web24gov

In the Web 2.0 world the only way to control content is to deliver it and then get in front of as many people as possible.

It's Day 2 and I've decided that I like secondments. It's great to have time to think! And to meet with people virtually and face to face. Had lunch with David Wilcox today which always gets the brain cells going and some good stuff came in over Twitter too. See the Miniblog. Thanks people.

Also talked about community media and recalled the importance of distinguishing the content and the delivery channels.

When communication channels were controlled - firstly by Government and then increasingly by 'media moguls' - content was controlled by the few.

Government departments have messages to get out and increasingly good content, but the trouble is, it is often buried away on Government websites. What if the Government set up a widget factory? Initially this would churn out bespoke widgets for communities who wanted, say, crime stats for their community website. Later, the process might be automated - 'build your own widget'.

This would get Government content out through community channels, suitably filtered to match local need. Any thoughts?

I arrived at CLG at about 9:10 having taken the wrong route from Euston. Jamie met me in reception and took me via the kitchen for a coffee into an introductory meeting where she 'downloaded' a lot of paper-based information and started to explain a glossary of terms. She did a pretty good job which was evident from the fact that at the team meeting in the afternoon I understood virtually every acronym and term used. Key among these are: