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Friday Jan 26, 2007
Young Skins
I didn't see Channel 4's new "youth drama" Skins last night, so I don't know if it was worth watching or irritating. But I do know that lead writer Brian Elsley, who's in his forties, had a lot of help.
Elsley...set up a talented young writers' group with 16 members, all in their teens and early twenties. "The rule is that everyone gets paid for their ideas and writing in the group, but all the material discussed or written at the meeting can be used by the designated writer of the episode."
In this series, five episodes were written by Elsley and four by the twentysomething writers, including his son. "We have a mentoring system where the more experienced writers, the 23-year-olds, help the 17- and 18-year-olds. The 17-year-olds have written six-minute spin-off films for the website, but if we get a second series we want them to write their own episodes supported by the group."
Most of TheSite.org Discussion board users seemed to like it.
I'm into it... I watched the previews on myspace and tnight's episode.... not bad. And Nicholas Hoult. I WOULD.
Posted by Tom Green ( 1:49 PM ) Link to this post Comments[0]'Bits of lung were coughed up'
Here's the latest update from YouthNet marathon runner Donna:
Well this week started very promising. Good run on Sunday, and Monday. Tuesday I started coughing quite hard and was told 'kindly' that it sounded like what friends had and I'd be on my back for weeks. This was not going to happen so I promptly went for a four mile run. On my return I started coughing uncontrollably and realised the person could possibly be right as bits of lung and chest cavity were being coughed up all over the house.
Wednesday hit me like a tonne of bricks and for the first time I believe since I was a kid, I was taken to my bed by 3pm, partly because I was annoying half of Vodafone with my sneezing and coughing. Thursday, however although v wheezy, (and Runners World are very clear on if you are wheezy and chesty, don't run) I felt a lot better.
Friday a new woman, and although I cycled to work and started coughing again, I started feeling confident for the weekend. However Saturday came and I was still coughing up guts etc, so realised there was no use fighting it and gave myself till Monday. Went long walks with the dogs, which didn't seem to cause much trouble but anything over a brisk walk wasn't good.
Monday 22nd, three months till D Day, had an inspirational watching of Rocky II and IV the night before so am raring to go. Cough still there, although a lot looser (I think that is supposed to be a good thing) so hopefully going to do a good run.
9pm came, and on came the fleece. Lead in hand, Solo and I ventured out – it was bloody cold, so actually being frozen took away the feeling of wheezing and coughing, and you will all be pleased to hear that I ran further than I have before. Even did a Rocky tribute by running up some steps near the end. Feel much more positive and yes, a little smugness is venturing in. I can do this, I can.
Support Donna and YouthNet thorugh her fundraising page
Donna has raised £195 of her target
Posted by Jim Valentine ( 1:46 PM ) Link to this post Comments[0]
Thursday Jan 25, 2007
Bullsh*t bingo anyone?
As in many fields of work, here in the non-profit world we're no strangers to buzz words. We've all tried picking the low lying fruit and thinking outside the box, but this morning I came across a term that almost made me choke on my muesli - "filmanthropy".
According to OnPhilanthropy this gem came from business leader and philanthropist Ted Leonsis. No one could disagree that films and documentaries have the power to elicit social change, but I think Susan Herr is making a huge generalisation when she says "Nonprofits and academia couldn't achieve in decades what was wrought in one year by a film from one Jeff Skoll whose for-profit film company, Participant Productions, was established to create "impassioned entertainment."The film she's referring to is "An Inconvenient Truth", but is she seriously suggesting that the film alone has done more for the climate change movement than decades of academic research and lobbying by non-profits all around the world? That's a seriously bold claim.
In the same article I notice that Kevin Bacon has also launched a new fundraising site - sixdegrees.org. The article says the site is "MySpace for the retail philanthropy crowd" but the amount raised on the site is less than $70,000 as "the fury of the Internet effect has yet to be released". I hope the site is a great success and I'm sure Kevin has great plans to promote it – hopefully beyond relying on the "fury of the Internet effect". Posted by Sam Thomas ( 9:53 AM ) Link to this post Comments[1]
Wednesday Jan 24, 2007
It's carbon judgement day - but don't worry no one can be bothered to check
The Guardian says today is Carbon Judgement day, a day when we all measure our carbon footprint to find out just how much we've screwed up the environment over the last year.
As the article points out, "we will all need to get more carbon-literate over the coming years."
