Introducing Professor Stephen Coleman
March 28, 2008 Posted by Stephen Hilton in : e-democracy, Bristol, Guest Bloggers , add a commentSome people effortlessly span seemingly irreconcilable divides, for example, by being both anti-establishment and mainstream; a leading academic and a man of the people; a commentator on technology and perhaps also a bit of a technophobe?
Stephen Coleman, Professor of Political Communication at Leeds University, is one such enigma and personally I am delighted that he has volunteered to blog for Connecting Bristol in the coming week.
Stephen Coleman has spent many years exploring and writing about the relationship between digital media and citizenship. His new book ‘The Internet and Democratic Citizenship’, written with Jay Blumer, will be published by Cambridge University Press later this year. He argues that e-democracy calls for profound cultural as well as technological changes.
Bristol’s association with Stephen began 4-5 years ago when he was Professor of e-Democracy at Oxford University. Stephen worked with us to evaluate the Local e-Democracy National Project. The series of reports that were produced caused some discussion in certain Government quarters… they have probably just about got over it by now, so over to you again Stephen…
The Big Green Bookshop
March 17, 2008 Posted by Andy in : e-democracy, Bristol, e-society, Technology, Guest Bloggers, Business , 1 comment so far
I came across this blog last week and thought it was another nice demonstration of how people are using “social media” in real life.
When Waterstone’s closed their branch in Wood Green (near me in London), there was a petition online and a local campaign.
When the store closed, the former managers decided to turn the energy of that campaign into a new independent bookstore. They used a blog to chart their progress and called on their “facebook army” for help and support.
Not only has this been great publicity, but they’ve got to know their customers, they’ve captured the spirit of the campaign and made their mark in their community.
Most importantly, Wood Green has got a good independent bookshop.
By one standard, the “Don’t close Waterstones” petition failed. The shop closed. By another, perhaps more interesting standard, it was wildly successful. Now this can’t happen in every case, but it seems that there’s often an opportunity to harness this momentum and create something better than before.
Online petitioning is something that Bristol is well known for.
So my question is, how could you help to create more positive results and situations like the big green bookshop?
I Think or We Think?
January 29, 2008 Posted by Stephen Hilton in : e-democracy, Bristol, Innovation, Festival of Ideas, collaboration , add a commentIn many large, corporate organisations, it is the Chief Executive’s views that all-important. But is there another way? Can organisations develop new, collaborative ways of working and will these deliver better services?
In the Connecting Bristol bid we referred to “co-production” – Charles Leadbetter talks and writes about “we-think”
“We-Think: the power of mass creativity is about what the rise of the likes of Wikipedia and Youtube, Linux and Craigslist means for the way we organise ourselves, not just in digital businesses but in schools and hospitals, cities and mainstream corporations. My argument is that these new forms of mass, creative collaboration announce the arrival of a society in which participation will be the key organising idea rather than consumption and work. People want to be players not just spectators, part of the action, not on the sidelines’
from Charles Leadbetter We Think
In this Festival of Ideas event, you can, for £7.50, help co-create an interesting lunchtime outing as Charles Leadbetter is speaking at the Watershed in Bristol.
Charles Leadbeater
We-think: the power of mass creativity
26 February 2008, 12.45-13.45
Watershed Media Centre, Bristol
Online bid wins New Media nomination
May 25, 2007 Posted by Clare in : e-democracy, Bristol, Awards , 2 commentsAn entirely public online collaboration to bid for a £1.2 million Government contract has been nominated to win a New Media Award in the Modernising government award category. The dozens of people involved in openinnovation.net elected to construct their bid online and in public, leveraging extra ideas and energy.
Simon Berry led on development of the proposal, and many Connecting Bristol friends were involved, including David Wilcox, Steve Bridger, Ed Mitchell and Andrew Parkhouse.
Read more at http://www.innovationexchange.net
