Posts from — July 2007
Government websites - home and away
Today we read that in the UK Government websites ‘too complex’:
Many [UK] government websites are still too complicated and difficult to use, says the National Audit Office.
While services like online road tax renewal are very popular, other sites such as HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), are too complex, the report said. …
The NAO report said the growth in online government services was “perhaps the most radical extension of access to public services as a whole for several decades”.
Two fifths of the population do not have internet access, many people rely on “intermediaries” to use online services but in general, people were increasingly using the sites - particularly with the spread of broadband, the report said.
[Via : BBC NEWS | Politics | Government websites 'too complex'.]
Meanwhile, in Wellington a BarCamp is being organised around:
…making a difference to egovernment in New Zealand. We are a small country with a very well connected, vibrant web community. government 2.0 can happen here!
[Via : BarCamp / BarCampWellingtonNZegov.]
The gathering is scheduled for 15 September 2007. I’ve signed on and I hope others interested in community groups / non-profits and Internet will join me there.
Never heard of BarCamps — don’t worry: it’s a kind of relaxed conference with lots of participation, rather than a bunch of ‘talking-head experts’ making presentations to a passive audience.
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July 13, 2007 No Comments
The power of YouTube
An interesting article about an unauthorised political campaign ad that appeared on YouTube shows how powerful this medium can be.
On March 5 this year, an ad appeared on the spectacularly popular video-sharing website YouTube. … The ad, entitled Vote Different, ended by transforming the Apple logo into an O, underneath which was written: barackobama.com.
Within days, the Vote Different ad had, as the digitally savvy world likes to say, “gone viral”. It was picked up by progressive blogs, by conservative blogs, by advertising blogs - and then by the mainstream media.
As of last week, it had been seen by more than 3 million people and discussed ad infinitum, making an ad that was disseminated for free and apparently independently of a political campaign far more effective than any official ad made by the presidential candidates in the 2008 race so far.
[The ad's creator] ParkRidge47, who remained anonymous, became an instant YouTube celebrity, a poster child for the idea that anyone can have a widely heard voice.
What’s more, to create a YouTube video doesn’t require teams of scriptwriters and film-makers or thousands of dollars in expensive equipment and studio time. What it takes is an idea, a video camera and a computer with an Internet connection. And you don’t even need a video camera: YouTube videos are sometimes animated movies. Even slideshows would be a possibility.
For other example of YouTube videos you should know about, search YouTube for the Free Hugs Campaign, and Can we do something to stop the spread of teenage affluenza?
July 10, 2007 No Comments
Shareideas (with mobile technology)
ShareIdeas.org is an online community and a wiki for sharing ideas on how to use mobile communications for social and environmental benefits. it includes case studies from people around the world who are using mobile communications for social change.
ShareIdeas.org was created with support from Nokia and Vodafone, but belongs to the growing global network of individuals and organizations that use this virtual gathering place to communicate — and collaborate.
The idea for ShareIdeas.org came from Ndidi Nwuneli, founder and CEO of LEAP Africa, a Nigerian NGO dedicated to nurturing a new generation of African leaders.
[Via: Solidariti]
July 2, 2007 No Comments
