FixMyTweet Presentation at #bcsmc
March 19, 2010 by Ian Cuddy
Lichfield DC’s “Genius in Residence” Stuart Harrison, presents the FixMyTweet application at the Black Country Social Media Cafe in Wolverhampton last week.
Engaging Children and Young People Online - CluedupinHull.com
November 30, 2009 by Ian Cuddy
Children and young people are notoriously one of the most difficult groups for councils to engage with online. The history of initiatives aimed at the young generation has seem a long line of well-meaning councils try, and fail, to ‘get down’ with the ‘kids’. So how do councils engage successfully with this ‘hard to reach’ group and earn their trust? How can they use the web to reach this audience in a way that isn’t patronising, preachy or terminally embarrassing? Can councils be cool and fun?
Fortunately, one local authority has some answers. Leading the way in this field is Hull City Council and its award-winning project, CluedupinHull. com. Launched 18 months ago, CluedupinHull has proved an outstanding success. Targeting two age groups, 12 and under, and the over 13s, the site provides a trusted online source of information designed for and by children and young people in Hull - and one they actually want to use.
PSFbuzz met up with Debra Coombs, Integrated Content Manager at Hull City Council and her team to talk about CluedupinHull and the secrets of its success. We discussed how the project was set up, how users are engaged, the issues and challenges involved, as well as what advice the team would offer to other local authorities looking to venture down this route. See below for a video of our conversation.
Our thanks again to Debra and her colleagues Patrick O’Malley, Martin Brabazon and Gary Hass for their time.
PSF Mobile Working and Infosecurity Events, 24 Nov
November 25, 2009 by Ian Cuddy
On Tuesday over 100 people joined PSF on a trek to Milton Keynes for our public sector Mobile Working and Information Security forums. Slides from both happenings will be available asap, but to give you a taster Ken Eastwood, who chaired for Mobile Working, has blogged about the event and the future of the recently-rescued Nomad local government mobile working project he now leads.
Ken shares his slides here:
Here’s some photos of the day also courtesy of Ken:
You can view the complete #psfbuzz Twitter action here (there’s 200-plus tweets so this may take a while to load), with thanks to Steph Gray and Dave Briggs for the search hack. And of course, many thanks again to all our sponsors, speakers and attendees for making the event such a success.
PSFBuzz North East - A Fantastic Day Out in Newcastle
July 10, 2009 by Ian Cuddy
Now the dust has settled a bit on the whirlwind that was PSFBuzz North East, what sticks in people’s minds the most about this event? For us it’s three things which come over more than anything else.
Firstly, we got a sense of being around what’s happening in the leading/bleeding-edge of social media in local government right now. Next, the incredible potential of this. And lastly, the sheer enthusiasm and energy of those there and their willingness to share/help/ support/encourage. All in all - at the risk of sounding horrendously cheesy - the buzz of PSFBuzz. How about you?
Judging by the feedback on the day and from the feedback forms, the event was a great success - so to all our delegates, speakers, supporters and our #psfbuzz followers and tweeters, thank you! If you missed out this time, let’s hope you can make it to our next event - details soon…
Here’s all the presentations from the day:
- Mike Saunt, Astun Technology
- Simon Wakeman, Medway Council
- Jack Pickard, The Pickards Information Services
- Ian Stuart, BrowseAloud
- Carl Haggerty, Devon Country Council
- Alastair Smith, Newcastle City Council
- Stuart Harrison, Lichfield District Council
- Dave Briggs - Conference Chair
Sarah Lay of Derbyshire County Council also blogged notes for each of the sessions which are available here and indispensible for referring to. Thanks again Sarah.
We’ve also collected the torrent of #psfbuzz activity on Twitterduring the conference into one handy table of tweets here. The #psfbuzz activity continues as we type…
And a special word for our commercial partners who made the day possible. Please give a round of applause for the great people at GOSS, Astun Technology and BrowseAloud for supporting PSFBuzz North East. Check out their info below.
Goss
GOSS has a proven pedigree and substantial Public Sector client list. Over the last 10 years GOSS has developed partnerships with in excess of 60 Public Sector organisations.
GOSS understands the pressures to meet online strategy standards but our flexible partnership approach ensures the deployment a dynamic Web 2.0 solution, such as www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk. GOSS Interactive enables you to create and manage:
• Personalised homepages
• Dynamic search
• RSS, Widgets and Gadgets
• Social Networking
• Mapping
• Blogs/Vlogs and Forums
Follow us on twitter for more: www.twitter.com/GOSSInteractive.
