MKconnect and DigiBrum projects featured in video

Great video featuring MKconnect and DigiBrum projects - thanks to WatfordGap and to Vimeo

DS4C in Action from watfordgap on Vimeo.

Twitter for Govt - concise comms?

Late last week a link went round on Twitter to the ‘Template Twitter Strategy for Govt Departments’, this has now been more widely circulated and commented on by everybody from The Guardian to Radio 4. 20 pages to instruct on the use of 140 characters? Was this really necessary? Is Twitter not just a way of monitoring what people are having for breakfast or which train they are on?

With so many people still sceptical about Twitter and its benefits to Tweeter and followers (as evidenced by James Naughtie discussing the report with MP Tom Watson on the Radio 4 Today programme this morning), is it overkill to put out a strategy?

DC10plus network (http://www.twitter.com/dc10plusnetwork or more simply put @dc10plusnetwork) has been active on Twitter since January 09 (CLG and No 10 started early too) … we have been a learning curve but understanding of the protocols and etiquettes of this ‘micro-blogging’ have grown steadily and the DC10plusnetwork is now followed by Local Authorities, the public, journalists and digital engagment specialists, as has the realisation of the tremendous benefits to the public sector.

Local Govt particularly benefit from being able to both pick up news or information before it breaks more widely, and to seek opinion, promote web links and engage with citizens. Also being used to recruit, to publicise events and to research with local communities. Connecting Bristol used Twitter as a means of promoting their Next Generation Broadband workshop live stream which allowed literally thousands of people to benefit from a very useful event.

@digibrum
@connectednotts
@ConnectBristol
@norfolkCC
@StevetheFlemming
@SunderlandUK
@mdda
@stratfordDC

are just some of the @DC10plusnetwork members and local authorities on Twitter.

Local Councillors are using TweetyHall (@tweetyhall) and whilst the LGA has been fairly quiet with their Twitter page the National Association of Local Councils (@JustinGriggs) have been very proactive in learning how social media can benefit the most local level of Govermnet and as a result there are now many Parish and Town Councils across the country Twittering about local issues (which may well help with their drive to involve younger people in Parish and Town Councils).

MPs are also turning to Twitter to raise their profile and reach out to the electorate (and to comment) - Jim Knight provided an interesting insight into the Speaker Selection process live from Westminster (@JimKnightMP) and the Independent published a list of the Top 10 influential Twittering MPs including @JohnPrescott, @sadiqkhan and @joswinson,@sionsimon and of course @tom_watson

To ignore Twitter now means to ignore a very widely used, immediate and opinionated platform on which your brand, your local authority, or your project is likely to feature and be commented on - and to ignore a free and very easy to engage with ‘route to market’.

With COI now one of the highest spenders in online advertsing in the UK surely it is time to look to the ‘free’ medium of social media as a key channel - hence this timely draft Strategy document.

The 20 page epic (written by Neil Williams head of corporate digital channels at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills or @neilyneil on Twitter) has much helpful guidance and is a good place to start.

You can read the full draft template - and indeed make it your own - see below. There are some helpful journalist links and links to central Govt depts on Twitter.

The document will evolve as the ways people use and monitor Twitter do - indeed the Citizenship Foundation have already published a draft update to it. Look back here over coming weeks for links to updates.

Template Twitter Strategy for Government Departments

We would also like to know how you have used Twitter in campaigns, local engagment and any pitfalls to look out for or huge success stories.

Digital Britain announcments - like buses - long wait and they all come at once

So, finally after all the anticipation, we have the Digital Britain report, we have a new Digital Champion and the dust is settling after a huge flurry of Twittering and media comment. A very busy day and everything happened all at once … Martha Lane Fox; someone who is immensely digitally included, is to champion the issues of those that are not - those with fixed lines will have to pay a £6 a year tax to help fund the roll our of 2mgb per home to even the most rural of houses. The report does however bring together digital, economic and social agendas and provides a good base from where to move forward.

DC10plus network would like to welcome Martha Lane Fox to the new role and looks forward to meeting her and sharing ideas with her over the coming months.

