Tag: community groups

Social media surgeries, simplicity and being there

A proper cup of tea
A proper cup of tea by James Shade on flickr

 

I often say this about social media surgeries: please keep it simple.

Why?  Because the most important single thing about a surgery is that it should be there.

Being there is a core part of supporting communities.  Month after month they know you’ll be there, they get used to it, they get used to the relaxed format and they come for help, come for ideas, come for connections, come back to offer help.

It is just a truth that something is more likely to happen if it’s simple.  A cup of tea with a friend is much more likely to happen than Read more

Feedback from the Flip training delegates

In September we trained a group of citizens to use Flip cameras, so that they would be able to record events as part of Birmingham Local Democracy Week website. We documented this over at the Local Democracy Week website, and last week we sat down with some of them for a chat about how it all went and what they were able to capture.

One of the most striking things which came out of the conversation was how many of the active citizens interviewed think that what they do is unremarkable. But some of the stories which came out of this, like Claire Spencer’s interview with Local Hearts Award winner Luke McClean, show how dedicated so many people are to improving their communities. Read more