iNews

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.

---

What next? • Subscribe to iNews • E-mail us your ideas/thoughts

More Articles • Are You An Avid Reader? • The Best Things In Life Are Free • Everybody Has A Story To Tell

Here Comes Everybody - Book Review

The iBorrow project at Canterbury Christ Church University (CCCU), partly funded by JISC, is one of thirty-nine projects that form part of the second phase of JISC’s Institutional Innovation Programme.

One of the principal goals of the project was to provide 200 thin-client (atom-based) netbooks for students and staff to borrow and use within Augustine House, the University’s new state-of-the-art library and student services centre, as “easily as picking up a book from a shelf”.

When the University embarked upon the Augustine House building programme, which represents the largest single development that the University has ever embarked upon, a lot of research went into the make-up of flexible and adaptable learning spaces. It quickly became apparent that some of the questions about students’ activities within such learning centres, which our building programme raised, did not have authoritative answers.

The iBorrow project provided us with an opportunity to understand how students use mobile versus fixed computing devices within large-scale learning spaces. Furthermore, the project would also provide a demonstration on how an institution could implement software and desktop virtualisation using location-aware technologies and deploying these across a wireless network. The project also touches upon the “green ICT” and “low carbon” agenda.

Moreover, coupled the hardware is location-related information that is overlaid with additional information that can support a better understanding on how the University’s students, academic and support staff have reacted as groups to the way that space, pedagogy and technology have been integrated. One of our aspirations is that it would provide us with valuable intelligence on how resources are being managed within Augustine House, thus allowing us to plan for the future.

Augustine House opened in September 2009 and the iBorrow netbooks went “live” in October 2009. One of our concerns would be that students would simply not use the netbooks – we needn’t have worried, for as soon as the cabinets in which the netbooks were held in were opened, the students flocked towards them and were eager to see what they were all about. The processing power of the servers that were supporting the software and desktop virtualisation of the netbooks literally shot through the roof. On average, we are looking at between 250 and 350 people using the netbooks per working day. One of the affordances of using the netbooks has been to see how the students are using the different spatial configurations with Augustine House. Furthermore, some students are preferring to leave their own laptops at home and use the iBorrow netbooks instead!

Our next big concern was that a number of the netbooks would be disappearing out of the people within the first few days or weeks of the netbooks being available. To our utmost, and pleasant, surprise this has not happened (yet!). An unexpected, or unanticipated, outcome of the “laptop borrowing scheme” is that students are returning the netbooks back to the cabinets to be charged up ready for the next person. The interesting thing here, is that no one has prompted them to do this nor are there any big signs or posters that shout “thou shalt do this” at them; it would seem that they have developed a form of “collegiate pride”.

More information about iBorrow can be found on the project blog, and you can see for yourselves the iBorrow netbooks in action in Augustine House by going over to the project Flickr site. If that has whetted your appetite, then you would be interested to learn that the University will be running a national conference called “Learning Spaces and Technology: The iBorrow Project” which takes place in Augustine House on Thursday 25th March, 2010 from 11:00am until 4:30pm – we would love to see you!

- A special thank you to Wayne Barry, Learning Technologist at Canterbury Christ Church University for the blog post. wayne.barry@canterbury.ac.uk

Picture:A girl sitting at a desk with a white laptop in front of her which reads 'iBorrow'.

---

What next? • Subscribe to iNews • E-mail us your ideas/thoughts

More Articles • Are You An Avid Reader? • The Why Dont You Web • All Resolutions Won't Be Televised

Are you up for iBorrowing?

The 2010 MediaGuardian Innovation Awards shortlist has now been announced:

Launch

Load &Go
O2 & ZenithOptimedia / Channel 4 / The Outfit

Load & Go was a bite-sized rom-com that ran in the centre break of Hollyoaks every day, with characters discussing the plot lines and demonstrating the benefits of O2's Load & Go card. Recognised by the viewers as entertainment in its own right, the soap within a soap got people talking, took them online to find out more and delivered brand and sales results for O2.

Teenage Kicks
NHS Leicester City & The Rocket Science Group
www.hey-babe.co.uk

Aiming to reduce incidences of teenage pregnancy in Leicester City, a shocking viral film was created, showing a teenage girl giving birth on a school field. The unbranded film was placed on YouTube with the pioneering strategy that it would most likely be removed for breaching the website's graphic content. A media campaign then followed using a new branded version of the viral to increase awareness, backed up with an informative website, online drama and competition.