Contact Tel:01752 517350 Fax:01752 517110 Email: info@gossinteractive.com Web: www.gossinteractive.com
Astun Technology
Police and Local Authorities are looking for effective software solutions to cut costs, transform processes, improve operational efficiency and enhance service delivery. Astun Technology’s iShare data integration and publishing platform enables organisations to make the most of their own data, extracting it, transforming it and publishing it both internally and externally. It can serve call centres via systems integration and citizens via the web with a rich mix of information and maps while delivering real savings through avoidable contact and transactional services. iShare also provides a direct communications channel to citizens that subscribe to its automated My Alerts service. Easily configured and completely automated iShare is a unique mix of the Astun’s own purpose built modules and the best Open Source components. In use with over twenty authorities the award winning iShare platform continues to evolve to meet growing e-services needs.
Contact: Mike Saunt Tel: 01372 440143 Email: mikesaunt@astuntechnology.com Web: www.astuntechnology.com
BrowseAloud
BrowseAloud is the world leading text-to-speech solution from Texthelp Systems Ltd, which is designed to improve website accessibility for those with literacy difficulties, learning difficulties such as dyslexia, mild visual impairments or where English is a second language. With a choice of 17 high quality voices covering 9 languages and a number of unique features, BrowseAloud is quickly being adopted as the product of choice worldwide.
Texthelp Systems Ltd was formally incorporated in 1996 and specialise in the design of assistive software solutions to support those struggling to read and write. The company is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, Adobe Solutions Network Developer, Apple Business Partner, HP Business Partner and is ISO 9001:2000 accredited. For the past 9 consecutive years, Texthelp Systems Ltd has been a Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Award winning company.
Contact: Email info@browsealoud.com Web: www.browsealoud.com
And Finally, Mr Briggs’ Presentation
July 9, 2009 by Ian Cuddy
A superb presentation on the ‘Four Steps to Social Media Success’ from our conference chair, the masterful Dave Briggs, topped off a great day at PSFBuzz North East!
Beginning on how at a personal level, Dave explained how social media had ‘changed his life - taking him from working at a Benefits Office to suddenly being called up by Downing Street for advice. His anecdote served as an example of the “frankly scary” pace of change in which the web is altering the world around us and the way we live.
Here’s the slides:
Four Steps to Social Media Success
And here’s his four steps for how councils should get into social media:
1. Listen >> 2. Acknowledge >> 3. Create >> 4. Share.
Meaning (Thanks again for Sarah Lay’s indispensible notes of the session):
- Listen: part of the reason ppl say horrible things about you is because they think you’re not listening and they can get away with it!
- Acknowledge: even just realise there is conversation - step in!
- Create: incremental process, try stuff
- Share: open up data - more back to Stuart’s presentation.
The underlying philosophy, according to Dave, goes something like this: Start small, create a community, test, learn from mistakes and then move on. Learning Pool highlight this important message from his talk:
“Those that do it well will create a community with their followers; getting people to care about you is the absolute key. And if social media tools can help you to get people to care about their community, that can’t be a bad thing.”
And finally, don’t forget it to make it fun. Which brings us nicely to the final message of the day: JFDI!
Stuart Harrison’s TwitterPlan Presentation
July 9, 2009 by Ian Cuddy
He promised us there would be lolcats, and he didn’t disappoint.
Stuart Harrison, Webmaster and Lead Developer at Lichfield District Council gave us all the inside track on his creation of TwitterPlan, one of the most noteworthy and innovative local government mash-ups to date. For the uninitiated TwitterPlan, launched earlier this year, gives out planning application alerts via Twitter covering an astonishing 300-plus councils and counting, making it definitely one to watch.
The session notes blogged by Sarah Lay make a great companion to Stuart’s slides, which you can view below to get an overview of the project.
Afternoon Kick-Off Presentation from Alistair Smith
July 9, 2009 by Ian Cuddy
Alastair Smith, Communications Adviser at Newcastle City Council kicked off the PSFBuzz afternoon sessions with what he modestly describes as ‘essentially a 25 minute rant on online reputation and shifting roles in local government communication’. His talk covered Newcastle CC’s Twitter Channel which, much like his presentation, seems to have gone a storm. The age of one-way communication is over, he said. ‘Broadcasting as we knew it is dead.’
