Comments on: G20: Bloggers To Step Up To The Plate?

By: JackP

JackP — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 19:45:19 +0000

Yeah, I added my vote for colalife, who are officially in now.

If you look at @G20voice, you can see who is “in” so far, although they say there have been 200 nominations. But if there’s someone you like, nominate ‘em!

By: Miles Tone

Miles Tone — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 19:33:56 +0000

JackP, just out of interest - have you nominated anyone to blog?

By: JackP

JackP — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 13:19:11 +0000

Simon,
yeah, I think it’s good to get as wide a mix there as possible — ColaLife would indeed be good to see represented — and it’s fair to say that the way G20 voice have set about doing it is too ensure that there will be a mix.

Also, while I can perfectly understand the need for bloggers to have to have a certain ‘profile’ before being involved — because that way they are most likely to get read, well reported etc — I think it’s a shame that there’s not a couple of spaces for ‘ordinary Joe’.

Partly for selfish reasons — as I’ve said, I think it would have been a fun thing to do — and partly because I’d just like to see someone who isn’t already “famous” in the blogging world or, as you say, well-connected, to be given this sort of opportunity.

I’ve asked @G20voice on twitter if there’s an opportunity to see which bloggers are going, comment on them and so on, because this provides a mechanism for the rest of us not only to see who will be representing us all, but to talk to those bloggers and tell them the sort of things we’d like them to ask/report on.

Like I’ve said, it’s a brilliant idea, and one that I hope is extended by the people behind it to future events. So please, get nominating!

By: Simon Berry

Simon Berry — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 10:01:47 +0000

I like the way G20voice have allocated the places otherwise it would be just the well connected that would get in (like us!). Having said that I very much hoping we can get ColaLife there!

By: Shane McCracken

Shane McCracken — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 08:29:23 +0000

The partners behind G20Voice are OxfamGB, Comic Relief, Save the Children, Blue State Digital and ONE. We’ve strong govt support from DFID and FCO.

Those partners have a strong interest in ending poverty and climate change, but it is down to the bloggers who attend to decide their agenda.

By: JackP

JackP — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 08:13:10 +0000

I think G20 Voice is headed up by Oxfam (and is presumably therefore a coalition of charities?), but frankly I’m not too bothered about who is behind it; it’s the opportunity for blogger participation that I think is exciting.

By: Cole Henley

Cole Henley — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 23:57:08 +0000

A quick glance at the meta keywords on the London Summit website [1] reveals G20’s motivation for opening things up to the blogosphere:

“comic relief, save the children”

[1] and what self-respecting web designer doesn’t take a sneaky peak under the hood of government websites