Resources for Everything

UK focussed study; links to wider and narrower studies at
http://www.ofcom.org.uk/research/tce/ce07/

Excellent 300 page up to date report, much of it international comparisons including emerging markets, of a wide range of communications technologies. Not happy with the definition of Web 2.0 in the glossary, though.

My friend John and I are going to become YouTube ukulele heroes.

Because:
a) it's easier than starting a band (no drummers); and
b) we have the perfect blend of competence and incompetence

Setlist so far includes:
* No Surprises
* All Along the Watchtower
* Two Princes (just need to nail the solo)
* Brown Eyed Girl

Now working on:
* Johnny B. Goode
* Are You Gonna Go My Way
* Stairway to Heaven
* Under the Bridge
* Ukin' On A Prayer
* No Whippet, No Cry
* Black Dog (no, really)
* Hey Ya

Suggestions welcome!

This is a great collection of books that are not just motivational but really life changing, with interesting perspectives and more.. as the name says Read This Change Your Life at www.readthischangeyourlife.com

hi,i m direct,a boy from china.i wanna learn spanish because i think it's very interesting and useful.i 'd like to make frieds you and open my eyes to the world,thank you!

Great 'world 1.0 -> world 2.0' post from Euan Semple. Best line:

"It is not about technology but about a shift in behaviours from a command and control mentality to an instigate and nurture one."

A matrix for evaluating wikis

Discussing ROI for social media use - things you can measure vs those you can't.

“It may look as though kids are wasting a lot of time hanging out with new media, whether it’s on MySpace or sending instant messages,” said Mizuko Ito, lead researcher on the study, “Living and Learning With New Media.” “But their participation is giving them the technological skills and literacy they need to succeed in the contemporary world. They’re learning how to get along with others, how to manage a public identity, how to create a home page.”

Good blog post reminder about appropriate tool for task, but inappropriate for those working on it.

Opinionated piece on the essential nature of web 2.0 tools not least in the public sector.

I've just had a very interesting e-mail exchange with Rowena Young at NESTA about social innovation and social technologies, and particularly the need to reach out beyond the normal early adopter communities into the much larger community of 'non-webbies'. In Rowena's words:

"We are concerned most with the application of innovation to social change and impact, so novelty gets tempered by what difference it's actually making."

Nice paper by Luke Razzell about Twitter, how it's being used and what it's really useful for. (Thanks Euan!)

If you're in London this weekend, take a look at the London Free School weekender. There are all kinds of sessions from recycled glass fusing and clothes making, to a discussion on permaculture and the mysterious-sounding "Workshop of Nothing".

This week a couple of friends of mine asked me to teach them how the web works, and the basics of what they'd need to know to commission their own websites. So I found myself in the strange position of being their teacher for the evening. I think I did okay, so here's what I did, and what I learnt:

1. I asked them what they wanted to learn. (Easy to miss this one.) They basically had enough questions to build a clear map of the lesson, and it meant I could use examples from their lives to illustrate my points.