Charities urged to boost efficiencies through technology

The NCVO and Big Lottery Fund are calling on charities to improve their use of technology to save money and reach their target audiences more effectively.

To help with this a free ebook has been created: Survive & Thrive.  Edited by the Race Online 2012 team it contains a very useful collection of case studies from a variety of charities as well as a valuable list of resources.

Martha Lane Fox has said:

It has never been more urgent that charities think internet first.
Source: Sector gets behind Race Online 2012’s digital drive

An excerpt from Survive & Thrive:

Put technology at the heart of your organisation and you can maximise your resources, raise money, communicate more powerfully and to a wider audience, and deliver services to end users more efficiently.
Survive & Thrive

Given the current economic environment this is a timely and important resource to help organisations to continue delivering efficient services and get others online.

From our experience in EGSA of deploying efficient IT systems, we have seen great benefits being realised both internally and externally and all resulting in a better and more informed service to clients and partners.  For instance, this blog/website is provided free through Wordpress.com.

Civil Servants encouraged to use twitter

A twitter template strategy has been created by Neil Williams, of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), to encourage government departments to embrace the microblogging site as a means to improve communication.

The template strategy is a good read if you’re thinking about twittering on behalf of your organisation.

Read the original post on the cabinet office blog: Template Twitter strategy for Government Departments.

BBC Website article: Government advice urges tweeting

Media Literacy in Europe

Found a few useful links recently on media literacy in Europe, feel free to submit others:

• Audiovisual and Media Policies – Media Literacy
• EuroMediaLiteracy

Safer Internet Day – SID 09

Today is Safer Internet Day (SID 09).  This is a European initiative to raise awareness of the potential online risks to children and young people.

Learn more at the Thinkuknow and insafe websites.

What is a ‘Digital Mentor’?

It seems to be an initiative from government to:

…help communities take control of their media, to fill the gaps in coverage themelves in a way that takes advantage of the remarkable opportunities that exist with social web  tools, to both provide a means of communicating a community’s messages, and to help that community collaborate both internally and with other agencies too…

Read more about it at davepress.net.

Ofcom – Communications Market 2008 NI Report

Ofcom have published their detailed Communications Market report for the nations and regions across the UK.  The key themes from Northern Ireland can be found here.  I’ve included a few for your quick reference:

“Three in ten adults in Northern Ireland have watched video content online

A quarter of adults in Northern Ireland have accessed mobile internet…

Social networking is highest in Londonderry/Derry

Two-thirds of people in Northern Ireland watch ROI channels

Per head, spend on Northern Ireland-originated output was three times the UK average…

Listening to BBC local / national radio is highest in the UK

BBC Radio Ulster and Radio Foyle the most popular local radio stations”

The full report (pdf) can be downloaded here.

Silver surfers look for love online

It’s not only love!  Research by Virgin Media found that:

“82% of silver surfers admitted the internet had given them a new lease of life by helping them find new friends (21%) and learn new skills and hobbies (69%)”

Read the full article online at the Lancashire Evening Post (http://www.lep.co.uk)