Alastair has blogged his presentation which you can catch here (except if you’re of a very sensitive disposition). And check out his slides below:
Carl Haggerty’s presentation at PSFBuzz North East
July 9, 2009 by Ian Cuddy
Not too long ago a PSF survey found large numbers of councils were routinely preventing staff from accessing blogs and sites like YouTube or commenting on websites. while other authorities took a dangerously laissez-faire approach. One of the major challenges which social media presents to councils, and brought to the surface at our first PSFBuzz conference, was the need to establish policies and guidelines for council staff on what they do online, inside and outside of the workplace - and ones that are coherent.
This was the topic tackled by Carl Haggerty, Enterprise Architect at Devon County Council, final speaker of the morning session. In his presentation, Carl underlined that instead of banning staff from accessing Web 2.0 sites, councils should be consulting with them on developing policies on internet use. He discussed the development of Devon CC’s own policy, which has secured senior management buy-in to the extent that the Council’s Chief Executive has become the social networking champion. He’s also very kindly provided us with a copy of the guidelines which other councils are free to tinker about with to their heart’s content.
Speech Enabling Social Networks: Slides from Ian Stuart
July 9, 2009 by Ian Cuddy
Continuing the theme of Web 2.0 accessibility from Jack Pickard’s presentation, Ian Stuart from BrowseAloud gave a demonstration of how assistive technology can help councils extend the reach of their online services to users with learning and literacy difficulties.
Social Media vs Accessibility: Jack Pickard’s presentation
July 9, 2009 by Ian Cuddy
Are social media and accessibility compatible? Are the two compatible? What can be done to improve the accessibility of social media? What do local authorities need to consider as regards accessibility when starting to use social media?
Web developer Jack Pickard offered some answers for councils on how to reconcile their desires to make use of user-generated content and rich media technologies, with the need to meet public sector requirements for accessibility. Jack has blogged a write-up of his talk here - read this alongside this presentation below where he offers some great tips on how to avoid the pitfalls and stay compliant:
Mashups and More: Mike Saunt’s presentation
July 9, 2009 by Ian Cuddy
Mike Saunt from Astun Technology, our second speaker in the mid-morning session, covered the Web 2.0 areas of Social, Technology and Mashups, looking at how and why the Government’s view of information has changed from that of ‘owners’ to ‘custodians’. Though social media is rapidly changing the way the public sector communicate with citizens, he underlined the need not to overlook more traditional forms of communication: “Cool technologies shouldn’t be the only form of access.” A highlight of his presentation was a live mash-up demo’ing the bringing together of planning alerts and Google Maps, giving a glimpse of the potential of Web 2.0 technologies and approaches.
See Mike’s slides below:
(Mike has finally been convinced to join the Twittersphere - so we’re sure you’ll welcome him by following @skepticmike!)
P.S. More on Jack Pickard’s blog here.
Those #psfbuzz tweets in full
July 9, 2009 by Ian Cuddy
PSFBuzz North East was ablaze with Twitter activity - so much so that our conference wi-fi had trouble at times keeping up with bandwidth demand (yes, ahem, TweetDeck users, we’re looking at you…)
Search the #psfbuzz hashtag and you’ll see the bustling meta-conference of discussions, comments and questions which flowed alongside the main event.
We’ve aggregated all the #psfbuzz tweets into one handy spreadsheet which you download below. Et voilà! Ready-made conference notes on all the sessions.
Our thanks to Steph Gray and Dave Briggs for the hashtag search hack which made this possible.
Simon Wakeman’s presentation at PSFBuzz North East
July 9, 2009 by Ian Cuddy
Here’s the slides from our first speaker of the day, Simon Wakeman, Medway Council’s Head of Communications. Simon talked about the impact of social media in local government, highlighting some examples of the work Medway has been doing to engage people online with Facebook, Twitter and podcasting:
Social media - a revolution in local government communications
[Update] Jack Pickard has blogged a great post about Simon’s talk here. And Sarah Lay of Derbyshire County Council has also blogged her notes for the session. Thanks Jack and Sarah!
If you’re interested in the public relations angle, have a look at Simon’s slides from the presentation he gave immediately afterwards to the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) North East group.
Social media and local government - CIPR NE seminar - July 2009
PSFBuzz North East is Go!
July 7, 2009 by Ian Cuddy
Newcastle welcomes us today for our second, highly-anticipated conference devoted to Effective Social Networking & Web 2.0 Strategies for Local Government, alias PSFBuzz North East!