PR

Mystery Packages
RNLI
Proximity London

With a need to target a younger audience for support and donations, the RNLI engaged 12 of the UK's most prolific young vloggers as ambassadors. Each vlogger was sent an anonymous 'mystery package' inviting them to rebrand their generation, challenging negative perceptions of young people. The resulting films received almost a million views, and via these 12 people 11% of 15-20 year olds in Britain were reached.

ComputerTan
The Karen Clifford Skin Cancer Charity (Skcin) & Limelight Public Relations
www.computertan.com/

ComputerTan is an innovative hoax campaign, engaging a hard to reach audience with an important message about skin cancer. On visiting the website, users click through to the free tanning trial, and their computer is converted into an array of buzzing UV bulbs. Shortly afterwards users were confronted with shocking images and facts about skin cancer as well as a link to Skcin's website.

Blackpool: J'aime la Tour
visitBlackpool & SKV Communications

VisitBlackpool's humorous viral film playing on the similarities between the Eiffel and Blackpool Towers generated talkability and achieved a revaluation of Blackpool. An exclusive was given to the BBC which sparked take up amongst other media and overwhelming public awareness.

Advertising

It doesn't have to happen
Home Office & Manning Gottlieb OMD
www.bebo.com/itdoesnthavetohappen/

This campaign to reduce knife crime created a community of young people to deliver its message. The campaign name, its direction and production responsibilities were all created by young people, with the message being delivered on Bebo and on the ground.

Kasabian Football Hero
Columbia Records / Umbro & Sony Music Creative
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XjwoVqM_qE

Sony teamed up with Umbro to promote the release of Kasabian's single 'Underdog' and Umbro's new sportswear line. They programmed and built a giant 'Guitar Hero' game, played with footballs by football freestylers. The game itself showcased the new Kasabian single as well as the new Umbro clothing line. A short documentary of the project was released on YouTube.

Lips Number One Hits: Lips Jukebox for Xbox 360
Xbox & AKQA
lipsjukebox.xboxemea.com/

To celebrate the launch of Xbox's karaoke game, Lips: Number One Hits, AKQA created an entertaining and shareable online application. The app used facial recognition technology to position animated lips on Facebook users' photos, encouraging them to create and share karaoke videos with their friends.

Creative

Hopper Invasion
Sony Ericsson & Dare

The Hopper Invasion enabled users to inflate spacehoppers by the power of Twitter and the #pumpt tag, extending a campaign idea online and beyond. 245,000 hoppers were created by more than 17,000 people, pumping the hoppers in the warehouse, live, by the power of Twitter.

House of Cards
Shelter & Leo Burnett

The House of Cards campaign was created with no budget, but raised awareness and money for Shelter. As well as a traditional media campaign, the concept was extended to an exhibition of leading British artists, a talent competition and an auction.

onedotzero_adventures in motion festival identity 2009/2010
onedotzero & Wieden + Kennedy
code.google.com/p/onedotzero-ident/

The festival identity actively involved onedotzero's core audience of design and computing enthusiasts in the creation of an innovative design piece. Identity assets were generated by users and interacted with at a Nokia-powered identity projection at BFI Southbank.

Technology

Accessible Newsreader
CBBC
www.bbc.co.uk/cbbc/newsreader

This project was developed to open CBBC's news content to disabled audiences, initially designed to cater for complex motor disabilities such as cerebral palsy or spina bifida. The simple clutter-free interface displays a rectangle around a menu item, and then moves between each option on a timed delay. When the desired option is highlighted it can then be selected via the enter key.


Scraperwiki
Scraperwiki Ltd
www.scraperwiki.com

ScraperWiki is a data store which allows developers to scrape, store, aggregate, and distribute unstructured public data in more useful, structured formats. The ambition is to fill ScraperWiki with thousands of public data sets that can be used by journalists, researchers, developers and public bodies.


To see the rest of the shortlist please visit here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/megas/shortlist

Picture: A man standing in front of a microphone on a stage at the Media Guardian Innovation Awards Ceremony, with thanks to joellybaby for publishing on Flickr under a Creative Comms license with some rights reserved.

---

What next? • Subscribe to iNews • E-mail us your ideas/thoughts

More Articles • The Digital Marketplace • Everybody Has A Story To Tell • LocalGovCamp is ON!

The Innovation Shortlist

What and When?

An event hosted by Stratford on District Council and Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council on 12th March 2010 at the Heritage Motor Centre, Banbury Road, Gaydon, Warwick, CV35 0BJ from 10.00 am to 4.00 pm.

Why?

Both Stratford and Solihull were awarded Beacon status for their work in respect of digital inclusion. However the work we are doing with our partners plays an essential part in the transformation of our Council services. We are using this event to share this work and demonstrate some of the key projects in respect of transforming service delivery and increasing digital inclusion around the needs of our customers.

