A post with everything!
Bham riots - Keep Calm
Here’s a post in a talk about local webinar session. Nicky said:
It’s Great.
That was good.
This is a video.
#StoryCamp 2 TEST
Hyperlinking text, adding pictures and video
Bham riots - Keep Calm
So here I’m hyperlinking to our wonderful friends at Birmingham City Council. You can also email them at info@birmingham.gov.uk.
Invite to unveil the Digbeth gorilla…
From: Carly O'Donnell <Carly.O'Donnell@nationalexpress.com>
Date: 6 July 2011 09:41
Subject: Invite to unveil the Digbeth gorilla…
To: "nickygetgood@gmail.com" <nickygetgood@gmail.com>
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Think Green!!! Please don't print this e-mail unless you really need to.
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test post 2
All work and no play can make the Talk About Local team a dull lot, so we were very grateful for the chance to have some collective fun, play and stimulating conversation at LocalGovCamp in Birmingham last Saturday. There was a large crowd and it was great to catch up with old friends we’d not seen in the flesh for a while, as well as meet some new ones.
Talk About Local were one of LocalGovCamp’s many sponsors so in the lead-up to the event, we had a little think and chat about what we might be able to do whilst there – with the emphasis very much on the ‘doing’. The conversation quickly got around to the value of those in local government finding and taking an active part in local online conversations – be they on hyperlocal blogs, Facebook profiles/pages/groups, forums or elsewhere. We were trying to think of fun ways of highlighting this when William came up with the idea of a Social Media Safari – helping people hunt (geddit?) for local online spaces and discussions and joining in with them there and then. Karen practically emptied Birmingham Nature Centre’s gift shop of safari animal goodies so we looked the part.
I was reminded of a story illustrating the perils of not participating in local online conversation told to me by Sharon O’Dea at LocalGovCamp 2009, so prepared some slides around The Cautionary Tale of The Wizard with a Cat, His Fans and Their Council. The story ends with a question – how could what turned into a farcical situation for Sutton Council have been handled differently? – which was the basis for a small discussion session early on in the day. I loved the guy (whose name I sadly can’t remember) who surmised it was a Rage Against The Machine Christmas No. 1 moment in that local people were taking back control over something they felt disenfranchised from. Some really interesting points were raised, the main one being council officers’ need to feel confident and enabled to talk to people online the way they are employed to do offline, yet are too often discouraged from doing so and told those forms of communication are reserved for the PR & Communications teams.
I had an interesting conversation with Kate Sahota around this at the Social Media Safari table/menagerie later, who spoke of local authorities’ ‘fear of getting involved at this kind of level’ where communication is ‘there and it’s permanent’ and very quotable, resulting in an inclination to try and avoid the risks this presents rather than manage them.
Next to come to the table was Sharon O’Dea, who went on a Social Media Safari of her neighbourhood of Barnes, South West London with gusto. Barnes seems to be an area brimming with social capital, going by the many active online spaces for the area – websites such as http://www.barnescommunityassociation.org, the very polished http://www.barnesvillage.com and http://www.southwest13.co.uk/, campaigning sites such as http://www.savetheheartofwhitehartlane.co.uk/ and http://www.greeneruponthames.org/, an active Facebook group and Flickr group and one of the best school websites I’ve ever seen in http://www.barnesprimaryschool.org/. Sharon and I had a conversation after our hunt about our findings.
Simon Whitehouse’s hunt in Balsall Heath, Birmingham wasn’t quite so fruitful – there seemed to be very little online conversation in or around the area and its key places and groups. We were both quite surprised at this as Balsall Heath has quite a tight, supportive community and the skills are there – Podnosh have delivered several social media surgeries in the area. Despite that, we found very little besides an I Survived B12 group and Heavenly Desserts page on Facebook and a Friends of Moseley Road Baths website campaigning for the future of the Victorian swimming pool. Our post-hunt conversation pondered on why this might be, concluding quite simply that ‘it just hasn’t happened yet’.
Despite that, it was a fruitful day with some interesting conversations and questions emerging from the exercise, if not as much ‘doing’ as we might have hoped for. LocalGovCamp was as brilliant as always, with people leaving full of excitement, ideas and future plans such asLibraryCamp that are already starting taking shape. To catch up on thoughts, reflections, photos, videos from from the day go to the LocalGovCamp Posterous site.
