Creating Community Conversations - Gallomanor

Harsh moderation policy

If someone breaches a comments policy on a website you can understand the comment being moderated, or perhaps even for the person to be barred from the site.

But to be suspended from work for a month...

CivicSurf documentary online

We've posted the full CivicSurf documentary on YouTube.  Full details at www.civicsurf.org.uk.  Please watch and let us have some feedback.  Better still, organise a viewing at your council.  if you want a copy on DVD with some booklets, just email:  shane@civicsurf.org.uk

BuildingDemocracy - Innovations Fund

The Ministry of Justice* Innovations Fund (that brought you CivicSurf or Cllr 2.0 as it was) is back.  It's bigger than ever with £150,000 to be spent developing new ideas.  Go to www.buidlingdemocracy.co.uk for the details.

There is a difference this year.  Instead of only being able to submit applications directly to the selection panel you can "Float your Idea" first on the website and get advice and improvements from other visitors to the site.  It works in the same way as the Power of Information taskforce's ShowUsABetterWay project.

Although the site does "strongly recommend" floating ideas rather than submitting them straightaway, Jessica Ellis who is managing the project was clear that the selection process would not discriminate against those who go straight to the less public application submitting stage.  So if you want to submit an idea without telling the world and your competitors about it, you can.

Without wanting to be down on the project I would like to point out that Tom Watson's tweet is slightly inaccurate.  You don't win £15k.  Quite the opposite.  We received £15k. last year from the fund but with Norfolk County Council have invested at least half that again as our contributions to the CivicSurf project.

*The eagle-eyed reader will also notice that DIUS (Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills) are involved.

Ploddledygook

Ploddledygook:  when the police try to be overly corporate.

My favourite was from Lincolnshire Police:

"The ambition of Lincolnshire Police is to: focus on the citizen, achieve the highest standards of professionalism, deliver excellent performance and so inspire confidence amongst the people we serve."

"Could they have an ambition to do the opposite of those things?" said the PEC spokeswoman. "Interesting that they don't appear to aspire to catch criminals."

Mike Alderson, from Open Eye Communications, has a fuller list of the Police jargon that has been criticised by the Plain English Campaign.

Someone really ought to call the police, because the English language has been murdered.

The Audit of Political Engagement 5

The Audit of Political Engagement series is the Hansard Society’s annual political check-up of the nation’s health. It includes original poll data from surveys conducted by Ipsos MORI, which allow yearly comparisons to be made about the British public’s attitude to politics and their level of engagement with the political system. The fifth Audit includes a special section on constitutional issues that questions the public’s knowledge about how our constitutional arrangements operate, which areas they are satisfied with and which they think are ripe for reform.

Some bedtime reading for the weekend.

Don't spin the web

Someone told the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham that YouTube is a good way to engage with people.  Nobody told them not to use it as a way of distributing spin.

This video just invites criticism because of the way it is so obviously spin with the fake newspapers.  To add insult to injury the first few people to comment on the story seem overly fawning and have been accused of being plants (or astro-turfers) from the council.

YouTube is a place for user generated content.  The video is council generated content and therefore liable to attract criticism as it has from disgruntled workers and residents.  LBHF would have been better off gathering the views of real people and posting them on YouTube.  It would have been better received.

(hat-tip: Politics, PR & Marketing)

Straight Talking Aussies

Last night I was chatting with a friend about how straight-talking the Aussies are compared to the English.  His example was that if he's wearing a bad jumper out there they'll tell him that he looks like a gnome.

Then this morning I see the Kick a Migrant site produced by a digital agency in Sydney.  How close could/should Govt get to using humour to communicate serious messages?

(hat-tip to Tom Watson)

And the winner is... Mr Splashy Pants

What do you do if the public vote for the "wrong" name?  If you're Blue Peter you do a cover-up.  If you're Greenpeace you smile about it and be thankful for all the publicity that has been created for your anti-whaling campaign.

[hat-tip to The Bristol Blogger and Bloggerheads]

Cllr2.0 - how do Councillors use the internet to engage?

As part of a Ministry of Justice funded Innovations Fund project, we're involved in giving a presentation tomorrow to a group of Councillors at Norfolk County Council on the ways that are / could be used to engage with constituents via the internet.

Here's the long list I have at the moment.  Has anyone any suggestions to add?

Top t'internet ways for Cllrs to engage with constituents:
1. Blog
     a. Personal e.g. Mary Reid
     b. Group e.g. Maida Vale Conservatives
     c. Corporate (council run)  Brighton and Hove Councillors
2. Static Website - e.g Councillor.info, VOICE, bespoke build
3. Facebook e.g. Susan Gaszczak 4. email lists e.g Nick Palmer MP
5. txt lists (OK not internet but digital enough) e.g. Steve Webb MP
6. MySpace - Steve Webb again
7. Twitter - anyone using this?
8. I'm a Councillor, Get me out of here! (OK a little biased but valid)
9. LifeSwap (ditto)
10. email hotline (e.g. Ask Daniel)
11. Instant Messaging
12. ePetitions
13. Discussion Boards e.g Issues Forums, TalkSwindon
14. Webcasting

What else have I missed?  I appreciate that some of these examples may not be best of class so if you have any suggestions for what is best that would be helpful.  Please email or leave a comment.

Champions in distress

We first got involved with The Scarman Trust a couple of years ago during the development of CampaignCreator.  They were tasked with coaching members of the community on how to campaign and how to use the site.

Since then I've got to know them and their work in the South West a little better.  At the moment we're producing a marketing campaign for a series of guides they have produced to help communities help themselves.

Another cornerstone of their work is in dispersing small grants to creative and energetic members of communities to help with community cohesion.  It is a programme called Community Champions.  Unfortunately the DfES, before it was reorganised, decided to stop funding the programme and The Scarman Trust are working hard to save it.  They have started a petition to save community champions on the Number 10 Downing Street site and I've signed it.  I hope you will too.

The petition copy reads: