As part of my never-ending quest to find something resembling employment, I recently spent a bit of time shadowing at the Scottish Government. It was a great experience, and reassuring to see that there are people there who really properly get it.
It was interesting to see how they are preparing to enter the web 2.0 world, particularly how to mitigate against the potential pitfalls of the openness that web 2.0 entails. Understandably, it’s tentative steps, but the Scottish Government won’t be far behind the rest of the world when it comes to adopting new forms of communication.
The Culture Minister Michael Russell is blogging throughout Scotland Week. As far as I know, this is the first time a Scottish Government minister has set up a blog in an official capacity (excluding the dabblings as part of the National Conversation).
It’s no surprise that Michael Russell would be the first. Apparently he’s quite interested in this stuff. He used to have a blog, and one of his YouTube videos is the most popular the Scottish Government has uploaded.
It will be interesting to see if this experiment leads to more.
subrosa
9 April 2009 02:12
#1
I blogged about his website the other day DV plus an update because I was given a link to Mike on Canadian TV. I do wish more would do this as the internet is the only outlet we have to put forward our viewpoints.
What’s web 2.0? I hear a lot about it but know nothing. If it’s too technical don’t bother replying
subrosa
9 April 2009 02:15
#2
Ah I see what web 2.0 is now. It’s a Windows programme. I use a Mac so it’s no good to me as I just can’t be scunnered with the poor graphics on Windows these days, even if I do have it on this computer.
doctorvee
9 April 2009 12:06
#3
Don’t know where you got the Windows programme from. Web 2.0 is basically “social media” or the “read-write web” — things like blogs, podcasts, wikis and so on.
Stuart Dickson
13 April 2009 20:12
#4
Iain Dale asks:
I don’t know the provenance of A Leaky Chanter. Perhaps one of my Scottish readers could help out.
http://iaindale.blogspot.com/2009/04/red-rags-of-cardiff-edinburgh.html
doctorvee
14 April 2009 00:48
#5
Hi Stuart, good to see you round these parts again. But I have to confess I don’t think I understand why you’ve posted this comment. I believe A Leaky Chanter is run by a disgruntled former Labour MSP, as Malc has pointed out in Iain Dale’s comments.