Sparkle

Sparkle, originally uploaded by Karen Ramsay-Smith.

Sparkle

Karen Ramsay-Smith’s photostream

Karen Ramsay-Smith’s photostream on Flickr.

Twitcam – no barriers just conversations

I just took part in Safer Erdington’s first twitcam session. Twitcam allows you to broadcast live via twitter. All you need is a twitter account and a webcam, sign into twitter via the twitcam website and you can then chat with your viewers while you broadcast. Your broadcasts can then be archived on the site.

This provides a huge opportunity to engage live with the public, provide question and answer sessions, broadcast public meetings such as community forums, be transparent.

Safer Erdington tweet as @ErdingtonLDG . They are members of the Council, Police, Fire, YOTs, Probation, Volunteer groups, RSLs and residents working together to reduce crime, asb and promote community safety. A perfect scenario for twitcam use. They broadcast the session from Erdington Fire station.

They say they will make it a regular feature so follow them on twitter for further broadcasts.

You can view the session on the twitcam website again here

Post #ukgc11 – an experience

Going to a ukgovcamp #ukgc11 is an enlightening experience! Meeting people for the first time that you know and respect online is also uplifting. I was really thrilled to be meeting up with some of the people that were going to be there, as I have been passionate about using social technology in local government for some time now. Chatting to, following, listening to other people who are also enthusiastic about the subject on twitter is very empowering.

govcamp badge

I have wanted to attend the big annual event for a couple of years now and to my excitement I was able to this year. When the big day of travelling down to the big smoke at Microsoft London offices finally came I was ready for all that going to camp had promised to bring, new ideas, fresh thoughts, sharing and inspiration to keep on keeping on with working out solutions.

Participants of an unconference set their own agenda which gives the day an entirely different feel and therefore the discussions have many different themes.

I thought it would be a good idea to take my video camera along and record some of the sessions, which I did – this did however put me in a different mode for the day and I found that tweeting/filming and trying to contribute to anything was proving difficult all at the same time.

It was a little overwhelming being in the room with so many incredible people all in one day. I did find myself doing more listening than talking (for a change). I have taken the day as one of soaking up the feel of a govcamp and reflection on what I have gained from attending.

govcamp agenda by @paul_clarke

The sessions I attended were Flickr and Wikipedia which was run by @danslee and @pigsonthewing and Hyperlocal websites and councils with @willperrin and co. and Blogging for the Community with @ingridk all areas I am particularly interested in both personally and professionally.

Theres a great write-up on what the Flickr session covered here on Dan Slee’s blog. Dan is well-known among the localgov community for his now invaluable guidance on how to do Flickr in Local Government. The session is based around how Flickr is being used in councils, how images can improve communication with the public and encourages collaboration. Dan as usual explains things in plain English along with some great examples with no jargon – just good old practical advice on how you can do this stuff – something I admire greatly.

I also had some fantastic informal discussions which is what I really love about unconferences – an informal atmosphere generates honesty, the barriers come down and people are willing to share their ideas with others no matter who they are. Such a positive vibe.

Here’s the video of @willperrins session. It covers an explanation of what a hyperlocal website is and how this fits into the localism bill. The conversation then turns to how councils could get involved.
The most interesting part of the session was discussing how councils can bridge the gap between locally run websites and local government. @micheleidesmith explains how Cambs County Council have developed a website to do just that. @willperrin has blogged about the session on the talkaboutlocal site here.

Instead of producing a static pdf format to push information out to the public – create a hyperlocal site or blog that could be built between citizen and council. Use social media surgeries to help people gain the skills they need to build sites. I have found by helping @808kate to run the first set of Warwickshire social media surgeries last year that the public do want to get involved and really appreciate the “surgeons” giving up their time to share knowledge in this way. Local website creators and bloggers have a lot of knowledge to share with councils. #warkssms

One thing that has come out of the day is that there is a need to revisit the success of the local government barcamp (BigLocalGovcamp) possibly to be held in the Summer this year around June. Details about scheming here. I highly recommend this type of unconference, going to a barcamp is a huge learning and development opportunity for anyone and it’s free to attend! Don’t miss out!

Some of the people I would like to give a virtual high-five to are @808kate @soulsailor @pigsonthewing @siwhitehouse @getgood @jvictor7 @podnosh @mike_rawlins @sashastaylor @paul_clarke @loulouk @mmarymckenna – for hugs @carlhaggerty @liz_azyan @danslee @abeeken obviously @davebriggs tons of other people I would have liked to have chatted to – next time I hope.

Chocolate Soup

I don’t blog much so feel free to rip me to pieces on this..