TEst post
slideshow
The Fountain. 7pm. Apologies: Phil Bates (WMP)
Members present: Gerry Keane (Anchor), Brian Tohill (The Fountain), John
Tighe (The Spotted Dog), Cee Jay (UnPlug), Adam Crossley (Digbeth Residents'
Association), Val Woodward (Digbeth Residents' Association), Bill Dagnan
(West Midlands Police), Joan Durose (BCC Events), Amanda Baldwin (West
Midlands Police), John McMahon (An Craic), Noel Duff (Charles Napier),
Anthony Carter (Charles Napier), Anne Tighe (St Patrick's Festival),
Katherine Foy (St Patrick's Festival), Angela Rattigan (The White Swan). Minutes of previous meeting: Read and approved. Matters arising: None St Patrick's Day Parade:
BD: 13 arrests. Generally ok. Few arrests for offences other than
drink-related.
Pleased with general behaviour.
Drinking on street stopped at 7pm.
Old Crown presented a potential problem where evening R&B music crowd and St
Patrick's crowd didn't really mix. The evening event was probably
"inappropriate". JM: Stewards should prevent people from crossing the dual carriageway
during the parade. BT: Traffic, including taxis, were allowed through to closed streets
after 6.00am. This should not happen. GK: Sandor and Kang warehouse in Birchall Street was isolated by road
closures – some of which seemed unnecessary – resulting in customers driving
onto the pavements past stewards to gain access to the warehouse. JT: Parade meetings should start earlier next year – preferably before
December. JT: Staff vehicle passes should be issued earlier. Data Exchange:
JT: To coordinate gathering of data re. utility bills, tradesmen, waste
services etc.. Digbeth Pub Guide:
Lukewarm response to proposal that a Digbeth Pub Guide would be beneficial. ASBOs:
AC: Charles Napier pub was warned by police not to serve people banned
from the area due to ASBOs. How does a licensee know whether a customer has
an ASBO? GK: Questioned ASBO policy and how it is implemented. AC: Having requested police "walk-throughs" thinks it is working. Two
"walk-throughs" last weekend resulted in two people being found in
possession of drugs. A.O.B:
VW: Project Pigeon in Fazeley Street are to organise a sponsored pigeon
race in June. Members present who agreed to pay £5.00 to have a racing
pigeon named after them included:
Charles Napier, The Spotted Dog, Anchor, An Craic, White Swan, Fountain,
(subsequently The Actress and Bishop, The Old Crown and Demi- Sel also
agreed to donate). VW: The next Digbeth Residents' Meeting is at Zellig, Custard Factory on
Monday 13th June at 7.00pm. GK: The Anchor is hosting a sponsored "Headshave" for S.E.N.S.E.on
Saturday 2nd July End of Meeting Next meetings
7.00pm Tuesday 10th May 2011 at The Fountain.
7.00pm Tuesday 7th June 2011 at The White Swan.
7.00pm Tuesday 5th July 2011 at The Clements Arms.Contacting Police John Tighe
The Spotted Dog
104 Warwick Street
Birmingham
B12 0NH
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Ultraviolence – volunteers urgently needed!
Companis has been commissioned by VIVID to make a new work for their forthcoming exhibition Ecstatic, to be launched on 13 May. The work “Ultraviolence Part I” will be a sensory assault where the visitors will be invited to consume a superficial edible landscape in VIVID’s space whilst swathed in intensely coloured light and fluorescence.
The preparation for the event will take place on the day of Friday 13th between 11 and 6, and the event itself is scheduled 6-8pm. We are looking for volunteers to assist with the delivery of both aspects (preparation and event) so if you are interested to assist please email me letting me know your availability.
As a volunteer you will be expected to assume a semi-performative role and engage directly with the audience – so an interest in performance would be good however there are also less obtrusive roles available. For more information contact companis.kaye@googlemail.com and to register your interest email sonyarussell@blueyonder.co.uk by Wednesday 11 May.
For information, VIVID is based on Heath Mill Lane in Digbeth in Birmingham.
Thanks in advance.
We look forward to hearing from you
Sonya Russell-Saunders
Companis Intern
sonyarussell@blueyonder.co.uk
