The application period for the previously advertised internship has closed and I am pleased to have had a large number of excellent CVs. I begin interviews from tomorrow and hope to appoint the successful applicant soon.
Popularity: 7% [?]
Hello, and welcome to Rouse Media. My name is Mike Rouse...
... I do political and government-sector web and new media consultancy and already power a number of blogs and are regularly designing new sites and templates for a variety of clients. Get in touch if you'd like to know more. Clients can follow @rousemedia on Twitter for service updates.
I'm fully booked until April 2010. If you are in politics please consider my friends at Mendip Media. If you are a business customer please consider my other friends at Core 365. Thanks.
Internship Latest
Mar 2
The Rouse Media Logo - as seen as a favicon on a number of popular political websites
I am today announcing a rare opportunity for what can be best termed as a quasi-digital internship opportunity with Rouse Media. The successful intern will undertake a valuable learning opportunity in the world of political new media, getting to know tools like WordPress, Joomla and Drupal. Plus, there will be the opportunity to meet and mingle with a broad range of clients and contacts inside Westminster.
The internship will provide learning around a range of popular new media tools. There will be advanced WordPress techniques that will show you how to set up a fully featured website in a short space of time. There will also be opportunities to learn about other popular platforms like Joomla and the more challenging but more rewarding Drupal. You’ll end the internship with a wealth of knowledge covering the following areas:
- How to use Google Analytics effectively
- How to integrate a website into tools like MailChimp for email marketing
- How to set up basic blogging templates, install plugins and manage blogs
- Understanding of technical processes around website management
- Video blogging, live webchats and live web TV
- … and much more
In addition to the above learning opportunities you will also be tasked with meeting and mingling with valuable clients and contacts in and around Westminster. You will be the face of Rouse Media in London and required to attend functions, events and meetings to represent Rouse Media. You’ll talk to clients about their websites and be tasked with researching additional ways Rouse Media can serve its clients as well as looking at internal business processes with a view to offering ideas for improvement. Our clients include:
- Adam Smith Institute – Global think tank
- Allan Andrews – Conservative Councillor for Earlsdon, Coventry
- Conor Burns – Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Bournemouth West
- Donal Blaney – Blogger
- Greg Hands – Member of Parliament for Hammersmith and Fulham
- Griffin Law – Kent-based law firm
- I Love Earlsdon (Page on Facebook) – A new media project for Cllr Allan Andrews
- Iain Dale’s West Ham Diary – A blog run by a fan of West Ham United FC
- John Redwood – Member of Parliament for Wokingham
- Kevin Foster (Print Only) – Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Coventry South
- Longrider (Hosting Only) – Blogger
- Mark Clarke – Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Tooting
- Party Political Animal – A blog by former trade minister Phillip Oppenheim
- Rachel Joyce – Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Harrow West
- Rachelle Glover (Page on Facebook) – Model
- Shane Greer – Writer and Broadcaster
- Shaun Bailey – Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Hammersmith and Shepherd’s Bush
- Stephen Hodgson – Conservative Councillor, Loughborough (Dishley and Hathern)
- Student Rights – Campaigning organisation
- Sunlight Centre for Open Politics – Think tank
- Tessa Dunlop – Writer and Broadcaster
- Tom Harris – Labour Member of Parliament for Glasgow South
- Tory Bear – Blogger
- Tory Radio – Blogger
- Track-a’crat – Blogger
- … and more including magazine publishers, video sharing websites, charities and political parties
This vibrant and cutting edge internship requires somebody with easy access to central London, a reliable internet connection and modern computer. The vast majority of communication will be via Skype and other online tools, with the exception of events in and around Westminster where you will be expected to attend in person and with suitable attire.
The internship will last for 3 months with no chance of employment afterwards. There will be a 2 week probation period and a short test will be administered prior to offering the internship to ensure a modest level of internet awareness (if this is not already clear by the experience provided on your CV). Please don’t worry: you’re not expected to be a tech genius and I will teach you a number of things. However, please be prepared to use your initiative.