Our partners which include the NHS, NHS Direct (West Midlands) Coventry and Wolverhampton Universities, Warwickshire Police, Volunteer Action, BT, the West Midlands Ambulance Trust, members of our LSP and Councils from across the West Midlands region, as well as key private sector suppliers will be present to demonstrate the work we are doing to improve the quality of life for our residents and workers and improve the experiences for visitors.

You will also have an opportunity to see the work we are doing with our communities in respect of increasing local participation and to provide our residents and communities with the tools and capabilities to solve their own problems.

The marketplace will have the following themes:-

·Promoting and enabling independent living

·Increasing public participation in the way services are delivered and developed

·Increasing opportunities for learning and increasing knowledge

·Strengthening the Local Economy and encouraging investment

There will be over 70 market stalls showcasing our work with officers on hand to provide advice and guidance to local authorities on our approaches, successes and lessons learned.

You will be able to meet with strategic leads from our councils and partners, elected members as well as the opportunity to discuss projects with development and delivery officers ranging from Total Place, front line service delivery improvements, community projects, deprivation mapping, self-managed community learning programmes, the Warwickshire Direct Partnership which uses a single CRM across all Councils in Warwickshire, through to our regional plans for providing a single regional solution in respect of the increase of migrant and transient workers and our joint work with universities in respect of e-tourism


We will showcase the work we are doing on increasing back office efficiencies and automation to reduce duplication. You will have the opportunity to see demonstrations on how we have automated certain key administrative systems (mileage, subsistence, annual leave, sickness) which have reduced administrative burdens significantly through to the plans we have for developing a single 'tell us once' system across all service areas, interactive on-line public participation meetings and the work that we have done using Lean Systems Thinking in areas such as Planning, Revenues and Benefits, Customer Services and life events.

The following link provides a snapshot of an earlier marketplace event held in 2008. Whilst this event was much smaller, the following provides a flavour of what you can expect:- http://blip.tv/file/1625240/

Highlighting Issues

The event will be covered by the Municipal Journal and Birmingham Post as we want to use the event to highlight the growing issues for rural areas in respect of skills gaps, poor connectivity and lack of knowledge about services against our plans to improve quality of life through our partnership plans and activities. Through this event we aim to :-

·Raise the profile of digital inclusion as a relevant topic to local authorities and their partners

·Position digital inclusion as relevant to CAA and the performance management framework

·Engage senior level representatives from local authorities, their partners and sector organisations to highlight the growing issues for rural areas in accessing services and increasing skills and job opportunities

·Highlight the importance of robust connectivity to rural economies and their development and prosperity.


Picture: A busy marketplace fruit stall surrounded by customers with thanks to alessandro_pinna for publishing on Flickr under a Creative Commons license some rights reserved.

---

What next? • Subscribe to iNews • E-mail us your ideas/thoughts

More Articles • Are You Experienced? • Who said all pop-ups need to be blocked? • All consuming Google?

The Digital Marketplace

Sometimes we forget that the best things in life are free, especially when it comes to innovation.  I have invited Jon Harvey, Director of JonHarveyAssociates and keen blogger to discuss his view on this...



'Nearly a year ago, I established a newsblog with the purpose of documenting, supporting and celebrating the small and creative ideas that are making a difference in the public and third sectors. Since then, I have managed to find and write up approximately 300+ innovations that frontline staff have implemented to save a bit of money, improve a part of practice or simply make work easier and better. People have visited the blog from all around the world, as well as the UK, and it has had nearly 10,000 page-loads!

The blog is based on the simple premise that when it comes to improving an organisation, the best place to start is with the people who work in it. I think the best organisations are the ones which have created and maintained the conditions in which people feel able and moved to come forward with their ideas for improvement. I think far too many public (and commercial) organisations have become too dependent on the ‘bring in the big teams of expensive experts’ approach to transforming services. The worrying fact is that vast amounts of tax payers money are spent (and will be spent over coming months) on these large programmes of change – when so much more could be done with ‘home grown’ talent! (There is an ongoing debate on linked-in about this if you want to engage in it: http://preview.tinyurl.com/yhljd2l : Why do public sector organisations keep on hiring consultants on vast budgets to create new structures / systems etc. when so much could be done with the existing staff?)

