Peter McClymont contributes a very topical story to Week 21: sharing the experience of the Olympic Torch Relay through his area to all via social media.
Storifying the Torch Relay
Reply
Category Archives: storytelling
Let’s push some boundaries
Carolyne Mitchell expresses her views (making it clear that they are her own views, not those of her employer) about changing local authority boundaries in Scotland in her Week 21 post.
She makes some very interesting points, including one about hard-to-reach groups being not those that you would expect in a local government context.
Boris, boxing, blogging – and piglets with curly wurly tails
Piglets on board the ‘Grace Harwar,’ National Maritime Museum collection, Flickr Commons.
Bloggers contributed a baker’s dozen of posts in Week 19 of Weekly Blog Club, with topics ranging from the result of the Mayor of London election to piglets and many topics in between.
This week’s ‘sports supplement’ comes from Ross Wigham (football and a passing mention of cricket in Three golden management rules), and from Hannah Chia who covers boxing in Morally Bankrupt: Frank Warren Defends Haye-Chisora Bout.
The political section is written by Irena Souroup and covers the election of the Mayor of London, won by Boris Johnson for the second time, and considers what Boris might do next: Boris’s Blond Ambition.
The arts supplement this week focuses on the visual arts. Matt Bond has written about the shiny hardware and software required for editing and publishing videos: Part 4: The Edit. My post was on the history of an aspect of 19th century art concerned with social welfare and encouraging equality in society, and an artist who illustrated Charles Dickens’s last novel: Luke Fildes: his social realist paintings.
The people section contains a very moving post by Phil Jewitt about connecting with someone at an emotionally difficult passage in life, simply entitled Connected. Kate Bentham’s work also focuses on connecting with people, sometimes in difficult circumstances, and she considers how specific types of content can help to connect in The use of piglets in social meda.
The business section gives an insight into the work of a local government comms team in Carolyne Mitchell’s If you want something new, stop doing something old as she reports on a very full day with Walsall Council comms team. John Patterson puts forward a radical idea for management within local government (that could work in other workplaces too) in Micropost: Asset Based Staff Development. There are some useful tips for both marketing and training in Janet Harkin’s The only marketing acronym you need to know.
The literary supplement considers blogging. First-time Weekly Blog Club contributor Benjamin Welby looked at the why, what and where of public sector blogging: I believe in public sector and local government blogs. Regular contributor Mark Braggins gives a tantalising glimpse of what is to come on his blog: Backblogs and Foreblogs.
Finally, on the inside back page (the one you turn to first) is Desert island tweeps by Lesley Thomson. Who would be your Desert Island tweeps? Would you limit your choice to just three?
As always, thank you very much to both the writers and the readers of all the Weekly Blog Club posts. It is good to see the number of ‘Likes’ accumulating, and letting the writers know that you appreciate what they have written is a great way of being a member of the club.
If I have missed any posts out, do let me know. It can be difficult to pick them out from the tweetstream sometimes. Any ideas for the Week 20 (entirely optional) theme? ‘Rampant growth of weeds’ is a key topic in my mind at the moment as all the recent rain is fuelling very rapid growth in brambles and docks. I am sure that some of you will have much better ideas for a theme.
Janet
Summary of Week 19 posts
Backblogs and Foreblogs by Mark Braggins.
Desert island tweeps by Lesley Thomson.
Boris’s Blond Ambition by Irena Souroup.
Luke Fildes: his social realist paintings by Janet E Davis.
Connected by Phil Jewitt.
Three golden management rules by Ross Wigham.
I believe in public sector and local government blogs by Benjamin Welby.
Morally Bankrupt: Frank Warren Defends Haye-Chisora Bout by Hannah Chia.
The use of piglets in social meda by Kate Bentham.
Part 4: The Edit by Matt Bond.
The only marketing acronym you need to know by Janet Harkin.
If you want something new, stop doing something old by Carolyne Mitchell
The use of piglets in social meda
Kate Bentham blogged about the use of cute baby animals (including piglets) in social media, and how different material is appropriate for different but great online services.
There may be mention of a Curly Wurly too.
Blue, language and doing not saying
Although some regulars were too busy to write in Week 18, what with elections and getting married and stuff, we had 11 contributions. Some were were practical, sharing of useful information and digital tools. Some were about our society. One was ostensibly about football, but really about much more. And two were light-hearted playlists.
Matt Bond launched a survey in his post this week: Local Government Film Survey Launched. He considered use of film by local government and would like people to participate in the survey. Lesley Thomson enthused about one of her favourite tools this week Stuck on Storify. Or, do as I say, not do as I do… - and has probably encouraged at least a couple of us to think again about trying it.
