Embrace constraints
Sometimes it’s better to embrace constraints. Why not even invent some? Constraints don’t need to make things harder – they can make things easier. Why take a year to deliver something if you can get it out of the door…
Dave Briggs
An online notebook
Dave Briggs
An online notebook
Dave
Why some centralising of local gov digital is needed
An ongoing debate this. Ben Proctor has had his say recently, and it feels fairly sensible. There are two issues at stake here – one is whether some kind of ‘GDS’ for local government is needed; second is whether we…
In praise of the clipboard manager
A clipboard manager is an insanely useful bit of productivity kit. It’s one of those things that you may not know even exists, but once you start using it, you can never go back. A quick reminder: the clipboard is…
Find a problem, and fix it
There are a lot of problems out there that need fixing. Some are big, and complicated. Others are quite small, and simple. Why not try picking one of the small and simple ones, and fix it? Back in 2007, I…
Just what is digital, exactly?
I’ve seen a few comments bouncing about Twitter and other places debating the meaning of the word digital, and why it hasn’t caught on in some places at all. I’ve also seen some people saying that ‘digital’ is an unhelpful…
Letting things go, making things happen
The way to make things happen is to let them go. I learned this from hard experience. For the last three or four years I spent my time trying to build a business. It didn’t go very well. It turns…
WordPress 4.0 is out
Oh, goody. A new version of WordPress is out! WordPress 4.0 is here, and it’s packed with new features: New media manager Embedded media now visual within the editor The editor now works more smoothly, expanding as necessary to fit…
Get rid of friction
If you want to get people to use your service, get rid of the friction. This really hit home with me the other week, at an event I attended as part of my work at the Department of Health, which…
#VirtualGovCamp FAQ
I’ve started putting an FAQ together for #VirtualGovCamp. Here’s the first effort. Any more questions? Ask in the comments… What is VirtualGovCamp? VirtualGovCamp is an event which will take place online for people with an interest in improving public services.…
The past, present and future of online communities
Well worth a watch, what Howard Rheingold doesn’t know about online communities isn’t worth knowing.