I couldn't agree more, but having read through their 5 point plan that outlines how to measure your carbon footprint, in all honesty I just can't be bothered.
I know I'm not offering any solutions, but if this is what getting "more carbon literate" involves then I think we're in real trouble. I feel strongly that as individuals we need to change the way we live, in order to reduce our impact on the environment, but some of friends don't feel nearly as passionate as I do.
I can only imagine the grief I'd get if I asked them to work out their carbon footprint in this way...
Posted by Sam Thomas ( 1:17 PM ) Link to this post Comments[0]
Friday Jan 19, 2007
"Consumer Philanthropy" - are we nearly there yet?
Some days it's so easy to feel enthused, excited and hugely passionate about the developments that are taking place in the world of social networking, philanthropy and non-profits.
Every now and then, however, I do sometimes wonder if we're all getting carried away with all things 2.0 – maybe it's not all it's cracked up to be. For charities in particular, there are obvious concerns about how much to invest in technologies that aren't completely bedded in and part of the furniture (and Steve Bridger's nfp 2.0 blog gives some pointers on how to work round them). Will the trailblazing non-profits reap the rewards and usher in a new utopian world, where individuals across the globe are engaged, informed and inspired to take action? Or will these new technologies stay within the corporate sector, things that only companies with balls and money can use to good effect? (OK I know in all likelihood it won't be either of these extremes, but bear with me I'm trying to be dramatic).
On days like today when I feel a tad sceptical, articles like this one by Tom Watson for OnPhilanthropy help me regain my enthusiasm. As it points out, there are some real signs that we may be at a tipping point in terms of "consumer philanthropy" as they call it.
"...if you look beyond the headlines, there are signs. And there are two trendlines heading for a collision - on one hand, people are ever more conscious of philanthropy and its role in commerce and society; on the other, these people are talking to each other more so than ever before."
I think this is also tied in with the rise of the "ethical consumer". As big business cottons onto the fact that the voluntary sector doesn't have exclusive rights to "doing good", and consumers become more enlightened about society's inequalities and needs, the links between business, society and philanthropy are strengthening all the time.
Great news for the non-profits that can fit with this model, pretty scary for those that don't have a strong, sexy brand I guess.
Posted by Sam Thomas ( 2:21 PM ) Link to this post Comments[3]
Thursday Jan 18, 2007
Rain, rain, go away...
Here's Donna's update on her Marathon training for YouthNet:
Hi, day four of the training has now been completed.
I have to say once I committed, I started having panic attacks as I realised what I was taking on and what a challenge I had ahead of me. However on Monday, after watching the first episode of Corrie, and after my dinner had gone down, I pulled on my woolly hat, grabbed Solo's lead and headed out in the dark and drizzle. I've always been able to run 5 miles quite comfortably on a treadmill but getting out on the actual pavement I've always found harder. I can't say I was looking forward to the run. However after 5 minutes and Solo getting used to the fact that he was expected to lead me, we started going very well. I got lots of leaps in avoiding huge puddles and avoiding a 'peeing' Solo or a 'sniffing' Solo but managed to get round my circuit in ½ hour. Not greatly impressed but blamed the dog as he had lots more new places to smell.
Tuesday came around and thought I'd better walk both dogs first (I've got two German Shepherds) so Suzie wouldn't get too upset and I could let my tea go down. However coming back in the rain with Solo, slipped on some mud and nearly broke my knee. Got home covered in mud and blood and a hole in my trousers adamant that I'm never going out in rain again. However, by 8.30 guilt was getting to me, the rain had turned to drizzle so I thought sod this, let's get out there. I did the same run 8 minutes quicker. So pleased with myself.
By the time the weekend came around I have to say my body was starting to wonder what had happened. I've always messed around with this running lark, but not to this degree. However as it was extremely windy, didn't want to venture outside so headed off to the gym. Thought I could run for an hour and see how I got on. 10k in an hour and 15, better than any of the 10ks I've ever done so feeling rather confident, even swam 30 lengths afterwards. Got home and collapsed. Felt euphoric but body was screaming.
Yesterday I thought I should take it easy but still ended up doing 7k. Don't know if it was first week enthusiasm but feel much more confident. Am aiming for 10 miles by the end of January and if I can do that, I think I can realistically do this.
Therefore everyone who reads this please sponsor me. I'm very enthusiastic, working very hard and sadly letting this running take over my life. YouthNet is a great cause and deserves all the support it can get.