I have managed to find the ideas by searching the net, spotting posts from various organisations on twitter (and the like) but mostly through writing to local authorities, the police and so forth. Sometimes I get a nil or formal response ( such as “We don’t have a list of small creative ideas in our council...”). But often I get a reply that delights me. I am delighted because I know that someone has had the bright idea and made it happen. I chose to use a blog – as this was simple to keep up to date, made the information dynamic and encouraged interaction. Most people just read the blog – but I am having an increasing number of comments being posted. Using a blog format does come with complications – as some public organisations ‘block’ blogs. But I think this will change as people up to the power of Web 2.0 to interact and engage with people – be they fellow professionals or citizens.

There are so many ideas on the blog (and it is still growing) – I do not have favourite as such. However, the one example I use to illustrate what the blog is all about is a scheme in Wandsworth about garden sharing. I imagine they found they did not have enough allotments to match demand and then Age Concern highlighted the problem of isolated older people with gardens to spare. People are now matched up – gardeners get somewhere to grow vegetables, the older people get company and garden that looks good – and everyone wins! It is an imaginative solution to a problem. There is more information here.  I also adore the idea from Kettering of recycling boxes on wheels for people who found lifting them tricky. This is another example of where frontline staff listened to their citizens and implemented a great idea!

You can visit it here: http://smallcreativeideas.blogspot.com/ Please browse and search for ideas that could help you. Moreover, if you have an idea that you would like to share with the world – please email me. (jon@jonharveyassociates.co.uk) http://jonharveyassociates.blogspot.com/ (my ‘other’ blog!)' Thanks!

















Picture: A cartoon showing two stick men.  One is saying 'Are you blogging this?' in a speech bubble and the other is replying 'You wish!', with thanks to teemus for publishing on Flickr under a Creative Commons license some rights reserved.

Twitter responses:

DavidWilcox - Blogging in the knowledge ecosystem: outboard brain, incubating ideas, learning http://bit.ly/5BtTPC

DavidWilcox - Tougher to get exact value from blogging because of shift to Twitter. I use to evolve narratives. Story/sense emerges from posts/links.

laurenivory - New to the game- to me blogging is reflection and freedom. Can develop your view in a blog- see it as a tool for learning :)

MorningReverie - Blogging is personal - plus, use of tags = easier to find what u want to read/easier categorising.. can show talent??

Mickelous - I blog to give a personal view on learning technologies. I often refer people to posts so I guess it reaches out there a bit!

---

What next? • Subscribe to iNews • E-mail us your ideas/thoughts

More Articles • Having trouble finding a video? • The Aftermath, Presentations and All • Event: LocalGovCamp

The Best Things In Life Are Free

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.

---

What next? • Subscribe to iNews • E-mail us your ideas/thoughts

More Articles • The Social Civic Nudge • The 'Why Don't You?' Web • Event: Innovating Out of the Recession

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.

---

What next? • Subscribe to iNews • E-mail us your ideas/thoughts

More Articles • Stop, Look, Listen • The Resolutions Won't Be Televised • Empowered Communities Fighting Decay

The Social Civic Nudge

I'm certainly fed up of reading so many reviews and predictions so I have compiled a comprehensive list of them for you all so you only have to look in one place!


- Apps on Mobile Phones

This was a big trend in 2009 with Apple’s App store going stratospheric.

- Windows 7

Much, much better!

- All hail the rise of Twitter!

The patron saint of Twitter, Stephen Fry has been a member since 2008 but it wasn’t until during 2009 that it really took off. Celebrities, businesses and members of the public are now twittering away alike and we wonder how we ever communicated and shared our thoughts without it.

You can follow me @kursteekins.

- Spotify

The depth of the catalogue, the availability of the mobile application and the simplicity of the interface have introduced the idea of having a music collection in the cloud.

- Video on Demand

Another trend that has exploded this year, with every major British broadcaster (Channel 4, ITV, etc) jumping on the band wagon. Thank goodness otherwise I would have missed the New Year’s Day episode of Doctor Who as I was otherwise engaged (napping). On a side note, Tennant will be sorely missed.

- Vodafone's Access Gateway

I hadn’t heard about this one before but it truly is a genuine innovation – a small box which uses a broadband connection to boost mobile phone coverage. Ideal if your office or home is in a black spot, it's the first of its kind.

A few others to mention – Sat Nav came to the mobile phone, netbook sales increase, real-time search revolution, Amazon’s book reader & Android.



- Tablet computer

The Guardian states ‘If the rumoured Apple tablet computer does make an appearance next year, as is widely expected, there’s a good chance that it will transform the market in the same way that the iPhone has done.’ However, I have just read on Twitter that Microsoft have just beaten Apple to the punch, for more information see here: http://timesonline.typepad.com/technology/2010/01/microsofts-tablet-beats-apple-to-the-punch.html Still, whoever gets there first, this will be a big hit in 2010.

