Digital Communities – Results

Following rounds of energetic debate and the waving of many coloured voting cards, we can reveal the ideas shortlisted by the participants of today’s Community & Technology event.

How can we create and support digital communities in Bristol through the use of technology?

G – number of votes to take the idea forward  R – number of votes to dismiss the idea

1. Check the accessibility of the tools (including free sites like Youtube, Twitter, etc) before using them or suggesting that others use them.  A session on assistive software and what sites it works with.  What are the cheap versions of software and hardware groups can get hold of for disabled people to engage with? (28G, 0R)

2.  Short, concise online voting systems used for consultations: Yes/No (14G, 10R)

3.  Recommended training sessions: running photo and video competitions (posting them online and culminating in an exhibition); using Facebook groups to campaign; staff and visitors blogging about meeting outcomes and actions; promoting blogs; using Survey Monkey or similar to collate opinions; giving short, specific training sessions on many subjects – at differnet times and places – e.g. Youtube, Twitter; using social media tools to market to, and receive from, local communities; holding a Daniel Priestly event at Knowle West Media Centre. (28G, 0R)

4.  Use Google Alerts to get information on local news and events. (16G, 2R)

5.  The writers of lengthy, dense strategy documents that are posted online to distill the information into a concise summary.   E.g. ‘How does this affect you?’ ‘It means…’  The readers to inform the writers if they are dissatisfied. (28G, 0R)

6.  Access to a fast digital broadband network all over Bristol, minimum of 2MB. (18G, 1R)

7. Free training sessions for residents in using IT – creating websites that are accessible and using all of these sites and applications.  (22G 0R)

8. Research the effect online interaction has on offline activity (e.g. do online forums increase turnout at voting?) (19G, 3R)

9. More use of audio, not just video. Distribution as podcasts or similar. (21G, 0R)

10.  Finding out more ways to pull together all community groups in Bristol online (19G, 2R)