Building on the success of our first event in Manchester, the event will be once again featuring the pioneers and innovators in the field of Local Gov Web 2.0. The focus of this particular confenence will be on understanding where, why and how success has been delivered (and also, just as importantly in some instances, where Web 2.0 apps will definitely fail).
Here on PSFBuzz we’ll have videos, presentations and tweets live from the conference, being chaired once again by the redoubtable Dave Briggs as only he can.
And even if you’re not here in person, you can join in via the goodness of Twitter and follow the action in real-time with the official hashtag #psfbuzz.
We’ve an action-packed agenda today and a veritable star-studded list of speakers, as follows:
09h45-10h10 “Social media - a revolution in local government communications?”
Simon Wakeman, Head of Communications, Medway Council
The rapid growth of social media presents many opportunities and challenges for council communicators. Simon’s presentation will discuss examples of Medway Council’s use of social media, as well as considering the wider effects of the growth of social media on council communications teams.
- Use of social media in Medway Council campaigns including podcasting, Facebook and Twitter
- Social media relations - case studies, best practice
- Impact on council communications teams
- What social media really means for the organisation
10h10-10h35 Mash ups and we’re not talking potatoes
Mike Saunt, Founder, Aston Technology
Covering the three Web 2.0 areas of Social, Technology and Data (Mashups) with a background view to how and why the Government’s view of information has changed from owners to custodians. Covering topics such as the use of Twitter, Facebook and pros and cons and the need to remember more traditional methods of digital communication. Covering AJAX (dynamic web pages with JavaScript) advantages but taking into account accessibility etc. Live mashing taking Travel News data from the BBC and publishing on a map on a live website. Summarizing that Data is the new ‘Intel inside’
- Web 2.0 - Social, Technical, Data
- History of government data access
- Social options and the pros and cons
- Live mashing with the BBC
- Data is the new ‘Intel inside’
11h15-11h40 Accessibility vs. Social Media
Jack Pickard, Web Developer
Councils are being pushed towards accessibility and pulled towards social media. Are the two compatible? What can be done to improve the accessibility of social media? What do local authorities need to consider as regards accessibility when starting to use social media?
11h40-12h05 Speech Enabling Social Networks
Ian Stewart, UK Sales Manager, BrowseAloud
- Why Speech Enable Social Networks
- Enhance the Accessibility of Social Networks with BrowseAloud
- Who has joined the BrowseAloud Community?
- See BrowseAloud on Your Social Network Site
12h05-12h30 Unblocking Access and developing a Web 2.0 Usage Policy
Carl Haggerty, Enterprise Architect, Devon County Council
Carl’s presentation is going to focus on unblocking access to Web 2.0 and Social Networking tools, which is a key issue for most Local Authorities. This aspect of the presentation will also include getting senior management buy-in which Devon CC has achieved and where their Chief Executive become the social networking/social media champion. This presentation will also look at the development of a Web 2.0 usage policy. Devon CC have one already but delegates will be asked to feed in their challenges prior to the event and during the presentation, the challenges will be fed into the existing document so that a policy document can be emailed to delegates post event.
13h45-14h10 Losing control: why people will say what they want about you anyway
Alistair Smith, Communication Adviser - Web 2.0, Newcastle City Council
Since late in 2008 Newcastle City Council have been looking at how they communicate with the public. Broadcasting is no longer a viable option, since everybody has the capacity to broadcast. With this in mind how can a public body meaningfully join conversations and what value does this bring?
- Monitoring the web: what are people saying about you and when should you join in?
- Collaborating: if people are producing content and you want that content, why should they give it to you?
- Value: what do numbers mean and when are they meaningful?
- Brand: what does your brand mean in the conversation?
14h10-14h35 Twitterplan - Tweeting planning applications and the future of government data
Stuart Harrison, Webmaster & Lead Developer, Lichfield DC
Built by Lichfield District Council and Lincoln City Council earlier this year, Twitterplan is a system that allows Twitter users to be instantly notified on planning applications in their area. Lead developer and Lichfield District Council webmaster Stuart Harrison will be giving a guided tour and demo of the system, as well as talking about the background of the project. He will also talk about the potential for similar developments in other council areas and how councils can open up their data simply and easily to make some of these ideas a reality.
15h20-15h45 How to get started - four steps to incorporating social media into council communications
Dave Briggs, Digital Enabler
Better engagement through Facebook : how local authorities can maintain an effective presence in social networks
A number of councils are now making the effort to maintain presences in social networking sites like Facebook. But how successful are they? What can a council just about to embark on their Facebook journey learn from the experience of others to help engage better with local residents and communities?
