A recent ruling by the Liverpool Standards Committee has made it official. We have more than one life.
A couple of weeks ago, a decision was made not to take action against Sharon Green for posting a picture of a class of disabled children, giving them the names of Labour's cabinet, because of a ruling in Ken Livingstone's favour that gave politicians a right to behave disgracefully as long as they are not acting in an "official capacity".
All fine and dandy - don't agree with it, but do understand it.
However, I think Liverpool's Standard Board have gotten their interpretation wrong. Because the infraction was on Facebook.
Ken Livingstone called a journalist a nazi. At one definitive point in time. It passed. It was not said again. Ken Livingstone had the opportunity to say it again. He could have got up in the morning, poured a bowl of cornflakes, picked up his phone and called him a nazi. But he didn't.
We are able to investigate that single moment of time - evaluate context and Ken Livingstone's status at that point and make a judgement about that action.
Sharon Green's disgraceful picture was on her Facebook for three months. For the infinite points in time over three months it was visible. Understanding new media is also to understand time and the neverending nature of it. Think of it as being hit by a ball. Having a ball thrown at you once is bad enough - setting up a machine to throw an infinite amount of balls in your general direction so that you can walk into them is much worse.
Her defence against the accusations were that the offence was not made in her official capacity as a councillor, which leads me to two counter-defences:
Firstly, at some point during those three months she was acting in her official capacity. The moment she walked into a council building or handed out a card, or delivered a leaflet with her name on she was acting in an official capacity. And in my mind even if she was a million miles from the nearest computer, then the photograph was instantly in breach of the standards code at that moment in time.
Secondly, is the entirely reasonable view that we cannot have two lives at once. Apparently, because the Facebook profile does not belong to Councillor Sharon Green the disgraceful behaviour doesn't count. Sharon Green is therefore not the same person as Councillor Sharon Green on Facebook. Unless she has two different facebook accounts (and I still don't consider that valid) then it is simply not valid to believe the public or anyone else will make that distinction.
Would an employer overlook a inflammatory racist rant on the radio, just because you weren't in work at the time? Or, another way, how does the public know when the official councillor starts and ends? The truth is they don't. and neither should the standards board.
Sunday 27 February 2011
Tuesday 22 February 2011
#Liverpool - Highlight a problem and automatically tell your council....
For most of my life political career, since joining the Labour Party in 1995, I've had the engagement of people in the political process as a personal passion. Working for the Labour Party during the Wirral South By-election, we had a youth mobilisation campaign targeted at first-time voters, that I believe was the most sophisticated used before (and since) without overt political party politicking.
Third party websites are now possible, where the information can be automatically passed on to the council. Anything is possible - graffiti reporting tools - anti-social behaviour...the opportunities are endless.
When I became chair of the British Youth Council I toured the country arguing for youth participation and encouraging young people to engage. (I even opposed the UK Youth Parliament because it meant only one person would be elected and take part, rather than the youth council model which teaches every participant to represent themselves).
I went freelance 18 months ago in order to free up time to write a book, Everything every adult should know about politics, because everywhere I worked I met people who thought what I did was magical or secret, like there was dark art to speaking to your local councillor or MP. In business the first thing I ask is whether the company has spoken to the local MP or councillor and it is often no. We have built a society that is so unknowledgable about how our country is run that citizens are not even aware that they can engage their local representatives. And, frankly, I think we are all poorer for it.
I also believe local politics are going to be key to this - the great frontier of our new engaged society. Public Affairs companies are beginning to twig, even though the loss of regional development agencies has set out-of-london decision making back by years. But people are also beginning to realise there is a new reality shaping and in the time-honoured-fashion of only realising what you've got until its gone, they are appreciating the importance of local structures.
Sometimes I'm proud of being able to be non-political in favour of encouraging people to participate whatever their persuasion. I think it takes a strong sense of duty to be able to challenge people to step out of their routine and think for themselves about how they feel on a particular topic. I'm proud that I have beliefs, but I'm more proud that I can help others find theirs. and I relish the opportunity to use as any tool possible to do that.
Twitter and Facebook are also important, but can be dangerously insular, cliquey and self-referential. I believe this is why so many new groups start up, because the social investment required to enter an existing one is so great. Only those that have done well, like mumsnet, show an affinity for low barriers of entry.
That is the real recipe for success. Activists want to be able to defend or promote a change in their life, without devoting the rest of their life to it.
There is huge amount of potential in the likes of www.theyworkforyou.com in connecting people with small g government and working for an MP, I already see the impact such sites have had. But the development of new tools to focus on geographical connections, harness issue-based reporting, build local coalitions around issues, topics and problems can unleash a powerful force of human endeavour. Local authorities should embrace such change, because of the money they can save.
Walking home from work the other day I noticed a house alarm going off, which had been blaring since the morning. "who do you call?" I thought to myself. The Police is over indulgence (if not bad value for money) and I remembered a New York experiment where local government introduced a non-emergency emergency number. Brilliant, I thought - except for a population as small as Liverpool's it probably doesn't make economic sense. But with the web anything is possible....
Walking home from work the other day I noticed a house alarm going off, which had been blaring since the morning. "who do you call?" I thought to myself. The Police is over indulgence (if not bad value for money) and I remembered a New York experiment where local government introduced a non-emergency emergency number. Brilliant, I thought - except for a population as small as Liverpool's it probably doesn't make economic sense. But with the web anything is possible....
