For an activist things can never be too local. Working with people on local issues up and down the country with Talk About Local, we see real passion for issues very close to people's homes, schools or workplaces but little excitement for wider area … [Read more...] about The evolution of social government? – today 1300 at Bloomberg #smwldn – truly local accountability? #smwGovernment
democracy
Mapping the council filming wrangles
Since the new rules from the Communities and Local Government secretary Eric Pickles came into force, people are starting to challenge their local councils and attempt to film public meetings. We're going to map them here - can you help us? … [Read more...] about Mapping the council filming wrangles
Hyperlocal innovation: Google hangout for council reporting
Google hangout - the video conference style service available on the Google + platform - may well have changed the way you do team meetings if you work in a distributed way as we do here at Talk About Local. But how about for broadcasting your local … [Read more...] about Hyperlocal innovation: Google hangout for council reporting
Neighbourhood plans – is there an easy way?
Neighbourhood plans are a great idea but they need to be easy to produce and comprehend. The more complex and dense neighbourhood plans are, the fewer of them there will be. Is there any route to a genuinely simple neighbourhood plan that engages … [Read more...] about Neighbourhood plans – is there an easy way?
UK central government opens up local government to bloggers and local social media
In what should be a big leap forward for local democracy and community web media UK central government is to decree in law that local government meetings must be open to local bloggers, tweeters, community web forums etc. I am not going to do the … [Read more...] about UK central government opens up local government to bloggers and local social media
Shining a light on the democratic process in Kington
In the last in this mini-series to celebrate some of the remarkable sites which www.talkaboutlocal.org has worked with over the past few years I take a look at the vibrant Kington Blackboard. Voter apathy in local elections is a well-known situation … [Read more...] about Shining a light on the democratic process in Kington