- There is a problem with the vocabulary of Facebook - does anyone really want to be a fan or a friend of their local council?
- But it is important that councils are providing information and support where people already are
- Is there a better way for councils to be in Facebook than through traditional profiles, pages or groups?
We’re looking forward to an event which will hopefully match the ‘buzz’ of Manchester, but also exceed it!
PSFBuzz Web 2.0 Awards - Nominations Open Soon!
June 4, 2009 by Ian Cuddy
Public Sector Forums are pleased to announce the launch of the PSFBuzz Web 2.0 Awards 2009.
Following the intense interest and activity around PSFBuzz, we’ve been inspired to celebrate the creativity, innovation and excellence of public sector use of social media and Web 2.0 technologies.
The PSFBuzz Awards will be an opportunity for the government web community to recognise and applaud the success of colleagues in this relatively new space.
The awards ceremony will take place in December 2009 as part of an interactive conference.
Nominations will open shortly, with the awards categories to include:
-
Best Blogger
-
Best Mash Up/Hack
-
Best Use of YouTube
-
Best Use of Twitter
-
Best Use of Facebook
-
Best Website
-
Best Digital Team
-
Best Online Community
-
Best Mobile App
-
Best PR/Marcomms Campaign (Internal/External)
-
PSFBuzzer of the Year.
The panel of judges for the PSFBuzz Awards will be led by none other than LocalGovCamp’s Dave Briggs. At the event there will be short presentations from each of the finalists, plus ‘People’s Choice’ awards as voted for by the government web community at large.
And we haven’t mentioned yet there’ll be a drinks reception/shindig/soirée post-event to celebrate both the success of the winners and the festive season.
More details will follow very soon, so start prepping your acceptance speeches now…
Big Thank Yous to…
May 8, 2009 by Ian Cuddy
Hello!
Once again, we just want to thank all the folks who helped to bring about our first PSFBuzz event and make it such a success. Gold Stars (in no particular order) to:
- All the delegates who took the time to be there
- All our speakers for donating their time & support and making such a great programme
- Dave for his outstanding job as Chair and setting up the platform that is PSFBuzz
- Roving reporter Liz for covering the event beautifully as only she can
- All our #psfbuzz followers and tweeters for their contributions (#6 trending topic on the day below #swineflu - Wow)
Plus last but not least, our sponsors and exhibitors . Without them the event just wouldn’t have been possible. Our thanks again to the very good people of GOSS, Astun Technology, Learning Pool, Firmstep, BrowseAloud and Clicks & Links. Please check out their info below.
Main Sponsor - Goss
GOSS has a proven pedigree and substantial Public Sector client list. Over the last 10 years GOSS has developed partnerships with in excess of 60 Public Sector organisations.
GOSS understands the pressures to meet online strategy standards but our flexible partnership approach ensures the deployment a dynamic Web 2.0 solution, such as www.nottinghamcity.gov.uk. GOSS Interactive enables you to create and manage:
• Personalised homepages
• Dynamic search
• RSS, Widgets and Gadgets
• Social Networking
• Mapping
• Blogs/Vlogs and Forums
Follow us on twitter for more: www.twitter.com/GOSSInteractive.
Contact Tel:01752 517350 Fax:01752 517110 Email: info@gossinteractive.com Web: www.gossinteractive.com
Main Sponsor - Astun Technology
Police and Local Authorities are looking for effective software solutions to cut costs, transform processes, improve operational efficiency and enhance service delivery. Astun Technology’s iShare data integration and publishing platform enables organisations to make the most of their own data, extracting it, transforming it and publishing it both internally and externally. It can serve call centres via systems integration and citizens via the web with a rich mix of information and maps while delivering real savings through avoidable contact and transactional services. iShare also provides a direct communications channel to citizens that subscribe to its automated My Alerts service. Easily configured and completely automated iShare is a unique mix of the Astun’s own purpose built modules and the best Open Source components. In use with over twenty authorities the award winning iShare platform continues to evolve to meet growing e-services needs.
Contact: Mike Saunt Tel: 01372 440143 Email: mikesaunt@astuntechnology.com Web: www.astuntechnology.com
Main Sponsor - Learning Pool
Learning Pool provides e-learning subscription and content services to the public sector in the UK. Our services help local authorities deliver the transformational government agenda, create efficiency savings and develop a modern workforce.
