Tag: Government

22nd August 2009

Links from August 19th to August 22nd

These are my links for August 19th through August 22nd:

Ernest Marples: the first month – Harry Metcalfe – “Scores of people have sent us messages of support. I’ve even been hugged.”
Open Plaques – “Open Plaques is a service that aims to find and provide data about all the ‘plaques’ (often blue and round) that can be found across the UK.”
Open Knowledge Foundation Blog » Blog Archive » Open Plaques: open data about UK heritage sites –
Together we are LOUDER – Louder.org.uk will be the new online home for campaigners across England. The site combines a cutting-edge social networking platform, established multimedia toolkits and a hub for online advocacy resources
Power in People’s Hands: Learning from the World’s Best Public Services – Bit late but thanks to Dave Harte: “This report presents the findings of a Strategy Unit study of leading edge innovations in world-wide public services, which involved interviewing 50 academics, public servants and other experts from around the world. The report highlights more than 30 case studies from 15 countries. It emphasises that innovation and productivity come from forging stronger relationships with citizens and finds the most successful services have five distinguishing characteristics:”
Communitybuilders fund will open in September – Third Sector – “The Communitybuilders fund will provide loans and grants to help community-based organisations in England that boost interest in local democracy and improve community cohesion.”
FutureGov » Features » Using web 2.0 to safeguard children: an invitation to a round table discussion – “we are looking to bring together multi-disciplinary group of senior managers and practitioners from childrens social services, teachers, police and health workers with social web technologist, public service designer, funders – or even just people who have a personal passion for this area – to help us design and run a small Safeguarding 2.0 pilot.”

18th August 2009

Stuff I've seen from August 16th to August 18th

These are my links for August 16th through to August 18th:

Lancashire County Council – Homepage – “Welcome to our new website. To find what you are looking for, use the search box below. If you are interested in the featured campaign, follow the link in the right-hand box.” Neat – I think I like it.
Centro consultation on local rail routes – new stations for Kings Heath? – “We are now seeking your views on this draft. These will help shape the final document.” Not like this you’re not. There are better ways to do online consultation.
Go forth and play! « Talk About Local (alpha) – Google and hyperlocal tools: “I don’t know who you are or what you want to do, but chances are a few of these powerful tools will help you do it really easily – and, of course, for free.”
Young Rewired State « Emma Mulqueeny – Emma Mulqueeny is excited: “nearly 70 people aged between 15-18 years have registered (way more than we had dared hope for, and more signing up – even though we have closed the list)” and rightly so
Illegal downloading – P2P – filesharing – UK government plans tough new laws | Tom Watson MP – Tom Watson writes a fine piece on the proposal to criminlise file shares in the UK. “It is clear that the big corporations are gearing up for an online struggle. Enforcement is central to their strategy. Expect to see hordes of bedsit bloggers and home alone music fans in the courts for copyright misdemeanours over the next few years.Just as the newspaper industry looks set to embark on a collective global impersonation of Ned Ludd, there is an irony that forward thinking players in the music market might be finding some solutions. We’re at a stage where attempts to bring all-you-can-eat digital services to music fans might just be about to pay off. Civil servants might better serve the nation if they were to establish what conditions drive these Internet success stories.”

16th August 2009

Links for August 12th through to August 13th

These are my links for August 12th through August 13th:

mySociety » Call For Proposals 2009 – My Society wants suggestions on what they should do next: “We need your help to decide what mySociety builds next.
Our previous calls for proposals have led to WhatDoTheyKnow.com, WriteToThem.com and Pledgebank.com.”
The Imperative for Government to Engage Online | Open Forum | Independent public policy think-tank, blogs & forums | openforum.com.au – Matt Crozier: “Most of the time, the great silent majority is completely missing in action from public policy debates. If you are one of those people (and most of you are) then ask yourself, when was the last time an interest group asked your views? Or checked that their passion aligned with yours before campaigning on your behalf?”
Case study on Facebook engagement « Al Smith – Al Smith details what he did with a group of Newcastle citizens who were using Facebook to have a go at the council.
The Seven Laws of Journalism – This Semester « M. Appeal (Mass Appeal) – “Grow a pair.” (via @joannageary
Sarah Lay: Getting noticed: The Five Step Programme | DavePress – Sarah Lay does a guest Post for Dave Briggs: “So, how to go about raising your profile and getting social media offerings to the table? I’ve worked up a list of five approaches.”
Brooklyn Typology – “The subject of continuous residential development since the mid-1600s, every trend in American architecture and urban planning has inscribed itself onto Brooklyn’s moraine and salt marshes. Brookyn Typology is an investigation of borough’s population and urban form. It consists of 2100 photographs taken in a sample of blockgroups in Brooklyn, plus detailed Census, historical, and typological data about the residential and housing in area. Together, the interlinked photographs and data form a portrait of the urban fabric of Brooklyn.”

14th August 2009

Things I've spotted August 13th from 19:06 to 23:31

Here are some o the things I\’ve been reading August 13th from 19:06 to 23:31:

Fermoy town’s out of date website an embarrassment – News, Frontpage – Corkman.ie – Bloody brill: "town clerk Ray Owens admitted that there was no member of council staff actually trained to manage and maintain the website. "Nobody can actually do it, that's where we are falling down," said Mr Owens.
Your Boss Doesn’t Care About ‘The Conversation’ – So what the hell IS ‘X’?
Apps for Democracy Finland – Kansalaisosallistujan työkalut | MindTrek – Finish competition for data applications
Social Media points the way for Corporate Website Development « Carl’s Notepad – "I see a model where corporate websites are essentially delivering packages of “information and services” into the wider Internet community or even social networks. This would essentially allow people to participate in particular topics, based on their preferred community." Carl Haggerty doing a very nice job of thinking through new council websites. Wonder if the new Birmingham one will take this into account? 😉
Capital Funding for social media…how to get it « Policy and Performance – Nice clarification from Ingrid