- 3D TV

Sky and Panasonic have both confirmed that they will release 3D TVs, and Sky has announced that it is launching a dedicated 3D channel. The satellite broadcaster will even be filming the World Cup in 3D, although those games won't be broadcast live. However, viewers may need a new television to enjoy 3D pictures and manufacturers have not yet confirmed how much these sets will cost.
- Connecting Offline and Online World

No one has really put it in these terms, but it’s the idea that technology will caused a mjor overlap between our offline and online world. Gaming will come more realistic, our iPhones will be able to recognise a building and bring up an instant wiki about it, guide us on digital and physical treasure hunts, remember the names of people we meet so we don’t have to and potentially communicate with cash registers in stores relieving us of having to pull our credit or debit card out.

- Work Boundaries Blur

I found this interesting, especially as the team have been researching into the potential of virtual presenters within the work place. One article states offshoring, remote working and virtual teams will become more widespread, personally I think this may be a bit ambitious for one year however they do state that in 2008 41 million corporate employees globally spent at least one day a week teleworking, and 100 million worked from home at least one day a month, so who knows?

- Cloud Computing

Finding it hard to work at home without access to the shared drive at work? I know I am! Well maybe 2010 is the year to change that with cloud computing. Never heard of it? Neither had I until I was researching for this article. Cloud Computing is where you can upload all your info to a "cloud" which makes it easy to access it from anywhere. Sounds good to me.

- Wifi EVERYWHERE

So simple yet so true, wifi could even be attached to vehicles!

- Ereaders

They have already appeared on the market but apparently there is going to be an explosion of them in 2010. It would be great to carry around 500 books with you at all times but personally, I can’t beat the smell and feel of the real thing.

Let me know what you think of the predictions and review of 2009, are there any you would add to my list?

- Kirsty Russell

- First picture, a Windows 7 Home Premium Software Package placed on a table, with thanks to chris_fritz.
- Second picture, the spotify logo on a green background with a blackberry next to it, with thanks to dekuwa.
- Third picture, a 3d tv mounted on a wall with a person facing it wearing 3d glasses in the foreground with thanks to numerama.
- Fourth picture, an illustration of three computers with a cloud above them with various words in it such as Youtube and Google Docs, with thanks to librarian_by_day.
All pictures have been uploaded to Flick under a Creative Comms licence with some rights reserved.

---

What next? • Subscribe to iNews • E-mail us your ideas/thoughts

More Articles • Knowledge Management: The Importance of a Pen and Paper • Lets face the music and...? • Are you in the Red Zone or the Blue Zone?

Sick of all the 2009 reviews and 2010 technology predictions?

Some of you may have noticed the numerous blog posts that have appeared on the right under 'January' on the right hand side and may be wondering what this mass of posts is all about. Well the team have just hosted an 'Innovate To Save' workshop on the 17th December and we wanted all our speaker's presentations to be accessible to all even after the event...so here they are on our blog!

Below is a list of links to the presentations and contact e-mail addresses for the speakers.(You may notice that underneath some of the presentations are questions, if your answer to any of them is 'yes' please drop me an email at kirstyjoanna.russell@kent.gov.uk):

We have now uploaded all the speaker's presentations. Below is a list of links to the presentations and contact e-mail addresses for the speakers:

Innovate to Save – Tips

Presentation: http://transformedbyyou.blogspot.com/2009/12/innovation-tips.html

Dr. Alan Kennedy - X Factor or Why Not Factor? Turning ideas into innovations

Presentation: http://transformedbyyou.blogspot.com/2009/12/smarter-or-sharper.html

Damien Kennedy - Aggravation or Collaboration? Developing innovations between agencies

Presentation: http://transformedbyyou.blogspot.com/2009/12/smarter-or-sharper.html

Would you like to explore your team taking part in a KCC pilot of the Key Innovation Programme?

Tim Milner - 50:50 or Call a Friend? A problem shared is a problem solved

Presentation: http://transformedbyyou.blogspot.com/2009/12/5050-or-call-friend-problem-shared-is.html

Would you like to explore innovative ways you can search and organise knowledge online?

Will Perrin - Empowered communities fighting decay? The unlikely role of the web in regenerating local areas

Presentation: http://transformedbyyou.blogspot.com/2009/12/kent-innovate-to-save-workshop-kcc.html

Hollie Snelson - Social Media for improved internal communications

Presentation: http://transformedbyyou.blogspot.com/2009/12/social-media-for-improved-internal.html

Noel Hatch - Here comes everybody? Using technological innovation in a recession

Presentation: http://transformedbyyou.blogspot.com/2010/01/resolutions-wont-be-televised.html

Would you like to explore innovative ways in using digital technologies to influence behaviours?