We provide online e-learning content, authoring technology, Web 2.0 technology , hosted platforms and consultancy to over 86% of councils in the public sector community.
To find out how other public sector are using social media technologies to help deliver their learning and development strategies, or if you want to join one of the most exciting communities in local government, please visit us.
Contact: Sam Barbee Tel: 0207 101 9383 Email: elearning@learningpool.com Web: www.learningpool.com
Exhibitor - Firmstep
Firmstep works with 30% of UK local authorities in helping them achieve their ambition of world-class citizen services. Firmstep for Government allows the creation of personalised self-service portals so you can provide great customer service online through a single, secure view. The Firmstep platform includes some of the best web technology in the areas of personalisation, identity management, service delivery, and social collaboration. Authenticated customers can access and track services, complete transactions, and engage with the community by subscribing to social networking feeds, blogs, and forums. The platform includes leading technology components AchieveForms and AchieveBookings for online forms and bookings.
Contact: Elizabeth Adams Tel: 07838 148146 Email: elizabeth.adams@firmstep.com Web: www.firmstep.com
Exhibitor - BrowseAloud
BrowseAloud is the world leading text-to-speech solution from Texthelp Systems Ltd, which is designed to improve website accessibility for those with literacy difficulties, learning difficulties such as dyslexia, mild visual impairments or where English is a second language. With a choice of 17 high quality voices covering 9 languages and a number of unique features, BrowseAloud is quickly being adopted as the product of choice worldwide.
Texthelp Systems Ltd was formally incorporated in 1996 and specialise in the design of assistive software solutions to support those struggling to read and write. The company is a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner, Adobe Solutions Network Developer, Apple Business Partner, HP Business Partner and is ISO 9001:2000 accredited. For the past 9 consecutive years, Texthelp Systems Ltd has been a Deloitte Technology Fast 50 Award winning company.
Contact: Email info@browsealoud.com Web: www.browsealoud.com
Exhibitor - Clicks & Links
Formed in 2000, Clicks and Links Ltd has an extensive track record of delivering web based solutions and consultancy to the public sector and communities, as well as managing the essential consultation processes involved. We have worked on a number of high profile public sector projects including the development of Eastserve, voted one of the top 7 intelligent communities in the world (2007), setting up the ground-breaking EDT Innovation Centre to showcase innovative public and private sector ICT innovations, and have played a crucial role in the formation of the DC10 (top ten finalists of the Digital Challenge) community, as well as recognition within the UK public sector, having been awarded Government Gateway Alliance Partner status. In addition the company, via Second Places Ltd (a joint initiative between Clicks and Links and Fusion Unity Ltd), has been recognised for virtual worlds in delivering public and educational services. Second Places is dedicated to providing a full end-to-end professional Second Life service including consultancy, design, building, event planning, community development, island management and hosting. We have already built up an extensive portfolio of these services and are now one of the leading UK and European companies in this field.
Contact: Vin Sumner, Managing Director T. 0161 273 5252, F. 0161 273 5293 M. 07799 881969. Email: vin.sumner@clicksandlinks.com Web: www.clicksandlinks.com
PSFBuzz Videos: Feedback from attendees of PSFBuzz Web 2.0 Event
May 6, 2009 by Liz Azyan
David from CheltenhamBC
Michele Walker from Wrexham County BC
PSFBuzz Videos: Q&A with Paul Canning and Alan Holding at the PSFBuzz Web 2.0 event
May 6, 2009 by Liz Azyan
PSFBuzz Videos: Dave Briggs Concluding Remarks at PSFBuzz Web 2.0 event
May 6, 2009 by Liz Azyan
So… PSFBuzz was a success! What was it all about again?
May 6, 2009 by Liz Azyan
*To get spreadsheet of #psfbuzz, click here.
So, its been a few days now since I attended the PSFBuzz Web 2.0 event in Manchester. The presenters covered a lot of topics relating to social media and web 2.0 strategies for local authorities. And it seems that from the feedback gathered from the floor and feedback forms, the event was indeed a success. This was probably due to a number of reasons from the professional and efficient organization by the Public Sector Forums (PSF), to the presentations and down to the people who attended the event.
The event started off with Dave Briggs opening remarks commenting on the nice venue we had at Old Trafford Stadium, Manchester. It was nice indeed, however it was quite an adventurous ride getting from our hotel to the venue. With 3 sat nav/geo type devices, we still got a bit lost! But that definitely teaches us one valuable to begin the day with, which is… don’t put your eggs all in one basket. Technology is there to support you when you need it, but don’t rely on it 100% folks! Online and offline complement each other. One does not exist without the other!