Gordon Brown stated that he is, “determined that Britain’s digital infrastructure will be world class… it is all part of building Britain’s future beyond the difficult, short-term economic conditions. We must continue to invest to become a world leader in the new high-tech, low-carbon industries of the future by reigniting the British genius for invention, discovery and trade - to capitalise on our strengths.”

Whether 2mgb per household is enough to put Britain at the cutting edge of ‘world class’ is entirely questionable, certainly the FSB feels that these proposals don’t go anything like far enough.  A reTweeted post on Twitter currently reads frequently heard yesterday: “i haven’t read this report, but i’m disappointed to hear…” #digitalbritain #dbuc09 …

At 240 pages there is alot to digest and comment will continue to come over the next weeks but you can read the overview and some of the earlier reports here and we will continue to add sources of commentary to this list. DC10plus network welcomes the Digital Britain report and looks forward to building on the work we have already done and rolling out the exemplar products and projects across the country.

Gordon Brown article from The Times http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article6506136.ece

Stephen Carter in the FT
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/38756bbc-59dc-11de-b687-00144feabdc0.html?nclick_check=1

Digital Britain forum blog
http://digitalbritainforum.org.uk/2009/06/final-report-published/

The full Digital Britain report available to download here
http://www.culture.gov.uk/what_we_do/broadcasting/6216.aspx

Online reaction to the report - including the Digital Britain wordle
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/pda/2009/jun/16/digital-britain-twitter

ISPs association call the Digital Britain report pragmatic
http://www.publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=20404

IT industry gives the report a ‘muted’ thumbs up
http://www.publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=20403

Helen Milner, MD of UK Online centres of welcomed the report, “People are the real heart of this report, and it’s their use of technology which will drive Britain out of recession. Having one in four people excluded from the digital world will hold us back, while engaging and supporting them will propel us forwards. I’m delighted to see Carter amplify that view in the final Digital Britain report, to see Estelle Morris’ recommendations for new action on digital skills provision, and to see Martha appointed to ensure emerging policies work for real people.”

Rural response from CRC
http://www.ruralcommunities.gov.uk/events/aruralperspectiveondigitalbritain

CLA (Country Landowners Association) feel that the report provides a tipping point but still fails to recognise the urgency of the need for universal high speed broadband access in rural areas.
http://www.cla.org.uk/News_and_Press/Latest_Releases/Rural_Economy/Broadband/107193.htm/

Peter Shearman from Intellect provides a useful summary (”unravelling”) of the report on the BSG blog
http://www.broadbanduk.org/blog/?p=100

Journalist Bill Thomson who was a part of the UnConference team responded , “The result, though far from perfect, offers a good basis for work on the detail of implementation and legislation, and there are clear signs that those who want to engage will be able to do so.” More from his blog here
http://www.thebillblog.com/billblog/index.php/2009/06/16/digital-britain-engaging-with-the-internet/

Lindsey Annison at 5tth blogspot - the champions of Fibre to the Home is not convinced about the new levvy
http://5tth.blogspot.com/2009/06/50pmonth-is-simply-not-enough.html

Many are yet to comment formally including the CBI, SOCTM and the LGA, but keep checking back here for updates.

Unconference final report on Digital Britain

For ‘More Ideas than you can Shake a Stick at’ on digital inclusion and the future of Digital Britain you should take a look at the final Unconference report http://digitalbritainunconference.wordpress.com/final-report/

Developed as a result of informal, interative ‘unconferences’ across the country (from Didcot to Derbyshire, Truro to London) in early May this report represents a real overview of ‘grass roots’ opinion on where Lord Carter should be looking to work for a truly Inclusive Digital Britain.

You can also sign your name on the bottom of the report - should you be so inclined

Bit of light reading for you

Lots of new stuff has been published on the DCLG website today on community empowerment, LAAs, influencing decision making etc. This is to coincide with the Second Reading in the Commons yesterday of the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Bill.
The big evidence report (3rd link down) has lots of examples from Bristol.

http://www.communities.gov.uk/news/corporate/1242592

http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/communities/communitiesprogressreport

http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovernment/localdecisionreview

http://www.communities.gov.uk/publications/localgovernment/localdecisionlessons

thanks Stephen Hilton for sending this over

(silver) surfing with mother part 2

A great use of time today - at the Silver Surfers Day event organised by Cambridge Online … in the back of a lovely Cambridge Church they had over 35 people in off the streets learning about everything from how to turn a laptop on, how to work a mouse, and for my mother and @AnneFaulkner’s father learning about Voice Recognition Software - Dragon - and finding music on YouTube.

