puffbox

On tour with the PM

I hinted that there might be more online initiatives coming out of 10 Downing Street; and true enough, next out the world-famous door is a bit of on-the-spot blogging from Gordon Brown's trip to the United States later this week. For the first time on a foreign visit, a member of the No10 web team is [...] read on »

No10’s new microsite by Puffbox

Fresh from its success with Twitter, 10 Downing Street is preparing for a weekend of social media experimentation, in association with Puffbox. This Saturday, Gordon Brown is hosting a gathering of around 20 left-leaning world leaders under the banner of Progressive Governance, to discuss globalisation, climate change, development and international institutional reform. (It got a brief [...] read on »

WordPress says ‘why not?’

I've never made a secret of my preference for WordPress, the blogging platform which is steadily growing up into a formidable CMS. And having played around with the latest Release Candidate of version 2.5, I'm more convinced than ever of its merits. Sometimes I fear I'm coming across as a WordPress zealot. And whilst I [...] read on »

Next WordPress release looking great

I downloaded the first 'Release Candidate' version of WordPress version 2.5 with a sense of trepidation. New functionality often means added complexity. But I'm happy to report, my fears were unfounded. It looks fantastic. The most striking change is the colour scheme: the 'classic' dark blue style is now joined by a more chilled, muted option [...] read on »

Nine Lords a-blogging

Very interesting to see the horrendously-branded Lords Of The Blog, a new group blog co-written by nine peers, each promising a couple of items per week. Prime mover Lord (Clive) Soley writes in his introductory post: MP’s and Peers need to find new ways of engaging with the public. A blog is not the complete answer [...] read on »

Whitehall, WordPress, where?

We love WordPress round here, and our passion is infectious. I'm currently talking to a handful of new people about possible WordPress-based projects: some small, some huge. The 'yes we can' message goes a long way. But the unknown in the equation is always: where to host it? You don't have to look too hard to [...] read on »

onepolitics, the new Puffbox site

It wasn't originally intended for public consumption, but today I'm unveiling a new website produced by Puffbox. onepolitics is an at-a-glance view of the latest posts on the growing number of political blogs being written by 'proper' reporters. You can wait until tomorrow to see what they say in print, or in tonight's bulletin; or [...] read on »

WordPress as a CRM tool?

Another example of why I love WordPress. Somebody has built a new theme which, with the help of a few common plugins, becomes a contact manager - with search, tagging, 'related people', etc. But I think it can be pushed further. Using the standard WordPress comment functionality, I don't see any reason why you couldn't turn [...] read on »

New Wales Office websites by Puffbox

We're exceptionally proud to unveil the latest Puffbox site: a new corporate website - or indeed, two - for the Wales Office. And as you'd probably expect from us, it's not just another government website. In late 2007, I was invited over to the Wales Office's Whitehall HQ. I hope they don't mind me saying, their [...] read on »

Breaking news blogs (again)

Alfred Hermida, ex BBC, now Assistant Professor at the University of British Columbia's school of journalism, makes an interesting suggestion: using the new WordPress Twitter-style 'Prologue' theme as a breaking news site, 'with reporters adding the latest details as they come in'. I actually suggested something identical to this, back in July: 'A ‘breaking news blog’, [...] read on »