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I was told by the Chief Executive of Patient Opinion at #mps09 (the conference myPublicServices – blog post can be found here) that this book would change my world, and in a way I guess it did.

Having only recently joined the Technology, Research and Transformation Team, I thought I didn’t know too much about technology, however this book completely changed my opinion. Technology doesn’t have to be all ‘high tech’ and ‘new fangled’ to change the way people live their everyday lives at home, on holiday, at work, etc,.The important point is how this technology is used. Shirky gives the example of the founding of VOTF (Voice of Faith) a small group of 30 members who wanted to act upon a scandal and after two months the group had over 25,000 members. The group merely used ‘the internet model’ to spread their message and as Shirky states ‘what technology did do was alter the spread, force and especially duration of the reaction’.

As we saw in late 2009, the same occurred when Daily Mail writer Jan Moir wrote an article about the late Stephen Gately from Boyzone. Readers were outraged by her claims that his death was linked to his sexuality. Celebrity twitterers Derren Brown and Stephen Fry urged their followers to complain and Jan Moir became a ‘trendy topic’ indicating the frequency with which it was mentioned on Twitter. Other members of Twitter sent messages to the BT, O2 and Marks and Spencer Twitter pages asking if the companies intended to remove their advertising from the webpage showcasing Moir's offending article. The Twitter uproar appeared on Friday afternoon to have been successful, with all adverts removed from the article after half past three.
Being a fellow Social Scientist, the chapter that really caught my interest was ‘solving social dilemmas’ which is as follows:

Two suspects are arrested by the police. The police have insufficient evidence for a conviction, and, having separated both prisoners, visit each of them to offer the same deal. If one testifies (defects from the other) for the prosecution against the other and the other remains silent (cooperates with the other), the betrayer goes free and the silent accomplice receives the full 10-year sentence. If both remain silent, both prisoners are sentenced to only six months in jail for a minor charge. If each betrays the other, each receives a five-year sentence. Each prisoner must choose to betray the other or to remain silent. Each one is assured that the other would not know about the betrayal before the end of the investigation. How should the prisoners act?

Skirky argues that we face many of these situations in life. Dilemmas where there will be risks, where we have to trust other people who we may not even know, which may not ever be completely solved. Despite these worries, human beings are social creatures. Social psychological studies have shown time and time again that we NEED social interaction. Even the famous Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs does not forget social interaction. Shirky argues that this makes social situations like the prison dilemma unavoidable but social tools can be used to aid this interaction. "The internet augments real-world social life rather than providing an alternative to it. Instead of becoming a separate cyberspace, our electronic networking are becoming deeply embedded in real life." I think this story I read today on a fellow Twitterer’s blog highlights Shirky’s point:


What I really like about this book is the way Shirky starts with a case study and works his point around it. Too many authors feel that the best way to put their opinions across is just to say it, but having an example to build on not only captures the reader’s attention, but it makes the point more realistic. However, I did feel that this wasn’t a book that you could dip in and out of as you pleased. Shirky has a tendency to skip from one idea to another when talking about a topic of interest so to stay fully aware of the journey he intended to take you on, you do have to read the whole chapter fully. No good for anyone who has a busy schedule and just wishes to read bits and pieces on a train journey!

Overall, I believe that anyone could read this, whether you are a technophobe or have your blackberry glued to your hand. Technology really has and continues to affect everybody, whether we choose to accept it or not, or even notice it for that matter. So, if you have the time, go and have a read about flashmobs, the Mermaid Parade and how the internet has transformed the world to name just a few. It really opened my eyes and I’m sure it will do the same for you.

'Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organising without Organisations' by Clark Shirky.
Publisher: Penguin Press
ISBN-10: 1594201536
ISBN-13: 978-1594201530

- Kirsty Russell


Picture: Clay Shirky talking at a conference with the cover of the book 'Here Comes Everybody' projected onto a screen behind him, with thanks to wayneKLin for publishing on Flickr under a Creative Commons license some rights reserved.

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Here Comes Everybody - Book Review

This will be an all-day event (9am - 5pm) on the 4th March 2010 in partnership with IDeA. Venue: Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9AG.

LocalGovCamp will keep it *very* local so as to not get confused with UKGC10.

Themes will be relevant to anyone working with local government in the social media/digital engagement space. We are aiming to create spaces for discussion and engagement, the sharing of experiences and creation of new ideas. Conversations are encouraged. We will have lots of parallel sessions and break-out spaces. In the tradition of localgovcamps, you set the agenda in the beginning of the morning and afternoon sessions.

