Two very interesting new websites

These two sites are well worth checking out that came across my radar this morning.

Social Media Surgery +

Firstly, Nick Booth has officially launched Social Media Surgery Plus – a site for organising, promoting and reporting on social media surgeries. Surgeries are events where volunteers help others get to grips with online tools. They are wonderful things.

There is a lot of talk about digital inclusion. The surgeries, now backed by SMS+, are a rare example of genuinely useful action. Go take a look at the site, and use to get something going in your area.

For government types reading this – how about setting up surgeries within your organisations, to get your colleagues up to speed with the social web?

DIY Council

Second, DIY Council is a really intriguing attempt to make the learning from the BCCDIY project – where a bunch of volunteers rebuilt the Birmingham City Council website in a few days – available to any council in the country.

The work of Stef Lewandowski, it’s a great example of what can be achieved with a bit of inspiration, some programming chops and a bunch of open data APIs.

Take a look, have a play, and if you work in a council – how can this help you?