I've bits & bobs to share

Three and a half years ago a chap I barely knew invited me along to an unstructured event with a curious title. (And it was in the evening 60 miles from home!)

I’m so glad I took up the invitation from @podnosh and went to that first surgery in Birmingham as it left a lasting impression on me and I’m pleased to read has now been recognised for its true value.

We joke in the post-surgery ‘de-briefs’ (official title @ncvsjo!) about the basking in the #socialglow, but what matters MOST and what ‘s already happening is people leaving the surgeries eager to get back to their communities and organisations and put into practice what they’ve discovered. And then to return next month and share it with us.

Thanks also Nick for inspiring me to follow your recipe and champion the cause of Social Media Surgeries in numerous other locations up and down the country from fields to festivals, conferences to coffee shops and even offices to trains. An evening in Birmingham is now nothing compared to the slightly ‘enthusiastic’ taxi driver who rescued @johnpopham and I from Harrogate one night!

Although I lost the ‘blog thing’ a while ago (I really must address that one!), I’ve blown the dust off my blog to share my thoughts from back then (Blog Action Day 2008). Although some of links are broken, many of the precious things created then such as the Court Lane Allotments blog and what has become CanalScene are still very much active and that aim to spread far and wide is certainly happening.

If Big Society means anything then this is an example of it working well, people who can-do helping people who want-to so that we all-grow.

Be inspired, if there isn’t one nearby - set one up - you won’t regret it and you might just enjoy it!

Well done mate!

This is very good!

Although written from within a local authority, these 15 challenging statements from @helreynolds on the @comms2point0 blog can just as easily apply to any sector. As I read them, so many rang true for charities I’ve been involved with. “Work is not somewhere you go, but something you do” - oh yes!

This should be something you have on your desk or pinned up on the wall so that whenever doubt or concern is raised you can quickly dispel their fear and hopefully move step-by-step closer to being a digital organisation.

Some good examples of bad examples here!

QR codes are great - really great if used correctly!

Look forward to seeing this list from C4LPT produced each year. It shows how web-based learning tools or ‘on-line learning’ doesn’t have to be a formal programme, but that there are many and varied ways to gather knowledge and learn from other people.

Great to see Twitter at the top again!

Thanks

OK. Its flashy and a bit gaudy and of course you shouldn’t believe all the statistics and marketing hype you see on the web … but this really is staggering!

Just click on some of the buttons for mobile use and comparisons with other media!

Although these numbers take some comprehending, they clearly show this is Social Media … and its HUGE!

(Picked up from @bigbible - http://bigbible.org.uk/2011/06/does-social-media-count/#.TqnlHfrY-uI - Thanks!)

Two things in my inbox in quick succession, both about how social media is used. Loosely slung together here, mainly for my reference library, but maybe of use to others too.

Firstly (from @owlfood), to add to the cringeworthy (but funny) videos about social media is this one about NEEDING a social media strategy. I’m sure I hope this never really happens … but I bet it does!

A much more productive way to use social media is to listen and to listen much more than you broadcast. I was always told to use my ears more than my mouth and these five great ideas on the NTEN website will help do just this when using the Internet.

The tips at the end are great too, developing so much more of a listening and responding social media strategy than the cartoon depicting a broadcast strategy!

I’m looking around today for social media tools that are relevant and helpful for voluntary and community organisations.

So it’s great to find this resource and toolkit list on the oneforty website. Plenty of tool kits which will appeal to a wide range of ‘nonprofits’ and plenty of tools to help with listening, marketing, analysis of statistics … and much much more.

Something for everyone!

These look useful - one for the bookmarks!