When I became chair of the British Youth Council I toured the country arguing for youth participation and encouraging young people to engage. (I even opposed the UK Youth Parliament because it meant only one person would be elected and take part, rather than the youth council model which teaches every participant to represent themselves).
I went freelance 18 months ago in order to free up time to write a book, Everything every adult should know about politics, because everywhere I worked I met people who thought what I did was magical or secret, like there was dark art to speaking to your local councillor or MP. In business the first thing I ask is whether the company has spoken to the local MP or councillor and it is often no. We have built a society that is so unknowledgable about how our country is run that citizens are not even aware that they can engage their local representatives. And, frankly, I think we are all poorer for it.
I also believe local politics are going to be key to this - the great frontier of our new engaged society. Public Affairs companies are beginning to twig, even though the loss of regional development agencies has set out-of-london decision making back by years. But people are also beginning to realise there is a new reality shaping and in the time-honoured-fashion of only realising what you've got until its gone, they are appreciating the importance of local structures.
Sometimes I'm proud of being able to be non-political in favour of encouraging people to participate whatever their persuasion. I think it takes a strong sense of duty to be able to challenge people to step out of their routine and think for themselves about how they feel on a particular topic. I'm proud that I have beliefs, but I'm more proud that I can help others find theirs. and I relish the opportunity to use as any tool possible to do that.
Twitter and Facebook are also important, but can be dangerously insular, cliquey and self-referential. I believe this is why so many new groups start up, because the social investment required to enter an existing one is so great. Only those that have done well, like mumsnet, show an affinity for low barriers of entry.
That is the real recipe for success. Activists want to be able to defend or promote a change in their life, without devoting the rest of their life to it.
Tuesday 8 February 2011
The future of the Lib Dems?
In conversation with a marketing student and Lib Dem member the other day we discussed their membership's obvious problem with a leadership which seems completely oblivious to the crash course the party is headed on.
While we talked and touched upon the challenge coalition parties have in Europe it occurred to me that their problem is not entirely a problem of the now - their misfortunes could have been written in stone months and months ago.
Of course I'm not in any way justifying the actions of Nick Clegg and the other Lib Dems in government, but from a marketing perspective there is a very simple problem of brand identification which is in danger of completely annhilating the party and the hard work of thousands of members and councillors who are about to pay the penalty for having to face the electorate and do exactly that - justify their existence.
As our discussion continued we touched on the Lib Dems fundamental problem - they can't take credit for whatever good they have brought to the coalition (if any). They have a fundamental brand identification problem.
During the General Election (when they presumably assumed they weren't going to win), the Liberal Democrats campaigned as an equal against the other two political parties. With the benefit of hindsight, its clear they should have chosen a completely different path.
Let's just pretend that the Liberal Democrats had only campaigned on issues of economic growth - their manifesto had been full of ideas and decisions about the economic priorities of our country.
For a start, the coalition might actually have a plan for growth.... but also any ideas that did surface would be identified as Liberal Democrat ideas.
The size of the rightward swing of the government has subsumed the efforts of a small party to locate itself in the centre. Depending on the left-right spectrum as a means to define your party in coalition politics is quite frankly, so last year.....
Instead, the Liberal Democrats need to learn a distinctive voice - not just to be the 'other' voice - and in doing so accept that they are not one of the larger political parties but an influencer, a powerful additive. In marketing terms, they are the mixer people add to their drink of choice.
In making this change, the political landscape in Britain may be changed forever. Oh, wait, it's too late - that might have happened already..........
While we talked and touched upon the challenge coalition parties have in Europe it occurred to me that their problem is not entirely a problem of the now - their misfortunes could have been written in stone months and months ago.
Of course I'm not in any way justifying the actions of Nick Clegg and the other Lib Dems in government, but from a marketing perspective there is a very simple problem of brand identification which is in danger of completely annhilating the party and the hard work of thousands of members and councillors who are about to pay the penalty for having to face the electorate and do exactly that - justify their existence.
As our discussion continued we touched on the Lib Dems fundamental problem - they can't take credit for whatever good they have brought to the coalition (if any). They have a fundamental brand identification problem.
During the General Election (when they presumably assumed they weren't going to win), the Liberal Democrats campaigned as an equal against the other two political parties. With the benefit of hindsight, its clear they should have chosen a completely different path.
Let's just pretend that the Liberal Democrats had only campaigned on issues of economic growth - their manifesto had been full of ideas and decisions about the economic priorities of our country.
For a start, the coalition might actually have a plan for growth.... but also any ideas that did surface would be identified as Liberal Democrat ideas.
The size of the rightward swing of the government has subsumed the efforts of a small party to locate itself in the centre. Depending on the left-right spectrum as a means to define your party in coalition politics is quite frankly, so last year.....
Instead, the Liberal Democrats need to learn a distinctive voice - not just to be the 'other' voice - and in doing so accept that they are not one of the larger political parties but an influencer, a powerful additive. In marketing terms, they are the mixer people add to their drink of choice.
In making this change, the political landscape in Britain may be changed forever. Oh, wait, it's too late - that might have happened already..........
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