Digital Tips for Councillors (the second half)

Given that we are in the midst of World Cup frenzy it seems fitting that our Digital Tips for Councillors has turned out to be a game of two halves.  Our first instalment was a product of our session at LocalGov Camp.  Dave McKenna (@Localopolis) has blogged about it here, taking us from 1 to 11.

This week we had an away fixture in the Innovation Zone at the LGA Conference in Bournemouth (#LGAConf14). We were blessed with some great "players" on the real and virtual pitch. We pitched the same question - "What advice would you give to new councillors who want to use digital?"  This is a summary of that discussion:

12.  Don't be tribal - this very much builds on Tip 5 but came at it from a slightly different angle.  Don't let your political tribalism get in the way of following your "opponents" on social media.  You could learn some useful tips (and find out what they're up to)
13.  Invite citizen tweeters in - Twitter can be a great tool for quickly getting service user perspectives which can be used as part of your councillor role.  We heard a great case study from a councillor who was en route to a meeting with the local bus company who used twitter to ask what issues to raise.  Responses were used as part of the meeting.  Powerful stuff.
14.  Remember it's a slow burner - setting up a social media account is not just a case of "build it and they will come".  It will take time to build up interest and followers - "be patient, post regularly but don't be obsessive" were the key messages.
15.  Tweets alone won't win elections - digital campaigning is another tool in the politicians box but will not be enough on it's own.  As one councillor said, "there is no substitute for shoe leather" but there are real opportunities to blend on-line with off-line.  Put your Twitter account on your election leaflets.
16.  10 Tweets don't make a policy - the consensus was that, for councillors, policy making is a serious and multi-faceted process.  Whilst digital can play a positive part in that process (Neighbourhood Plans were used an example) it should not be the main driver.  Be careful of the vocal digital minority.
17.  Make digital a part of induction - is your council allowing you to dip your digital toe as part of new councillor induction?  If not, find out why.  Officers have a part to play in supporting councillors use digital although the consensus was that social media savvy councillors are better placed to support their peers.  Councillor-led / Officer-facilitated seems to be the best mix.
18.  Ignore the trolls - all of the councillors involved in our session had their own personal troll story.  They accepted that this is an unfortunate part of being in public office.  Their advice - ignore them.
19.  Manage your own account - we heard "unbelievable" tales of corporate social media accounts being managed by councils on behalf of councillors.  Broadcasting corporate messages.  Surely not.  Be authentic and manage your own accounts.  It's really easy to tell when you don't.
20.  Develop a relationship with the local press - it's increasingly likely that your local press will have a social media account.  Follow them and encourage them to follow you - column inches will be yours.  @CllrKevin provided us with a nice case study explaining how the Doncaster Free Press now report on his work in their Twitter Round Up.
21.  Think about Standards - all councillors sign up to the National Code of Conduct.  Remember that this applies to your digital world - if you wouldn't do it in a public meeting, don't do it on line.  Don't Tweet in haste - "you get very little time to repent at your leisure".
22.  Content is King - this links to Tip 4.  Whether you choose to share content purely in your role as a councillor or mix it with some personal insights, make it interesting and engaging.  Constant broadcasting is a bit of a turn off.  Obvious, but true.
23.  Digital is more than Twitter - both of our sessions focussed a lot on Twitter (it's how the conversation went) but there are a whole range of tools out there.  Take some time to find out what you want to achieve and which tool(s) best suit you.
24.  Don't be a D**k - in the spirit of honest reporting Tip 24 had to be included.  I don't think this is specifically covered in the National Code of Conduct but the councillors present all agreed that when using digital this is sound advice.  Who am I to argue.

This is part of our Rewiring Local Democracy work - please share your examples.  Please follow us on Twitter: @LDBytes or join us on Knowledge Hub

Governance and Councillors - Some Social Media Resources and Ideas

Last week there was a really good Twitter discussion superbly facilitated by @LouLouk as part of the #lgovsm series of Friday get togethers.  If you've not checked them out I suggest you do - 1.00 p.m. - 2.00 p.m. every week.  A priceless opportunity to share your ideas, work and challenges with some brilliant folk who are willing to share.

The theme for the discussion last Friday was Councillors and Social Media.  In advance (at Lou's request) I quickly pulled together a few resources to facilitate the debate.  This post is intended to add to that list and try and put in place the stuff (and people) I've come across so far that might be of use to others.  Some of this will include work I've been involved in at Kirklees, but won't be totally parochial (I promise).  So, in no particular order:

A brilliant and comprehensive account of all matters Councillors / Social Media can be found in the excellent Connected Councillors produced by, what was, the Improvement and Development Agency.  For me this is a brilliant resource that captures all the key issues, benefits and case studies in one place.  For officers and councillors alike it sets out the context in a way that makes the arguments in favour compelling.  My own copy is now dog eared such has been its value to me as a regular reference point.  Good stuff and a good starting point for taking the discussion into your organisation.

