There's no denying the rise of Snapchat. Teenagers love it. Their parents don't get it. But what is it, actually? And how does it work? We asked a comms person with a Snapchat-loving daughter.
by Carolyne Mitchell
Read morekeep calm and share information
The beginning of this story will be the same as many council’s across the land so if you’re sitting comfortably I’ll begin...
by GUEST EDITOR Carolyne Mitchell 
Once upon a time there was a council information officer who opened herself a Twitter account. After a few days of lurking she tweeted her first tweet and a whole new world opened up before her eyes.
She was lucky to have a boss who trusted her judgement when she suggested that the council should open a corporate account and so they did, under the radar, as a ‘pilot’, in case anyone asked.
Things went well and after a few months the council account had 300 followers. Then two things happened that would change everything.
when geek meets journo
From time to time we have work experience students come into the office proclaiming their desire to be journalists. I have to admit that my heart slightly sinks and a desire to 'talk them out of it' kicks in. But perhaps there is hope, yet...
by GUEST EDITOR Carolyne Mitchell 
Those who know me both online and in real life will have heard me bemoaning the fact that the skills taught in computing classes in schools around the country are failing to plug the skills gap in this country and failing to engage our kids.
shifty shellshock
When I started out working on council web content eight years ago I didn’t realise that making our content and processes as easy-to-use as possible to tempt people onto the web would be called channel shift.
Five years ago I attended the National Digital Inclusion Conference and alarm bells started ringing. It was the first time anyone had pointed out to me that 1/3 three people in the UK didn’t have a computer (at that time).
It was also the first time I heard about the broadband lottery. Maybe I was naïve but I’d just assumed everyone was like me and my family and friends.
