citizenbay

Burma and the power of blogging

Both of my parents were born in Burma, so not surprisingly, I am very attached to the country, and have been following every moment of the unfolding news.

In the student uprisings of 1988, the world hardly took note of the fight for democracy in the country. The on-going struggle since then has been out of the world's media, gaining little publicity, in spite of the efforts of democracy leaders in Burma and campaigning groups across the world, such as the Burma Campaign Group based in London.

This time, the news is everywhere, with the mobile and internet contributing to the cause in a breathtaking way.

Here is a blog being posted by Ko Htike. If you are interested in knowing what is happening on the streets of Burma from someone living through it right now, then this blog is one place to visit. Cameraphone pictures augment a powerful insight into what is happening. It is not easy to read, but I am certain it is harder to write.

When once we discussed the power of television to frame world events, the mobile and internet are the new tools.

citizenleaf

Found this leaf on holiday.

Close to my logo colouring, so thought I would put it up. Looks nice.

I am becoming my parents...in praise of Which?

When I was growing up, my parents swore by Which? the consumer body and magazine.

They are celebrating their 50th anniversary this year, and I believe they are the largest consumer body in the UK. They are a registered charity and focus purely on delivering great advice to consumers. They product test loads of household products such as cameras, phones, washing machines and also deal with mis-selling and the quality of hospital food.

Needless to say I was picking through the truth and mirage of broadband offers, when I found myself on the Which? website. Within minutes I had signed up and joined up.

With so many recommendation services out there, this one delivers in my humble opinion...and that goes for my mum and dad too!

More on being a decent conference panel moderator...

Found more on how to be a great moderator. This one is a great checklist from Guy Kawasaki.

How to be a decent conference panel moderator...

Tips on moderating…

Citizensound has been helping the renowned music conference In The City (Manchester 20th-22nd October) shape the conference theme and pulling some of the speakers/panels together. Nick and I will also be moderating a panel or two.

Other than learning from some of the masters of moderation from the political debates on TV, I was looking around for tips on being a decent moderator…

Here are fellow citizen Nick Watt’s tips:
1. Be prepared. Make sure you prepare enough questions for the session and make sure you at the very least answer the question posed in the panel’s title, and also the issues brought up in the panel description. If you have an idea before hand on the topics the speakers wish to cover off, or where they are most knowledgeable, the easier you’ll find it to moderate the session.
2. Be relaxed. This is just like leading the discussion at a round table or a group interview, except you have an audience. The more relaxed you are with the process, the more relaxed your speakers will be.
3. Be brief. Make sure you ask your speakers to keep ALL their answers short and to the point. This will ensure everyone gets a turn to speak, and that all the issues get covered off in the session.
4. Be strong. Don’t let any one speaker dominate the proceedings (you’ll always get one). You can always stop them by saying something like - “Sorry to interrupt Bob, but I want to get Jon’s thoughts on the subject”.
5. Allow no sales pitches. Inform the panel beforehand that sales pitches are strictly verboten (again, you’ll always get someone who’ll try it on)! The audience hate it when speakers do this. Say something like “Thanks Jim, if anyone wants to find out more about your company’s offering, can I suggest they catch up with you at the end of this session”. Then move quickly onto the next issue! The delegates will thank you for it!
6. Be open to the audience. Make sure that you leave some time at the end for a Q and A session. If the questions from the floor aren’t forthcoming, make sure you have a few questions as back-up to stop any embarrassing silences at the end of the session.

Six great tips from Nick.

The last one I am finding is a tricky one these days. How much time should be left for Questions? Typical suggestions are for the last 10 mins at the end of an hour session, hoping that we can find a few questions from the audience. Yet, in this world where there is no easier time to share your views, are audiences at conferences happy with the odd chance to ask a question to the panel of the great or the good?

Maybe the moderator should talk to the audience beforehand to assess what the key issues are.
Better still could be to enable the audience to post up their questions on a board (real or digital) before the session…

Even more interesting would be to have a more open discussion from the floor, with the moderator having to manage not just the panel but the audience too…

Off to find more tips…