The Campaign Company Blog

When is a blog not a blog

A good rant from Suw Charman about what makes a blog, her point being that a news outlet such as Sky chopping up their mainstream content, sticking it on their website does not a blog make.

'What I’m about to say may sound ridiculous coming from a ‘Blogs Editor’, but there is nothing magical about blog software - it’s just a really easy content-management system with comments. Just dumping content into a blog isn’t going to entice the masses to come round and participate. You actually have to engage with the audience, not just produce more flat boring content.

If you want to start a conversation with people, stop talking at them and start talking with them. Follow them sometimes, not the news agenda all the time. Link out. Link to blogs not just other news sites. Kick off a conversation. Don’t just ask: “What do you think?”

You can have the best technology and still fail because your content is stuck in the age of publishing, not the age of participation. And for chrissakes, stop calling everything a blog because you think a bit of branding is all it takes'

Worth bearing in mind in our blogging, it should be about engaging people in dialogue, linking to other blogs and sites, reading and commenting on other peoples blogs and thoughts, linking back to things we've written.... That's what a blog is :)

Open skies and social software

So the Open Skies agreement has been signed, my first reaction (because I guess my environmental conscience isn't fully developed)

'Excellent, £10 flights to New York, weekends in the Big Apple will be as cheap as a weekend at Skeggy!'.

Micro seconds later Carbon Outrage kicks in...

'how can they be even thinking about deregulating the most profitable long haul route in the world, what's the point in recycling my yoghurt pots if Atlantic air traffic is set to double!'.

Surely as the consensus around man made climate change coalesces into truism there will be a backlash against the continued growth of air travel. Surely 'Carbon Credits' or massive fuel taxes on airlines are only just around the corner.

This in turn brought me back to Social Software (perhaps something of an obsession).  Why do corporations and many smaller businesses continue to habitually fly people around the globe for conferences and meetings when the technology exists to do so much more on-line via shared spaces such as wikis and communication software such as video and teleconferencing. You would think that the bottom line would have made transatlantic meetings a rare occurrence, but one look at at a full business class compartment on a Virgin Atlantic flight will show you different.

The reason is that we're human and like to meet other humans. Even in companies where economy and efficiency are prime drivers of planning and policy face to face meetings are still seen as the best way to do business.

As a result social software can still seem a little peripheral and the weirder extremes such as virtual worlds seen as having little use in business. However imagine a few years down the line where either through some form of carbon rationing or taxation businesses can't afford or aren't allowed to fly endlessly around the globe. Suddenly interesting and innovative ways of working with people on-line (including what now seems pretty far out, such as virtual worlds) becomes mainstream. The challenge will be how to make working and meeting on-line a more human experience.

IBM is already pioneering this with Lotus connections. Simple tools such as video/teleconferencing  software which give you a photo, a biography, a time zone and the personal blog for each of the different participants  is all about making the people on that call real, not just disembodied voices. Suddenly the people you're talking to have a face, a history, some personal opinons and you know if they got up in the middle of the night to make the call. As on-line meeting and working becomes standard these ways of making it a 'human' experience will become more and more important.

So climate change means that on-line communication and collaboration is the way of the future, it's always been economic now it's becoming an environmental imperative. Organisations engaging with these new ways of working now are getting ahead of the curve, something that will pay dividend when everybody else is playing catch up.

'Wicker' alternative

What do you do when you are sick? Easy question, I go to a doctor – most people would say. Sometimes, however, it is not so easy after all – when you have a full-time job, it just seems too much hassle to take a day off and spend hours waiting in a line for a 10-minute doctor’s examination. Most of us would probably seek help after working hours in A&E departments or simply grit our teeth and wait for the problem to go away.

However, in some places it is possible to get medical advice on the spot which, in those cases where the health problem is mild, saves the time we would have to spend waiting for appointments and takes a lot of pressure off the strained healthcare system.

The Wicker Pharmacy in Sheffield is an example of how sometimes healthcare can be made readily available to people. The pharmacy provides a wide range of services for which we usually would turn to a doctor or a clinic. It operates a minor ailments scheme where the pharmacists can diagnose problems and provide treatment right away. It also provides services such as smoking-cessation program, drug addiction treatment program, free emergency contraception, screening services for diabetes and cholesterol – to mention just a few. This practice, if replicated in other pharmacies, could enable doctors to give more time to medically urgent cases. Perhaps in the future when we really have to see a doctor, we will not have wait for ages.

NHS Trusts: Service usage and govenorship

Meetings with a new prospective client have generated some interesting research and discussion at TCC about the potential linkage between service usage of Trusts among BME communities and the development of their govenorship structures.

Underusage of hospital services by BME groups can be a factor for Trusts, similarly Trust govenorship structures often suffer an under representation of BME groups. It is vital for the success of democracy in Foudation Trusts that all sections of the community see themselves represented at all levels within it's govenance.

TCC are hoping to work with these communities in future in partnership with Trusts to show that these issues go hand in hand. Participating in a Trusts govenorship will give leaders in BME communities the opportunity to shape Trusts policy to ensure its services are fully available to their community. It will also give the opportunity to learn about and promote Trust services within their communities.

This is set in a context were BME communities tend to have a significantly worse self reported health than the average for the general population (see ONS report)

Wondering if Wikis will work at TCC

After being informed and inspired by the 'Social tools for Business use' conference I've continued to explore with the help and input of the TCC team whether a Wiki platform is the way forward for TCC.

I'm pretty convinced it is for the following reasons:

• It will help us capture more of the knowledge and expertise that TCC is so full of.
• It will help us work more closely and collaberatively with clients.
• In the land of IT solutions it's cheap.
• As TCC expands with the northern office growing and people constantly working all around the country (and sometimes out of it) a Wiki platform makes information more accessible.
• Less e-mails... for me if a Wiki platform meant I could easily see the state of any project, quickly catch up on general and project specific conversations without having to wade through a hundred e-mails it'd all be worth it.