Janet Harkin shared a Great infographic on grammar mistakes, which some will find useful as a reminder or as training material. In the old days, it would have been called a poster, or an illustration – and if it had been arranged more horizontally, it would have been called a comic strip. What to call things and how language is not always as straightforward as it sounds was on Phil Jewitt’s mind this week. He wrote an entertaining and interesting post about how Yorkshire dialect could cause fatal misunderstandings in ‘appen it’s reet.
How language is used can really mean life or death when in the context of the emergency services. Mark Braggins’s post this week – BlueLightCamp: Weekend Camping Pt1 - was the first part of his account of an event focused on the emergency services using digital communication. It is really interesting, and relevant to us all since we all may need to use one or more of these services at some point.
Social responsibilities were a theme in other posts this week. Irena Souroup wrote about her concerns about the long hours and low pay for those who work on some of the big cruise ships in Old Pirates Yes They Rob I. Simon Hope was concerned about the lack of information and discussion in social media about the issues relating to the question of whether some cities should have mayors: Elected Mayors – social media where are you? The issue of what to do about vanishing heart of many communities – the village shop – was covered in Peter McClymont’s post this week, Playing shops – an update, as he shared some of the story behind setting up his village’s new community shop.
The most moving post of the week was undoubtedly Dan Slee’s Losing and connecting in a Cup Final. It is about so much more than football, and is one of those “must-read” posts – but do have a hanky to hand, whether you support the blues, the reds or any other colour of the rainbow. Dan certainly started his new personal blog with a kick.
Although I put together The Blue playlist, it was not inspired by the BlueLightCamp but had been sparked off by @BlackPlaques inspiring me to collate The Black playlist. More suggestions were added by Simon Fogg. Of course, I had to do a substantial list for the original Blue Plaques, which is probably another British invention since the earliest known were in London. Deirdre of @OpenPlaques put forward a further substantial lists. Wherever you are in the world, do have a look at what Open Plaques do and consider participating.
I wrote a short ‘aside’ post on the blog this week with the stats from April, if you want an idea of how many read and ‘Like’ this blog. Thank you very much to all readers who contribute by commenting and clicking ‘Like’ buttons. It is great for all writers to receive positive feedback. Thank you to all the writers who have shared their thoughts with us during Week 18. If I have missed anyone’s post in the hurly-burly of tweets during the week, do just tweet or comment and point me in the right direction so I can include it.
Last week, whilst writing the summary, I had a thought for this week’s (entirely optional) theme…but I failed to write it down and have forgotten it. So, at present there is no suggested (entirely optional) theme for Week 19. If you have any suggestions (I assume that all Weekly Blog Club members would have only polite suggestions – in this context at least) for the (entirely optional) theme for this week, let me know. As always, there will be some of us around if you are lost for inspiration – just tweet for help. Between us, we usually manage to help to shift writer’s block.
Janet
Summary of Week 18 posts
Great infographic on grammar mistakes by Janet Harkin.
‘appen it’s reet by Phil Jewitt.
BlueLightCamp: Weekend Camping Pt1 by Mark Braggins.
Old Pirates Yes They Rob I by Irena Souroup.
The Black playlist by Janet E Davis.
The Blue playlist by Janet E Davis.
Losing and connecting in a Cup Final by Dan Slee.
Local Government Film Survey Launched by Matt Bond.
Stuck on Storify. Or, do as I say, not do as I do… by Lesley Thomson.
Number patterns, wombling and truth
Week 17 was a light week for contributions to Weekly Blog Club but they are all a great read. You will have more time to read, appreciate and respond to most or all of the 9 posts, which cover a variety of topics. This could have been the week for a theme of numbers: 3 of the first 4 posts contained numbers, and the first contained a word that means a number. It was a coincidence…I think.
Matt Bond got the blogging week off to a cracking start with a refreshingly frank account of a tough fortnight in council comms: A fortnight of Social Media: The really good, and the wheelie bad. The county council changed bin collections across the whole county, and the changes did not go as smoothly as planned. This meant that a lot more people suddenly wanted to communicate with their council. Read how they coped with the situation and add your experience or advice. The truth about how difficult situations are resolved can really help others.
Kate Bentham will also be looking for people to participate in the new blog that is being launched as part of the 12th anniversary of her council’s FIS (Family Information Service). Her post - #WeAre12 A Social Media Campaign - covers how they use social media, and indicates that a Curly Wurly (other confectionery is available at shops) could be posted to blog participants.
Writing about blogging was the central focus of Lesley Thomson’s post this week: The first rule of weeklyblogclub… She shares what benefits she gets from the activity. If you want further information about participating in Weekly Blog Club (it is really simple), have a quick read also of our About page whilst I go out shopping for a suitable Evil Mastermind’s Lair.
