Puffbox

The explicit references to the internet in David Cameron's big speech on 'fixing broken politics' this morning don't come until the end. All MPs' expenses to be published online; the same will go for 'all other public servants earning over £150,000'. An Obama-esque pledge to put all national spending over £25,000 online. A commitment to [...] read on »

I wrote the other week about 'the implications of free': how the widespread availability of high-quality technology changed the rules when it comes to project management. Another example struck me today, around COI's ongoing consultation on improving government websites. There's a lengthy section on measuring website usage, with detailed proposals around the new requirement for [...] read on »

I'm in the early stages of spec'ing up a new site build. The client helpfully provided a wireframe sketch of the homepage, which included - deep breath - a news ticker. And for the first time in living memory, I haven't recoiled in horror. In fact, I'm quite happy to give it to them. Previously, [...] read on »

The line which jumps out at me from today's new government 'Action Plan' on open source software is quite a neat encapsulation of the entire document: Where there is no significant overall cost difference between open and non-open source products, open source will be selected on the basis of its additional inherent flexibility. Fundamentally, the [...] read on »

Writing on Comment Is Free, Hazel Blears reckons Labour's problem is that it has become distanced from its voters. 'The problem is the powerlessness within the system for the majority of people,' she writes. 'People feel that their views disappear into a black hole, without the slightest echo.' Hazel's solution is 'a healthy dose of [...] read on »

Over at the Telegraph, Mick Fealty rightly reflects on the 'fascinating confluence of ideas cascading into the body politic at the moment', with both right and left suddenly making an issue of innovation, open source, and all that good stuff. The latest contribution was David Cameron's speech at NESTA this morning: Indeed, the odd thing [...] read on »

OK, I'm an idiot. The lengthy and fair-minded piece I wrote this morning about a speech by Tory shadow chancellor George Osborne at the RSA was a year late. Osborne made some interesting points about the need 'to recast the political settlement for the digital age.' And now today, there's an email doing the rounds [...] read on »