Blogging on blogs

Government and policy makers are among those looking to see how best to use the world of blogs, wikis, virals and so on; Web 2.0 as it’s commonly called. So, at the risk of being accused of navel gazing, let me draw your attention to a new Hansard Society report on government initiatives in this area, not least because this blog is a case study in the Digital Dialogues project on which the report focuses.

It’s an interesting look at how different departments are using this technology to engage with different groups of stakeholders and what works and what doesn’t. As the report says: ‘… while online engagement did not necessarily provide the magic bullet solution to political disaffection, it was found – where successful – to initiate a process whereby public attitudes could be challenged and that new understandings could be developed about the policy area under discussion'.

This blog is praised for attracting ‘a sustainably high level of interest and participation because of its ability to raise issues about which the public is concerned (food safety) in a relaxed and informative way’.

Of course, it’s you who read and comment on this blog who make it work, so thank you to all those who take time to do so and especially those who responded to the survey for the Digital Dialogues project. Please keep posting your comments both on the blog itself and on the topics under discussion.