The hours are flexible as most work can be carried out online and in your own time. Most events will take place during the evening, but it is important that you are able to attend daytime functions too. In addtion, you will:
- Have a good understanding of British and European politics ideally with familiarity of key figures
- Have good interpersonal and social skills
- Have excellent command of written and oral English
- Be able to work to deadlines, apply yourself intelligently and deploy initiative
- Be able to form and communicate ideas
The reward for this internship is amongst the best around:
- The company will contribute to the cost of your broadband internet connection up to a maximum of £35 per month. Copies of bills must be provided.
- The company will cover the cost of travel up to and including Transport for London Zone 4 for any days where you will be representing Rouse Media in or around Westminster. Travel receipts must be provided and considerations can be made for contributions to travel from further afield depending on distance and method.
- The company will provide a lunch and/or evening meal allowance.
- Some additional expenses can be reimbursed (such as printer consumables and the cost of business-related phone calls)
To apply please send your CV and short covering letter to mike@rousemedia.co.uk. The internship is politically neutral and you will not be engaged in business operations that do not have a clear learning objective associated with them.
Popularity: 21% [?]
EXCLUSIVE: Data for PM?
Feb 4
Left: David Cameron. Right: Lt Cmdr Data, USS Enterprise. H/T: Guido Fawkes.
On Twitter, the actor who plays the popular ‘Data’ character from Star Trek said to his 1.37 million followers:
RT @torytrek who would make a better world leader? David Cameron or @BrentSpiner?–I would be happy to lead the people of England.
That was, of course, a response to my new Twitter account @torytrek which I’ve set up as just a bit of a fun. I was going to point out that he’d forgotten a few members of the union, but he soon added:
I realize I forgot to mention the people of Scotland and Wales. I will govern you too. I feel a write-in campaign is in order.
Letter-writing campaigns and Trekkies are normally a potent combination, as NBC will tell you. Watch out Westminster. ‘Data’ is coming! However, the Hollywood superstar poured cold water over the idea that we’d be ushering in a golden era under the leadership of Starfleet’s finest android:
And, of course, Northern Ireland. And you will not call me anything other than Brent.
Shame that. I quite fancied the idea of a Prime Minister who never sleeps, doesn’t understand humour, and struggles with his emotions. A bit like Gordon Brown only with a bit more colour in his cheeks.
Worry not, however, because Brent (as we shall now call him) has got it covered just in case Cameron wins the next election:
Maybe we could do a “Prisoner of Zenda” thing and just switch me if Cameron gets in.
You can follow the ongoing developments here:
Popularity: 100% [?]
Decisions, Decisions
Feb 2
‘To blog?’ or, ‘not to blog?’
That is the question.
The point is: I can’t be arsed with following every political event, which kind of rules me out of the political marketplace. Besides, there are thousands of blogs doing that already. And I’m too busy to be able to write thoughtful pieces on political technology or detail every bit of political work I’m doing. There goes the only ‘platform’ I had, really. Besides, the ‘technology’ is becoming a lot more mainstream now – you don’t need me to tell you about how you can use the web in campaigning, many of you are doing a great job of that already and teaching me a thing or two. Has my time simply passed?
On the other hand, having a blog of my own helps me to keep on top of issues with WordPress for my clients by sometimes experiencing them for myself. I also wouldn’t know what to put on this site instead. Just a CV, perhaps?
Thoughts on how to handle this crossroads will be welcomed. I’m in no hurry.
Popularity: 23% [?]
I knew I had spotted the new Apple iPad somewhere before…
Captain Janeway the moment she was caught using the iPad for accessing adult material during the USS Voyager's period in the Delta Quadrant. A girl's got needs, eh?
A rather attractive Vulcan demonstrates iPad's applications for interstellar travel... or is that a map of the London Underground she's got?
An Olay advert on the iPad...
If you’ve got any shots to contribute link to them in the comments…
Popularity: 31% [?]