Local council on twitter…
The first half of the morning session, Mike Saunt from Astun Technology. He talked about whether or not we want to follow local council news feeds on twitter… he didn’t seemed quite convinced. His probably hasn’t come across the research I have been doing in this area. Since December 2008, I have been compiling lists of local councils using twitter to either provide RSS feeds or have actual conversations with followers / citizens here. As Simon Wakeman pointed out in his post here, 272 people in Medway are now following their RSS feeds. And did you know, that Newcastle City Council now has 1273 followers?
You might be asking WHY twitter? Well, I think the question that’s more important here is… WHY NOT? Twitter is fairly easy to setup, it’s free and followers can choose to follow and unfollow as they please. Obviously you will have different reaction to local council twitters, as you can see here, but from the many interviews I have conducted with local councils who are using twitter, my recommendation here is, have an objective when you are setting up your local council twitter account. And once you have an objective or goal, monitor and work with the flow/followers to determine the best way forward to increase engagement.
Controlling technology…
Though Mike also mentioned the leak of SOCITM Better Connected password on twitter. So there’s a question of control, which is a fair point. However I wonder how different this is compared to emailing the password, texting it or even calling someone and giving that same piece of information over the phone. The problem here is not the technology; it’s the behaviour or attitude of the people using it. I think over the duration of my research, the one important lesson I’ve learnt is, technology is a challenge that can be overcome by educating and practice, however behaviour and attitude is a social element that is embedded in social media. Therefore even though technology can sometimes fail us, its people who can fix it. Mike did make a good point though, “Cool technologies shouldn’t be the only means to access! There are a lot of accessibility issues and also Disability Discrimination Act.” So take note…
Cool mashups and other mashups in the making in local councils…
I was pleased to see Mike had also talked about Twitterplan, which my blog had written about a few weeks about here. There are a lot of great talent in local councils who are developing many useful mashups. Two groups that are actively doing so that I know of are here (by WarwickshireCC) and here - Local Authority Mapping Collective.
NI 14 anybody?
One of the other thing that keeps coming up whenever I talk about websites in local councils is the NI14 (National Indicator 14 – avoidable contact) is becoming the key driver as pointed out by @carlhaggerty in the #psfbuzz tweets. So how can web 2.0 and social media help? Well the answer is in the numbers. Mike showed some pretty cool data on impact of location-specific content on the web reducing inbound phone calls (via @simonwakeman). He also showed how to measure web 2.0 cash savings. I will try to get the slides and post them here soon. Mike also pointed out that Web 2.0 requires fundamental changes in councils, remove policy barriers, provide open access to your data and use standard formats.
Re-use and re-purpose
One of the interesting points that came out of Simon Smith’s (GOSS Interactive) presentation on “Web 2.0 Glory” is to “re-purpose and re-use” data, which is a key aspect of some website strategies (via @TimCooperUK). As described in the New Zealand’s government “Promoting Government Information and data Re-use” background paper…
“The Internet and web technologies have changed the way information is used and discovered. The Internet is the first place New Zealanders now search to find information2. Web 2.0 technologies and applications bring people and content together and allow the re-purposing of data and information in ways that were not previously possible. People do not make distinctions between government and nongovernment information and data. They expect both to be instantly available.
There is also increasing international demand for governments to provide data in readily usable or re-usable formats. A US Open Government Working Group, comprising 30 invited attendees from influential US organisations, has released a set of principles for open government data7. In Canada, the Citizens for Open Access to Civic Information and Data group is advocating that all levels of government make ‘civic’ information and data accessible at no cost in open formats to their citizens. They believe “this is necessary to allow citizens to fully participate in the democratic process of an “information society”.
To learn more about New Zealand’s Open Government Information and Data Re-use Project, please visit this website.
In an excellent blog post by Vikram Kumar titled “Showing us a better way” . He has some interesting thoughts on what has come out of UK Government’s competition “Show us a better way” and the “Power of Information Taskforce” . I recommend having a quick read-through it. Really interesting thoughts on data reuse.
However according to “Mash the State” (which I wrote about a few weeks ago here), only 21% of councils here in the UK are using RSS on their council websites. So I agree with @mashthestate that open data is a long, long way off the rate. Unless we quickly move to action and make the data available, it could all just end up going up in smoke.
