Councillor - You've Been Warned

By chance I came across an article in the Independent yesterday with the headline - Councillor, 18, Gets Facebook Warning.  OK, lets unpick this one before I let my biased views come spilling through.

Lets look at the facts.  We have a young councillor - this is good.  We have a councillor who is a user of social media - this is good.  We have a council that rightly wants to manage its reputation and support a new councillor in their new role - this is good.  

The problem is, none of these are the main features of the story.  The portrayal is one of a bureaucracy seeking to clip the wings of a new comer who might have some desires to use these social media gadgets to make "inappropriate comments". 

I think this cameo piece illustrates a lot of the challenges that forward thinking authorities and their councillors face.  The easy headline, which coincidentally portrays the councillor and the local authority in a less than positive light, perpetuates a climate where both retreat into a place that hinders innovation, engagement and dialogue using new media.

Bit of a shame really.  Lots of work still to do then.

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