Home Access
Jan 19
Spare a thought for those kids who will reach secondary school having barely touched a modern computer beyond classroom activities. Their homework still being done with pen and paper. Their knowledge of this now vital area of our lives well behind that of their peers. This is not some 3rd world country, but the reality of some areas of England.
Not every family can afford a computer and a broadband connection and I was interested to read recently some powerful information courtesy of Becta:
“It has been shown that home access can enhance learner achievement, increase motivation and improve parental engagement, which in turn raises their children’s attainment. Recent evidence has also suggested that having home access to a computer could help learners achieve a two grade improvement in one subject at GCSE. Effectively, a pupil that would have got a D, could, through the effective home use of technology, now get a B at GCSE.” [Source]
Far beyond an argument around ICT literacy and future workforce there is an argument that the kids with computers do better at schools than those without. So how can we find a way to give as many kids as possible the use of a laptop and internet connection outside of the school gates?
Home Access. That’s the name of a Government scheme that is being rolled out to some of the more deprived areas of the country. In short, the local authority works with low income families to provide them with a laptop and a broadband connection for a year. Beyond that it is down to the family to make a choice weather or not they want to carry on funding the connection. The laptop is theirs to keep.
These probably won’t be high spec laptops and the connection will likely be the cheapest and most basic available, but it will be a foot in the door for many families who otherwise wouldn’t be able to get a computer for their kids and afford to hook it up to the internet.
So why should the State, or indeed the taxpayer at large, fund these laptops? I don’t have the answer to that, but I do know that if a laptop means more kids do better at school then its worth some investment from somewhere. Why should the child be disadvantaged because the parents are on low incomes? Surely we owe it to ourselves to give a few kids a better chance at school and in education as a whole by stumping up for a few laptops here and there, no?
Well, it might not matter much anyway because we are months away from an election and likely change of Government. With the Labour Government rolling this out at this time in the election cycle they are falling into the trap of being painted as bribing the electorate. It’s probably no coincidence that the areas that will benefit from the Home Access scheme are also where Labour and the BNP will be fighting over votes. It’s not the first time laptops for children has been used as an vote grabber – Plaid Cymru announced their policy of a laptop for every child in a bid to do better at a past Assembly election, but it didn’t do them much good. Incidentally, the Government’s scheme only applies to England now.
The question therefore has to be asked about what the Conservative Party position is on the home access scheme so we can see what might happen to it if they form the next Government. Will they continue to give out laptops to low income families or do they have an alternative plan? The Party has a lot to offer the education system should it win the next election and I wonder if home access and its impact on school attainment is something it is looking at.
Well, if you pop along to the Party’s website, hit the Draft Manifesto section, and search for “home access” in the Google Moderator system you’ll see I have posed the question about the Conservative Party position…
… Unfortunately its proving not to be a vote winner there. A sign, perhaps?
Popularity: 27% [?]
I hear that Star Trek is going to have its sequel in June 2012. If reports are anything to go by it’s likely that the film will feature an aged James T. Kirk … and probably the Borg.
No! We must draw a line here and now. This far and no further. Enough with the Borg already. I’m a die-hard Star Trek fan, but even I can see that the Borg is a massive turn-off to the average punter.
And as for Kirk. He’s best left alone too.
Credit to: The Register
Popularity: 44% [?]
I love Sky News and I especially like Jeremy Thompson, but I am appalled and disgusted by a line of questioning the veteran newscaster took with Gerry Adams in the 6pm hour during an interview where Gerry Adams was outside Stormont.
Thompson basically drew a parrallel between the Robinson Affair and the Adams’ Family Sex Abuse news and invited Gerry Adams to comment upon that. Gerry Adams was absolutely right to tell Thompson that there are absolutely no parallels between what is happening with the Robinson’s and what terrible events happened inside his family at the hands of his brother. I was particularly pleased when Adams said he found the parralells insulting and that members of his family would also find them insulting too. I admire the strength the Gerry Adams showed by not walking away from the interview there and then as I would have done.