So given I'm sold already I was very happy about the enthusiasm which was generated when Hemma from Headshift came in to the TCC office and gave a presentation on Wiki platforms generally, how Headshift have built them for organisations such as Demos, Involve and Patient Opinion.

It was great to see that even the people who aren't naturally keyed into techy stuff were seeing the possibilities for a Wiki platform. How it could really add value to this project of that and how it could make internal communication and knowledge sharing far more efficient.

Who else wants to deliberate on health?

We've been working with the Sheffield Primary Care Trust (PCT) helping them with their 3-month consultation on the future of health services in Sheffield. Last Saturday we ran a 'Deliberative' consultation drawing in a diverse group of 80 'seldom heard' citizens of Sheffield.

We prepared for the event by undertaking a telephone survey of 1000 people. This helped us gauge levels of physical health and well-being as well as a sense of the numbers of people using primary and acute care services across the city and their experiences of them. We found people generally well satisfied with their experiences but our survey absolutely confirmed a major concern of the PCT - that of very heavy usage of both primary and acute services.

These issues - and that of major inequalities of health across the city - were taken forward into the 'Deliberative' consultation. Following 2 scene setting DVDs filmed in the city earlier in the week, a range of ideas about alternative ways of delivering health care and attitudes towards them were considered. We used a combination of qualitative and quantitative techniques:- expertly facilitated 'round-table' discussions to gather qualitative feedback and 'Who wants to be a millionaire' audience participation software for the straight quantitative feedback.

Our participants were delighted - and many quite surprised - to have been consulted in this way. They worked incredibly hard for the four hours they were with us and came up with a number of really excellent ideas:- like 'street doctors'; making better use of existing community facilities by having 'walk-in centres' in schools and 'workplace nurses' to mirror the 'school nurse'. What was one of the biggest factors to be overcome in getting a very realistic audience to stop 'cutting out the middle-man by going direct to A&E'? - greater understanding of the skills, training and experience of other health care professionals so they can 'trust' people other than 'the doctor'.

And the early conclusions we drew from the event - there was an understanding of the need and willingness to accept 'redistribution of resources'; partnership working was essential give many of the causes of ill-health require non-health service solutions; personal responsibility was an important factor - but people need help to help themselves; people were willing to see and take advice from other 'health professionals' but they need to know more about them in order to 'trust' and finally - good and targeted information about what is available - but not too much of it!

Environmental Tip of the Week

A few weeks ago the Australian government banned traditional light bulbs because they are so inefficient. It is not only the standard traditional bulbs that can be replaced by energy efficient versions…

There is a new technology available designed to supersede halogen spotlights – the sort you might have in your kitchen or bathroom. Instead of using a filament that gets hot, they contain a small fluorescent tube folded up. As a result they use around a quarter of the energy and last considerably longer. Some are even dimmable, simply by clicking the light switch in quick succession.

So, if you are having some new spotlights fitted, make sure you ask for GU10 compact fluorescent bulbs. For more info click here

know your wikis from your blogrolls

Following on from Ben’s recent posts about social tools for business use, here are a couple of interesting examples of Web 2 social action/non-profit tools from across the pond (thanks Alan!). CivicSpace - formerly known as Deanspace and Hack4Dean - is a content management system originally used to power websites supporting Howard Dean’s 2004 presidential campaign. For more info check out www.CivicSpacelabs.org

Socialsignal is another outfit specialising in building online communities, and their website has some helpful resources on topics such as ‘Second Life – what it is and why it matters’; and a ‘Web 2.0 glossary’ – very helpful if (unlike me now) you don’t know your wikis from your moblogs, tags, mash-ups or blogrolls. More info at www.socialsignal.com

‘Aspire’ to a better life

Recently, stories have abounded about unethical recruitment agencies but hardly ever do we come across real life examples testifying to the contrary. Last week those attending the quarterly NDC Network meeting had a chance to see how an agency can both make money and promote social development. How is it done?

Aspire, a not-for-profit employment agency developed in the East Manchester NDC area, hires people for the duration of 1 year providing them with a steady remuneration, social benefits and a paid holiday. Thus, people, who use the agency, are placed in temporary positions with different companies but at the same time remain Aspire’s employees enjoying the comfort and security of full-time employment. All throughout the contract duration the agency also invests in their further development through skills trainings.

Although the agency has been operating for a relatively short time, it has been developing dynamically and its prospects are bright. If it continues to grow at the predicted pace, it will soon be able to become a self-sufficient commercial vehicle and expand the benefits package. Aspire also plans to become more involved in local community projects and thus, help turn people’s aspirations into reality.

Climate Change – what lies ahead for neighbourhoods?

The last NDC Network meeting on February 22-23 in Manchester gave an opportunity to discuss the new big thing on the NDCs’ agenda– climate change.

In one of the workshops, experiences were shared on how NDCs have been tackling environmental issues so far and what they are planning to do in the future. To give just some examples, Green Procurement Code should be introduced in building industry to promote use of environment-friendly materials. Urban planning should move towards ‘carless’ development (fewer parking lots), reducing road congestion and supporting car pool schemes. A range of ‘green’ service facilities such as restaurants, delicatessen and laundries needs to be developed – and some of them like Shoreditch’s new “green” restaurant Acorn House are already up and running.

Examples were multiple but the message dominating the discussion was the same: it is necessary to bring all NDCs together to successfully combat climate change. Only when it is possible to share best practice examples and resources across the entire Network and to Government, can real progress be made. The next step, it was firmly decided, is to produce NDC Climate Change shared strategy. It is good to see that NDCs are strong and ready to act towards reduction of climate change.