How has the Prime Minister got almost a million Twitter followers?

@DowningStreet

No.10 Downing Street, much less noticed than Stephen Fry's following on Twitter, has amassed almost a million followers on Twitter.

This must count as by far and away the biggest, and least noticed, success of Downing Street's digital team.

I take my hat off to them for this. Why on earth aren't they crowing about it more though?

Posted via email from Rob's posterous

Using the internet for better public consultation

Steph Gray's blog has a great presentation that he gave yesterday on the future of public consultations, and how the internet can help engage a wider range of people, improve the quality of ideas generated and significantly change the policy process.

I particularly like the Simply Understand blog which translates official policy speak into readable English.

Posted via email from Rob's posterous

Rob has got Posterous automatically cross posting emails to Facebook, blog and Twitter. :)

Posted via email from Rob's posterous

Posterous

I’m very impressed.

I can email post@posterous.com and it automatically creates a blog for me. And my first blog posting.

It then, after a quick set up, cross posts this to my Blogger blog.

Posted via email from Rob's posterous

Who is least trusted?

Well according to this MORI poll I've dug up from late 2008 it's journalists, with a net rating of -55%.

'Politicians' come in at -52%.


So is it entirely rational for politicians to use the other least trusted people, journalists, to try and change their reputation?

How are the political parties doing campaigning online

There's a feature in PR Week this week examining this.

It's fairly straightforward, with this conclusion on the Lib Dems:

The verdict
Outside contenders. Good tools for local activists are let down by terrible design and weak integration. Bloggers fare better, especially at a local level, and overall understanding of social media is impressive. Pack’s departure leaves some very big shoes to fill.

You can find it here.

Seeing people not stereotypes

I'm continually amazed at how much we all fall into stereotyping old people, rather than recognising them as being just like everybody else.

As pensioners gradually choose to go online this seems to be changing to me as pensioners are refusing to stick in their designated areas, and are out their challenging our prejudices.

This posting, from my amazing great uncle, makes the point brilliantly:

From schooling (what there was of it) I became a pilot. And when the war ended I started in medicine (scotched by TB), stage designer, landscape artist, traveller and illustrator, sculptor, writer of books and articles, and back to being a painter – with lots of little bits in between.
And all along I have brought up children, run gardens, run houses, cooked for all and sundry, as well as creating two small, experimental vineyards.

You can read the full post here.