Almost every person that went along signed up for free tuition and was keen to follow up the learning experience. Mum was amazed by voice recognition software and by the simiplicity of how to lay out a letter in Word and is already looking forward to her Introduction to Computers session next week and will then quickly go onto MyGuide … NOTE TO SELF: must fix the old computer at her house.

This now the beginning of what will, I am sure for Mum and I, be an exciting and I am sure iinsanely frustrating (at times) journey as she learns her way around what most of us now take forgranted … My father used to call me at all hours with wonderful phrases like “I’ve lost the Word”, or “I’ve deleted the Internet” - which inevitably led to me spending hours installing and uninstalling things, retyping documents and repairing the mouse when he had slammed it down in temper - but he did enjoy researching projects, sending email, and latterly he found his local doctor, looked up information on cancer and all of that helped him through a very difficult time.

Silver Surfers Day is a great concept and it was exciting to think of similar events going on the length and breadth of the country thanks to Digital Unite, UK online centres and the sponsors of the event Wiltshire Farm Foods and McCarthy & Stone. Each of the corporate sponsors has written an interesting blog post, here:
http://dnc.digitalunite.com/2009/05/13/why-wiltshire-farm-foods-is-spons
oring-silver-surfers-day/ and here
http://dnc.digitalunite.com/2009/05/08/mccarthy-stone-offer-25-ssd-event
s/ about why businesses should take on the responsibility for bringing digital literacy to their potential customer group. “It makes sense”, says Gill Adams from Digital Unite, “but these two are ‘the few’ who see this. They should be applauded publicly”.

Also to be applauded are the many staff and volunteers from UK online centres and local traning organisations up and down the country for all the hard work they do helping the digitally excluded learn about getting on with technology, onto computers and online.

My mother asked her tutor, “What IS Twitter? My daughter keeps doing it …” the tutor looked up at me and sighed!!! First things first mother … right click

There is a great video on Why Be a Silver Surfer - spread the word http://www.youtube.com/silversurferstv

and the following link to the Jeremy Vine show on Radio 2 is available to listen again for a few days on http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00kbhpm

The piece about Silver Surfers is from 01.34 until the end of the show (about half an hour).

(Silver) surfing with mother

“O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!”, as Lewis Carroll would say - it is Silver Surfers Day today #SSD09 if you want to follow it on Twitter.

Managed by Digital Unite (@digitalunite on Twitter), Silver Surfers Day started back in 2001 with 40 events and this year it is the key event in the national campaign to get ‘older people’ online and there will be over 1000 events nationwide. Silver Surfers Day always falls in the Friday of Adult Learners’ week.

So - to that end I am going to take my mother to one of the Cambridge events http://silversurfers.digitalunite.com/2009/05/05/cambridge-online-2/ Mummy is 82 with a son in Hong Kong along with her 4 small grandchildren who she misses terribly, Dad died not long ago so now seems a perfect time to really encourage her to dive head first in to a new challenge which will make it so much easier for her to keep in regular contact with the Hong Kong contingent, and explore mycology, Eastenders and local classes online and so on.

I digress!! With everyone from the Prime Minister to Stephen Fry extolling the benefits of online, and with increasing numbers of local services being put online it is crucial that the older members of society arn’t further excluded or isolated but are able to lean from and realise the very real benefits they can gain from being online.