YouTube and Flickr accessibility issues…
Some might argue that using a YouTube and Flickr for local councils are a waste of time due to the accessibility issues. However @timdavies makes a good point when he said “But Flickr / YouTube very useful for people with limited literacy. Accessible in different ways…”
But then @theimp67 also makes a good point when he said “Flickr / YouTube are accessible in different ways but also expensive in terms of production.” Though, what are the actual figures on producing some pictures and videos?
- Does anyone have the figures on the cost of producing a picture or video?
- Is it possible that the problem lies in the approach that we use when we create videos?
- Should they or shouldn’t they look as professional as what we see on TV?
- Or are people content with the “rough and ready” formats just as long as they receive the information needed?
- Are local councils so concerned about the content being political but not useful?
- Do the public have any say on the process of producing those pictures or videos?
- Would it be better for the public to produce the content on a local council channel through campaigns and competitions?
- Should a social reporter be spearheading these channels of engagement to ensure ROI?
Total Policy Rethink…
@stevenadams tweeted a very interesting point during Paul McElvaney presentation which was “web 2.0 will require total policy rethink from many council comms… and COUNCILLORS too…” And I certainly agree with this. Though it obviously will not happen overnight because “when changing technology, you have to provide training. This can be used to support culture change” – Paul McElvaney. And according to @PaulJennings, “leadership courses (such as ILM) can be engaging for employees and a chance to understand new technologies such as forums”. The key is to think like your learners (via @davebriggs) and don’t let technology be the barrier. You don’t have to spend a lot of money. Do it yourself where you can. Use flip video and be bold. And the most important point that Paul made during his presentation is “If you got it wrong, you can fix it!”
More interestingly @TimCooperUK also agrees and adds that technology is rarely the issue. As @theimp67 said, its about comms/marketing/politicians/marketing and policy.
Having said that, here is an interesting presentation on “Measuing the impact of social media in Government” which goes through all the web 1.0 measurements then compares them to the web 2.0 measurement. This is an essential read. I highly recommend it.
On one of the slides, Federal Web Managers Council list the top 10 Best Practices for Government Websites which are as follows: -
- Meet all laws, requirements, policies, and other directives for public websites
- Document your governance structure, including roles, relationships, responsibilities, rules, and review processes
- Develop, document, and implement a strategic plan that both incorporates visionary changes and corrects problems with web content
- Focus on top tasks
- Create and manage content effectively and efficiently
- Collaborate within your agency and across government to manage content and eliminate duplication
- Follow usability best practices
- Evaluate the effectiveness of your website
- Make sure the public can find your content
- Create opportunities for the public to interact with their government
Youth participation in social networks….
Tim Davies gave a though provoking presentation on youth participation in social networks at this event. He started off by saying that technology is woven into the fabric of young peoples lives and information flows through friend connections which exists on social networks. The way to engage is to explore these social networks to understand how they work and understand what’s really going on. Its important to remember the skills that are needed here are hardly the technology skills but community engagement skills. Engagement is about the ability to give feedback and engaging with content, so comment is key! Its also important to remember that people – especially young people – will find ways to use technology for which it was not originally intended.
I captured a video with Tim later that day to get a run down on his presentation, and here it is
To Facebook or not to facebook….
Well the obvious thing that pops into mind is “Who the hell in their right mind would want to be a fan of their local council on facebook?” Well, if you check out the local council facebook list I’ve compiled in January 2009, you will possibly be shocked. The message @davebriggs was trying to get through during his presentation is “be where people are”. Through my own experience interviewing citizens, you’d be amazed to know that facebook doesn’t only comprise of people of the younger generation. Quite a few people in their 60s and 70s are also on Facebook for various reasons. And @davebriggs demonstrated this nicely when he informed us that his Dad was also on Facebook (much to his surprise and amusement!). For facebook is about connecting with the people you know on a social networking platform that has the ability to do all sorts of fun things together. However I strongly believe facebooks strength and benefit lies in the communities/groups created. Of course its easy enough to create a group on any forum across the web i.e. yahoo groups/google groups. However having the ability to tell your friends that you just joined a group or campaign and invite others to participate is truly what allows the community to grow and collaborate with each other by swapping information/knowledge on a specific area/issue. Facebook applications are the first step towards widgetisation, with much more flexibility and no emotional commitment.
Please also check out Simon Wakeman’s and Simon Smith’s presentation summary video.
Hope this was useful!!! Sorry for those who couldn’t attend. It was an absolute blast. Hope you can make it next year! 
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