• Smarta - Think create grow
  Smarta is a new support platform for anyone starting or running a small business
  (tags: social networking video business entrepreneur startups smarta advice)
• City of Lincoln Council - Planning & Building Control - Plan
  Nice and forward thinking from Lincoln - good work! (via Tom Taylor)
  (tags: maps google mysociety planning lincoln)

2009 brings a big change for me and for FutureGov. From today FutureGov will be expanding from me to three, as I’ve now asked Michelle Lyons and Justin Kerr-Stevens to join me as two new directors. To celebrate, the three of us thought we’d run a competition to send a public servant from central or local government to the 2009 Politics Online conference in Washington D.C.

• bristolstreets.co.uk : green capital
  Green and greening Bristol (via Ed Mitchell)
  (tags: maps google sustainability green bristol lowcarbon)
• Saving the World, One Tweetup at a Time - Advertising Age - DigitalNext
  Big news coverage of the global Twestival phenomenon, the Twitter festival FutureGov is helping to sponsor (the London arm at least!)
  (tags: news events twestival advertising amandarose)
• Hophive :: Local your way
  Really nice hyperlocal site from @kalv and the @hophive crew. Well worth a look (disclaimer: @kalv and I are working on @accesscity together but I only pimp things I'm a fan of!)
  (tags: social maps community local hyperlocal accesscity hophive)
• Digital britain - interim report - Department for Culture Media and Sport
  Here it is then. Views on their way at some point or go read someone else seeing as there's plenty being written about it already!!
  (tags: media internet government bbc uk digital digitaldivide dcms digitalbritain)

• Social media 'might alienate disabled' - Third Sector
  Too much focus on digital marketing could exclude those with visual or hearing impairments, says BBC blogger Steve Bowbrick (via Ben Matthews)
  (tags: enabledbydesign social marketing media disability bbc digital)
• Richard Grice, communications, engagement and nudge | Idea Performance
  He da man
  (tags: barnetcouncil nudge policy IDeA richardgrice)

• Barnet possibilities
  Snazzy new recruitment site from Barnet's Children Service. Biggest innovation not the site per se, but the fact that they've managed to pull recruitment for all children's services jobs into one place, with partner organisations such as the NHS up next. Good work.
  (tags: youth barnetcouncil innovation recruitment childrensservices)
• Care Quality Commission consults on involving people who use services
  Consulting on consulting may just drive people nuts…
  (tags: consultation involvement publicservices socialcare inspection regulation)
• Review of international evidence on the cost of disability | DWP
  A case for direct payments
  (tags: research disability benefits dwp)
• How Twitter Can Help at Work - Shifting Careers Blog - NYTimes.com
  Sound advice
  (tags: twitter enterprise2.0 marketing howto microblogging blog business)
• Innovating Nonprofit Fundraising and Social Entrepreneurship: For Impact | The Suddes Group
  "We Transform 'Nonprofits'"
  (tags: socialenterprise management business fundraising nonprofit coaching)

• Technology can make our public services even better, says Minister
  Biggup the web
  (tags: internet technology publicservices tomwatson cabinetoffice gordonbrown)
• Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee (DPTAC)
  "Welcome to the website of the Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee. We advise the UK Government on access for disabled people to transport." (via Laura North)
  (tags: accessibility disability government london uk travel cars transport access accesscity trains)
• London Underground launches groundbreaking accessibility information service to ease travel | Transport for London
  If directenquiries wasn't sheer hell to use this would be great. But then I would say that with my AccessCity hat on wouldn't I? (via @anniemole)
  (tags: accessibility accesscity tfl tube directenquiries)
• Are My Sites Up?
  "Are My Sites Up is a very simple service to help you keep an eye on your sites and warn you if they go down." (via Brokendrum70)
  (tags: tools websites monitoring performance free hosting)
• Peel Centre
  Fully accessible community centre on the borders of kings cross
  (tags: enabledbydesign accessibility disability london kingscross olderpeople assistivetechnology peelcentre)
• MapTube
  "MapTube is a free resource for viewing, sharing, mixing and mashing maps online. Created by UCL's Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis, users can select any number of maps to overlay and view."
  (tags: tools maps uk statistics visualization mashup ucl)