Leonie Vlachos Manager of Digital Inclusion at Age Concern / Help the Aged welcomes events such as Siver Surfers Day, and highlights the importance of support from local authorities,  “Approximately, 9.2million older people are still not accessing the benefits of being online and we all have a role to ensuring that older people are not left behind. That is why Age Concern and Help the Aged provide IT taster sessions for older first-times users and fully support Silver Surfers Day. We believe that Local Authorities have a key role in supporting the digital inclusion of older people through the provision of training and access at local community centres and libraries. This is absolutely essential if older people are to continue accessing vital Local Authority services and information that are increasingly moving online. We cannot have a push to migrate services online without an equal push to get older people online”.

Across the 2000 members of the DC10plus network, there is huge activity around digital engagment for Silver Surfers, notably in Birmingham where Nicola Bryant the marketing manager of Digital Birmingham was telling me, “As part of Silver Surfers Day we are launching the second phase of our ‘Keeping IT in the Family’ series at Acocks Green Library.
The ‘Keeping IT in the Family’ initiative is a comic style resource designed to help young people, particularly school-aged children teach their family members important IT skills.  Originally developed as a pilot with Microsoft, the success of the pilot attracted subsequent funding from BECTA, which has enabled the development of a second series which builds upon the basic IT skills gained in the first series and moves the family on to use those new skills to get the most from digital technologies. The ‘Keeping IT in the Family’ links to the Government’s Universal Home Access (UHA) agenda for which Birmingham is a UK pilot. UHA was established to increase ICT skills in families and communities which may have a poor understanding and take-up of computers and the internet.

We are arranging for 10 children from Prince Albert School and St. John Wall, Handsworth to attend a Silver Surfer ‘Wired up for Well Being’ Session at Acocks Green Library in Birmingham that is being run as part of Silver Surfers Day. This session will be focusing on money matters, shopping online, booking holidays, use of comparison websites, lastminute.com. The children will be using their skills and knowledge from the Keeping IT in the Family initiative to teach the grown-ups how to use the computer and search online.”

http://silversurfers.digitalunite.com/

Planning information tailored to your needs

I was Twittering today - and following the plethora of Social Media and Digital Inclusion fora - or was it forums - and made a few interesting discoveries;

1 - the http://www.communities.idea.gov.uk/c/1232132/home.do

Councillors Connected: The Social Media Online conference - running til 8th April, “This conference will help you explore new tools and ways of communicating with local people, collaborating with the community and improving local services.”

Some interesting ideas coming out and also a relief to know that I am not the only person to battle with the feeds from Twitter into Facebook, to get confused between Yammer and LinkedIn and to struggle with the fine line between work and ‘life’ - having managed in recent weeks to tell DC10plus network followers on Twitter various personal facts and conversly totally bemuse my ‘friends’ on Facebook with Digital Inclusion discussion.

The most interesting thing I picked up today was number 2 on my list

2 - TwitterPlan.com which is powered by PlanningAlerts.com (the latter allow the public to sign up to receive Planning Alerts from ever widening areas around their given post code - simple site - works well assuming your LA is signed up - put together by Lichfield and Lincolnshire - thumbs up to that) … anyway back to TwitterPlan … you can have local alerts leap out at you in amongst Tweets telling you that Hazel Blears has made an announcement, your closest friend is about to meet Barak Obama (really), and someone else has lost their briefcase … brilliant … Emails you have to decide to open, and face it on a busy Tuesday an email from the LPA may just cause you to hit delete - however - the fact that your neighbours are applying for an extension appearing in a list of other random facts might just attach your attention.

The benefit of Social Networking is the multitude of different platforms available for reaching people - and TwitterPlan is a great example of taking a successful application a step further.

3 - the third thing - and for DC10plus, the most exciting is the fact that Communities has tweeted me a little press release saying that 10 Councils were to share funding for pilot projects “keep people better informed”

Congratulations to all the Councils - and in particular to Norfolk and to Birmingham, two of the founder members of the DC10plus network

http://www.communities.gov.uk/news/corporate/1197083

Today’s announcement is for the first round of pilots that will be followed by a second round in the Spring. The successful councils are