Andy Collett - Do you get the picture? Simplifying complex information

Presentation: https://knet2.kent.gov.uk/directorates/chief-executive-s-department/teams-and-units/business-solutions-and-policy/change-through-innovation-team/news-and-events/Andy%20Collett%20-%20IBM.ppt/view

Andy Collett has requested that his presentation not be placed on any public sites (e.g. Slideshare, iNews), therefore we have had to upload the presentation to KNet which can only be accessed by Kent County Council staff, we apologise for this inconvenience. If you would like the presentation, please email me on kirstyjoanna.russell@kent.gov.uk.

Would you like to explore piloting Many Eyes or Pic and Mix or other innovative ways to visualise and re-use data and information?

Dr. Norman Lewis - The power of social networks: Social Network Analysis and Collaborative Software.

Presentation: https://knet2.kent.gov.uk/directorates/chief-executive-s-department/teams-and-units/business-solutions-and-policy/change-through-innovation-team/news-and-events/Dr%20Norman%20Lewis%20-%20Open%20Knowledge.ppt/view?searchterm=norma

Dr. Norman Lewis has requested that his presentation not be placed on any public sites (e.g. Slideshare, iNews), therefore we have had to upload the presentation to KNet which can only be accessed by Kent County Council staff, we apologise for this inconvenience. If you would like the presentation, please email me on kirstyjoanna.russell@kent.gov.uk.

Would you like to explore social network analysis to identify and make sense of your networks with partners and communities?

Dougald Hine - The "Why Don't You" Web? Using online tools to help each other in the real world

Presentation: http://transformedbyyou.blogspot.com/2010/01/why-dont-you-web.html

Would you like to explore piloting these tools or other innovative ways that use digital technologies to make use of untapped resources to help people?

If you attended the event, we would love to hear your feedback so that we can make any improvements to future events we may host. If you have a spare moment (it will literally only take you 5 minutes), we would appreciate it if you could fill in our survey which can be found here: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/TS3VVGM

If you have any questions or queries about the event, presentations or the survey, please do not hesitate to drop me an email.

- Kirsty Russell

---

What next? • Subscribe to iNews • E-mail us your ideas/thoughts

More Articles • Event: Innovating Out Of The Recession • Having Trouble Finding A Video? • Can Twitter Increase Your Sales?

The Aftermath, Presentations and All!

Check out this SlideShare Presentation: Social media for improved internal communications

Video is the most popular media format and with all the footage available it becomes increasingly difficult to find an efficient way to search through it.

vidipedia started life as a DTI sponsored Research & Development project investigating human indexing of video archives. enigma was appointed project lead and worked with project partners; ITV, Imperial War Museum, British Film Institute, Codeworks Connect, C.C. Harvey and the Universities of Newcastle and Sunderland, to find a way to improve video content searching.
The amount of footage viewed and produced is dramatically rising; viewing figures continue to increase, more viewing platforms become available and production costs shrink. According to Nielsen, the average American now spends 5 hours watching TV/DVR footage per day, the UK is fast approaching this. If you add online video content to this, the popularity of video is undeniable. Approximately 20 hours of video footage is currently uploaded to YouTube every minute. When you take into account archive collections and out-take footage, that’s a lot of video content!

Much of this content has real value, whether it is of cultural importance, expensive to replicate or irreplaceable coverage of one-off events. Hundreds of thousands of hours of unique archive footage held on original film and tape is slowly degrading, to be lost forever if it is not digitised. The problem is that no-one can find an economic case to digitise it. We investigated whether we could unlock the value held in all of this video by making it more searchable.

Current video search systems can be quite crude. Essentially, video searching mirrors image archive search techniques; each video is associated with some human entered text data, which is then searched upon. A fundamental issue with this is that video varies in length, from short clips to entire reels, and classifying using a universal set of data doesn’t provide enough detail necessary to deem searching useful for uncovering value within lengthy or mixed content footage.

We needed to produce a system which supported indexing to a highly detailed level; down to the scene or even frame. It also needed to prove cost effective to footage owners.

We developed vidipedia as a unique suite of software which combines to deliver all the processes required to upload, annotate, manage, distribute and deliver video material in a form that is much more searchable.

