Bridging the Digital Divide

I have been giving a lot of thought recently to digital inclusion and this timely post from Brett Sadler sums up the challenges confronting not only housing but also the health and care sectors in a digitally connected society. The pace of technology change is phenomenal and there is an urgent need for a UK wide cross sector digital vision and strategy.

With so many different digital projects, pilots and initiatives underway there is a real risk and cost of duplicating services which may already be provided by another organisation in the local area. The paradox is that we are not using technology effectively to connect the formal and informal resources already available in communities.

About four in 10 people aged 65 and over do not have access to the internet at home while more than five million over-65s have never used the internet. According to academics it would cost £875m to teach the 6.2 million people who lack basic online skills.

The reality is that just getting people online is not the answer. We need to be investing in building connected communities which acknowledge and celebrate the richness of skills and knowledge available in every street in the country which can be harnessed for the good of a community.

Whilst I have some concerns with the recent Policy Exchange report suggesting that access to the internet is a panacea for the wider problems of social isolation and loneliness I do believe that we can use digital technology creatively to build networks of connected support around an individual.

Connected care needs different partnerships and collaborations to transform the delivery of care & support and to bridge the digital divide. The Housing Goes Digital events have really encouraged new thinking in the sector. I would now like to see a series of Care in the Digital Age events which inspire staff and people who use services from across housing, care, health, charities and social enterprises to collaborate in exploring how to embed digital innovations as an integral part of the support available within communities.

I believe that exciting people about the potential for digital technology to improve and enhance the quality of their lives is the way forward for digital inclusion.

Brett Sadler

I consider myself quite a tech savvy person and I can certainly see the benefits to #ukhousing staff and customers of being digital included, but with digital inclusion being one of my areas of responsibility, tackling this area has been no walk in the park.

I’ve been drafting a digital inclusion strategy for several months now. It’s not that I can’t write the strategy, it’s that technology is changing so fast.

So let’s go back to the start of my journey. When researching the digital inclusion strategy, two quotes jumped out at me:

• Research has shown that getting someone online can save them an average of £560 a year and has benefits for education, employment and retirement.
• The introduction of Universal Credit will also mean that going online is the only way to apply for and manage Universal Credit applications for the majority of those in receipt of benefits.

These…

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Why the Bromford Innovation Lab is only recruiting via Twitter

The use of social media has an increasingly important role in helping people to collaborate, build relationships, share information and resources and as of today find a job. 

A challenge to conventional recruitment the #BromfordLab recruiting through Twitter has certainly generated a lot of interest. The responses to this very new way of recruiting will be interesting as applicants are being asked to demonstrate their skills, experience and social influence within their relevant communities through web content such as community engagement on social networks, blogs and other searchable publications.

I wonder whether the Open Badges movement a new online standard to recognize and verify learning will become increasingly important as people are able to display their skills and achievements on social networking profiles, job sites and websites.

I was struck by the concerns expressed about people being digitally excluded and Paul Taylor’s response that “the first thing @ConnectBromford do is is to let people know being offline excludes you from job market and that they provide support to help people get online”. I believe every organisation has a responsibility to ensure that their community is digitally included and that digital engagement is seen as a core part of their business.

The social CV is a growing trend and I am inclined to agree with Vala Afshar who pioneered this approach in the US “the future of talent acquisition is being social”

Paul Taylor

Imagine a future where you don’t have a CV or resume. A future where your talent and achievements are broken down into tweetable chunks. Your professional life , and a good bit of your personal too, is available online for all to see. You are scored according to your worth and the value of your followers. Your score can determine whether you get that job interview – Me , March 2013 – How Social Media Could Get You Your Next Job 

The first and only time I start a post quoting myself. Honest.

Next week marks the launch of the Bromford Innovation Lab – a new venture that we are very excited about.

What makes it different is the way it will work.

It consists of Lab sessions each lasting 12 weeks and run four times a year. During those 12 weeks we’ll be hosting a number of problems…

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#socialconvo an update

 

Last Tuesday Mark Brown @MarkOneinFour, Paul Taylor @PaulBromford and I hosted “What can social media do to make social good better?” We wanted to discuss the potential of social media as a place where social good could happen. One of the big questions as Mark so delightfully puts it “how do you move social media from a broadcasting medium to a space where relationships grow and where, sometimes, magic things happen?”