Apart from local authorities, MPs, councillors, ICT and social media specialists, we are inviting arts centres and other local heroes to work with us on involving their existing communities in learning how to engage online.

So even if you’re not able to make it for the whole day, come for however long you can!

You can register for your ticket on the Eventbrite page.


'Over 25 authorities are booked onto the LocalGovamp in March and I'm really looking forward to meeting with colleagues from around the country, many of whom I follow on Twitter or have emailed but never met. Social media and its implications for public sector work is a fast moving, ever changing area. It's really hard to keep up with all developments so these events are a great way to share stories and experiences. I hope to learn a lot from the others there and contribute what I can!' - Hollie Snelson, Internal Communication Manager for KCC.

- A special thank you to Anke Holst, whose blog can be found here: http://theanke.wordpress.com/

Picture: The LocalGovCamp logo: orange background with 'An unconference for local government' written underneath.

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LocalGovCamp is ON!

It seems like such a simple idea – people are talking to each other online and they are even talking to each other about civic issues – surely we can use the social web to increase levels of democratic participation?

Anyone who is interested in using the social web to effect levels of citizen engagement is following this train of thought – and there are already many really interesting trials and pilots in place. Online is not the only potential solution to the problem of how to engage people in the democratic process but many factors make it a good place to start. However so many projects start to drift towards the 'just another website' zone rather than really looking at how to really use social media to make a difference to democracy.

Why? Because the shiny technology distracts everyone from the fact that this is all about people. The good news of course is so is democracy.

Social media makes it far more possible to interact in a meaningful way with large groups of people than traditional contact routes. This means we have the chance to involve more people, first to listen, then to discuss and then finally in the decision making process but there are a lot of ideas and structures that need to be put in place to make this possible.

Firstly we need to embrace the idea that this really is social – you can't expect the public to have relationship with 'the council' – they need to interact with actual people and this involves finding ways to equip officers and members to take part in these conversations. This is not going to be easy – there are practical problems to be addressed around how to draw boundaries around personal, political and operational issues.

There is also the question of identity – identity is malleable online with many people choosing to use a screen name. At the heart of it, democracy is about standing up and being counted – and this accountability needs to be accommodated in the online world as well.

But perhaps the biggest hurdle is how we can influence social conversations towards democratic actions. The social web is inherently self-managed and organic – people talk about the things they are interested in and it is very difficult to predict what will catch their attention (have a read of the comments on this news item on the tragic destruction of an office chair if you don't believe me – http://www.thewestmorlandgazette.co.uk/news/1151898.chair_destroyed/). But they also use blogs, Facebook and twitter to talk about local issues and civic ideas (there are some excellent examples here: http://networkedneighbourhoods.com/).

One route to influencing people is to do is overtly as part of the conversation - but whatever the content there is a real danger that by getting involved and not hitting the right tone that you can shut down the conversation or move it somewhere else. This is less likely the stronger your social capital is in a space but there is still a fine balance between enabling people to connect to democratic process and making them feel as if you are trying to influence their decision when they get there.

Another way to approach this is to build online spaces which encourage democratic behaviour. “The nudge” has been explored in a recent book by Cass Sustein and Richard Thayler (http://www.nudges.org/) and it talks about the architecture of choice. It provides real world examples of what they call 'choice architecture' which is a way of “”nudging us in beneficial directions without restricting freedom of choice”. These ideas are being looked at seriously by people and the book is worth a read.

But is it enough to nudge people to participate or do we have to face the idea that we are actually changing the relationship between citizen and government? Does using social media to influence behaviour actually influence all of the stakeholder behaviour and bring about a more co-produced decision making process? Read the book, but choice architecture needs to be used cautiously so that it is not just another attempt to control the process.

Co-production describes a state where decision making is truly shared. NESTA / NEF have recently published a discussion paper which talks through many of the issues of co-production which is describes as “a new way of thinking about public services has the potential to deliver a major shift in the way we provide health, education, policing and other services, in ways that make them much more effective, more efficient, and so more sustainable. (http://www.nesta.org.uk/areas_of_work/public_services_lab/assets/features/the_challenge_of_co-production).

So the question is it possible to build online spaces which can be architected in order to bring about a new relationship between citizens and government where decision making is shared? What would these spaces look like?