Diane Sims wrote about an event this week that was all about participating – and it was for a blog (Growing Newsome) which is all about participating in local community activities centred on growing food. The wonderful title Wild Food Wombling gives a very good idea of what they did: learning about foraging for food in the countryside. It is amazing what foods turn out to be edible. There is also an extremely useful clarification on the legal aspects of foraging. Coincidentally, one of the chefs on The Great British Menu this week had used some very unusual foraged ingredients. Apparently, Douglas firs (presumably the foliage), and gorse flowers are edible.
Irena Souroup, who in a previous post enthused about cheese and bread from the land that invented cuisine, considered another aspect of French life this week. She wrote about the candidates for the French presidency in poetic form in Interlude Poetique Politique. I do admire those who can express themselves in poetry. I think I stopped trying to write poetry upon leaving school, but it has been one of my favourite things.
Phil Jewitt shared his favourite number with us this week in 47 not out, and how it has featured in his life thus far, picking up on previous topics involving toy cars and sport (Phil’s post is also our Weekly Blog Club Sports section this week). Hopefully, it will be a great year for him now that he has turned 47.
After hosting guests on her blog during the past couple of weeks, Janet Harkin wrote in it herself this week. Her post - 28 ways to make a telephone - was a delightful glimpse of a child’s imagination, and a plea for people to hang on to some imagination as they grow up. Weekly Blog Club posts indicate that imagination might remain lurking under the surface of many adults.
Bridget McKenzie and I are looking for imaginative people’s suggestions about how alternative, low-energy big public spectacles for night and dark day events. We had a discussion on Twitter. Bridget set up a Pinterest Board, and I blogged about it in Eco-light night spectaculars. We are convinced that there are more possibilities than the ones we have found so far. It may be that some hi-tech engineering that we have not yet seen offers some interesting possibilities, or there could be a low tech approach that has not occurred to us. Do feel free to send either of us links that we could add to the board.
A place that can excite the imagination is Northumberland. Maybe you could try foraging in its wide landscapes? If you want to see what it looks like, try watching the television series Vera - a detective series with the main protagonist named Vera (derived from the Latin word for truth in this case). In Screen time: welcoming Vera, Ross Wigham reveals that it is not by accident that such television series get made in a specific area. Ross explains the benefits to the county of having its stunning scenery shown off to the world* - and what events they are putting in to accompany the series.
Thank you very much to all the readers as well as writers this week. It is lovely to see how many are following the blog and ‘Like’ posts, and great to have the support of lovely tweeter-bloggers such as @comms2point0 and @WeLoveLocalGov. I will do a summary of latest stats next week.
We already have some Week 18 contributions and promises of at least 1 more so far. The (entirely optional) theme this week could be weddings to commemorate regular contributor Louise Brown’s wedding today (Louise is, rather reluctantly, taking a blogging break until after her honeymoon – and I’m sure all readers and writers wish her a happy marriage). Another couple of possibilities for the (entirely optional theme) could be the weather – April has certainly had plenty of weather – or May Day traditions.
Janet
*I may be a little biased. If you ever want me to blog about how gorgeous Northumberland is, just say the word…
PS Advisory: cake as well as the occasional Curly Wurly may be mentioned in the posts listed.
Summary of Week 17 posts
A fortnight of Social Media: The really good, and the wheelie bad by Matt Bond.
#WeAre12 A Social Media Campaign by Kate Bentham.
28 ways to make a telephone by Janet Harkin.
Interlude Poetique Politique by Irena Souroup.
The first rule of weeklyblogclub… by Lesley Thomson.
Wild Food Wombling by Diane Sims.
Screen time: welcoming Vera
Ross Wigham has written about the ITV television detective series Vera for his Week 17 post or, rather, he has written about the backdrop to most of it: Northumberland’s fabulous landscapes and seascapes. He also reveals that the series’ location was the result of many years of hard work.
Facing up, photography, fun and fit
There were 14 excellent posts in Week 16 of Weekly Blog Club. The topics ranged from people facing up to tough decisions to fun and games, with photography and social media for work in between.
Another first-time contributor to Weekly Blog Club, Serena McCrossan was a guest on Janet Harkin’s blog and made the tough decision to tell the story of how she thought that she had failed one time: Business failure is never fatal – a story of bravery. Actually, she told the story of how she succeeded: firstly, in creating a business whilst still studying full-time for her degree and having a young child to look after; secondly, of how she succeeded again after the recession hit her business.
