A project designed to inspire and inform councillors, senior officers and other civic leaders about the benefits of blogging has been launched.
According to the founders of CivicSurf, councillors and other civic leaders are missing out on hundreds of public meetings and conversations relevant to their work, simply because they are taking place online and the skills traditionally possessed by these leaders are not suited to leading online.
The project aims to equip civic leaders with the skills and knowledge to enable them to communicate more effectively with constituents, stakeholders and the general public via the internet.
CivicSurf consists of a documentary, booklets and a series of events around the country.
The documentary follows three Norfolk County Councillors as they learn to blog and includes contributions from established bloggers such as Councillor Mary Reid of Kingston Council. The accompanying booklet tells readers how to start a blog and gives tips on becoming an effective online communicator. The series of events includes Q&A sessions with local bloggers.
The project is online at www.civicsurf.org.uk. The site contains further information about the project, information and support materials on blogging and links to councillors' and other civic leaders' blogs.