- A special thank you to Catherine Howe, Operations Director for Public-i Group. http://www.public-i.info/

Picture: The front cover of the book 'Nudge' by Thaler and Suatein. The cover is white with a large grey elephant nudging a smaller elephant, with thanks to .nele for publishing on Flickr under a Creative Commons license some rights reserved.

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The Social Civic Nudge

For a while now, we at the Young Foundation have been interested in how councils can use hyper-local media to strengthen dialogue and collaboration at the local level. We have a bit of experience in the hyper-local & Web 2.0 field, having been involved with fixmystreet, Social Innovation Camp, a now defunct neighbourhood’s wiki and the excellent, newly launched, Maslaha.

This summer we were given money from DCLG’s Empowerment Fund to see how local authorities could practically use hyper-local media. A few months ago we sent out a proposal councils across England - asking for them to partner with us on a new project called Local 2.0. Quite surprisingly, nearly 40 councils sent submissions to us (we even had an enquiry from a local authority in Australia; they weren’t willing to pay travel expenses…). We ended up choosing three councils to work with: Kirklees, Kensington and Chelsea, and Kings Lynn and West Norfolk.

They are all different both in characteristics and what they want from Local 2.0. Kirklees are keen to develop shared spaces where online services, public sector information and community content are combined around hyper‐local needs and interests. Kensington and Chelsea want to develop local networks that can help residents connect and collaborate, and in Kings Lynn we will be seeing how hyper-local media can compliment the work of their neighbourhood management service.

We’re still at the beginning of the project and there will undoubtedly be lots of lessons which will be useful to others out there and I am sure we will learn lots from other work being done others. Our main method of communication will be through our blog, so please look in for regular updates.

- A special thank you to Mandeep Hothi, Associate in the Local Innovation Team at the Young Foundation for this guest post.

Picture: 'Local 2.0' written inside a street sign placed on a brick wall.

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Local 2.0 - Councils getting hyperlocal

‘It’s not what you know, it’s who you know’ is a phrase commonly heard when an individual is looking for a job. However, the networks that are needed for someone to get ‘a foot in the door’ of a particular job are not always accessible; here is one solution: Job Clubs. A job club, sometimes known as a networking club, has been described as ‘a group of individuals who get together on a regular basis to support each other through the job hunting process’. Not only does this allow an individual to expand their existing social networks, but the group also provides a form of support group through encouragement and empathy, which can be particularly uplifting in times of an economic recession. The exchange of job leads, business cards, resumes, ideas, and information that occurs in a job or networking club can also motivate members and teach everyone valuable career strategies and techniques.

Is is successful?

The Job Club has been widely researched, and its positive effects have been replicated across numerous settings and populations, including handicapped individuals, college students and graduates, welfare recipients, white and blue collar unemployed individuals. Many studies have found that individuals who participant in a Job Club are far more successful at finding employment than those who participate in other programmes. Some studies have also found a relationship between job clubs and higher start salaries, higher self-efficacy, lower depression, greater advancement and higher job satisfaction.

The Expert Opinion

Experts recommend that a job club should consist of between 2 and 30 members, and should meet on a regular basis (weekly or every fortnight). The psychologist, Azrin, states that job club efforts will be more successful if job seekers have a specific goal, have considerable knowledge of the employers they wish to approach, are well acquainted with their own skills, and follow a particular pattern in the way they conduct their research.

Where to start looking?

So, where can you find a job club? You can start by looking in your local newspapers or contacting your local council. Your local library may have more information, or an internet search may reveal job clubs in an area near you. If you can’t find one, why not set up your own? Job Clubs UK provide free tips and advice on setting up the job club and will help promote and recruit individuals as well!

Below are some ideas on how to keep the Job Club fresh and interesting:

• Expert speakers could be drafted in, from JobCentre for example, to give presentations on CV writing, application forms and interview techniques.

• Job Club and Book-Club could be blended together. Each member could read a book about an aspect of job-hunting and share the best ideas from the book with the group. Members can also pass out helpful articles about job hunting.

• Members can bring resumes, both so you can critique each others' and so you can exchange them and distribute members' resumes when opportunities present themselves. • Club members could take field trips to tour companies of mutual interest. Informational interviews in small groups may even be possible.

• Part of the meeting could be spent conducting employer research, especially if laptops or other computers with Internet access are available.

- Kirsty Russell
Picture: Individuals meeting around a coffee table, with thanks to Mybloodyself for publishing on Flickr under a Creative Commons licience some rights reserved.

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