• ICT spending reaches all-time high | LGC
  But on the right things? I'm guessing not
  (tags: technology localauthority IT socitm LGC)
• BBC NEWS | Programmes | The Westminster Hour | Long-term strategy
  Interesting although unrealistic. Strategy as a science? I don't think so.
  (tags: government strategy youngfoundation geoffmulgan)
• Intel Social Media Guidelines
  One of the best and most complete I've seen (via Jonathan Tunde-Wright)
  (tags: wiki enterprise2.0 social media work policy guidance)
• MyNightOff - Babysitting by people you know and trust
  "Babysitting by people you know and trust … your friends and family. Use MyNightOff.com to administer your babysitting circle." Nice idea (via Leisa Reichelt)
  (tags: social parenting family net babysitting children)
• If You’re a Government 2.0 Guru, You have no Business in Government 2.0 | Technosailor.com
  "Here’s the stark reality of the Government 2.0 space: There are very few gurus and taking on that mantle will doom your ability to work in the sector… The established government is where the real change begins." All the hype and spin around social media comes to gov - and makes you feel rather nauseous with it. PR has its place, but not at the heart of government. Time to get real and put these tools to work as one piece of the jigsaw to improve government (via Justin Kerr-Stevens)
  (tags: social media government pr branding)
• Fastlaners
  "Fastlaners is a two week intensive course for graduates at a much higher risk of not finding suitable employment. Designed by the Young Foundation, supported by the charity Edge, it focuses on the non-cognitive skills required to help secure graduate employment." Is it just me or is it a little bizarre a charity helping poor lowly Masters students into work?!!
  (tags: work youngfoundation graduate employment)
• aMap
  Create a debate. More great work from the guys at Delib (via Ed Mitchell)
  (tags: consultation deliberative software visualization discussion delib)
• The *Real* web design rule for 2009 - Retro-Portalisation - broadstuff
  Rules for making the web (via Ed Mitchell)
  (tags: websites design rules)
• Don't canonise your saints before they have performed their miracles - broadstuff
  "And of course there is that little issue of democracy being for all the people, not just the weborati". Nice sobering take on Obama. Here's hoping he performs some miracles and quick or the end of Obama could mean the end of democracy? (via Ed Mitchell)
  (tags: politics us barakobama government strategy analysis)
• Champion Hoodie Remix - A hoodie design competition
  A model for how we could remix/personalise everything? (via Carrie Bishop)
  (tags: design products shopping clothes personalisation fashion)
• Open Source Schools
  "Open Source Schools is here to share information about open source software in schools. Our aim is to help you decide whether open source software might offer benefits for learning, teaching, engaging pupils and parents, managing information and resources, or school administration." Nice (via Derek Baird)
  (tags: technology education school uk software opensource)
• How Obama Will Use Web Technology
  Communication, transparency and participation put at the centre for Obama. On the one hand, great! On the other, "no shit!" and "how?" come to mind. Key questions we're all grappling with right now (via Ed Mitchell)
  (tags: techcrunch politics us barakobama communications participation transparency)
• The Wired Presidency: Can Obama Really Reboot the White House?
  "Obama has been acknowledging feedback but not necessarily heeding it. And that's what we can expect from Obama's plan to post all pending nonemergency legislation online and allow the public to comment for five days before he acts on it. By mid-December, technology advisers were still struggling to determine the best way to implement the idea. The bigger question is, what will it accomplish? Even the system's own architects concede that it's unlikely that online comments and voting will sway the decision to sign or veto." And there we have it. Now how do we fix that sticky issue? A "do the green thing" style dailt competition for the 13m on his mailing list perhaps? (via Ed Mitchell)
  (tags: politics us participation government legislation engagement feedback)
• digitaldemocracy / FrontPage
  "This wiki is part of Tufts University's new course on Digital Democracy." (via Carrie Bishop)
  (tags: wiki democracy politics participation government university academia local)
• Twitter: fount of free drinks :: Blog :: Headshift
  Biggup the twitter massive. Couldn't agree more - although the thought of a twitter strategy leaves me a little cold!
  (tags: twitter social blogs headshift)
• urbaneer.net | London
  "We are here to encourage you to go out there and discover and experience London for yourself!" (via Richard Tyrie)
  (tags: cities london accesscity flashmob)

• Next generation council websites? | Simon Wakeman - public sector communications, marketing and public relations
  Analysis of next gen council sites, including our work at Barnet
  (tags: barnetcouncil government localauthority websites)
• Jadu Content Management Systems
  .Net CMS
  (tags: enterprise2.0 social media websites software microsoft php cms .net)
• Twitter / Lee Bryant: gofourth.co.uk is the best …
  Strong words about a rather odd site broadcasting over a 'social' medium
  (tags: politics government uk elections newlabour)
• Adapt In Style
  Beautiful useful things. An inspiration to Enabled by Design (via Paul Miller)
  (tags: enabledbydesign photos assistivetechnology tumblr)
• Cheltenham Borough Council Homepage
  Lovely site. Great to find another council going down the same route as Barnet (via Carrie Bishop)
  (tags: social media internet localauthority websites youtube flickr)

• Network map of US Congress twitterers | Mediaczar
  via Alberto Nardelli
  (tags: twitter politics us network visualization congress graph)
• NYTE | Visuals
  Flow of Internet Protocol out from NYC (via Oli Mould)
  (tags: maps us internet technology visualization networks IP nyc traffic)

• Homepage | London Twestival 2009
  FutureGov sponsoring this great charity tweet up. See you there!
  (tags: twitter events twestival futuregov)
• webank.org.uk
  Great event and really interesting emerging area of peer to peer relationships
  (tags: nesta finance recession banks money)