All posts in the topic ICELE's BLOGINABOX goes Beta (Short link)
Summary
- There are 8 posts — by 8 authors — in this topic.
- Latest post made by Mary Reid at Apr 26 09:54 UTC
I found this via ICELE's news feed: eTools news Published: Friday 25th April 2008 Today, The International Centre of Excellence for Local eDemocracy (ICELE) went Live with Bloginabox, the successor of the hugely successful ReadMyDay blogging service. It's more user- friendly and looks even better than before. We have been listening to our users of ReadMyDay, other bloggers and local authorities and the improvements in Bloginabox will make it so much easier for councillors and local authority leaders to get blogging and discuss local issues with people in their area, online. Fraser Henderson, ICELE Centre Manager commented "It is great to see so many civic leaders blogging and that popularity and interest in their online presence is on the rise. We have developed Bloginbox to build-on the success of Readmyday and feel that we can now offer a complete, unique solution that builds-in good blogging practice. We are also expanding our new blog directory on a daily basis and hope to have the most comprehensive list of local authority blogs in the UK". The service is based on blogportal technology provided by 21Publish GmbH who partnered the innovations. Leif Koch, Managing director added "Providing an easy-to-use yet comprehensive blogging service is pivotal when targeting civil leaders. By adding domain registration and opening the platform to existing blogs, local authorities with packed schedules now have an even easier way of promoting their blogs and reaching out to their citizens. Being a powerhouse for Web 2.0 services, we are glad ICELE again has confidence in our expertise and experience for running eDemocracy services." Bloginabox is easy to use and for people without any technical know how. The service is packed with lots of help and guidance to assist you in creating that perfect blog entry including a 'getting-started' guide. More at: http://www.icele.org/site/scripts/news_article.php?newsID=258 This message is intended for the addressee(s) only and should not be read, copied or disclosed to anyone else outwith the University without the permission of the sender. It is your responsibility to ensure that this message and any attachments are scanned for viruses or other defects. Napier University does not accept liability for any loss or damage which may result from this email or any attachment, or for errors or omissions arising after it was sent. Email is not a secure medium. Email entering the University's system is subject to routine monitoring and filtering by the University. Napier University is a registered Scottish charity. Registration number SC018373
On 25/04/2008, Cruickshank, Peter <> wrote: > Today, The International Centre of Excellence for Local eDemocracy (ICELE) went Live with Bloginabox, the successor of the hugely successful ReadMyDay blogging service. It's more user- friendly and looks even better than before. > It's a shame that bloginabox.co.uk is forwarding to readmyday.co.uk (and not the other way round). And the disclaimer, right at the foot of http://www.readmyday.co.uk, is probably the most all-encompassing I've yet seen: "Bloginabox does not accept any responsibility."
Giles Turnbull wrote: > And the disclaimer, right at the foot > of http://www.readmyday.co.uk, is probably the most all-encompassing > I've yet seen: > > "Bloginabox does not accept any responsibility." At last, an artificially intelligent sociopath!
Does anyone know how many local councillors, MPs, MSPs, MEPs, etc. from the UK
blog?
Any percentage estimates?
Also, which local political parties do not allow their members to blog
unedited/moderated by higher ups?
Steven Clift
I'm about to go away for the weekend so I can't give figures now. However, there are a couple of papers on MPs blogs and one on councillors blogs in an upcoming special issue of a journal called Information Polity. We've been told it will be out in May. When I get back I'll try and pick out the relevant stats and post. Councillors is significantly less than 25% - probably around 2%, though it depends on how you define a blog and varies from one council to another. Off the top of my head there are 50-60 MPs who blog. I'll also dig up some findings on the moderation issue - which are quite interesting. Most self-moderate to stop it being an issue but there have been some problems - more so at local than national level it appears. Best Wishes, Scott> To:> From: > Subject: Re: [UKIE-EDem] ICELE's BLOGINABOX goes Beta> Date: Sat, 26 Apr 2008 02:30:02 +1200> > Does anyone know how many local councillors, MPs, MSPs, MEPs, etc. from the UK blog?> > Any percentage estimates?> > Also, which local political parties do not allow their members to blog unedited/moderated by higher ups?> > Steven Clift> > > Member profile for Steven Clift:> http://groups.dowire.org/contacts/stevenclift> > >
In mine we have 30 councillors, who have all been offered blogs as a
replacemnt for the councillor.info sites we piloted. We had two active
members on councillor.info and now seven inactive on blogs...
My local council, as oposed to the one I work for offers them nothing,
as far as I can see. In North Yorkshire, which has seven districts, one
unitary and one county, the one I work for is the only one currently
with anything on offer, as far as I know, and they're not used...
You can take a horse etc...
> Also, which local political parties do not allow their members to blog
unedited/moderated by higher ups?
I can only speak for my party, Liberal Democrats, where this kind of
moderation would be against fundamental liberal principles (although I am
aware of one illiberal instance some years ago).
Council group policy is decided by the Liberal Democrat councillors - a
process that will not be without disagreements. Each council group will have
its own standing orders, but the usual pattern is to ask everyone to respect
the majority decision, but always with a conscience clause in place. We
certainly don't have a whip.
It would be unthinkable for anyone to check my blog before it goes out, but
on the other hand if I used it to campaign against my own group's policy
then I would expect the group to be pretty cross about it!
The council group as a whole can apply sanctions to anyone who acts against
the interests of the party, but it is a pretty serious step to withdraw
membership of the group, so these things are usually resolved internally.
Finally, it may surprise you to know that there is no national Liberal
Democrat Party! Instead, the Liberal Democrats (note plural) is a federation
of local parties, usually based on constituencies. So at a national level,
policy is decided at conference by delegates from the local parties, and
can't be overruled by the Leader.
That means that party members are never told from the centre what to think
or how to vote. In fact, the term 'higher-up' has no meaning. We are
Liberal, after all.
Mary
Mary Reid
020 8397 1396
www.maryreid.org.uk
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