Tag Archive for W14 & SW6

Ten Questions: Annette Albert of W14 & SW6 London

August 5, 2010 3 comments
Annette Albert

Annette Albert

This is the first of what I hope will be a regular feature – answers to ten questions put to the publishers of some of the most vibrant and inspirational hyperlocal websites that are out there.  Annette Albert, who manages W14london.ning.com – ‘the community website for the W14 & SW6 neighbourhood’, has kindly agreed to be the first to take part.

Annette was keen to start a community website for her area after seeing William talk about his Kings Cross Environments experiences at Reboot Britain 2009.  She convinced North Fulham NDC to secure a talk about local training session and the rest, as they say, is history.

Through Annette’s hard work, which hasn’t gone unnoticed by the BBC, the site has gone from strength to strength since it started in July 2009 and now has 469 members – a number of whom joined during a highly unusual training session in a field as part of community funday Fulham Fest in September 2009.

What made you start W14london.ning.com?

W14london was started to give people in our area a voice. West Kensington is an area which does not get investment – no votes for the Council and therefore no investment. I know residents love the area but investment goes to Fulham Broadway and Hammersmith.

What do you feel the key local issues are for your community and how have you used your website to address these?

The key local issues are housing – i.e. redevelopment of the West Kensington Estate. Local Council Cuts – can we the residents take them over and planning issues.

What has been your favourite post or feature on your website and why?

My favourite blog has been a review of a play at our local fringe theatre. It was so well written and so funny. I am sure it would have encouraged people to go to the theatre.

What do you feel has been the most challenging story on your website?

Redevelopment of West Kensington Estates

What obstacles have you faced with your website, and how have you overcome these?

I am not a journalist and in fact have no formal education so blogging (for the world to see) has been particularly difficult.

What do you think it is that attracts readers to your website?

A love of the area and the website provides local, local news.

What’s the most absurd thing that has happened on your site?

Broadcasting Messages with no content. Hmm

What changes would you like to make to your website over the next few months?

I would love more people blogging.

Where do you see your website in a year’s time?

Loads more members and a very busy site.

What one thing would make managing your website even more rewarding than it already is?

A mentor.

Blog, Success Stories , , , , , , , ,

The Total Politics Best Blog Poll 2010

July 15, 2010 One comment

Click here to vote in the Total Politics Best Blogs Poll 2010

Thanks to Newcastle Rocks (which is developing brilliantly) for alerting us to the fact that voting is now open for the Total Politics Best Blog Poll 2010.  The votes will be compiled and included in the forthcoming book, the Total Politics Guide to Blogging 2010-11, which will be published in September.

Rules for nominating websites are as follows:

1. You must vote for your ten favourite blogs and ranks them from 1 (your favourite) to 10 (your tenth favourite).
2. Your votes must be ranked from 1 to 10. Any votes which do not have rankings will not be counted.
3. You MUST include at least FIVE blogs in your list, but please list ten if you can. If you include fewer than five, your vote will not count.
4. Email your vote to toptenblogs@totalpolitics.com
5. Only vote once.
6. Only blogs based in the UK, run by UK residents or based on UK politics are eligible. No blog will be excluded from voting.
7. Anonymous votes left in the comments will not count. You must give a name
8. All votes must be received by midnight on 31 July 2010. Any votes received after that date will not count.

We at talk about local can think of a few hyperlocal websites that would fit the bill for this, such as Pits n Pots, Parwich.org, W14 & SW6 London or Newcastle Rocks themselves.  If you can think of 5-10 blogs, local or otherwise, that you feel have an important political theme or impact, get voting!

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Content idea: feature local parks, allotments and gardens

June 28, 2010 2 comments
Farnham Allotments

Farnham Allotments

Try to feature some information and news about your local green spaces, be they parks, gardens or allotments.

Last August Clare White wrote a blog post that featured some of Britain’s garden blogs, such as the Patient Gardener’s Weblog from Worcestershire.  Are there any keen local gardeners that might like to contribute to your community site by writing about their hobby? If your neighbourhood has more than a few green-fingered residents you could build a feature around the best gardens in your area.

