them.

5 Groups or fan groups on Facebook are good because they allow your network to bring new names and faces into your orbit. Before you set them up have a plan of action for communications or invitations to act over, say, 3 months. Don’t make the demands too onerous or frequent – make them entirely relevant. Between invitations to act add links etc to keep the group ticking over.

6 Add links to other people’s work. You just need to to make a brief comment. It is quick and shows your breadth of interests. It is also generous – and generosity oils social networks. Indeed, generous networkers will hat-tip facebook notes etc.

7 One thing I don’t do – but think I should – is have a monthly stock take of online profiles etc. I should set aside half a day when I do my accounts, order stationery, update profiles and clean out apps and groups I don’t use any more. So plan an online-offline house keeping session.

8 If someone called Beth Kanter invites you to collaborate online – do it.

Interestingly Beth cites Amy Graham who talks about how she uses her feedreader to keep track of herself on online social networks. I’m already finding myself slipping behind – which is not the point. Better respond to David next re netsquaredUK.