Tomorrow’s democracy demonstrated

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The United States has a new president – the old president. Barack Obama wins a second term in a contest whose result was a close call in terms of the popular vote – less than two million votes separate winner from loser – but substantial in terms of the electoral college votes (the ones that [...]

Does the BBC really have the courage to come clean?

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Unless you sit atop a remote mountain or cast yourself away on a desert island, and as long as you have no means of digital connectivity with you, it’s impossible to avoid seeing and hearing about Jimmy Savile. The continuing reporting on the revelations about the late alleged child abuser is relentless. Each day, more [...]

The mindset shift in open government online

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The British Government has launched GOV.UK, a new website that is designed to be the single place online for access to wide-ranging information and other content about government services available to citizens. The new website replaces the public sites Directgov and BusinessLink; and websites of all government departments and many other public bodies will be [...]

Tuning out the politics on Facebook

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Since joining Facebook in April 2007, one thing I like using it for is keeping in touch, sometimes connecting, with many American friends, colleagues and acquaintances. They’re typically a lively crowd, lots of commentary and opinion on topics of mutual interest and discovery. It’s always a pleasure to see who’s saying what. This week, though, [...]

Instagram mainstream at US political conventions

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The biggest media events in four years take place this week in the US with the Republican Party convention in Tampa, Florida, followed by the Democratic Party convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, next week. In the year when a new American president will be elected – or the current one continues for a second term [...]

What happens in Vegas happens all over the web

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The kerfuffle over those pics of Prince Harry in the buff in Las Vegas will reverberate for a while as The Establishment to’s and fro’s over the morality, ethics and plain business greed of it all. First published in the US by entertainment and celeb gossip website TMZ, the photos were easily discoverable on the [...]

Essential digital diplomacy

One of the most prominent and seasoned British government tweeters, Foreign Secretary William Hague, makes a clear statement of the significant role of digital communication channels in the exercise of foreign policy, calling them “an essential tool.” 80 of our Embassies and over 20 UK Ambassadors & top diplomats now on Twitter: #digitaldiplomacy an essential [...]

Twitter can’t be gagged, even in France

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The first round in the French presidential election ended yesterday with the result that Socialist Party challenger François Hollande narrowly edged in front of incumbent President Nicolas Sarkozy by the slim margin of just over 1 percent of the vote. Both men will compete in a second round run-off, due to be held on May [...]

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