I’ve read enough ghost stories to know that when you disturb a buried skull whose previous owner died a violent death, you’d better put that thing back where it came from and walk away, lest you leave the surrounding area with a screaming skull. Or something. So when I read about the discovery of a mass grave in Dorset, not far from where I grew up, I posted a throwaway tweet about how I wouldn’t live anywhere near it unless they were left alone.
The bodies, and their separate skulls, were unearthed on Ridgeway Hill – in the shadow of Europe’s largest Iron Age hill fort, Maiden Castle – during preparation work on the Weymouth relief road, which is being built for the 2012 Olympics (Weymouth’s hosting some of the water-based events). And little did I know when I posted my facetious tweet that I’d soon be writing the road’s blog up as a potentially good case study in local council engagement. Spooky, huh?
That’s right, tarmac fans – the Weymouth Relief Road has its very own blog! Large road developments like this one are notoriously difficult in terms of opposition, nimbyism and even protest, though I’ve heard of no protests against the £87m road in Dorset.
As a result, engaging with local residents is desirable and beneficial. And as Andy Ackerman, Dorset County Council’s head of highways, noted to the BBC, a blog is one tool which can be used to do so. The public, says Ackerman, wants its information in different ways.
Click here to view the Weymouth Relief Road blog.
This case study is slightly unusual in that it will sing the praises of a blog which is just three posts and 10 days old. How much content is posted, and how much success it has, remains to be seen over time. But the theory behind aspects of the blog is sound.
Why so good?
There are many things I like about this blog. It’s on WordPress, not tacked onto the council’s website like some forgotten add-on. This helps to increase the council’s digital footprint and also encourages proper integration into the rest of the web, though this does not happen automatically. The tone, so vitally important to a good blog, seems personable and easy-going. For a blog covering important but painfully dull content, that’s essential.
Part of the integration into the social web involves hosting relevant content on social sites. While I’m not entirely convinced that Dorset’s residents will be overly interested in photos or videos of digging, but the technique here is excellent. Widgets have been placed on the blog showing Flickr photos and Vodpod videos, and linking to the relevant Flickr and Vodpod channels. Again, this creates an extended footprint and better social web integration. It also provides a path to the council’s other photos and videos.
In blogging, brevity is a virtue (and is something I’m bloody awful at). So far, the posts on the relief road blog have been brief and to the point. That’s a good thing for readers, particularly when the content is potentially so dry – pineapples excluded.
Any problems?
All is not perfect, however, and there are some recommendations I’d make to improve the blog. It could, for example, link to a selection of local blogs – I’ve not checked, but I can guarantee a few will exist. A more prominent RSS link would be advisable, as would a named author (for transparency purposes and also to encourage readers to relate to a human).
In my opinion, posting should be more regular. Even on a day when there is nothing to relate, rich content can be used to keep the site ticking over. A 30-second daily video of the construction work, or a brief slideshow of progress, would augment the occasional commentary and let visitors know that the blog remains alive.
All of this assumes a certain level of budget – not huge, but still possibly prohibitive – behind the project. Having said that, if someone is on-site anyway then shooting a minute of footage with a Flip camera isn’t a lot to ask. Top-level buy-in would be a perhaps insurmountable issue.
On top of all that, this blog must be promoted offline.
Uncertainty
Of course, it’s possible that this post is about a blog which dies a sudden and unnoticed death. But the framework is there for a good project and the thinking behind it is similar to my own. It will be interesting to see how it develops over the coming weeks.
blogging, Policy
