Northfield’s civic blogosphere got a boost in the summer of 2004 when a group of government leaders from the U.K. visited Northfield. (We hosted them at the Contented Cow, naturally. They were starved for British beer and bangers and mash.)
It encouraged more local citizens and leaders to try blogging, including those running for local office (it was a presidential election year like this year, with local races for city councils, school board, and county board).
And it helped me get the first of several contracts to work with local councilors in the UK to learn the art of civic leadership blogging. My latest project with the UK involved working with Gallomanor Communications Ltd on the creation of the CivicSurf project video/DVD. From the About page:
CivicSurf aims to inspire and inform civic leaders about the benefits of blogging. We’ve filmed 3 Norfolk County Councillors as they’ve learnt the basics of blogging and used their sites to initiate conversations in and around their communities. The eight minute film also includes the views from expert bloggers such as Tom Watson MP, Steve Webb MP and Cllr Mary Reid. It will be distributed on DVD to 1,000 public bodies including councils, emergency services and NHS Trusts along with copies of a 32pp booklet that informs readers of the basics of blogging.
I coached the three UK councilors over several months and wrote much of the documentation for the booklet. In May, Gallomanor’s Shane McCracken premiered the video at a conference in London.
Here’s the the trailer:
Click play to watch. 1 minute.
I have a copy of the DVD (it runs 15 minutes), and I’d like to host one or more free public showings here in Northfield for anyone:
- serving in a public capacity (elected, appointed, or considering it)
- serving in a staff leadership position for a local government or non-profit organization
Yes, I have a blog coaching/web design business, but I won’t be hawking my services at this meeting. And there are several others here in town who do a great job at setting up blog sites (e.g., Sean Hayford O’Leary, Tim Jackson, Scott Schumacher, and proabably others).
I’ll host these showings either in the meeting room at the Northfield Public Library or at a local pub.
I’ve set up a Doodle (free web service for scheduling meetings) to determine which days might work for the most number of people. Enter your name, tick the checkboxes on those days that you’d be able to attend (all times are 7pm), and click the Participate button.
Questions? Attach a comment or contact me.
Interested? Then Doodle!
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