Here at Delib, we're the kind of people that like to learn from each other and from what the other companies in our group do. We had a really interesting talk a few weeks ago on social media vs 'search engine optimisation' (SEO), from Tim in our sister viral marketing agency Rubber Republic

We like the Consultation Institute. Their courses are interesting and they've come from nothing to national prominence in just a few years, all impressive stuff. But occasionally, when it comes to online consultation, they seem to miss a few tricks. Their newsletter this week is interesting, reflecting as it does on media stories that the government may be putting its new 'Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act' on hold. For… read more

Anyone else catch this (the episode and the drift)?  I watched the latest episode of Spooks over the weekend (and enjoyed it, so what?) and, part-way through, realised that it was actually a dramatisation of what's going on in the heads of those risk-averse types who see in online participation cause for terror and dread and disruption, rather than opportunity and progress and value. I don't want to give the… read more

Before the article, a brief synopsis of it for the tech savvy 

 

"TL:DR? gez @delibconsults wants tweet txt kept simple #web2.0"

 

Now actual words for real people. … read more

I'm in the London office today, and just took a photo of this postcard on the wall, thinking it would fit with a blog post at some point. Then it suddenly struck me, today's main internet news in this part of the world fits it perfectly.  You can read more about it elsewhere, but in essence, a gagging order was… read more

As part of my daily activities with Delib, I’ve been speaking to council employees who are involved in budget consultation at their various establishments. Because of this, I've been fortunate enough to quickly gain a good understanding of the differing councils’ perspectives on consultation. As you’d expect, there are some councils that run very extensive budget consultation and some that, it would be fair to say, seem to be avoiding… read more

Can't really let this one go past without comment. For all the controversy and debate stirred up by the number 10 e-petitions site over the last year, this one may have legs.

A user has submitted an e-petition to the site that, through being kept nice and simple, has got round some of the barriers to petitions being of a political nature. It simply says "We the undersigned petition the

I have been doing a lot of talking to people recently, proposing and kicking off various projects, and one thing that's almost guaranteed at such meetings is someone saying 'sorry, I didn't understand that'. 

At the end of the day, if someone doesn't understand something, it's the fault of the person explaining it, not the person who doesn't understand. But it's got me thinking about how we explain what we do… read more

Sometimes you blog stuff because it's of interest, sometimes you blog it because you just can't make head nor tail of something and you hope other people can. This is one of those latter times.

Lady Greenfield, professor of synaptic pharmacology at Lincoln College, Oxford, has warned that social network sites risk 'infantilising' the human mind, leaving it characterised by short attention spans, sensationalism, inability to empathise and a shaky

Odd story this one, can half see the point of it, but half think it's going to go horribly wrong. Basically, Crimestoppers and Lancashire Police have just launched a service allowing young people to text a number to report someone at their school carrying a knife.  The text will be anonymous, and is meant to help the police deal with knives in schools. On a superficial level, it's yet another of… read more