Jon Bounds has come up with another brilliant idea – using the ‘people powered customer support’ site GetSatisfaction to create a community around the services provided by Birmingham City Council.
So, I thought, could this work for a local council? Imagine time saved by council officials if knowledgeable citizens helped answer questions, imagine the resources available (once someone had explained how to apply for a licence, the information would be there for everyone), imagine a monolithic body “joining the conversation”.
Rather than deciding to attempt to persuade my local council (Birmingham City Council – one of the largest in the UK) that this would be a good idea, I discovered that – as the site is “a space for an open conversation between you and other people with interests and passions in this organization.” – anyone can set a company page up. So I have.
It ill be interesting to see whether the City Council gets involved. I guess it is like a Fix My Street but for all Council services. Might just have to make one for my local council in Kettering…
I think it is a great idea and I think Satisfaction is a brilliant and useful site but (and its a J Lo sized butt!) it only really works when you have insiders with the power to effect, answer or change things monitoring the forums – and who is going to do that from a Council?
I wonder where this sits in relation to the “hyperlocal” blog aggregation sites in the US such as http://outside.in/Boston_MA ? Or with other local ly focussed sites such as http://www.welovelocal.com/ or http://www.streetadvisor.com/ ..?
Would be interesting to link people making complaints (or praise!) about services, to those taking this up for a wider discussion and a debate. After all it might not be the council who is really at fault for the bins overflowing or rubbish in the streets, if you get my drift…
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It has potential and at the same time I have concerns that it can be manipulated by disingenuous organisations.
New Forest and Winchester City Council do this already….
John – really? Did a search on the get satisfaction site and couldn’t find anything for either.
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We helped them to set it up, also doing the same for Cheltenham, Test Valley and Winchester councils….