This is a slightly edited version of a post originally published on DATA.GOV.UK I rather like the phrase: “Engineering Serendipity” which – as I choose to interpret it – means something like ‘creating conditions which maximise the chances of good stuff happening’. If you’re interested in a fuller discussion of Engineering Serendipity, there’s the excellent…… Continue reading If you open stuff up, good stuff happens
Category: blogging
Ghost writing, hubs, and autoawesome
I’ve been blogging off-and-on for a few years. My first post, in December 2011, was on WordPress.com. I then briefly tried Tumblr, before settling on this self-hosted WordPress site. It gave me the flexibility I wanted, and tied in quite nicely with projects like BlueLightCamp which also uses WordPress for its web site. The Day job…… Continue reading Ghost writing, hubs, and autoawesome
Drones – opportunity or threat?
Once the purview of the military and spies, ‘unmanned aerial vehicles’ (‘Drones’), are increasingly common. Just hot air? A few months ago the giant online retailer Amazon announced its intention to deliver packages within 30 minutes of customers placing an order. Despite widespread incredulity, Amazon backed this up with footage from test flights, and still…… Continue reading Drones – opportunity or threat?
BlueLight Camp: Post of posts
Planning for BlueLight Camp 2013 is well under way, and more information will be published about the event on the BlueLightCamp site shortly. In the meantime, I thought it worth highlighting some of the articles written about the first BlueLight Camp, held in April 2012. I’ve included a short extract from each post. We’ll be drawing on…… Continue reading BlueLight Camp: Post of posts
My week guest-hosting #WeeklyBlogClub
Something new arrived in January 2012: Weekly Blog Club. It’s a club, for bloggers, who try to post something every week. Weekly Blog Club is aimed at – but isn’t limited to – people who work in the public sector, charities, or voluntary organisations. There are very few rules, and most of them are flexible.* Some -…… Continue reading My week guest-hosting #WeeklyBlogClub
Internal Social Media: “Scary Monsters”?
Joined-up thinking ‘Collaboration’, ‘Cooperation’, and ‘Joined-up’ thinking – just a few of the terms used by organisations delivering public services. Authorities who have traditionally done their own thing are finding ways to reduce costs, improve productivity and streamline services. Joint procurements are commonplace, with essential pieces of infrastructure like IT, Accounts and HR increasingly shared across…… Continue reading Internal Social Media: “Scary Monsters”?
Unconferences: Good, Bad or Ugly?
This is the second part of a joint effort by Sasha Taylor and Mark Braggins. In this post we talk about two topics we’re finding difficult to keep entirely separate: #lgovsm (a weekly chat on Twitter for Local Gov social media folk) Unconferences (in particular, variations on Local / GovCamp) We’re struggling because #lgovsm was the…… Continue reading Unconferences: Good, Bad or Ugly?
We love #lgovsm
This post is a joint-effort for #weeklyblogclub written by Sasha Taylor and Mark Braggins. In it we pay homage to two local government institutions, one recently retired, the other still going strong. We Love LocalGov The We Love Local Government blog was published every weekday from November 2009 to the end of June 2012. It was written by local…… Continue reading We love #lgovsm
Backblogs and Foreblogs
I try to write something once a week for WeeklyBlogClub. I don’t always succeed. I know that some bloggers can produce a quality post in only a few minutes, but I’m not one of them (although I live in hope). I typically spend a few hours, and sometimes much longer, particularly if there are lots…… Continue reading Backblogs and Foreblogs
New Starts and Looking Forward
Right. No more excuses. There are only so many times I can sharpen and rearrange my metaphorical pencils. This is my first blog post for 2012. Or, to put it another way, my fifth blog post ever. It’s dedicated to the weekly blogging club which Dan Slee suggested setting up to encourage lapsed bloggers to get back in…… Continue reading New Starts and Looking Forward