So what did Steph Gray ever do for us?
Today the man they call @lesteph is leaving the Civil Service to work on… well, other le stuff. Read about it in his own words here. I’ve spent the best part of a year working alongside him since the creation of BIS brought our two teams together in June 2009. If you’re reading this blog [...]
Found/interesting: 9 Nov to 24 Dec
I haven’t done one of these bookmark posts in a while, and I’m some way off posting anything new here. So here’s a look at what I found interesting enough to bookmark recently. The state of the UK gov blogosphere – Great post by Dave Briggs. Why websites matter less and less – “Summary: Our [...]
How to read minds and influence people
Knowing what your customers are thinking is the first step towards making them happy. But how do you know what’s in their heads (without being Derren Brown)? I’m some way closer to being able to read my website users’ minds than I was this time last week – thanks to two unrelated events which turned [...]
Your mission, should you choose to accept it…
…is highly ambitious, if not impossible, Mr or Ms imminent Director of Digital Engagement. Your job description – indeed this new job – is unquestionably the most exciting thing I’ve read and digitally engaged with since the last unbelievably exciting thing, in that it says: Within six months the Head of Digital Engagement will have [...]
The Goverati??
From ReadWriteWeb: (hat tip Ross) What is the goverati? It is made up of people with first-hand knowledge of how the government operates, who understand how to use social software to accomplish a variety of government missions, and who want to use that knowledge for the benefit of all. I think us UK folk should [...]
Government Twitter etiquette: talk but don’t follow
My employer is one of a handful of UK government departments with corporate Twitter accounts. It was set up and is run by my team, with input from colleagues in press office, policy teams and ministers’ offices. It’s working out well for us and we’re keen to grow its reach. But how? We’re doing the [...]
Stuff I’ve bookmarked from 13 November to 14 November
Interesting things I’ve seen recently around the web… 20 Great Online Image Editors – Who needs desktop software? One of these takes you a step closer to Installation Zero. IntenseDebate WordPress plugin – Comment threading, replies by email. Potentially a powerful plugin for any WordPress driven e-consultation. The miniskirt theory of web writing – “Good [...]
Never trust a thin chef…
…nor a ‘blogging expert’ who doesn’t blog. Stephen Hale, by that rationale, is a man you can trust. He has started a blog about his work as Head of Engagement, Digital Diplomacy at the FCO. And he’s done it on the Department’s corporate blogging platform, which makes this something of a first among the UK [...]
Hello, I'm Neil Williams. I'm a government web geek, a dad, a husband, a grower of veg, a keeper of hens and a lapsed comedy writer, roughly in that order. 
