how to transform a council website

There's many a council web site which could do with an overhaul. Especially when a new study by O2 suggests that 43 per cent of residents are frustrated that they can't access local government sites on their mobile or tablet. But fixing them can be easier said than done.

By Joanne Parker

The development of a website takes a while. So while the people at gov.uk were busy creating their new vision of what a website should be like, we were also having very similar thoughts.

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what comms people need to know about seo and search

How do people find things? By searching for it. On the web. So having some knowledge of how to make your things easier to search for is an asset that comms people need. Here's a basic guide.

by GUEST EDITOR Sarah Lay

Search is important because so many people do it online. Thirty-five per cent of all UK visits online came from a search engine in January 2012, according to this survey by Hitwise, and the most popular engine of choice is Google (it had an 89% market share in the UK in June 2013). If so many people are using search as a short-cut to what they want online you need to make sure your information is the stuff that gets found.

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300

300 is a perfect score in ten pin bowling. A very rare feat. But the comms equivalent is delivered quite regularly from what we get to see through the comms2point0 lens.

by Darren Caveney

Because I am sad and I count these things, I happen to know that this is the 300^th post to appear on comms2point0.

And so it seemed a good time to reflect on the brilliant case studies and posts we’ve featured along the way and the lessons we’ve learned.

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holding a press conference - virtually

We all find reasons for not delivering things from time to time. And technology is often blamed as a barrier. So how would you fancy running a press conference from Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles: virtually...

by Kirsty Groundwater

Scotland’s island councils celebrated the the successful launch of the ‘Our Islands – Our Future’ campaign via the notoriously challenging method of video conferencing.

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why gov.uk is the best sight on the web

The gov.uk website has been hailed for its design, simplicity and effectiveness. With good websites becoming more vital it has attracted praise. If you are part of an organisation you need to know how it works.

by Dave Thackeray

About a month ago I pinged an email (see how I’ve grasped the corporate babble nettle already?) to @danslee, one of the founders of the comms2point0 blog influential, among its local government readership, explaining why I thought GOV.UK would soon be regarded as one of the most important web creations of the year, if not the decade.

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why digital inclusion must bridge the high street divide

Tough economic times on our high streets are providing huge problems for independent retailers. Local authorities are doing what they can to help but could take advantage of digital opportunities. A new event aims to show them how.

by Alistair Johnston

If local government leaders want thriving town centres they must bridge the growing digital divide between retail chains and their town’s independents. 

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some tips for getting a job in social media.

Fancy a job in digital comms? Then your digital profile might just need a bit more love, thought and attention.

by Bethany Crowe

I don’t believe there is any such thing as a social media ‘guru’ but I have recently been for a number of social media jobs and have learnt a few things along the way. These are the things I’ve learnt during the process, I hope you find them useful.

·       Show your enthusiasm for the subject!

Obvious, yes, but it’s surprising how few people showcase their skills and experience online when applying for digital jobs. You love this stuff, so be online loving it, it’s positive and encouraging stuff for your potential next employer.

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digital communications and channel shift in government

With the pace of change ever faster there has never been a greater imperative to learn. Resaercher and blogger Liz Azyan has spent more than five years at first hand mapping those changes. She talks here about her second white paper on the subject. This time for Govdelivery and LGEO Research.

by Liz Azyan

A few years ago I wrote a white paper on digital communications in government. I received useful feedback and also insight into the world of governments everywhere on how they were embracing change that was happening in the digital landscape.

However, the landscape of government communications is still changing, especially within the digital space. And its not just the landscape, it US - as people, as individuals, have changed.

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16 points of the cluetrain manifesto comms people need to know

One of the seminal books of the web is more than a decade old. As the landscape changes it's also an essential read for anyone looking to understand the social web.

by Dan Slee

If you really want to irritate someone and show them how far from the curve they actually are point them at ‘The Cluetrain Manifesto.’

Published in 1999 as the product of a web forum the 95 points sketches out how the social web will work and what the future will look like. 

It’s bold stuff. The old way of doing things are dead. Thanks to the web people can organise themselves far faster than organisations. The organisation  that fails to realise all this will be left behind.

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