[LINK] Connecting with Constituents

[Bernard Robertson-Dunn]

stephen at melbpc.org.au wrote:
> Welcome  http://www.hansardsociety.org.uk/
>
> The Hansard Society is the UK's leading independent, non-partisan 
> political research and education charity. We aim to strengthen 
> parliamentary democracy and encourage greater public involvement in 
> politics.
>
> MPs Online: Connecting with Constituents
>
>   
A UK commentary on the report.

The Independent
Wednesday, 25 February 2009
Janet Street-Porter
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/janet-street-porter/janet-streetporter-why-cant-i-get-a-decent-meal-out-these-days-1631297.html

*Net's not clicked yet with MPs*

MPs are falling over themselves to show just how new media-savvy they 
are, but a study by the Hansard Society concludes far too much of their 
online communication is one-way, with them talking at us, rather than 
listening. Even John Prescott has a social networking site, where he can 
claim more than 2,000 friends – that's probably more mates in cyberspace 
than the real world.

Barack Obama's clever use of the internet gave him a real insight into 
voters' attitudes and worries during his election campaign, but there's 
not much of a chance that will happen here unless MPs realise the web is 
a two-way street. It's admirable that 11 per cent of them have a blog 
and 83 per cent a website, but I'd be more impressed if they were 
inter-active. As it is, nearly half the MPs questioned thought they 
would need more office staff to use digital media, which just shows they 
have no idea how to harness it properly.

-- 
 
Regards
brd

Bernard Robertson-Dunn
Canberra Australia
brd at iimetro.com.au