Tag: Parliament

Stuff I've seen February 16th through to February 18th

These are my links for February 16th through February 18th:

Things I've spotted October 24th from 21:53 to 22:40

Here are some of the things I’ve been reading October 24th from 21:53 to 22:40:

  • FutureGov » Features » ePetitions data standards – get involved! – Andy Gibson is looking for local government to help him create a standard data set for e-petitions.
  • Against Transparency | The New Republic – This, from Lawrence Lessig, is really worth reading: "This is not to say the data will not have an effect. It will. But the effect, I fear, is not one that anybody in the "naked transparency movement," or any other thoughtful citizen, would want."
  • An encouraging week at the conferences – Digigov – David Pullinger of COI reflects on a couple of conferences: "It struck me that there are many talented expert e-communicators across government but hampered by the misperception that Web is IT."
  • Living with rats: Trafigura, climate change and the power of reputation – Julian reminds us that Trafigura is about our willingness to use tools, not the tools themselves: "The real story, I think, is the power of citizens to change an organisation’s reputation. What matters isn’t the tool – Twitter, Facebook or even good old-fashioned newsprint – but people’s willingness to use it. What’s also interesting is people’s readiness, at a time when politicians’ esteem has hit a new nadir, to defend the rights of Parliament against corporate and legal bullying. There was a glimmer here of what Parliament should be: the champion of the citizen and the exposer of abuses."
  • potlatch: the economic sociology of receipts – Will is really interesting on the growing trend to give a receipt with everything: "to normalise receipts in cafes or bars is to strive for the perfect, 'dis-embedded' clean exchange, of the liberal-economic imaginary. It depersonalises the interaction and substitutes data for memory. It declares the exchange over, with nothing more owed by either party. Frankly, this is futile, as exchanges always leak into society."
  • New for 2010: Retooled | Antonio Gould – Antonio's latest job: "The project will work with ex-manufacturing employees from the West Midlands, skilling them up in social media and working together on a challenge which mixes old and new skills."
  • Volkswagen to Rely Solely on IPhone App for GTI Launch | Advertising Age – Neville’s posterous – Volkswagen of America is launching the newest-generation GTI exclusively on an iPhone app, a cost-efficient approach the automaker said is a first for the industry. How cost efficient? When the marketer introduced the GTI in 2006, it spent $60 million on a big-budget blitz with lots of network TV. By comparison, an executive familiar with the matter estimates the annual budget for mobile AOR services is $500,000. And while an iPhone-only strategy may seem limiting, consider this: In September, Apple reported there are more than 50 million iPhone and iPod touch customers worldwide. By comparison, CBS' "NCIS," the most-watched show for week ending Oct. 18, reached 21 million viewers and commands an average price of $130,000 for a single 30-second spot.

Stuff I've seen September 13th through to September 14th

These are my links for September 13th through September 14th:

  • Free Wireless Broadband – Community – Our offer to communities throughout the UK is simple…… let us know why your community needs WiFi and we will come and install a totally free service in a public place, for 3 years (or longer if we find sponsors to pay for it). We currently have enough in the fund to pay for 50 communities in the UK.

    Freerunner have also partnered with JustGiving.com to put free WiFi Internet access where its really needed – charities. If you charity has a broadband connection we will come and install the Freerunner service for free in your location. Its perfect for charity shops as it gives people another reason to visit. It also gives you the chance to help bridge the digital divide. JustGiving.com and Freerunner have committed to provide this service to 500 charities, totally free of charge, forever.

  • Patry’s MORAL PANICS AND THE COPYRIGHT WARS: elegant, calm, reasonable history of the copyfight – Boing Boing – Cory Doctorow reviewing: "Patry's Moral Panics stands out for the sheer, unadorned calm of his approach. Patry doesn't have a lot of rhetorical flourish or prose fireworks. Instead, he tells the story of copyright in plain, thoughtful words, with much rigor and grace. Reading Moral Panics is like watching a master brick layer gracefully and effortlessly build a solid wall: no wasted motion, no sweat, no missteps. Patry knows this subject better than anyone and can really explain it."
  • The Barcelona Update Blog » Free Wifi in Barcelona – a new council sponsored scheme – This Barcelona blogger says: "All in all, we applaud the Council for their forward looking attitude – particularly as they are restricted by law in what they can do. However, it’s not quite the free for all it seems and a bit more clarity on the access at each point would make it a whole lot easier."
  • Should the Public Decide What the House of Commons Debates? – Birmingham Post – News Blog – A Commons committee chaired by Staffordshire MP Tony Wright (Lab Cannock) is to consider whether the public should be able to initiate a debate in the House of Commons.
  • 10 People You Won’t See on Twitter Anymore [Make it personal stoopid] – This new rules may cause problems for some local authorities and even newspapers: "Robotic Twitter accounts should live in fear of death by the powers that be at Twitter. If you’re not human and you’re configured to automatically tweet, reply, and retweet based on Twitter content or RSS feeds then you could be in danger. The rules express a clear preference for the human touch when it comes to Twitter updates, stating that you could be in violation of the TOS and subject to termination, “if your updates consist mainly of links, and not personal updates.”

Stuff I've seen August 22nd through August 23rd

These are my links for August 22nd through August 23rd:

  • http://libreapps.com/blogotics/ – Blog-o-tics is an innovative new service brought to you by a group of young, politically minded developers. The project was conceived as part of the “Young Rewired State” Hack Day, an attempt to use government data to create web applications. Blogotics uses information about the bills being passed through the UK parliament and analyses their standing in the blogosphere. Blogotics uses innovative code to analyse the positive or negative nature of blogs and subsequently show a certain blogs popularity.
  • Killing Hope – You’re Just Making it Worse | Benjamin Ellis – “When will you learn?” “You’re just making things worse!”
  • Cheo, 3Dom and Stokes Croft – An Apology! « Bristol graffiti – Bristol Council apologises fo getting something wrong!
  • BBC – dot.life: The new tech start-up – US government – These include an app called StumbleSafely that uses crime data to help people get home safely after a night on the tiles and Carpool Mashup Matchmaker to help people find carpools.
  • Blog What I Made » iFreeThePostcode – “iFreeThePostcode is an iPhone app to make submitting postcodes to freethepostcode.org really easy. You can download it from the iTunes app store or just search on the app store for “iFreeThePostcode”.”