Go on – log on to http://www.justgiving.com/donnashaylerrunsthemarathon
today and support me.
Thanks
Donna's currently raised £150 of her £2,500 target
Posted by Jim Valentine ( 4:08 PM ) Link to this post Comments[0]Starz in her eyes
Under David Cameron's leadership there seem to be three essential requirements for a speech by a leading Conservative politician. First, you must reverse traditional ideas about what the party stands for.
Cheryl Gillan, Shadow Secretary of State for Wales, did that this week with a speech to The Centre For Policy Studies. The thrust of her argument, was that Blair and Brown had created a selfish society. Margaret Thatcher, by contrast, knew "that economic freedom needs to be underpinned by a strong society, by mutual understandings and obligations".
Full marks for chutzpah.
The second requirement for a Tory is to come up with an eye-catching policy idea. Cheryl Gillan's was certainly innovative.
"...on behalf of David Cameron and the Shadow Cabinet, I am today submitting a policy proposal to Iain Duncan Smith and the Social Justice Policy Group. We would like Iain and his colleagues to investigate the idea of Volunteering Vouchers - taxpayers money which you can "earn" for the charity of your choice by volunteering for it. This would not represent an increase in spending, but a reallocation of existing funding. Rather than the state controlling this money, we believe that individuals and communities could be in charge of it."
Vouchers are a favourite cause of economic liberals, especially in education, but as Volunteering England have been quick to point out, the idea of money following volunteers is surely flawed.
Linking funding to volunteer numbers reflects a deep misunderstanding of volunteering and the voluntary sector. The number of volunteers an organisation involves is in no way a reflection of the worth of an organisation. Some organisations need to involve a large number of volunteers to carry out their work. Others very few. There is no logical reason for the latter to be punished by reduced funding. The same applies with roles that are by their nature harder to fill. Some roles, client groups or causes are always likely to be more challenging or less fashionable than others.
Never mind. At least Cheryl Gillan remembered the third requirement for a Conservative speech (or one by any politician, in fact): the awkward reference to popular culture.
There's a song in the charts at the moment by the singer Just Jack. It's called Starz in their Eyes - and it's a savage attack on the cult of celebrity, and the cynicism of a media which makes money out of the gullible dreams of the young.
The Arctic Monkeys are so last year.
Posted by Tom Green ( 10:19 AM ) Link to this post Comments[0]
Friday Jan 12, 2007
School's In, Forever!
Last week's news that cigarettes were being put on the top shelf, out of reach from those pesky under-18s has been followed by an even bigger policy decision which effects the lives of young people. As of 2013, students in England will be forced to stay in school until they turn 18, up from the current leaving age of 16.The users of TheSite.org discussion boards seem warm to the idea. The general view seems to be that as long as it's coupled with proper vocational training then it should work. Although there are opposing voices. Says one user:
"Great, 2 more years of brainwashing....I didn't start learning the really useful things in life 'til I left school....stunted development to the age of 16 is bad enough thanks."
But as Tom pointed out in an an earlier post, there's major confusion about age in the UK, particularly in how society treats the transition from childhood to adulthood. In Japan, they have a special coming out day where all those who have turned 20 in the past year dress up and celebrate. It's tied to Japan's laws on voting and drinking, which both kick in at 20.
This idea of somehow signalling this transition (and the rights and responsibilities that come with it) is one David Cameron picked up on last year (although not perhaps in a way everyone liked). But as this article on TheSite.org shows, there's a lot of work to do before we get to that point. Posted by Dom Waghorn ( 4:39 PM ) Link to this post Comments[1]Warts, waterproofs and self esteem
Here's a flavour of the new content which has been published on TheSite.org this week:
Hands off my things!
M.E. diarist: Naming M.E.
Consensual outing
Waterproof patch
Warts the problem?
Cold compensation
Grassing up
New Surveys on TheSite.org
Drugs Survey
Results of the Happy Holidays Survey
Discuss
Making an ass of yourself:
Smoke free in 2007
Thursday Jan 11, 2007
A political Lottery
Yesterday, Sir Clive Booth, Chair of the Big Lottery Fund, spoke out against the idea that it's resources could be used to cover a shortfall in funding for the 2012 Olympics.
Sir Clive is no stranger to the political controversy the Lottery Fund can attract. His own appointment was criticised last year when it was revealed that he had campaigned for Labour at the last three general elections. Judging by yesterday's comments, however, his independence should not be doubted.