I had hoped that as soon as Adams finished his response that Thompson would apologise for drawing those parallels or even put it down to a misunderstanding, but he didn’t. As one of Britain’s most experienced newscasters he should have known better and handled that situation better. He should have apologised on the spot.
To somehow attempt to bring a case of child sex abuse to the level of what is essentially a relatively minor political scandal as history will undoubtedly view it is to cheapen and devalue the experiences that the victims have been through and is deeply offensive. Having to stand down for 6 weeks whilst you’re investigated is nothing compared to the ordeal that child sex abuse revelations causes.
Jeremy Thompson should be a big man here and apologise to Gerry Adams and his family for that line of questioning and he should apologise to those of us who have suffered abuse as a child for the offence he has caused.
As I said, I love Sky News and still do, but I couldn’t let this slide.
Popularity: 53% [?]
Iain Dale is inviting nominations and though I can’t bear to go through all 44 categories of awards I will pluck out the one that interests me the most: political website of the year.
MyConservatives.com is also nominated by my comrade and friend, Donal Blaney, and rightly so. For it has had a massive impact on web activities at the local constituency level.
For years the Conservative Party has struggled to match locally what happens nationally, certainly so far as the online side of things go. I recall in 2005 a project called “Conservatives Direct” that I was part of. In some ways it was an extranet for party members, but sat outside of the local party association. It was a mixed success, but I dare say it taught some early lessons on how not to do things. Not that it was a bad offering at all.
From 2006 until 2008 I worked with Samuel Coates in a number of ventures and recall a number of conversations around the web and how to localise the Conservative Party offering. Specifically, I recall an idea of his to plot the locations and details of every Conservative Future branch in the country on to a Google Map (back in the day when this kind of thing was new and relatively unknown). I’m glad to see that Coates’s ideas have grown beyond CF and been well received at CCHQ. I’m not sure exactly what role he had in the adoption of MyConservatives.com, but I suspect he was rather involved alongside Rishi Saha and Craig Elder who are also very good at the web stuff.
I recall looking at similar systems to MyConservatives.com years ago – indeed I even pulled a few early prototypes together using the same Drupal software that MyConservatives runs on today. I certainly did give myself a slap for not persuing the prototypes further at the time, but it was a struggle to get traction for the ideas when only the likes of me, Samuel Coates, Jonathan Sheppard, Donal Blaney and a few other pioneers “got it” but more importantly ‘got how’ it could be implemented. By the time that people started flashing pound signs in front of me in return for grassroots tools it was too late: the Conservative Party had already rolled out Merlin and was marching towards MyConservatives.
What MyConservatives.com has achieved is not just the deployment of a large-scale Drupal project that pushes forward the case for open source software. It has not just proven that the Conservative Party “gets it” when it comes to the web and has the staff that can lead the way, but it has achieved a groundbreaking moment in the way politics is conducted at the grassroots level of the Conservative Party, possibly forever. Candidates and committees are engaged, they understand it, they can use it and they can push others to it. The wagon is rolling and who knows where it will call next on what I imagine will be a magnificent journey.
Popularity: 29% [?]
I’ve been tagged by Shane Greer in the latest poliblog meme to be doing the rounds: a letter to yourself aged 16.
Dear Michael,
It’s July 1999 and you’ll be delighted to know that the Spice Girls don’t last forever, contrary to conventional wisdom. You’ll learn that nothing lasts for forever and how sometimes an end can actually be a beginning in disguise no matter how dark the affair seems at the time.
My only bit of advice is to learn to chill out more, enjoy life and what others have to offer to yours and don’t apologise for yousrself. If you’re right you’ll be vindicated, if you’re wrong you’ll learn quickly.
Live long and prosper,
Mike
Tagging: Donal Blaney, Guido Fawkes, Jag Singh, John Prescott, Recess Monkey
Popularity: 31% [?]