No social media session for councillors can ever be complete without a reference to TweetyHall.  Every time we have delivered such sessions we have used TweetyHall to not only explain what Twitter is, but also graft its importance to the representative role by showing politicians in action in the Twittersphere.  It is also a brilliant short cut for councillors who want to follow their councillor colleagues asap - they are all there in one place, brilliant.

Another understandable area to work through is the worries that naturally arise for councillors when contemplating using social media.  I've blogged previously about the "types" of councillor on the social media journey and there are inevitably some who want reassurance as to their role, identity and responsibilities.  I have called these the "curious yet cautious".  There's some good guidance out there to use as a reference point (although in many respects there is no substitute for common sense) e.g. the Blogging Quick Guide and tips on Blogging and Facebook for Councillors.  Personally I like the simple messages - if you wouldn't say it in a public meeting, don't say it on-line.  Seems to get the message across.  If that doesn't do the trick there are some examples out there that show what can go wrong - here's one Dave Briggs blogged about.

When we've run sessions with councillors it's always good to have some cracking first hand examples of the politicians who are using this stuff to good effect.  There are a lot of councillors out there who are using blogs and I only name check the following because I've come across them and thought they reflected diverse examples of the possibilities - Cllr Daisy Benson, Cllr Tim Cheetham, Cllr Simon Cooke, Cllr Andrew Cooper.  All different in their own right and all major political parties covered there - I'm an officer remember.

In terms of some of the learning we've collected as part of working with councillors in the context of social media this has been pulled together as part of Cllrsocmed.  This is basically an ongoing project in Yorkshire and the Humber involving myself @steventuck and @spencerlwilson.  I'm not going to go on at length about this stuff, its all there for anyone who is interested.  In the context of this post I'd suggest looking at the Tips section and the videos that Steve has produced in response to request from councillors at our sessions.  Our learning journey continues and we'll keep posting stuff up there when we get chance.

In terms of work taking place in other authorities I've come across some stuff that I really like and admire.  Anyone wanting to see innovation should look no further than the stuff that Dave McKenna (@Localopolis) and colleagues are doing at Swansea.  Their approach to overview and scrutiny using a social media approach is cutting edge governance activity in my humble opinion.  Similarly, I really like the work that Monmouthshire is doing.  I love their Twitter Q&A work and the councillor fronted budget work they have done using YouTube.  I also note that Blackburn and Darwen (like Kirklees ) are now Tweeting Council meetings and @Tomsprints has plans afoot for Kent.  I would also recommend checking out the work the Michele Ide-Smith is doing in Cambridgeshire which she is meticulously capturing on her blog. I'm sure there are many more, but I haven't found them yet - please let me know.

Turning briefly to Kirklees.  We're rolling our webcasting at a pace now (some real opportunities when used alongside other social media I think), looking at other media for Councillors Annual Reports, have re-designed our councillor profiles on our website to make them more informative and individual to the councillor.  We're using Twitter to promote our meetings, councillor surgeries and overview and scrutiny.  We're currently looking at delivering a different overview and scrutiny offer using social media and are taking an holistic look at the social media opportunities for Governance and Democratic Services as a whole.  I think the opportunities are significant - political group support, decision making processes, support for ward councillors, local government elections, information and intelligence for community leaders, ward surgeries, promoting democracy and democratic engagement..... I could go on.

This has been my own attempt to share what I've come across (I haven't got time right now to share some of the stuff I've found from other countries, that will have to be another post) - please reciprocate, we're all in this together after all.

Its Your Council - Join In (A Positive Footnote)

A few weeks ago I blogged about our webcasting / Tweeting Council meetings experience at Kirklees (Its Your Council - Join In).  The reason for  the post was to share our learning and generate some interest and debate.  Looking back now, I was genuinely surprised at the attention it attracted and the discussions it sparked.  We received enquiries from officers across the sector and were the subject of a case study by those lovely folk at Tweety Hall.


All of this is brilliant in itself, but there is now another dimension to the experience, one that is worth sharing.  You may recall that in the post I wanted to give another perspective on Tweeting meetings, one that differed from the pervading media line that had been reported so regularly elsewhere.  It was the line that focussed on the negatives - councillors not showing respect, not concentrating, using Twitter like naughty schoolboys / girls electronically passing notes across the Council Chamber.  The benefits of opening up democracy, stimulating public engagement and interest, raising awareness around decision making, seeing politicians in action - none of these stories featured.  Where are the positive stories?


