New Media Awards 2008

Weblog Archive - July 2007

New media's brightest stars

The annual ceremony celebrated those who are transforming communities and connecting government

This year's New Media Awards highlighted the impact of digital media has on connecting a people to its government. An audience full of MPs, Lords, NGO do-gooders, journalists and technophiles cheered and applauded the winners under the stars at Westminster Abbey College Gardens.

Perhaps the most impressive example of the way new media can connect people was this year's advocacy winner Stop The Traffik (STT). The website, which is ...

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New Media Awards 2007 Winners

EducationCreate-a-scape by Futurelabhttp://www.createascape.org.uk

The Create-A-Scape website is provided by futurelab, with the support of the DfES and HP Labs, to enable teachers and students to create mediascapes (location-based media) as easily as possible and to find all the resources they need for their creation in one place – software, step-by-step guides and the inspiration to get started. Create-A-Scape was inspired ...

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Bluetooth spam from the thin Blue line

I never thought I'd see the day, but the Police are getting into spamming videos onto mobiles.

West Yorkshire Police has launched 999tv.org showcasing video featuring advice from a number of the region's police officers, as well as the Fire and Rescue Service.

Force website communications manager Patrick Brooke said: "With the proliferation of video based websites and the movement towards an increasingly technology based workplace, this latest ...

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Uncosted, unknown and over here

The National Audit Office says many government departments are unaware how much their websites cost, who is using them and why. The NAO report found that although internet users rate government websites reasonably well, the quality of those websites has improved only slightly since 2002.

It recommends departments carry out regular research to ensure they are providing the right services to the public and collect and analyse usage ...

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The Net advantage

With broadband at the kind of pricing that a dial-up modem went for in the mid-90s you'd think the whole nation was online playing World of Warcraft by now. Wrong.

The latest research says the "digital divide" between those with convenient access to the Internet and those without is actually deepening. The report shows that that three in four people counted as socially excluded are also "digitally ...

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A new petition?

Apparently we will soon be able to petition Parliament electronically. That, at least, appears to be the implication of a small, almost unnoticed section of Gordon Brown's 3 July speech last week. In it he said: "I also encourage this House to agree a new process for ensuring consideration of petitions from members of the public."

Buried in a wide ranging parliamentary statement on constitutional reform, the statement was ...

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A block to transparency?

The government is obstructing a bill to establish a new website for information on public sector spending on the grounds that it would cost too much.

The bill originated in the House of Lords, but is now being led by Conservative MP David Gauke. He argues - not without merit - that it would improve transparency and enable people to engage in important public debates: "What better way of ...

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EUTube on YouTube

David Cameron has a lot of answer for. His WebCameron site created a stir when he started posting up YouTube style videos. Evidently it hasn't worked on his own party, who are still confused about policies (along with the rest of us), but whatever he's done, he helped start a vogue.

Now the European Commission has launched a channel on YouTube to allegedly improve the way it ...

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New Media Awards 2007 Finalists

We are pleased to unveil the finalists for this year's New Media Awards in association with Atos Origin.

Education

This award will go to the body or project that has made the most significant contribution to education through the use of new media technology.Create-a-scape by FuturelabElgg OSThe Open University

Advocacy

This award will go to the individual or organisation that has most effectively influenced opinions and behaviour through the use of new media technology.Intelligent GivingOxjam (Oxfam)Stop ...

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