Last night I had a dream that Heston Blumenthal made me a tin of
chocolate soup ( one to add to the #vividdreamsclub – @katehughes and
@karenstrunks ).

The soup actually looked like chicken soup and came in a tin
with bits of chicken which were actually marshmallows in it, just like
one of the ideas from said cooking show.

Every show Heston takes an era in history and looks at unusual,
(sometimes downright scary!) recipes from say Victorian or
Edwardian times. Recreating these recipes for a bunch of celebrities to
devour. It always amazes me how well received and successful the dishes
are no matter how bizarre.

The appeal of Heston’s cooking show for me is that he challenges what
we know. Dares to look at thinks differently, makes food that looks
like what we are used to but actually is completely different to what
we come to expect and surprises everyone as it’s completely delicious.

Why on earth did I dream that? It may be that I’m slightly giddy with
excitement about #ukgc11 or more likely it came from the
conversation I had on Twitter last night with the inspiring @loulouk
@carlhaggerty and @808kate about #lgovsm and where it’s heading.

We chatted about challenging what social media in local gov is now and
feeling a bit sorry for ourselves to talking about where it could be.
One of the most interesting parts of the conversation for me was using
#lgovsm in Learning and Development, using CoP as a platform. This is
a great place for it to sit – an enthusiastic area where people are
willing to learn new things.

I recently helped to run a workshop for new starters on Induction and
how this could be used on the corporate intranet. This got me to
thinking – wouldn’t it be interesting for new starters to use social
media for induction? We had a really interesting conversation about
using yammer for mentoring new starters encouraging them to ask
questions.

Induction is a perfect example of doing what we know. The obligatory
induction course, the big bulky folder full of information they never
get time to read and being introduced to perhaps people as far afield
as the other side of the office.

What would Heston do here? He’d mix it up and start again. Challenge
what we know, perhaps have a look at how to make something look
familiar but in fact is very new and exciting.

Have we become stuck in our ways? Used to the same old ways of
learning and developing staff? What if we could have mentors? Not just
from inside the organisation but across partnerships. Empowerment for
new people in organisations to enable them to challenge what we know?

Chocolate soup – I really would like to try!

Warwick Social Media Surgery #WarwickSMS

Don’t forget the second of  the new Warwick Social Media Surgeries takes place 4th November at Leamington Library.

Why not come along and find out more about social media and how it can help your organisation or cause?

More information here on socialmediasurgery.com

Phone OCD

This morning about half a mile from home I thought I had forgotton my phone. The usual panic ensued.. “I will ring people from work just to let them know” I’m thinking to myself. “what have I got on today?, can I do without it?”

I started rummaging through my bag, one hand still on the steering wheel (this is quite a challenge if you could see the size of my handbag and all the clutter I keep inside it)… “I’ve left it on the dressing table, yep fgs how did I do that” I’m thinking.

I was actually feeling lost, naked even..

I have a little routine on my phone, I wonder if anyone else does too?

I check emails first then Facebook updates to see who’s doing what, which people are addicted to farmville the most (oh yeah updates from the usual culprites) feeds then Twitter save best ’til last always been my moto. Then if time allows a little game playing bit of angry birds tap zoo or coindozer which is mind numbing but is great for getting to sleep.

It’s the same routine.. Do I have phone OCD?

Parked up at work had a final rummage through the bag and to my delight my phone was there!!! Thank the lord above..I did remember it..can’t remember putting it in my bag but who cares! I no longer feel naked. Phone by keyboard phew.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Family and important thoughts

Just got back from visiting my extended but close knit family in Blackpool for a couple of days. The reason for the visit was to ground me. I shall explain.. Life lately has been extreemly stressful, what with one thing or another we eventually need to find that peace away from daily stress and strain.

I have realised just how important family is for providing that peace.

I also wanted to big up the people of the north! Blackpool people are great. Optimistic, happy, fun, and well just generally nice people to spend time with. We could learn a lot in our workplaces from being more like these communities who are more than happy to; let you back in the queue if you have forgotton something in the shop, say hello to you as you pass them in the street, treat you as one of their own after meeting you a few times, have a happy conversation instead of moaning about everything in their lives.

You see they concentrate on the positive and that rubs off on other people, particularly visitors who perhaps do not have this warm welcome in their own communities. That’s really why a community works because the people in it are generous, positive people who for them its the norm to share their knowledge and happiness with others without expecting anything in return.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Blackpool

reBlog from sarahlay.com: Sarah Lay

I found this fascinating quote today:

I always come away from an unconference buzzing with ideas and re-invigorated to carry on with projects already in process. At several times yesterday though I did wish that I wasn’t the only one there from my organisation.sarahlay.com, Sarah Lay, Jan 2010

You should read the whole article.

#ukgc10