Dec 1

I’m in a time warp, get me out of here

So why bother to register a concern in the face of an entrepreneurial success story? It’s the box ticking mentality of the English political establishment that has me worried. The pressure will be lifted from our principle service provider, local politicians will see a reduction in their mail as broadband issues disappear and the UK government can look a financial saving in the eye and say “thank heaven for that!” let’s move on.

Oct 31

Big Society Digital Challenge

Like impatient children on a long journey we say “are we there yet?” To which the reply comes, “nearly” but should we be asking what else should be changing along the way? I’m a digital optimist: I believe that digital technologies can change lives though for me that means tackling the barriers to change at the organisational level. Digital politics are deeply embedded in the social fabric and shifting the balance in favour of the majority will not come quickly or easily.

Jun 2

Rebooting Rural

To those who understand, who get IT, who have vision and imagination that goes beyond a responsibility to shareholders there is no issue in understanding the potential for unlimited bandwidth in rural areas. For everybody else it is sometimes difficult to describe the one big idea that would make it a worthwhile investment.

Mar 6

Plus ca Change, Plus ca Meme Chose

In a truly digital society there is no reason why any digitally included person should not participate in society, or in the economy. Yet, because we organise ourselves on an industrial basis those who cannot join the mass movement to centres of production on a daily basis are excluded from the economy and relegated to a dependency on the state.

Jan 18

Being Digital 2010

In 1995 “Being Digital” by Nicholas Negroponte (Professor of Media Technology at MIT and founder of Media Lab) was a “must read” for anybody interested in how digital technology was having an impact on the world. The potential of digital technology as a catalyst for change was only just starting to gain traction in the mass [...]

Dec 12

A Holy Trinity

     On Friday Martha Lane-Fox Tweeted: “RT NewStatesman xmas issue: @Marthalanefox has agreed to be our celebrity subscriber of the week : HELP, not feeling v funny or inspired!” Along with I have no idea how many others I put forward my suggestions: access to the knowledge society as a fundamental right not as [...]

Nov 16

Social Innovation and the Knowledge Society – Now is the Time.

The announcement, on Friday, that our local council was considering cutting the most expensive bus routes  struck a chord with me. I remember when the bus services were centralised, it was a good example of target driven policy making. Community transport had been offering a service to people for years and they had it down [...]