This is the place to get some background material on blogging. If you've got an issue or just want to brush-up on some good practice then take a look at this mixture of documents. The most relevant have been produced by the project to help civic leaders - others are informative and interesting in a broader sense.
If you come across others that you think should be included here, please let us know
Blogging guidebook
What should you blog? How can you be a good blogger? Download for free or purchase our blogging guidebook here
Councillor Websites - Legal Guidance
This link provides guidance on good practice on councillor websites. It is intended for both councillors themselves, and council officers who support them.
The key points are:
- There are a variety of ways for councillors to use websites, ranging from the personal to the political. The best councillor websites contain a mixture of aspects. Some good example sites are identified.
- Councillors need time to learn how to use a website. As well as access to good examples, they should be given support from officers who understand what councillors may want to do, help from fellow councillors who have established sites, or guidance from specialist service providers. Otherwise, many councillors will struggle.
- Councillors need to know that maintaining a website is a good use of their time. They should be told about the number of visitors to their sites. Good sites do attract worthwhile numbers of visitors - including groups such as young people who may otherwise be hard to reach, and local journalists, Maintaining a website should now be seen as a normal part of the role of councillors.
- There are a number of different ways to provide councillor websites, with different strengths and weaknesses. Council officers responsible for providing this facility for their councillors should consider all the options, and councillors should be aware that there are other options available to them besides the one their council offers.
- Legal issues about councillor websites cause more concern than they should. The legal principles are the same as in other more familiar contexts, and in practice complaints about improper use of websites are extremely rare.
- Councillor websites provided by councils must not be used for party political purposes or personal image making. However, using them to comment on council policy and raise controversial issues should be allowed, providing this is done in a fair and balanced way. Nevertheless, some councillors may prefer to use non-council funded facilities where they can express themselves more freely.
- Links from council sites to external sites containing party political material are believed to be permissible, subject to the use of an appropriate disclaimer process. These links, and most content of council provided councillor websites, should be removed during pre-election periods.
Reports without borders - Handbook for bloggers and cyber-dissidents
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