Stephen Hale

Twitter guidance and the Foreign Office

It's been fascinating to watch the UK government Twitter guidance story play out in the press.

"Official publishes thorough guidance document" doesn't seem like a story that should attract popular attention. Nor does the subject - corporate Twitter channels - really represent new or novel opportunities for government digital engagement.

We published a Views on News blog about the evolution of the Foreign Office approach to Twitter so I won't repeat what we said there. If you're interested in how the Foreign Office is using Twitter now, you can follow us on one of our channels.

Corporate Twitter channels are fine, but I think it's more interesting to see how individuals (like John Duncan) are embracing the medium for their own benefit, using Twitter to engage in conversations with niche communities of interest.

Posted at 10:59 29 July 2009 by Stephen Hale  |  Comments[4]

Managing websites

"If you run a website you’re expected to know so much stuff: editorial, design, technical, social media, evaluation, resource management. But that doesn’t mean you’re an expert on each (how could you be?)."

Well, I reckon the new Managing Websites blog can help. The blog is the brainchild of Liam King, who's one of the most effective and clear thinking web practitioners I know. It includes posts from Liam and Paul Hosking at the moment, but I know that Liam plans to recruit a squad of bloggers to share their experiences.

The blog is focussed on providing practical advice to people who run websites, using real examples and experiences. It's a welcome antidote to all the blog chatter about vague digital concepts, offering real help to people who run websites.

If you're responsible for managing web content, and have high expectations and limited resources, this blog will become required reading. 

They've been really generous with their tips so far including giving away Liam's trademark devolved editors tracker. 

And while I'm on the subject of other bloggers, I'm really looking forward to the blog-off between the Ronaldo and Kaka of UK government digital engagement in the new super team at the Department for Business Innovation and Skills.

Posted at 10:37 12 June 2009 by Stephen Hale  |  Comments[1]