Video is stored centrally; multiple archives can store footage on a centralised system. Core functionality is delivered via secure web-services and interfacing with remotely hosted web applications. Complex data can be stored about specific time segments (clips) in footage. Footage can be annotated by users to provide indexed data on; personal experience, feelings, sounds, emotions, visual – with the added bonus that in the future, this could be used to produce “living histories” for archives. Users can search on this data to find specific clips within any footage.
Keeping human annotation at the heart of the process allowed us to obtain good quality data. We implemented systems that would follow the model of Wikipedia; supporting altruistic annotation, as well as revenue sharing for commercial services; users annotate the material in return for a share of future viewing or licensing royalties.

Main Benefits:


A wide variety of different video based applications can benefit from the improved searchability that vidipedia offers; video search engines, public access portals, asset management systems, online broadcast platforms. To effectively service all application types, vidipedia is not a single "product".

We developed a system that is a whole series of flexible software components that can be configured to support specific needs of different video based applications. It's best to think of vidipedia as an "enabler." Its power is in its flexibility, therefore the opportunities to commercialise it are great and varied.

Our plans for the future are to find an application for vidipedia that would greatly benefit from the way it makes digitised video findable and therefore unlocks its value.

The model provides an extremely adaptable and non-prescriptive solution and enables vidipedia to service any application that can benefit from its video handling capabilities. We look forward to developing it with someone to suit their needs and to unlock the potential of vidipedia.

- A special thank you to Zoe Hartill for the blog pose. For more details please e-mail her at zoeh@enigma-interactive.co.uk, or visit their website: www.enigma-interactive.co.uk and view their portfolio.

Picture: A screenshot of 'Vidipedia'. A video is being shown at the top with links to other videos below.

---

What next? • Subscribe to iNews • E-mail us your ideas/thoughts

More Articles • Getting Young People Skilled Up • Mixcloud: The Youtube of Radio • Lets face the music and...?

Having trouble finding a video?

If your business sells to consumers, then how can you make use of social networking websites to help promote your business? This guide gives practical examples of how to use a business profile to help build more sales.


Social networking has been one of the fastest growing sectors of the internet in recent years. These free to use community sites help consumers stay in touch with their friends, and are surprisingly addictive. The original first generation of social networking sites are now huge, and newer niche social networking sites for different audiences, interests and even geographic regions are now starting to emerge.

But many business owners still haven’t got to grips with how to use this powerful new audience to promote their business.

Most consumer-facing social networking sites allow you to create a profile page for your business; some are free and others will make a small charge. Your profile will usually include photos, a brief description, and contact details for your business. Some sites even let you set up a regular feed of news from your website, add message boards for users to comment on, upload videos about your business and send messages to your followers.

Once your profile is set up, other users can choose to become followers or friends of your business, either by finding you in search results, or virally by word of mouth. You can also promote your social networking profiles with a badge on your main website.

Once you’ve got a social networking profile, you can start to make use of this powerful new marketing tool, in a number of different ways:

Find new customers for your business:

Social networking can help you spread the word about your business. Social networking works by letting users share what they are up to with their friends, and because they are friends it is likely they’ll be interested in the same things as well. So when a social networking user becomes a fan or follower of your business, all their friends will find out about it as well, and this type of viral marketing is probably one of the most cost effective forms of marketing there is.

Communicate easily with customers or followers:

Most social networking sites allow you to contact users who’ve chosen to follow you. This can be a quick and cost effective way to stay in touch with people, and also avoids your emails being caught by spam filters as messages are broadcast within the social networking site. Of course you shouldn’t abuse this facility be messaging people every day, and so messages are best saved for genuine news and offers.

Promote your latest special offers or deals:

Social networking sites are a great environment in which to promote special offers or deals. Because social networking sites operate a ‘closed community’ you can send out better offers than normal which cant be seen by the rest of the world. This also makes it easier to track responses. And because social networking users are usually highly active, sending an offer to your group of followers can be a quick and easy way to drum up extra sales.

Carry out market research and get feedback:

Your own group of social networking fans and followers also gives you a ready made source of valuable research and feedback. If you’re planning to launch a new product you can see what your group thinks first, or you could just ask them what your business should be doing to improve. You’ll get surprisingly constructive and honest feedback from your followers, and they’ll be delighted to have been asked.

Publicise business events and occasions:

If your business is holding an event or a special occasion, social networking can help you publicise it in advance. This could range from a one day sale in a shop to a live event or gig in a pub or bar, or a special dining evening in a restaurant. Many people use social networking sites to organise their social lives anyway, so it’s a really relevant place to promote an event to your followers with a message or update on your page.

Give your business a web presence without a website:

If you don’t have a website for your business, you could even use social networking sites to establish a web presence instead. Most social networking sites make your business profile page visible to all web users and search engines, not just their own members. And there are plenty of social networking websites around to reach a surprisingly wide audience for little effort or cost.

