Michelle is pointing to the Tufts University ‘Digital Democracy’ course wiki. On the plus side, as Michelle says, it’s a move that should be welcomed, and it’d be interesting to see how other Universities will approach such an open handed approach with their education programmes. BUT, looking at that syllabus, it’s rather depressing the way [...]
Posts from ‘January, 2009’
How the Arts Council is showing no sign of learning it's lesson
If ever there is an organisation that is perceived to have lost touch with almost all of it’s stakeholders (apart from the management consultants who decided how central government should assess their performance), it’s the Arts Council of England. Here, Ivan Pope outlines what they should be doing to re-connect. That post includes a spot [...]
Even Obama gets locked down
My friend Will has e-mailed this from the Washington Post to me – It may cheer Steph up a little to know that he’s not fighting a purely British problem…. “Two years after launching the most technologically savvy presidential campaign in history, Obama officials ran smack into the constraints of the federal bureaucracy yesterday, encountering [...]
Douglas Carswell on Direct Democracy
Involve are doing a seminar on Direct Democracy tomorrow (early) evening. Details are here. Here are two entirely neutral views on Direct Democracy: “A direct democracy is where great thinkers are made to drink hemlock at the whim of the masses.” That was my friend, Matt that said that. Or… “A direct democracy is worse [...]
Social media, civic engagement, and the need for political leadership
There’s a terrific post here, authored by Dave Briggs – brimming with positivity and enthusiasm as ever. It’s a really good round up, and a good introduction to what is possible for users that already have their heads in the right place. I’d add a number of observations to it that I hope make sense. [...]
Died in a church and was buried along with her name … nobody came
Councils are burying more lonely people. (Via Ingrid)
Should politicians blog?
Shorter version: If you’re a politician, it may be a good idea to get into blogging. But do it under a pen-name! It’s safer that way, and it will make you better at your job. This is an old-ish question nowadays. And as the big question around social media at the moment is ‘should everyone [...]
Mayor culpa
Elected mayors. They’re a controversial topic in local government, with many councils and councillors staunchly opposed to them. Until recently, the creation of an elected mayor needed a public referendum – most of which have been lost following opposition by councillors. Now, a simple council decree can introduce one, but if councillors are opposed, that’s [...]
Harringay – not Haringey
Neighbourhoods blogger, Kevin Harris has just introduced me to Hugh of Harringay Online. The most superficially interesting thing about his site is the spelling of Harringay. The actual local authority area is Haringey, and within the area – for reasons that are lost in the mists of time – is a differently named neighbourhood within [...]
What central government thinks about local councillors
It’s Friday. Time for a bit of a laugh. This ‘Yes Minister’ clip provides a rough outline: And on the wider perception of councillors, here’s Vic & Bob’s take: Joking aside, if there is one thing that desperately needs rebranding, it’s the very idea of the Local Councillor.
