Older people can "Spring Online" with the internet during campaign week

"SPRING ONLINE WITH SILVER SURFERS' DAY" takes place in just over 6 weeks on 16th - 20th May 2011. This is a national campaign that aims to get older people using computers and the internet at thousands of events across the UK.

Since the inception of Silver Surfers' Day in 2002 over 100,000 older people have been engaged with computers through activities such as Wii parties, E-Mail and Skype sessions. This year organisers Digital Unite aim to make the campaign a week long event and even "bigger and better than ever before".

Visit www.springonline.org

1 in 5 people aged 55-64 have never used the internet, and this rises to 3 in 5 of those aged over 65. Often, the main barriers for older people are lack of confidence and understanding. All they need is someone to get them started, show them the basic steps, encourage them and make it fun! Holding a Spring Online taster session can really help.

Spring Online events can be held anywhere from sitting rooms to boardrooms, school halls to communal lounges, libraries to UK online centres. The main purpose of each session is to involve computers, the internet and older people in some way but each organiser has the freedom to decide how.

To celebrate all those who are championing better digital awareness by holding a Spring Online event, a cash prize of £1,000 is available to help with developing computer learning in their area or centre. All those who register an event will be eligible to enter and the winner will be judged on creativity, overall enthusiasm and the stories of how people are affected.

Emma Solomon, Managing Director of Digital Unite says: “Holding a Spring Online event can be as big or as small as an organiser wishes to make it. It’s not the size of the event that matters but simply that as many people as possible all over the UK who are not online are being introduced to the benefits and opportunities that the internet can bring.”

For more information about Spring Online and to register an event visit www.springonline.org. Alternatively call 0800 822 3951 or email springonline@digitalunite.net.

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Local town councillors join Election 2011 fight

JOHN DENNIS, a Hedon Town Councillor and waste incinerator campaigner, has announced that he is to stand for election to the East Riding Council on May 5th as a Conservative candidate, along with fellow Town Councillor Mike Bryan.

John Dennis declared his intention to stand whilst responding to an article on HU12 about how councillors and local government might use 'hyperlocal' websites. The article had stated that "East Riding Councillors for the South West Holderness area currently have no relationship with their constituent hyperlocals".

In response to the article, in what might be seen as the opening shots of the local Election 2011 campaign, John Dennis said:

"Please note that after 10 years on Hedon Town Council, and 5 years as spokesperson for the successful HOTI (anti-incinerator) campaign I am now intending to stand for election to the County Council in May, as a Conservative candidate together with Mike Bryan.

I wish it to be known that I, personally, will use all methods available to me to maintain contact with the electorate, both before and (hopefully) after election. I think I can safely say that by using well established connections and exploiting all aspects of modern technology to get the message out to the press TV and radio, I was generally successful in publicising the activities of the HOTI and keeping the pressure on those in the corridors of power.

Maybe the lack of commitment in the past by incumbent members to the use of the the modern technology generally, is one of the reasons SW Holderness is regarded as an ideal place to site such monstrosities as Incinerators and Sewage Works."

The declaration by Mr Dennis of his and Mr Bryan's intent to stand on May 5th, follows the early declaration last week that 18 year Adam Lonsdale will be standing as an Independent.

The election campaign war has certainly started early this year, but this campaign will also be very different in the fact that it will be fought under the glare of the internet with massive opportunities for online discussion and interaction. Policies, promises and candidates will be scrutinised under the virtual microscopes of the electorate.

The official start of nominations for Election 2011 is Friday 25th March.

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There's snow business like the internet business!

WEBSITE ISPreview reports that usage of Karoo Broadband has soared during the last week of the Big Freeze. Internet traffic levels apparently soared by 40% as people opted to work, shop and search for information from home.

The traffic increase was over 25% higher than experienced during the heavy snow of January 2010, which is apparently due to an increasing number of small businesses using technology to remain operational.

The Hedon Blog received an unprecedented number of visits for its weather coverage last week, with over 2,600 viewings on one post alone!

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Web access a “fundamental human right” according to major survey

Four in five adults (79%) regard internet access as their fundamental right, according to a global poll conducted across 26 countries for the BBC World Service. Forty-four per cent admitted that they did not think they could cope without the internet. 

The poll of more than 27,000 adults found that 87 per cent of those who used the internet felt that internet access should be “the fundamental right of all people.” More than seven in ten (71%) non-internet users also felt that they should have the right to access the web. Most web users are very positive about the changes the internet has brought to their lives. Nearly four in five (78%) said they felt it had brought them greater freedom, nine in ten (90%) said they thought it was a good place to learn, and just over half (51%) said they now enjoyed spending their spare time on social networking sites like Facebook or MySpace.

However many web users remain cautious about speaking their minds online. The poll found that they were evenly split between those who felt that “the internet is a safe place to express my opinions” (48%) and those who did not feel this (49%). 

Asked what aspect of the internet they most valued, people most commonly identified the ability to find information of all sorts (47%), with its next most popular aspect being the ability to interact and communicate with people (32%). The internet’s roles as a source of entertainment (12%), as a tool to locate, research, and buy products and services (5%), and as a forum for creativity and sharing of content (3%) were less commonly mentioned as its most valuable aspect.

The poll also found that fraud was the aspect of the internet that caused people most concern, with 32 per cent saying it was what worried them most. Fraud emerged as a greater public concern than violent and explicit content, which was mentioned by 27 per cent, and threats to privacy, which were the major concern of one in five people (20%).

The results are drawn from a survey of 27,973 adult citizens across 26 countries, including 14,306 internet users, conducted for BBC World Service by the international polling firm GlobeScan.  

So what do people think locally about some of these issues?

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