We want to know where the public sector is using social media. Are you on the map?
We're compiling the UK's best, perhaps only, mashup detailing where the public sector is using social media.
You may ask why we need such a mashup. Well, as social media becomes more important in engaging with the public it's going to be useful to know who is doing what and if others can learn from their experiences.
So, here it is in Google Maps form. You can have a swoop and zoom around the UK to see who is doing what.
Pretty soon we'll follow this up with a few pages that give more detail about the data.
Right now, there's only a couple of us who can edit the map, but we're willing to open it up to everyone soon, but for now, add a comment if you know of social media being used in the public sector that we don't have on the map! |
How to use: If you haven't used Google Maps before, no fear, it's a doddle. Use the zoom icons in the top left corner to zoom in and out. Just grab the map using your mouse and move it around in the pane to relocate yourself.
It's worth knowing that at higher 'altitudes' you may not see all of the markers, so you'll need to zoom in...especially around London! Barnet Council have six or seven markers alone!
You can also look at the table to see a list of all the markers.
Colour coding:
View Larger Map
Click here to view the table of all the markers on the map!
Great idea...
Well done, Paul - this is a great use of a mash-up. I think you & Lilian may have bitten off a bit more than you can chew though, because there is actually quite a lot going on, albeit rather disjointedly. Looking at the map I thought there must be more than this so I did a quick Google search on blog council .gov.uk and here are just some of the relevant hits (and these are all live blogs with entries less than a week old):
And here's one I loved:
Bookstart Bear's blog - a Plymouth libraries initiative - this is the way it ought to be - (http://plymouthbb.wordpress.com/), and Bookstart Bear is alo on Flickr.
There were also several I found where the last posting was several weeks or even months old. Should we have a "name and shame" section? I won't put any names up now, but at least one of them is not too far from where you're based Paul!
I'm going to be ruthless here...I've only added the Plymouth Libraries and Bookstart bear links.
The other blogs don't give the reader the chance to comment in a way that a blog should. They are really just published pages on the website with a "contact us' link.
As I said ruthless. But as Christine Ohurougo gets her Gold Medal in the background I'm going to grade these efforts as Bronze.
Valiant, but not quite there yet.
-pc.
Paul
You are quite right, of course. Most of the examples I gave were "read only" listings.
On one hand we could be cynical and say that this is councils using buzz-words like blog for badging what is no more than an alternative type of press release; but on the other (and I suspect more to be the case) is that councils have not yet really understood the meaning and use of these tools, and are applying old fashioned ways of thinking to new paradigms. There's a very interesting book about this (and other things to do with the way organisations work, or don't work) called "Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations" - I'd recommend it if you haven't read it before.
At the risk of suggesting more no-go entries, how about the following:
If you add me to the map editors' group I can't guarantee that I'd follow up much more than these postings (it has piqued my interest, but I'm not sure I have the time to sustain this level of input). So if you do add me, thanks very much - but I hope you won't mind if I don't contribute an awful lot!
Hey Bruce,
I like a challenge, but I also like to take it on with the help of others, so I'm going to open up the editing of the map - in time.
You're right, there's no way I can keep up with everything that is happening and will need people to add their own stuff.
So, the idea is to try and get people aware of the map and want to add stuff to it. When we get a few people asking to have their work added, then I'll likely open it up.
In the meantime, I can add you to the access control if you want to help out?
-pc.
Paul, if you gave me permission to edit the map then I'm afriad it got lost in the fog.
A couple from Manchester City Galleries:
Hi,
I'm a web producer at the Houses of Parliament. You could add our Flickr, YouTube, FriendFeed, Facebook sites - that would be great. We've also just launched a production blog: http://parliamentlabs.wordpress.com/
Email me reidai@parliament.uk if you've got any questions. Or you want me to edit the map.
Alistair
Hi Alistair
Thanks for the information. Yes, we will add these asap. Great to see all these new sites.
Thanks Alistair.
I've added them now...getting nicely busy over there on the Houses of Parliament!
-pc.
Hello,
Thanks for that.
Alistair
Hi
We've got quite a few apps/social media link that aren't on the map:
thanks!
Magic, thanks much! Adding them now.
-pc.
Hi Paul
Thanks for the fast add!
We've also created a Friendfeed account: http://friendfeed.com/sthelenscouncil
thanks again
Done
I've just added a bunch of pins for Bracknell Forest...facebook, twitter, flickr, forum, RSS feeds.
Thanks to Colin Stenning for letting us know about them.
-pc.
Hillingdon has a number of sites not currently marked - please can these be added to the map...
Fyi, Brent Council has a YouTube channel at http://www.youtube.com/brentcouncillondon
Thanks.
Hi Paul
can you add some pins for Wakefield Council please
Twitter - http://twitter.com/WeloveWakefield
RSS - http://www.wakefield.gov.uk/RSS/News.xml
Thanks.
Hi Mark,
Both are now added. Thanks for letting us know.
-pc.
Hi, this is a great map. Please can you add a pin for the Oxfordshire Family Information Service twitter feed -
Thanks
Gavin
Hi Gavin,
Added! Thanks for updating us.
-pc.
I'm working on an update to the map so anyone can add their stuff to it. Should be along shortly, just as soon as I can figure out how the heck Google Maps API will let me do what I want it to do.
Fun.
-pc.
Hi there, great map. Needs more populating though - lots more pins on this one: http://www.lgeoresearch.com/uk-local-councils-social-media-map/
That site has a list of councils on Twitter, Facebook etc. Think there are over 100 council Twitter accounts now.
Also, E-government Register appears to have taken this on so I think it will be maintained: - see
http://www.brent.gov.uk/egr.nsf/documents/Social+Media