"I don't know how anybody could live with themselves, let alone Gordon Brown, if they were taking money off [other] projects...to close an Olympic funding gap," Sir Clive said. "It would be criminal. We have already seen our budget top-sliced and we have readily accepted that should go to the Olympics as our contribution. But I don't really see why all the wonderful good cause projects should have to subsidise the Olympics beyond what we have already done. I am trying to draw a line in the sand."
There has been fierce debate about how Lottery money should be spent since the first tickets were issued. Some, like Luke FitzHerbert, remembered in obituaries this week, felt that it was little more than a tax on the poor and would be used to replace other public funding.
With the added spice of the Olympics the Lottery could yet become a major issue in the run up to the next election. The Tories have promised "to put Lottery cash back where it belongs - in the hands of charities, heritage, the arts and sport" but the details of what exactly they mean by this remain vague.
Posted by Tom Green ( 10:46 AM ) Link to this post Comments[1]
Wednesday Jan 10, 2007
How valuable is your favourite charity's brand? And as a donor do you care?
The Society Guardian mentions some interesting research by Intangible Business today. The research lists the UK's most valuable charity brands, calculated by their ability to generate future income.
Congratulations to Cancer Research UK, who top the list with a whopping brand value of £209 million. These lists are always interesting (at least they are for a fundraiser with a limited social life), but I wonder what value they are for the average donor in the street?
I'd love to see a more informed public deciding on how their money can make the greatest difference to a cause they feel strongly about, but I still think there's a lot of progress to be made here despite initiatives like Guidestar and Intelligent Giving.
This is a really tough nut to crack – even with more information available to donors the methodology behind these reports is open to question and this latest report has already sparked some controversy. As Joe Saxton, director of nfpSynergy says:
"Any evaluation of a charity's brand that does not take into account whether it does its job well is nonsense."
Posted by Sam Thomas ( 1:54 PM ) Link to this post Comments[2]
Tuesday Jan 09, 2007
First steps
Donna Shayler will be running the London Marathon in support of YouthNet this year - here's the first of her regular updates on how things are going:
Hi,
My name is Donna Shayler and I work at Vodafone Enterprise. The Vodafone UK Foundation is one of YouthNet’s partners – you can read more about the partnership in the case study section of this website. I’m very excited to be running the Flora London Marathon 2007 on behalf of YouthNet!
Well, new year, new resolutions eh. Everyone does them and everyone breaks them. So to stop falling into the same rut as I have for the last 3 years: ‘I am going to run a marathon, I am I am!’ and then I don’t, I decided to commit to a charity to stop myself backing out.
There are a lot of reasons that I want to run a marathon. I’ve done a few 10ks and kept feeling I could go further, I was signed up for the Great North Run but did my back in and was out of action for the whole summer. It always looks so amazing on the TV and I say every year I would love to do it and finally, and perhaps the main reason, my mum died last year and she always had faith in me doing one. So these 108 days of torture ahead of me are for you mum!
Running for YouthNet is also a very good reason. I am a great animal lover and also feel very strongly about Cancer Research, but not being glib, so do a lot of other people, and there are plenty of other races in aid of these good causes. YouthNet is a young charity, not so well known and it is charities like this that need the exposure of events like the London Marathon, perhaps even more than the charities that we all know. It is a good cause, does important work and I believe the money raised will make a big difference.
So although I run 2-3 miles every couple of days on the treadmill, suddenly setting off to the gym in a force 5 gale on Sunday morning felt very different. I had to double the distance almost immediately if I’ve got any chance of running 26.2 miles on 22 April. But I did it. Put my Rocky Soundtrack on my headphones and set off (only thing I ever run to – still inspires me to speed up after 5 years). And to be honest and not sounding too big headed, I found the 5.5 miles quite easy. And after walking 4 miles with my dogs and a two mile walk into my local town, I felt I started my training quite well. Of course it is early days, I have my plan, I have my clothes ready for all weathers, and I have spoken to my youngest German Shepherd, Solo about becoming my training partner. He seemed quite happy about this, especially with the ‘walk’ thrown into the conversation every few words, his head cocking side to side seemed to show he was all for it! Problem with a male dog is that they like to ensure they have pee’d on everything that they pass, so a lot of running on the spot may be in order. I’ll be there on BBC1 being the only person running on the spot every 2 minutes. However, hopefully we will see plenty of rabbits, so I’ll get some sprints thrown in as well.