Create and build groups or campaigns:

Social networking sites can help you mobilize and attract support for an issue or campaign which directly affects your business. For example, if you are campaigning to have the high street pedestrianised, or support local producers, start building a groundswell of support online on a social networking site. Word can spread virally and before you know it you could mobilise significant support.

Help your existing website perform better in search engine results:

Most social networking websites allow you to create a profile page, which can usually include a hyperlink back to your own website. Leave your profile page visible to the rest of world in your account settings, and it will soon be found by Google and other search engines, which will see the link as another vote of popularity for your site.

A special thank you to Peter Parsons of http://www.kent.co.uk the new local social networking website for business and consumer web users in Kent.

www.kent.co.uk

Picture: An overview of social media tools and services, including blogger, twitter and youtube. With thanks to FredCavazza for publishing on Flickr under a Creative Commons license some rights reserved.

---

What next? • Subscribe to iNews • Check out our Twitter • E-mail us your ideas/thoughts

More Articles • Are You Experienced? • Who said all pop-ups need to be blocked? • All consuming Google?

Can Twitter Increase Your Sales?

'Pic and Mix' Update - Help yourself to government data

Many of you will have heard about 'Pic and Mix', but for those of you who have managed to avoid my pleas for data, I’ll briefly re-cap on what the project is all about.

There’s a great deal of information and data available to the public, from bus routes and GP information, through to recycling statistics and Ofsted reports. All this information is freely available to the public but not necessarily easy to find. Part of the 'Pic and Mix' project looks to make this information accessible online from a single place. But in addition to making information available for download, 'Pic and Mix' makes the data available in a format which allows people to ‘mash’, personalise and share information.

Imagine being able to select data relating to care homes in Kent, adding inspection reports, and the location of nearby support services. Having easy access to this type of information would help people make decisions about things that really matter and more importantly, empower them to me more informed and engaged with their community.

That’s what 'Pic and Mix' is all about.

There are more than 350 datasets on the 'Pic and Mix' website and we have started to promote the site more widely than the pilot group. We’re getting great feedback to our Tweets and were even mentioned in a BBC article! The priority now is to get more people using the site and personalising our data. We’re also still on the never-ending hunt for more data so manage non-sensitive data that may be of interest to the people of Kent, please get in touch. Your feedback on what we’ve done so far would be great and you can keep up to date with the project by following our tweets.

- A special thank you to Paula Rixon for this update on the Pic N Mix project. If you would like to know more about the project, you can contact Paula at Paula.rixon@kent.gov.uk or 01622 696934.

Picture: A Pic N Mix stall showing a variety of sweets with metal scoops resting on top, with thanks to Christophe Dune for publishing on Flickr under a Creative Commons license some rights reserved.

---

What next? • Subscribe to iNews • Rate this article below • E-mail us your ideas/thoughts

More Articles • Pic and Mix your information • Are you a young politician in the making? • Are you experienced?

Still Picking and Mixing!

A world café is a method of conducting a meeting in a very informal, relaxed format. Participants are invited to a café style setting (either an actual café or a room set up to resemble one). More relaxed and open conversations are able to take place in these types of settings. Sometimes participants are invited to draw their thoughts and conversations on the paper tablecloths to capture the free flow of ideas.

Meeting members move from table to table to discuss the issue in hand, whilst the host of each table remains behind. Conversations are cross-fertilised by this method and at the end the main ideas are summarised to all and follow up possibilities are discussed.

This follows on from the our research on how technologies disrupt the way we work and what we can do about it.

For more information please see People and Participation or The World Cafe.

Kirsty Russell

(Sketch of an example of a "world cafe" from World Cafe) Can coffee and notes on paper tablecloths liven up meetings?

Woolies may have gone but you can still pick and mix. We recently gave you a flavour of the possibilities of Pic and Mix – an exciting project which could transform the way the public access, customise and share information. The idea is that, rather than make assumptions about the information people want, we put publicly available information in one place – www.picandmix.org.uk – and give people the tools to be able to ‘mash’ and personalise information.

We’re working with a pilot group if SME’s who are giving us valuable insight into the sort of data that would be useful to the business community.

Over the coming weeks we will continue to add new data feeds and mashup examples. Through a programme of work with schools we hope to engage young people in the project. Their feedback will help shape the project and propose ways in which Pic and Mix can benefit the Kent community.

You can follow the project on Twitter.

(picture of the Pic and Mix website)

Pic and mix your information

Innovation in Highways

Big Papers Producing Personal News