Blog HelpGov's helpful blog - the separate place we write more informally about things that interest and motivate us. To give you a taster of what it's all about here are the headlines from our most recent posts. Just
click through to read the full text.
Unusual discovery in attic harks back to a different world
Clearing out the attic of my house the other day I came across an unusual newspaper cutting lining an old chest of drawers. It was undated but obviously came from the 19th century. Readers may be interested in it as a curious throw back to times past as it clearly bears little relationship to modern times.
In a move unprecedented since the introduction of the “Penny Post” by Sir Rowland Hill in 1840, Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli today responded to the Fenian Riots in our great northern cities by calling for the suspension of the now-familiar Royal Mail letter service...
Ten things that PowerPoint presenters don't do - but should
Ten things that PowerPoint presenters don’t do but should. The flip side of Ten things PowerPoint presenters shouldn’t say – but do, the most read post so far on the HelpGov blog and just as important.
1. Consider whether they need PowerPoint at all to communicate their message effectively
2. Keep the whole thing short and simple – the number of slides, the amount of text, going easy on the gazillion gizmos in PowerPoint...
10,000 views - thanks folks!
The Helpgov blog today passed 10,000 page views. Not bad for a start up blog mainly about public sector improvement in the UK. Thanks to all the readers who’ve dipped into the blog, to those who’ve ranked posts or shared them on various social media sites, to those who’ve commented and to those who subscribe. All options are available at all times. To mark the milestone, I’ve been tweeting some Helpgov blog 10,000 views stats on Twitter today. Here they are…
Social media, the public sector and the riots
Well done UK council chief executives. They’re having a summit in October to think about the future of the important services local authorities provide. Their debate will be structured around five propositions you can find on the web site they’ve set up to prepare for the event. One thing they didn’t anticipate (who did?) will surely inform their deliberations – the “riots”…
And some old favourites...
As well as our regular posts we update two additional pages on our blog.
The jargon bin, where we record some of the worst current uses of jargon in and around the public sector. Some of it's amusing, some is tragic, but mostly it obscures what public bodies are trying to say and damages their reputation. Recent examples? -
envelope, early years practitioners and
optimal end game.
101 uses..., where we chart how the humble Post-it note is used at work. Trivial? Sometimes. But there's a reason. Enjoy.