It was a risk for us not just in terms of the finances and resources required but because we all have a strong social media presence. What would happen if no one wanted to come and join in the conversation?  Happily there was a lot of interest in #socialconvo which we see as the beginning of a very different social conversation.

It sounds so obvious really that every event costs money to put on. If it is free for attendees it is because an organisation or organisations are providing the resources to cover the costs of venue hire, refreshments, staff time and promotion of the event. So a big thank you to the people who sponsored places at the event.

What made this conversation special for me is that Mark, Paul and I first connected through Twitter. Where else could I have met one of the smartest thinkers in the worlds of social media and mental health and the dynamic Innovation Coach at Bromford a social business providing homes and support to over 80,000 people? We have a shared interest in how social media is defining care, support and community engagement in a digitally connected world and we recognise the importance of seeing social media as part of a core vision to transform organisations rather than a marginal activity.

As Mark said “with the growth of mobile technology like smartphones and tablet PCs; social media feels less like a set of websites that we visit and more like a layer of communication, community and interaction that sits over our everyday lives.  The growth of social media has led to an expansion in the self-production of media and to a blossoming of public debate”.

Social media has played an enormous role in giving a voice to people and organisations who previously had no platform and offers the opportunity for sharing different stories.  The potential to build more connected communities both online and offline who can debate everything from the impact of welfare reform to how digital technology in transforming our lives is immense.

Social influence and digital leadership is now coming from a much more diverse group. The new influencers use Twitter, blogs, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and other social media platforms to reach thousands of people. Connections are built on relationships and they are grown through conversations which can involve many different people from across the world.

Social media provides endless opportunities to be creative and challenge artificial boundaries especially between the generations if we are brave enough. Social media is also a great leveller because it is not dependent on status but rather the value each of us brings to a conversation. Despite what the pundits say about older people not being that digitally savvy the fastest growing demographic on Twitter is the 55-64 year old age bracket. 189 million users of Facebook are only using mobile devices and 25% of smartphone owners aged 18–44 say they can’t recall the last time their smartphone was not next to them.

We were very touched by the support we received both from people attending the event and the conversations taking place online. I thought it would be useful to provide links to the resources generated through our very social conversation.

A storify of #socialconvo thanks to @clarkmike 

Social Media Social Good Mark Brown’s Presentation

Social Media Social Good Mark Brown’s Notes

Do you have a question for #socialconvo?

Due to the very lively debate  we did not have the time to answer all of the questions asked through Twitter and we are pplanningollow up post to respond to the questions

Social media: Are we doing it right?  #socialconvo @medavep 

Thanks to Dave Pearce for sharing his reflections on attending #socialconvo

#socialconvo has also been cited in Conversation is action… because… we learn when we talk @whatsthepont and  Social conversations – a time to move beyond broadcasting @PaulBromford

The context for Social conversations, social media and social good 

The way forward?

The digital revolution is about people, social networks and connections not the technology. Technology is most effective when it is invisible. It is an enabler and what is important is what it allows us to do. I believe our challenge is to use social media to do something greater than what we could otherwise accomplish.

As Paul Taylor rightly observes “if social media can lead to social good it requires us to build relationships with others who share our passions and interests . These relationships are no longer restrained by physical location , our immediate peer group, our employers, or our sectors.”

Social media is not free and whilst it costs very little to set up a social platform it needs time, money and people to maintain your presence and have your voice heard in an increasingly crowded space.

Get the basics right – make it easy for people to connect with you. This may sound obvious but if you are an organisation with a responsibility for promoting social good you need a strategy for responding to questions and comments online. A tip for any organisation is to make it easy for people to find you by promoting your social media presence!

One of my favourite quotes from Mark “Without a response plan social media is just an answering machine for messages you have no intention of listening to”.

Value and respond to feedback and comments. Having a Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn profile, never responding to comments and rarely updating shows a real lack of interest in being social. Strangely some organisations do not appreciate that all social media communications are in the public domain.

An idea does not care who has it – share generously your knowledge, passions and links to resources you have found useful, enjoyed reading or even just made you smile.

People are looking for more openness and transparency in the social age. This has many implications for organisations who are not used to this level of accountability and public debate.

Being able to tell a story is a powerful and compelling element of social media. With so many competing influences you have to work hard to build and sustain trusted relationships online. Each of us has a unique voice do not be afraid to use it to tell your story.

If you would like to explore the benefits of social conversation in your organisation to explore how to use social media for social good do get in touch!