Bits & Bobs found by Watfordgap

» The Twitter Times

There are thousands of social media applications and websites that are built using feeds from sites such as Flickr or blogs or Twitter; many are passing fads. But every so often I discover a social media application and have a ‘lightbulb moment’ - thinking this IS really useful.

Well Twitter Times (http://twittertim.es) is one of those in the useful category.

I am oftem away from my computer or phone during the day - in meetings, visits or just don’t have the time to follow Twitter all day (yes really!). This website will produce a constantly updating ‘newspaper’ style summary of the recent Twitter activity of those you follow (and their followers).

So, never miss the important news from Twitter and no need to check your phone under the desk in a meeting anymore (ahem!)

Link posted at 11:58 PM (1 day ago) | Permalink

» Swindon to give all its residents free wireless access to the internet

Residents (and visitors) to Swindon in Wiltshire will soon benefit from free public access wireless connectivity.

Whilst it won’t be a replacement for fast connections and large bandwidths needed for video streaming it is a great step towards increasing digital inclusion for those people who want (or need) free limited connectivity.

Lets all move to Swindon!

Link posted at 1:47 PM (4 days ago) | Permalink

» Social by Social - Playing the game on the 30th floor!

The Social by Social game is a great idea that communities can play as they explore the challenges they face and how both conventional off-line and new on-line methods can help achieve those goals. Realism (of a sort) is brought in too as players are given a budget to work within in choosing tools they can use.

We played the game at the Chain Reaction conference on 12th November, this blog post from David and Amy tells the story.

Link posted at 5:47 PM (1 week ago) | Permalink

» Jumpstartkidz - A Facebook Social Media success!

What a great use of Facebook, instantly gathering support for your organisation and using that in a funding application.

Really hope this one is a success, please feedback through @iictpete and let us know!

Link posted at 5:58 PM (1 week ago) | Permalink

» Twitter costs Lord Mandelson's department £3,175 a year - A good ROI!

This one got the “twitterverse” going this afternoon!

It relates to the three twitter accounts run by The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills - @bisgovuk, @digitalbritain, and @BIS_Science, but (aside from the typos and other mistakes) is there really anything amiss here?

The salary quoted - it seems a little high for someone who will be checking and tending to the Twitter accounts.

The overall cost - this relates to three Twitter accounts (so really that’s £1,058.33 per account)

But the important point is that the (quoted) 9,894 people who are following these three twitter accounts have CHOSEN to do so!

If I knew I had this many people following what I was saying out of choice i’d consider a three grand investment at just 32p per person very worthwhile!

But wait, it gets better - (as i’ve just been reminded by @cyberdoyle). The 32p relates to the whole cost per follower! Every message sent is just fraction of this cost. So taking into account actual figures (at 17:34 on 10th November) the three accounts have sent a total of 856 tweets to 9914 followers costing £3175.

I make that 0.037 pence per message - bargain !

Yes, I agree with the spokesperson, “…it (twitter) is very cost effective … at getting our message out to a different audience and it helps us respond to people’s queries quickly”.

Link posted at 5:43 PM (1 week ago) | Permalink

» ICT Security - Lasa Computanews guide

Lasa have just released another of their excellent ‘Computanews Guides’. This one covers the topic of ICT Security. Sections in the guide cover :

• Risk assessment and policies
• Security and computer use
• Securing your ICT assets

There is also a checklist to help you think about risks and how to reduce them and a risk assessment checklist.

Well worth downloading and adding your ICT Library!

Link posted at 2:41 PM (1 week ago) | Permalink

» Why isn't the government closing the digital divide? | Technology | The Guardian

Surely the aim of Digital Inclusion is to CLOSE the Digital DIVIDE not for the Digital CENTRES to be faced with having to CLOSE.

If we want to see Digital Inclusion taking place and many people who are not currently using Internet take up its use, what is needed is :

• PEOPLE who can help and show them how to get online then mentor them as they grow
• PIPES and infrastructure to give access to fast internet connections
• PCs and all the associated hardware and software readily available in a local community environment where they feel comfortable.

These closures are such a step in the wrong direction and a perfect example of where a little investment could reach a lot of people.

Link posted at 6:35 PM (1 week ago) | Permalink

» Community Voices (Media Trust) Research Report

The first report from the Community Voices team (initally called Digital Mentors) at the Media Trust contains an overview of the success stories as well as identifying some of the biggest barriers that prevent disadvantaged communities from finding their voice.

The research shows that there is a wide range of digital media already being used but there are also a number of challenges around information sharing and knowledge exchange, which has resulted in a lot of reinventing the wheel and a lack of sustainability.

The full report can be viewed here or downloaded here.

Link posted at 1:37 PM (1 week ago) | Permalink

» Browser Information Statistics

This is probably one for website developers, but still for all a handy reference site listing which are the most popular web browsers and which are now on the way out.

Link posted at 1:18 PM (1 week ago) | Permalink

» Breaking: Twitter costs British economy less than people who gaze out the window

Interesting perspective on the Daily Telegraph article about time spent on Social Networking sites in the average office.

40 minutes per week (8 mins per day) per employee are “wasted” on these sites it seems. But how much time is spent talking about X-Factor or Sports fixtures? Is this time wasted though, isn’t it all part of social interaction, which we all need to do at work and we all need to continue our discoovery of useful resources on the Internet.

Is a procuctive person one who spends 8 hours at a desk or one which achieves the oucomes set by their employer?

You’ve just spent a copuple of minutes reading this blog post … how productively will you use your remaining 6 mins today!?

Link posted at 11:11 AM (3 weeks ago) | Permalink