I started this blog because i am passionate about the potential of ultra local publishing to empower and build communities. In August i put together some slides that made a more or less coherent pitch. And after much cursing at Slideshare (and the Theme i am using here) the slides are at the link below.
There is a lot in common with the proposal from Clare White over at the Ministry of Justice ‘Building Democracy’ competition. She proposes a Social Reporters Network and has set up a wiki to put some flesh on the bones. It seems that Vision On TV are also doing something in this space. There is a good discussion running here, revealing some good work i hadn’t found before. WIll digest and post further.
Founder of Talk About Local, Trustee of the Indigo Trust, Tinder Foundation, 360Giving, co-founder Connect8, former member of UK Government transparency panels, former Policy Advisor to UK Prime Minister, former Cabinet Office senior civil servant.Open data do-er, Kings Cross London blogger. Loves countryside. Two small children.
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William – great slidedeck and great proposal. One thing that strikes me is that the easy of setting up this kind of thing means that many different flowers will bloom and it would be good if someone (such as the local authority) did something to help local people see the various discussion groups that were going on (and helping the various groups know about the other’s existence). It also seems to me that these projects have a bit of a life-cycle – someone sets them up, a good group builds, there’s a buzz and then at some point key people move or whatever and the energy dips. If you have a lot of linked initiatives that would not matter too much, since the baton can move back and forth as groups wax and wane. Finally, it might be worth thinking about other vibrant e-enabled communities, e.g. freecycle groups.
William – I agree with you the secret lies in keeping it ultra local, with a capable enthusiast using simple tools. At the same time enthuiasts could benefit from a loose community of practice, and the option of some shared systems. As you may know Ruralnet UK have a WordPress multi-user setup – equivalent of WordPress.com – which I find really good. The reduces support costs and allows easy sharing of content.