Well, here's one - Hundreds Tune in for Kirklees Council Webcasts.   It would have been easy I guess to write more of the same negative stories that have been a feature in the past.  Credit where credit is due - the piece is a very positive one.  

I hope this post provides encouragement to other councils considering exploring social media to open up democracy - there are some good news stories.  Finally, I would add that evidence is invaluable in making a compelling argument - the stats are an important consideration when trying to make the business case.

 

Case Work Keeps Coming Through Thanks to Twitter

The other week I came across a cracking little case study.  I follow Stockton councillor David Harrington on Twitter (I recommend you do the same - @cllrharrington).  On that day he tweeted:

“Received two DM's with ward queries. Thanks to Twitter residents sent me a DM knowing the problems with email.”

Now on the surface this may not seem like such a big deal.  Two pieces of case work amongst what I am sure is a heavy volume doesn’t exactly grab the headlines, but it got me thinking.  We’ve all begun to depend on e-mail as part of what we do.  Like most things its great when it works.  After the telephone it’s the main point of contact between residents and their councillors.  Expectations have been created.  What this little example shows is that there are some real alternatives, especially when the more traditional media break down.

Councillor Harrington was able to let his followers on Twitter know that he wasn’t contactable by e-mail.  He was able to use social media to broadcast this message.  More importantly he was able to use Twitter as another tool to carry out his ward councillor role.  

Now I don’t know the nature of those two pieces of case work, and nor should I, but they could have been urgent issues that local residents needed sorting.  Being able to access their councillor in this way meant that their issues were communicated and progressed.  There is significant potential in this small case study for councillors and the organisations that support them.  We need to explore and embrace the alternatives that can work alongside and complement more traditional ways of working.  Powerful stuff eh?

Its Your Council- Join In

This is a little case study about tweeting meetings. There have been lots of stories in the media where councillors have got a bad press. This post seeks to present a different perspective and perhaps redress the balance in favour of opening up democracy.

The origin of this post goes back to a Summer evening in Cleckheaton, a town in Kirklees. In fact it begins in Cleckheaton Town Hall where I was sat (as part of my job) awaiting the start of our Full Council meeting. The reason we were in Cleckheaton Town Hall (and not Huddersfield) was because the Town Hall in Huddersfield was being refurbished. Bear with me all of this is relevant.

Not being in Huddersfiled meant that we were unable to webcast the meeting. This was a real shame as there had been an interest developing amongst residents and staff in terms of what happened at our council meetings - people were tuning in to watch!! As I sat waiting for the Mayor and Chief Executive to enter and for the formal proceedings to begin I routinely checked my Twitter account on my phone. That was the lightning bolt moment - I'm here, my phone's fully charged, I have a full signal. For the next four hours I tweeted the meeting (using the #kirkcouncil tag), providing commentary as best I could and kept linking to papers and reports on the council web site as councillors discussed the items. As the meeting progressed there was a steady growth of interest as my tweets were retweeted and comments and views began to add to the conversation. Not a big deal really, or so I thought.

The next morning I woke up and routinely checked my Twitter account (a bit sad perhaps, but I bet I'm not the only one). I was amazed to see how many mentions and retweets had been pinging around whilst I slept. I really thought that tweeting a meeting was not such a big deal. Residents were commenting, officers from other councils were interested, a councillor asked for a copy of a report that was discussed and craziest of all a council in Sydney (yes Australia) wanted to speak to me about "how I did it". Just for the record I had a great e mail conversation with colleagues in Sydney about this and other democracy stuff. I think if I ended this post now it would be pretty cool in itself.

Back in the office I discussed this with colleagues @spencerlwilson and @steventuck. Cutting a long story short our next council meeting, back at Huddersfield, had a Twitter Fall sitting alongside the web cast. We have now used this approach twice. We now have a combination of residents, councillors in the chamber, Kirklees council officers and all comers watching and joining in the dialogue. Blending the media of web casting and twitter has proved to be a really good combination.

It is early days but there is no reason why this simple model of engagement and dialogue can't be developed and rolled out to other meeting experiences - some food for tough for me there.

For the benefit of others who might want to try this out I think there are some learning points:

• Having councillors tweeting in the meeting adds value and perspective to the event - they are politicians expressing views on important matters for the residents of their borough. People are interested in this - this should not be a revelation.
• Be lucky enough to work for an organisation like Kirklees Council that is forward thinking enough to give this sort of stuff a go - obvious but true
• Try and answer any questions that are tweeted.
• Make a virtue of the passionate web and democracy folk in your organisation
• Promote internally within your organisation - it is important that staff understand councillors and the democratic organisation they work for. This is a quick and easy way. We are all approaching budget council meetings - this will be important to residents and staff alike.

There's loads more to do with this, I feel we have only scratched the surface. Would love to know what others are doing.