Oxford Road Community Garden

Oxford Road Community Garden

Are there any allotments near you?  These are thriving little communities in themselves and there are plenty websites out there if you’re looking for inspiration in writing about them.  Welsh Girl’s Allotment is one girl’s quite personal site ‘detailing my quest for an allotment, its cultivation and hopefully bountiful crops’, but there are allotment sites that serve their small communities, such as Farnham Allotments, which publishes news for all allotment holders – events such as a Growing Vegetables Winter Lecture and notices to advertise Free Horse Manure.

Is there a community garden in your area?  Perhaps one or some of the people involved in its development would like to chart its progress online.  Oxford Road Community Garden, a garden created with Section 106 money from local development, has a simple website with photos and posts that keeps everyone updated on latest news and activity and what’s growing on the site.

Talk about what’s going on in your local park.  Highbury Park Friends in Birmingham publish their newsletters and points of interest on their simple WordPress website, including the above charming film of the pond’s ducks.  Kings Cross Environment has a dedicated category for the local Bingfield Park, which features the hard-fought War on Squirrels.

Normand Park Trees, London W14

Normand Park Trees, London W14

Is there a cause or campaign concerning your local green spaces your community website could help with? W14 & SW6 London held a campaign to Save Normand Park Trees from felling – website manager Annette posted a template preservation order request letter along with the relevant council officer’s name and email address, which made supporting the cause as simple as copying and pasting into an email.

Kingsley House Gardens

Kingsley House Gardens

Another talk about local website for Kingsley House, set up by The Kingsley House Tenants Association to try and improve the  Bristol residential blocks, concentrates on the particularly sorry state of their council-maintained landscaped gardens.

Have a think about how you can include the local green patches and the people who help cultivate them into your community website, and if there’s anything you could do to help preserve, protect and develop them by talking about what they bring to the area in your online space.

Campaigning, Quick Tips, Writing and Content Ideas , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Content idea: publish a local notice or poster

June 14, 2010 No comments

cream teas and handmade crafts on The Parish Post

Often local people will try to get the word out about their news, event or call for help by putting up posters in the area on places such as lampposts, bus stops and notice boards in local pubs, clubs, churches, foyers, etc.

Missing cat on Meowseley

You could help bring the poster to a wider audience by simply taking a photo of it and publishing it on your community website, or merely by writing down the information and typing that up in a post if you do not have a camera to hand when you see it.

Dublin Gospel Choir poster on Drimnagh is Good

Dublin Gospel Choir poster on Drimnagh is Good

There will undoubtedly be posters up in your area about a range of topics, such as:

Lost property/pet/person

Advertising an event, such as a music gig or community meeting

Merely sharing a piece of locally relevant information

  • When someone in W14 London saw a sign for a local office closure, they let residents know by posting the notice W14 & SW6 community website.
Quick Tips, Using Images, Video and Audio, Writing and Content Ideas , , , , , , , , , , ,

Social media fun at the fair

September 8, 2009 3 comments

On Saturday me and Mike were lucky enough to enjoy a day in the sunshine in the name of work, giving something of a mini social media surgery under a tent in a field.  We spent the day introducing people enjoying Fulham Fest to the new community website for the London W14 & SW6 neighbourhoods, a ning site which manager Annette Albert has built up into a fantastic local resource that covers local events, news, groups and information.

We got a fair few signed up to the site and many got cracking with adding to it straight away by poll voting, posting events, starting discussions and joining groups.  What was most rewarding was inducting people who initially had reservations, either because of a fear of the technology or because they could not see how it might be used.  It was just a few simple steps to show people how easy the site is to navigate and discuss issues important to them that the site could help with.

Getting people there who were at first quite reticent enthusiastic about the site really highlighted the benefits of holding a social media surgery as part of a larger, community event.  Many of the people I met on Saturday wouldn’t have come to something solely about social media or using a community website, but by being part of a fun and informal family day we were able to teach in a relaxed, ‘non-training’ atmosphere and get past preconceptions they may have had.

So now I’m all for a social media tent becoming a staple part of local fetes and fairs.  Next time you’re organising a community festival or gathering, think about making space for a couple of laptops next to the face-painters.  It’s a great way of raising awareness of a new hyperlocal site and you’d be helping people discover something new, get involved with local activity and carry on communicating long after the party’s over.

hyperlocal, Writing and Content Ideas , , , ,
 

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