mysociety – Dave Briggs

Link roundup

June 29, 2012

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 sharing stories."
When networks fail – Julian Dobson on OurSociety and when a website and a bit of enthusiasm just isn't quite enough.
Introducing the Digital Performance Framework – Alpha release | Government Digital Service – "Managing transactional services is a complex task and can be quite bewildering with many systems and measurements involved. However, because we have digital tools and technologies, we can now pull together data from lots of different sources and inspire action through powerful visualisations."
LearnPod 12 – Eventbrite – LearnPod will be a cracking event again this year – sadly I don't think I can make it.
Stop treating people like idiots: start connecting public service users to the tough decisions that shape them – "One of the most common grumbles heard within the political and governmental classes is that the public doesn’t understand the need for compromise."

What I’ve been reading

May 1, 2012

I find this stuff so that you don’t have to.

DIY.mySociety.org | Do It Yourself mySociety – a resource for anyone who wants to build copies of mySociety sites, anywhere in the World – MySociety make it easy to reuse their code.
Welcome – The Data Journalism Handbook – This looks like it is a terrific resource – and not just for journalists.
Audit of Political Engagement 9, Part One – Archived Press Releases – "New Hansard Society research shows people turning away from national politics"
Open data: magic from the inside out? – bm.wel.by – "Recently things have started to change in a way that has got me thinking that perhaps the magic of open data is found from the inside out."
Sphereless: Dissecting the still-breathing body of "Open Data" – "So why do we use the term "Open"?"

You can find all my bookmarks on Pinboard.

What I’ve been reading

March 18, 2012

I find this stuff so that you don’t have to.

Facebook’s ‘dark side’: study finds link to socially aggressive narcissism – "Psychology paper finds Facebook and other social media offer platform for obsessions with self-image and shallow friendships."
The UK Hackspace Foundation – "Hackerspaces are physical places where people can meet to learn, socialise and collaborate on projects."
‘The world hasn’t ended’: what happens when you give all staff access to social media – A great story – lessons for many organisations fearful of letting people loose on online networks.
FixMyStreet’s been redesigned – A welcome new look for a still vital site.
The university as a hackerspace | Expedient Means – "Like any programme of study, work and investment, it needs careful thinking about how to set it up right, but from where I stand, it feels like a gaping hole in higher education that needs to be filled. Do you know of any examples that are already running? A ‘MIT Media Lab lite’ could be close to what I have in mind, but I have no experience of how it’s run and whether it breaks down the distinction between academic and non-academic staff to the extent I have in mind."

You can find all my bookmarks on Pinboard.

What I’ve been reading

September 1, 2011

I find this stuff so that you don’t have to.

We the People | The White House – E-petitions, White House style
How to create sustainable open data projects with purpose – Nice article from MySociety's Tom Steinberg.
One in six IT projects is a ‘ticking timebomb’ – University of Oxford – "A surprisingly high number of business and government technology projects are 'ticking time bombs', according to researchers at the University of Oxford. "
Slashdot and CmdrTaco — the end of another geek era – Really nice article about a great online community
TransferSummit | 2011: Open Innovation Everywhere – This looks like a fabulous open source jamboree.

You can find all my bookmarks on Pinboard.

A Masters in Public Technology?

February 27, 2011

Tom Steinberg:

There is barely a not-for-profit, social enterprise or government body I can think of that wouldn’t benefit from a Duncan Parkes or a Matthew Somerville on the payroll, so long as they had the intelligence and self-discipline not to park them in the server room. Why? Because just one person with the skills, motivation and time spent learning can materially increase the amount of time that technology makes a positive contribution to almost any public or not-for-profit organisation.

I agree, though Tom’s developer-centric view of this should probably be widened for it to be a bit more inclusive.

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