Blogtalk NI: Councils; Education; and the democratising effects of the Internet…
Great conversation between SDLP councillor blogger Matt McDermott, Geoff (aka Bobballs!) and Alan (from whom I picked the story up)… Really good conversation on Councils and councillors, their attitude to public information and the way they deal with citizens inquiry… Geoff plugs some of the free data stuff from Government2010 conference in London last week… My top tip there is Tom Steinberg’s excellent keynote on the freeing of data on government… And in particular, there is the www.whatdotheyknow.com/ (which publiclyaggregating FOIs) and www.fixmystreet.com/ (which is actually very popular with councillors because it flags up problems they can get their teeth into)… This is all followed by probably the best debate on education you’ll see online or off… Great mention of Malachi’s piece on how the poor die younger than their wealthy Belfast neighbours just streets away…And Geoff’s nomination for the best blog post on Trafigura… Oh, and there’s some gob on at the end talking about his site, and the Slugger Awards… You can nominate for the Council and Councillor categories…
And I’ll re-iterate the appeal to women bloggers… if you want to go on the show in future weeks… Just email: carl AT northernvisions DOT org
Talking of blogs and councils – and, no, this isn’t a Moyle Council story
Blog sparks mass council walkout