An online notebook
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An online notebook
I received an email today, from a local council contact, for me to respond to a consultation about an ongoing piece of work. This was to a web page, where I could download a 25-odd page document, and then an email and physical address where I could send my views. Some immediate problems with it sprang to mind.
I read an awful lot of stuff on the web - thanks to Google Reader, it's made really easy. Lots of people don't have the time to do so, and are quite grateful to have useful items pointed out to them. I usually do this by putting links up on my Twitter profile, and the occasional link round up post here on the blog.
The trouble is that Twitter is a very ephemeral medium, and if people miss links, or don't record them anywhere, then finding them again can be very tough. What's needed is a way to record these things for posterity, and perhaps create a conversation around them.
i had a great morning in Exeter at the beginning of the week, talking with the corporate management team at Devon County Council about innovation and digital. Dom Campbell was there too, thus proving that the two of us can both be in the same room at the same time.
I find this stuff so you don’t have to: Enyo JavaScript Application Framework – "Use the same framework to develop apps for the web and for all major platforms, desktop and mobile." Features | Re-usable Drupal recipes for government websites…
Last week I took delivery of a Nexus 7 - the new tablet made by Asus for Google to show off the new version of their mobile operating system, Android.
I've been playing with it for a few days, and here are some early thoughts.
The first in an occasional series of posts written by prominent geeks working in and around government, talking about the tools they use to do their jobs.
Phew.
LocalGovCamp passed without a hitch, and indeed it went pretty well. I'm sure it's the best one so far.
I find this stuff so you don’t have to: HELLO CAMPERS: Three years on from the first localgovcamp… so whats changed? – Nice bit of reflection from Dan Slee ahead of Saturday's shindig. Knowledge Hub: A response – Steve Dale…
Next Saturday (14th July) sees LocalGovCamp coming back to Birmingham!
It's a great opportunity for innovators across local government to get together, share problems and come up with solutions. It's also an honour (and occasional inducer of panic) to be able to put the event together.
That nice Mr Briggs has been encouraging me to post some stuff about hardware.
As it happens I’ve been trying out a new piece of ultra-modern hi-tech digital equipment.
No it’s not a MacBook Air, ChromeBook or even one of them new Google tablets.
It is... drum roll... The PowerMonkey Extreme.
Which is basically a back-up battery.
Or at least, about where people in public service can go to share ideas, ask questions and promote good practice.
Back in the summer of 2006, when I was working as a lowly Risk Management Officer (yes, you read that right) at a county council, I joined the nascent Communities of Practice platform, which was being developed by Steve Dale at the then Improvement and Development Agency.
I thought it was fantastic, and joined in with some gusto – so much so in fact that I did attract a little criticism from colleagues who thought – probably quite rightly – that I ought to have been concentrating on the day job.
I admit it: I wasn’t always that interested in the internet and social media.
In all honesty I was a tad old-school – I’d started out as a newspaper journalist before the internet really took off, and before social media became mainstream.
Following up on my earlier post on tweeting meetings, here are a bunch of quick, easy - and probably free - ideas for getting started with digital engagement.
I'm giving a talk today at a conference in Norwich for parish and town councils and one of the things I want to do is just to share some really simple ideas on how councils could get some online interactivity going.
One of those ideas was to tweet meetings. I asked my network on Twitter for examples, and was deluged!
Last week I chaired a panel at the Citizen 2012 conference in London. We awere talking about how the internet shapes how people access government services, and what government ought to do about it.
I find this stuff so you don’t have to: Digital engagement – all about people | Stephen Hale – "We know that the potential power of the social web is dependant on people talking to each other, offering opinions, and…
We Love Local Government, an anonymously written group blog by a bunch of people working in the sector, has closed its doors. How sad! It was a great resource, providing support, advice and amusement for all those working for councils…
I find this stuff so you don’t have to: Integrate Your Apps | Zapier – Sync the Web – An ifttt for business web applications. Potentially vey handy. What Organizations Can Learn from "If This Then That" (IFTTT) – Nice…
If this...then that (commonly known as ifttt) is a ridiculously brilliant little thing.
I find this stuff so you don’t have to: What should a UK Open Government Partnership Forum look like? : Tim’s Blog – "Open spaces events across that whole UK that provide access for all ages are key to an…