Ian Curwen had Blogged off? and was back again this week, explaining first what he had been doing. was searching for a suitable analogy after deciding that a switch was unsuitable in Analogy time. His two posts tell a story of facing up to tough truths and a determination to make the setback temporary and to continue towards his goals.
Irena Souroup faced up to making a tough decision about which candidate might be her best choice for Mayor of London. Her Week 16 post La Isla Benita is an entertaining analysis of the options.
The power of storytelling is something that both Phil Jewitt and Diane Sims understand better than most. Phil explained how his role of Storyteller worked with the Scrum Master as he was introduced to the agile method of project management in Now that’s a proper scrum, and still agile too Part 1 and Once upon a time… my introduction to Scrum Agile Part 2. Diane wrote about one of the stories of the past in her post – The Titanic: it’s not the watch, it’s the story - and how it had become a strand in her own story and helped her to understand that the story is key.
The potential of technology in our everyday lives as learning tools was on John Patterson’s mind in Diamond Books and Turquoise Daze. I thought of John’s post when listening to a talk about the psychological evidence that should guide good digital design. One message came out very strongly: how hard-wired the human brain is to focusing on another human face. It made me wonder whether that is why a lecture or presentation that I’ve seen delivered live sticks in my mind better than seeing it on screen or just reading the content of it. Would an interactive portable digital device ever be enough?
Social media was quite a strong theme in Week 16 with three posts focused on it. Ross Wigham thought about the changes in technology in his lifetime (and shared some retro-Geordiness) in No hiding place. Louise Brown responded at greater length to a Twitter discussion in which she had participated: How would you tell someone to get started with social media? Kate Bentham provided a very useful (and amusing in the right places) A-to-Z of social media, specifically how it relates to her service in a local authority: S is for ShropCamp (caek/cake may have been mentioned).
Both Matts wrote about popular photography that combines with social media. Matt Bond covered what apps he uses on his iPhone for creating, editing and sharing both moving and still images: What’s on my iPhone: Film and Photo (both beginners and the experienced could find something useful in it). Matt Murray had made a prediction at the beginning of the year that the very popular photography app Instagram would grow a lot, but in his Week 16 post - Instagram – the rise of a mobile giant - he had to revise his estimate for Instagram’s success this year. He also explains why Instagram is popular with those who use it.
Finally, for this week’s sports page, Peter McClymont remembered some more pre-video era table top sports games, some functioning more as fun games to play than others, in Only a game: ballbearings and pucks.
I was too busy taking photographs at DIBI 2012 and then editing them to write a proper blog post this week, but you are welcome to look at the pictures (I will be blogging in words about the event). There are six sets, all beginning with ‘DIBI 2012′).
Does anyone have a good idea for the [as ever, entirely optional] Week 17 theme? My mind will be on catching up with blogging about CultureCode, DIBI 2012; and about the idea circulating that DCMS (Department of Culture, Media and Sport) should cease to exist. I hesitate to suggest a theme of considering what your idea of culture is and how important or unimportant it is to you.
Looking how the brambles in my garden have grown so much and so rapidly during the past few days when we had rain (and sleet, and hail), perhaps the theme should be ‘growth.’ I swear I could see the wretched things grow as I watched.
Thank you very much to all the readers as well as writers. This week, we received our 200th ‘like’ on this blog. It is lovely to see that people appreciate what our wonderful Weekly Blog Club members write.
Have a good week of writing and reading!
Janet
Summary of Week 16 posts
Diamond Books and Turqoise Daze by John Patterson.
Now that’s a proper scrum, and still agile too Part 1 by Phil Jewitt.
What’s on my iPhone: Film and Photo by Matt Bond.
La Isla Benita by Irena Souroup.
No hiding place by Ross Wigham.
The Titanic: it’s not the watch, it’s the story by Diane Sims.
S is for ShropCamp by Kate Bentham.
Once upon a time… my introduction to Scrum Agile Part 2 by Phil Jewitt.
Instagram – the rise of a mobile giant by Matt Murray.
Business failure is never fatal – a story of bravery by Serena McCrossan on Janet Harkin‘s blog.
Only a game: ballbearings and pucks by Peter McClymont.
How would you tell someone to get started with social media? by Louise Brown.
Once upon a time… my introduction to Scrum Agile Part 2
Phil Jewitt continues his tale of scrums and storytelling with a swan. Agile project management experience has had an impact on him and his colleagues.
Once upon a time… my introduction to Scrum Agile Part 2 by Phil Jewitt.
The Titanic: it’s not the watch, it’s the story
For her Week 16 post, Diane Sims has written about a topic that has been in the media a lot – the Titanic – but in her own, very distinctive way. She has combined physics and history to consider this famous ship and its people.
The Titanic: it’s not the watch, it’s the story by Diane Sims.
