I’m afraid I can’t really share my overall impressions of the conference, much as I would like to, because the organizers scheduled this years conference (it runs every 18 months) the week before an annual event in government that tends to focus the attention of a lot of people, the Budget. Consequently I was only able to attend three sessions.

Fortunately, all of the sessions were recorded and are available as a rich media stream, so – provided you install the requisite proprietary software – you can knock yourself out watching some impressive presentations by the likes of Jon Udell, Tara Hunt, and Hans Rosling.

I was privileged to sit on a panel that discussed ‘Blogging in the State Services’ with Che Tibby, Hadyn Green and Matt Lane. We covered a bit of ground and, as people began to ask questions, moved into areas like OIAs and knowledge management (not stuff any of us are really qualified to talk about, but I don’t think any of us were game to disappoint an attentive audience).

I also spoke on the last day on Govt 2.0. The presentation is available on the Network site (it’s an s5 show you access via your browser), but it was under prepared and is pretty much just a ramble through some of the ideas I posted a couple of weeks ago.

One final observation: I am thrilled that all of these presentations are recorded, because it means they will be available to people who couldn’t make it, but the format is not exactly friendly. There are no URLs, so I can’t link to the individual presentations – you just have to find your way through the hideously inaccessible and not very usable list of all the presentations. Nice try, just not that innovative.

When it is at it’s best, Turner found, talkback radio is similar to a current affairs programe. It can

provide a democratic forum for the community…and act as a reliable filter for listeners trying to come to grips with an increasingly complex world.
Sydney Morning Herald

Not unlike blogs and podcasts. We use these media in exactly the same way. There are certain bloggers and podcasters that have earned a level of trust and respect and so we rely on their integrity and judgement when we (increasingly) give them our attention.

However, this is a report into talkback radio, so the real interest is not in the heroes, but the villains. And, in Alan Jones, Australia has a talkback villain to be proud of. Naturally, Turner doesn’t call Jones a villain, he prefers the term “ugly.” Ugly presenters are those

seeking to exploit personal power in order to build influence and authority without regard to social consequences…They are prepared to use media power ruthlessly, even irresponsibly…

To get a feel for the sort of abuse of power that Turner is talking about here, and perhaps to appreciate the significance of the epithet “ugly,” you might want to take a look at the transcripts of some of Jones’ programmes in the lead up to the Cronulla race riots in December 2005. It is quite terrifying.

For a forensic examination of the complex world of talkback radio, I recommend David Foster Wallace’s brilliant essay in the Atlantic Monthly, Host.

Ugly blogging

Unfortunately, this sort of atrocious behaviour has already manifest itself in the blogosphere. On the same day I read Turner’s report, there was this post on Kathy Sierra’s blog about the reason why she had to withdraw from speaking at a conference: death threats.

Yes, death threats. Not a hoax. Not a juvenile prank. Many of us here in Wellington have a connection to Kathy: she presented at Webstock last year and (hopefully) will be out here again in a couple of months for GOVIS.

It sort of takes some of the gloss off the concept of social media as a tool to change the world, doesn’t it? We are, of course, not immune to this sort of thing, and the reality of all this is that it is social media, with all that the name implies.

Photo: BBC