Public sector blogging in Scotland

I’m going to assume that if you’re reading this you think that people blogging about their work is a GOOD THING. And possibly also that blogging AT WORK about more personal stuff is also a GOOD THING. If, however, you’re not convinced, have a read of this and this.  And if you’re still not convinced – why on earth are you reading this blog?!

I’ve been blogging about my work (with the occasional post about more personal stuff) for about four years now. I’m still not very good at it, but I think the fact that I’m doing it at all is a GOOD THING. For me, even if it’s not for anyone else. And for me other people blogging about their work in the public sector has been a VERY GOOD THING - I’ve learnt a hell of a lot from the blogs I read.

Because it’s a GOOD THING we need more folk doing it. There are some very good blogs with a public sector focus written in Scotland. Here are some that I’m aware of - in no particular order (and with apologies to any I’ve missed out):

• http://benplouviez.wordpress.com/
• http://corrinnedouglas.wordpress.com/
• http://www.prettysimple.co.uk/blog/
• http://royhair.com/
• http://scotgovcamp.wordpress.com

But we can do better!  So I’ve being having a think about how we might get more public sector folk in Scotland blogging. (And I’m talking here about blogging outside the walled garden of the Communities of Practice space – lovely though that garden is.)

Blogger extraordinaire Mr Dave Briggs recently wrote a post about Public Sector Bloggers, which aggregates content from UK public sector blogs (very few are written this side of the border), and mentioned it’s growing unwieldiness (cos of the increase in blogs). Suggestions for the future development of the site include better categorisation and the addition of blogging guidance.

But...I’m wondering if a Public Sector Bloggers type resource specifically for Scotland/Scottish bloggers would be something worth developing?

What do you think?  Would existing Scottish public sector bloggers be keen to have their posts aggregated in this way?  Would it be a useful resource for encouraging people to blog?  Or could we just make more of the existing Public Sector Bloggers site?

I’d also be interested in suggestions for other ways to encourage more blogging in the public sector in Scotland.

The Second ScotGovCamp Blog Post

David beat me to it on the ScotGovCamp blogging front, but I hope there will be lots of ScotGovCamp blog posts in the coming months...

What's a GovCamp then?
 

GovCamps are self organised unconferences for people that work in and around government. The GovCamp movement was started by Jeremy Gould in January 2008 and there have been a number of central and local government focused events in England. 

GovCamps

• are free
• have no set, pre-defined agenda
• focus on attendee participation
• integrate with online stuff
• are relentlessly positive, constructive and creative 

Generally, the GovCamp movement enables those who are interested in developing innovation and technology in government to come together in an informal setting to share their ideas. 

If you're still not sure, check these out: 

• UKGovCamp London 2010  
• LocalGovCamp Lincoln
• LocalGovCamp Yorkshire and Humber 

But why a ScotGovCamp?

ScotGovCamp is partly about me :-)  I've blogged before about not finding that I get much from traditional conferences these days and the un-conference format appeals to me. I can't really justify a trip down south to attend one, so I got to thinking that organising my own event would be the only way I'd get to join the fun.

But it's not all about me :-)  We're probably a wee bit behind our neighbours when it comes to digital engagement. And for being such a wee country we don't seem to be as good at sharing our stories. Where we're probably a bit further ahead though is the way central and local government works together, and in partnership working more generally - we just don't talk about it enough!

So I mooted the idea of a GovCamp for Scotland in various places at the start of the year, and there were enough expressions of interest to warrant taking things forward. 

Where's it happening?

I've attended some brilliant events at the Informatics Forum in Edinburgh - it really is a brilliant, inspiring space. It's pretty central as well - with lots of nice pubs nearby for the partaking of post camp sherberts... 

The folk who work there are also rather brilliant - I hope some of them will be able to participate. 

When's it happening?

Don't worry, it doesn't conflict with the World Cup, T in the Park or the Festivals. And it's a Saturday, so you won't have to miss any work. 

Who should attend?
 

Govcamp isn't just for gov or techie types.  If you have any interest at all in any aspect of digital engagement in Scotland then you should seriously consider coming along.

There will be lots of gov and techie types there though, so it'll be great way to make connections.

What's on the agenda?

Nothing as yet (see above), but here are some of the topics that might come up (I've pinched most of these from LocalGovCamp Yorkshire and Humber which happened this weekend just gone): 

• Social media and efficiencies
• Our digital future – what does it look like?
• Digital inclusion/exclusion
• Libraries and social media
• Online content strategy for local/central government
• Connecting, public culture and cuts – how the social web can help cultural institutions connect with the public
• Stuff you can do with Flickr
• Enterprise 2.0 – deploying social technologies within our organisations to improve communications
• Open data – what steps do we need to get us sharing our data?
• Free and good enough technologies – the next stage of digital services development?
• Smart cities and the internet of things
• Social Media Surgeries – is anyone holding these in Scotland (or something similar)?
• Engaging less able people by the use of virtual walks/events in their area or field of interest
• Front-line social media: engagement, consultation and learning
• Does the growth in social and geo-sensative gaming have any implications for government?
• Innovative responses to emergencies 
• Do we need a Scottish version of data.gov.uk? 

How do I sign up?

 

Sign up (it's free!) at http://scotgovcamp.eventbrite.com/

Can I help out?
 

Yes please!  There's still a fair bit of organising to do. 

Get in touch via

• the Scottish GovCamp group on Dave Briggs' UKGovCamp site
• Twitter - hashtag: #scotgovcamp
• the Scotland Web 2 community on the IS/IDeA CoP platform (login required)
• this blog

Hope to see you there!