Well first blog done, not much to tell but will update everyone next week after my first full week of training. Hope you enjoy reading this and please support anyway you can and wish me luck.
Posted by Jim Valentine ( 3:58 PM ) Link to this post Comments[1]
Friday Jan 05, 2007
Much too young?
As people struggle to give up smoking for the New Year, the government has given young people a helping hand with the announcement that under-18s will be banned from buying cigarettes in England and Wales from 1 October 2007.
The news created very few waves (partly because it came on New Years Day), although there is an interesting debate on TheSite.org's discussion boards.
Perhaps most people are simply perplexed about what you can and can't do at certain ages. At the age of 17, for example, you can drive or get a pilot's licence. But you won't, after October, be able to buy cigarettes. At 16 you can get married but you can't watch porn. Or vote.
The anomalies are well known but nothing seems to be done about them. Wouldn't it be easier, and more honest, to set a single age where a child, in the eyes of the law, becomes an adult?
Posted by Tom Green ( 10:55 AM ) Link to this post Comments[0]
Thursday Jan 04, 2007
Volunteers writing up a storm
Many voluntary organisations and community groups thrive on material written and led by volunteers. We at YouthNet benefit tremendously from a team of volunteer journalists and editorial assistants who come up with stories, conduct research, and write sparkling and informed articles for our websites. These volunteers are savvy, switched on and ready to rock the world. Just to show them off, I thought I'd share a few nuggets.
Naomi, a diarist on TheSite.org, gets a taste of hunger during Ramadan, while the rest of Yemeni life turns upside-down and potentially dangerous at times.
York students may have abilities comparable to the A-Team, but they're also a germ-ridden, horny lot, according to Lily, our former (twice!) Editorial Assistant.
Lauren, a freelance journalist who volunteers with our Editorial team on a regular basis, wonders whether celebrities are adopting overseas children for all the wrong reasons.
MySpace has become an unstoppable craze, according to another, Michele. (Mind you, TheSite has its own MySpace page, if you'd like to become our friend!)
And, the volunteers at Mental Health Matters get incredible support from the organisation, writes Olivia for our volunteering website do-it.org.uk, for the difficult work that they do.
Think you can do so well? We're always looking for more. ;)
Posted by Kirsten Olson ( 6:37 PM ) Link to this post Comments[0]
Wednesday Jan 03, 2007
Sex podcasts
If you need something different to listen to on your iPod on the way into work, try our new Sex and Relationship podcasts from TheSite.org.
Find out about bondage for beginners, giving her good head and how to give a hand job.
The voice-artists (as they insist on being called) are mostly drawn from our own staff. But you'll have to wait for the YouTube versions to discover who's who.
Incidentally, all TheSite.org's podcasts are now available through BitTorrent.
Posted by Tom Green ( 5:14 PM ) Link to this post Comments[0]
Tuesday Jan 02, 2007
We need a Bureau of Technology Naming Conventions
What's in a name? Probably not that much, mostly. But knowing what to call something can become a real issue when you're trying to get something across clearly to users of your site, especially when what you're talking about has a dozen different names.Here's one for you: portable digital media players. Catchy term, isn't it? Well what else do you call that collection of devices that you can use to play music and movies on the go? Sometimes, by lazy or ignorant journalists, they're all just called iPods – but this isn't right as there are plenty of other companies making devices players that aren't Apple. What about calling them MP3 players? Well this is no good either – MP3 is only one file type. These players increasingly play all sorts of files. So when we encourage users to download podcasts, what do we suggest they put them on to?
Here's another one: forums. Or discussion boards. Or BBS. All these are used to describe thread-based online conversation tools. There's no one name used consistently for these things. All names are used, potentially confusing the users (do you know the difference between chat, instant messenger and discussion forums?) Some companies even try and invent their own names, which no one else bothers to use.
And what about video-casting, vlogging, video-blogging and vlodcasting? Or IPTV and broadband TV? All potentially similar things; all likely to have users scratching their heads.
On the surface, this is probably not overly relevant. But if publishers like us want to see higher take up (and mainstreaming) of some of the new tools, then people need to know what we're talking about.
What we need is a Big Brother-styled Bureau of Technology Naming Conventions. It can decide what these things are called. Even if what it comes up with is stupid, at least there will be some consistency.
Posted by Dom Waghorn ( 3:21 PM ) Link to this post Comments[1]