• London Borough of Barnet - will create an online consultation tool showing information on planning applications in a more useful format. It will allow users to track applications, comment on decisions and communicate with other users
• Birmingham City Council - will develop an online community that will enable local people to influence the planning and delivery of services
• Cambridgeshire County Council - will develop a one stop shop website for use by parents and carers of disabled children that will include specialist information from third sector organisations
• Gloucestershire County Council - will create 18 online community notice boards for neighbourhoods that will provide information on local services and allow people to contact service providers. There will also be dedicated space on notice boards for partners such as police who will provide crime maps for the area
• Kent County Council - will provide online information on local services in a way that allows people to choose which areas of information they use to provide a customised online service
• Lancashire County Council - will provide tailored information on support to citizens affected by the downturn such as advice about debt, jobs and training
• Leeds City Council - will create an interactive information site for older and disabled users of adult social care that will enable users to find out about different options for services near where they live and see the reviews of services by other older and disabled people in their area
• Liverpool City Council - will develop the ‘My Neighbourhood’ portal that will allow people to request services, report problems in their neighbourhood and track how they are being dealt with
• Norfolk County Council - will create community websites to provide up-to-date local information and support local campaigns
• Wigan Council - will provide an interactive database to help people find opportunities for local volunteering and participation.

Stephen Hilton & Speakers from Next Gen Roadshow in Bristol

If you missed the Next Gen Roadshow in Bristol then you can watch Stephen Hilton from Connecting Bristol earlier today http://vimeo.com/3940606

The entire event was streamed live and watched across the country and followed on Twitter … http://twitter.com/ConnectBristol use the search #cbnnga to bring up information from all the recent roadshow events.

You can also watch and read about all the various speakers and read presentations on the excellent Bristol City Council webcasting site: http://www.bristol.public-i.tv/site/webcasts.php?l=en_GB

Watch the action - Next Gen from Bristol

The series of Next Gen  Roadshows continues around the country - today in Bristol and from 10am you can watch it streamed live from the Watershed online on the Bristol City Council live channel

http://www.bristol.public-i.tv/site/player/pl_compact.php?a=23770&t=&m=wm&l=en_GB#the_data_area

Here is the Agenda for the Day

09.30	Registration and refreshments
10.00	Welcome by David Bishop - Director of City Development, Bristol City Council – ‘Vision for Bristol as a Connected City’.
10.15	Can we Do it? Yes we Can! Brian Condon - Community Broadband Network. CBN, the national picture and local responses. What are the ambitions and drivers behind projects around the UK?
10.45	From Copper to Fibre - Presentation by Adrian Wooster CTO CBN - what is NGA, what can fibre deliver and how does it work?
11.15	‘NGA in the South West’ – presentations by Jon Baker from Devon County Council (TBC), Dave Cornish from Connecting Somerset and Stephen Hilton from Connecting Bristol.
11.45	Refreshments
12.00	‘Benefits and Uses’ – an exploration of the applications, services and content that will drive the need for better connectivity? A Creative Digital Perspective from Clare Reddington, Bristol Pervasive Media Lab and a Local Education Authority Perspective from Ayleen Driver, Building Schools for the Future.
12.30	Open Access or Closed Networks? Presentation by Houston Spencer - Vice President, Solutions & Marketing Alcatel-Lucent, North Europe including a presentation by Liz Reid from Gateshead Council – a case study: bringing NGA to the Baltic Business Quarter.
13.15	Lunch
14.15	A series of 3 Local Case Studies, ‘Interconnectivity and Community Cohesion’, Pete Ferne from Bristol Wireless, ‘Knowle West Web’ Chris Pickering from Future Learning CIC, ‘Bristol Broadband Media Exchange’ Matt Hamilton from Netsight.
14.45	Fibrespeed Wales - presentation by Chris Smith from Geo - a practical solution to public investment when market forces fail.
14.55	How to make a business case for NGA projects – presentation by Steve Sheppard and Alex Roy from Adroit Economics followed by a panel discussion on the case for connectivity with Dick Penny, Director of Watershed, Houston Spencer, Andy Kinear, Head of Avon IM&T Consortium (Health), Michael Dunn, SW Regional Manager BT (TBC) and David Trussler, BCC Director of Business Transformation.
15.45	Questions from the Audience and Response to Issues Raised During the Day – Dick Penny and Brian Condon
16.15	Refreshments and networking