Entries from November 2008 ↓

Hardly anyone knows who their neighbours are any more. But imagine if every road had a google email list, a street blog or a twitter feed. An email list removes the need for someone to design a leaflet, print it, deliver it, and respond to the tear off slips. That means that it’s a lot harder to write a joint letter to the council about litter and double parking.

I’ve long believed that these new tools of communication and self organisation do not just lend themselves to projects at a massive scale but also at a hyperlocal level.

As Benjamin Ellis says “we are going hyperlocal and it may just be the most disruptive stage of the Internet yet”

Suggestions have flooded in, so quickly that I might have to hold a ballot. So far we have:

1. Robert Winston
2. Gordon Ramsay
3. Neil Tennant
4. Shami Chakrabati
5. Tony Benn
6. Boris Johnson
7. Danny Baker
8. Mark Steel
9. Prince Charles
10. Kelly Holmes
11. John Humphrys
12. The Chuckle brothers
13. Billy Bragg
14. Tim Berners-Lee
15. Richard Holloway
16. Richard Dawkins
17. Jonathan Coe
18. Lord Norton
19. Robert Peston
20. Sebastian Coe
21. Paul Deighton
22. Terry Wogan
23. The Queen
24. Jeremy Clarkson
25. Amy Winehouse
26. Robert Kilroy-Silk
27. Anne Widdecombe

Stephen Fry (if it be he) has become an instant success using micro-blogging platfrom, Twitter. Life would be enriched if more of Britain’s treasured characters were sharing their daily thoughts with social networkers. So I’m compiling a list of the 50 well known people who should tweet. Good, bad, charming, rude, the rogues and the pious, you name them and I’ll write to them over Christmas to urge them to join Twitter.

My first pitch to start the ball rolling: Robert Winston

Thing is, people are just getting on with it and doing it themselves. Sorry telly. I think this is a problem for you.

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I’m not so sure about this stuff. What do you think?

If this story about a boy being diagnosed with Play Station addiction is true, it reveals a lot about my own youth but also leaves me wondering whether we should purchase this beauty for Christmas. What do you think? Is a three and half year old too young to play with this stuff?

Matt goes to get a passport. It was really easy. Well done passport office. When you get the people,technology and business processes right, it works like clockwork.

Do you think I can get away with any of the following three books as Christmas presents for small children?

That debate about tiny data trails left on the Internet takes another little turn today. Last week I posted a link to Andrew Lansley’s blog. He was talking about mental health services but in so doing, he gave a little too much away:

“I’ve been reading up on the impact of previous economic downturns on our health. Interestingly, on many counts, recession can be good for us. People tend to smoke less, drink less alcohol, eat less rich food and spend more time at home with their families.”

It hardly displays empathy and understanding does it?

No wonder, Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell said of Mr Lansley:

“The Conservative Deputy Chairman may already regret letting the cat out of the bag when he said ‘the recession has to take its course’ but it remains Conservative policy. Now we know that not only would the Conservatives do nothing but sit back and watch the recession ‘take its course’ – they actually believe it would be ‘good for us’.

Surprise, surprise the post has now been removed. I’ve had three media outlets asking me if I kept a screen grab of Mr Lansley’s blog post in the last hour alone. Well, as it happens:

Totally rubbish YouTube video superimposing the current shadow chancellor’s head on to the body of Boy George. I like it though. It sort of works in a way that it wouldn’t for Oliver Letwin.

Being Andrew Gilligan by Hack

Hack has produced a very amusing image relating to a furious row relating to Evening Standard journalist Andrew Gilligan’s Internet behaviour.

As Nathan Torkington said in his brilliant presentation, there are invisible traces and unimaginable data trails left when we engage in the digital realm. Sockpuppets are the least of them.

Andrew Lansley claimed on Friday that the economic downturn might lead to an increase in demand for mental health services. Was that a spending pledge I heard there or just warm words?