Where should blogging go next

I just wanted to say that today was really good! At least 17 converted bloggers in Swansea!Well done you all and let me know where you would like to see blogging go next,any ideas re projects /communities where you are on placement and a blog might help!Also just to say that this is the end of the Becta project but I hope you will all continue to use the SCVS blog especially those embarking on their NVQ! I am trying to ensure that you will continue to have technical and input support.

Thanks Amanda

The Undiscovered Country

A very long time ago, I was asked to create a handout that would explain how a weblog would be useful to community development work. Most of the trainees should be familiar with the handout as they gave enough of them out at the convention. However, now that we stand within sight of the 'Final Frontier' as my trekkie colleague Jeremy has pointed out I thought it would be useful for us to reflect on this handout and think if there were indeed benefits.

Do we think that the weblog benefited the 'Community'. Of course it did, we, as workers and trainees, were the active community involved and I think that the experience of the weblog helped bind us together into something that is greater than its parts.

Did we learn anything from the use of the weblog. Read through the blogs and the comments, and I think you will agree there are so many incidents of people either identifing something that they need help or advice with, or are supporting someone in their learning.

Reflecting on your own practice. this is a big one, as in essense that is what I believe a weblog is all about, giving a person the opportunity to sit down and compose their thoughts and then write about their experiences, the good and the bad, we learn from it all.

And finally collective action, well for there to be collective action there has to first be interaction, and just by reading the posts and the comments between all of the weblogs, you can see that there has been a lot of that.

So overall I believe that the weblog has been a huge success and I hope to think that this usage of weblogs will become more acceptable practice for community workers and other similar professionals. I for one would love to be able to still log onto the weblogs in the future and see the continued trials and tribulations of this wonderful group of trainees.

So here is to the future and the undiscovered country, its been a wonderful journey so far, lets see where it takes us.......

The Fluffy Stuff

Every once in a while I remind myself of what my job is - A community development worker. It can be so easy to get caught up in work that you forget the community aspect of the job,even though I know that everything I do is for the community. However once in a while its nice to get out and actually be in the community. This is what I call the fluffy stuff.
In Gorseinon there is a group that I work with that are also invovled in a healthy walk that takes place every friday. So I have decided that if I am not too busy on a friday morning I will pop out of the office and join in with the healthy walk. It is also an opportunity for me to talk to the people that live in the area, in an informal environment.
So last friday I went on the healthy walk, I had my boots, my extra jacket, my umbrella, my slight limp (I fell the day before) and my enthusiasm.
I thought I would walk to the start of the Healthy walk, giving me an added opportunity to see some of Gorseinon.
Nearly 2 hours later I returned to the office, I reckon I walked over 5 miles. I ate dinner in the office that day, and even now my legs have not forgiven me. Almost everyone else on the walk is older than me, and most do this walk a couple of times a week, perhaps I should walk to Gorseinon every morning instead of taking the car, if I leave at 5am should be there in time for 9am.
However, it was worth it, just to be able to talk and chat to people who live in the community, the fluffy stuff, but perhaps one of the most important parts of the job (in my opinion, except of course being paid - VERY IMPORTANT)

There's life in the old blog yet

Well there was I, looking at the blogs, feeling all dejected, as undoubtedly were some of the hard core bloggers, thinking nobody wants to blog anymore, they have all abandoned us when suddenly what happens, people start blogging.

Amazing, what happened folks.....

Is it because the finishing line is in site that there is a sudden increase in energy and enthusiasm. If so lets have some more please, the more blogs the better.

And whats more, they are really good blogs too.....I can retire happy now

What other people think community is

OK, as part of my role I have been trying to find out information about community, whether exclusive online communities or physical communities that use online resources to facilitate parts of the community interaction.

Jake, the Community Guy, works for the LEGO company, but is an evangalist for Community involvement relating to online communities and also the interaction between corporate businesses and their customers. Jake has been trying to define Community in his own blog and this post is his third attempt at the question of 'What is Community'.

http://www.communityguy.com/index.cfm?commentID=189

Now I know some of you might switch off part of the way down the post, but please endure and try to read through all of the comments that are attached to the post. It becomes a very interesting debate about active and non-active (lurkers) community members.

I loved the whole 'going to church' line of thought.....

Sense of Community

(Taken from http://blog.lib.umn.edu/blogosphere/blogs_as_virtual.html)

Sense of community (SOC) has been the focus for face-to-face community researchers for some time. McMillan and Chavis (1986) have the most well-regarded and well-researched conceptualization of SOC. They define SOC as consisting of the following four characteristics:

• Feelings of membership: Feelings of belonging to, and identifying with, the community;
  
• Feelings of influence: Feelings of having influence on, and being influenced by, the community;
  
• Integration and fulfillment of needs: Feelings of being supported by others in the community while also supporting them; and
  
• Shared emotional connection: Feelings of relationships, shared history, and a “spirit” of community.
  

So bloggers is there SOC with the scvs weblog?

Do you feel a sense of belonging with the group? Do you feel that you have had some impact on the blog? Do you feel that it addressed your needs or gave you support? Have you developed a relationship with some or all of the people involved?

If you can answer yes to thses four questions , then at least in your eyes, this is a community, or at least feels like one.

Legal advice on blogging

Just found this information on the legal issues related to blogging and thought they might be worthwhile reading. Unfortunatly they are geared towards America but the general information is still informative
EFF: Legal Guide For Bloggers
How to Blog Safely

One Mug to rule them all

Well after all the hard work that Darren has been putting into his online journal of the Manchester CTA (Community Transport Association) I thought it only fitting that we put a photo up on the blog.

So folks what do you think of his mug?

By the way, for those people who freely use any spare mugs in the kitchen at SCVS, please have a GOOD look at this mug, it is Darren's, Please do not touch, kidnap or otherwise seperate it from Darren, this mug was destined for him.

Getting your community group on the web

For all you community groups....

If you are in any way interested in the internet then you may well at some point of had a webpage for yourself. This page might of had a small amount on information about yourself, and then you probably forgot all about it, as lets face it, nobody probably read it.

This can change when it is a website for a community group. Straight away you have a larger user base of interested people, so it makes the effort of having a site more worthwhile. Then there is the idea of having a web presence, as so many groups and organisations now have. The site does not have to be regularly updated either, it can just be one or two pages, giving information to those interested (Aims & Objectives, Mission statement, Policies, Committee Members, etc.). It can also be a whole lot more.

But how do you get your group onto the internet, there are so many different web hosting providers out there for personal use, some of which are free.

But do you really want your community group to have a web address of (for example)
www.(provider).com/homepages/yourorganisationhere we can see how that would be a little bit offputting to the potential user of your site. And then the site (because it is free) will probably be supported by advertising (sometimes with those dreaded 'pop-up' windows).

This is where SCVS has come to the rescue. There is a funding information sheet on ICT and the Internet that is available from the Development Team at SCVS which gives information about orgaisations which offers free webspace to community groups. So why not click on the link for the SCVS website on the side of this page or email me at gareth_roberts@scvs.org.uk and I will be more than willing to forward you the information. You will still need to do some research yourself, deciding which provider is the best for your group but at least some of the leg work had been done for you.