I came across this post earlier discussing the rise of real time news. Real time reporting can be gripping; how many of us sat open mouthed and horrified as we watched the second plane collide with the twin towers, or people jumping from the windows on 9/11? But while it brings us instantly up to date, the sheer volume of information can be overwhelming and may actually stop us from processing any of it in any depth. With information overload being a well voiced issue at the moment (even making it into adverts for microsoft's search engine bing), how can we control the information we receive and make the most of this progress in reporting? This article examines different ways to make the news we receive manageable and relevant; using these tools lets you cut out the white noise of too much irrelevant information and actually find the facts that mean the most to you.
Hi Rob. The emphasis here was on the management of volunteers becoming increasingly professional. While this was welcomed on a number of levels, there was also concern that in the current economic climate and the cuts in public spending, that government would see volunteers as the ‘solution’ (rather than paying staff). This raised issues within itself, but one of the biggest problems being the ‘solution’ was actually very labour intensive!
The diversity of volunteers was essentially related to the recession and the employment backgrounds of people volunteering. Perhaps diversity was misleading? What we talked about was the increase in volunteers from the finance sector, due to being made redundant. People felt that once the economy picked up people would probably return to the finance sector, rather than stay with organisations as volunteers or seek alternative careers within the voluntary sector. However others felt that an ‘80’s repeat’ would occur, the recession triggering life/career changing decisions in people. What do people think will happen? Have you got volunteers from the finance sector? Will they stay or go?!
Caroline
Reporting from the social media exchange: what is news?
I came across this post earlier discussing the rise of real time news. Real time reporting can be gripping; how many of us sat open mouthed and horrified as we watched the second plane collide with the twin towers, or people jumping from the windows on 9/11? But while it brings us instantly up to date, the sheer volume of information can be overwhelming and may actually stop us from processing any of it in any depth. With information overload being a well voiced issue at the moment (even making it into adverts for microsoft's search engine bing), how can we control the information we receive and make the most of this progress in reporting? This article examines different ways to make the news we receive manageable and relevant; using these tools lets you cut out the white noise of too much irrelevant information and actually find the facts that mean the most to you.
Sarah
A space to share ideas
Hi Rob. The emphasis here was on the management of volunteers becoming increasingly professional. While this was welcomed on a number of levels, there was also concern that in the current economic climate and the cuts in public spending, that government would see volunteers as the ‘solution’ (rather than paying staff). This raised issues within itself, but one of the biggest problems being the ‘solution’ was actually very labour intensive!
The diversity of volunteers was essentially related to the recession and the employment backgrounds of people volunteering. Perhaps diversity was misleading? What we talked about was the increase in volunteers from the finance sector, due to being made redundant. People felt that once the economy picked up people would probably return to the finance sector, rather than stay with organisations as volunteers or seek alternative careers within the voluntary sector. However others felt that an ‘80’s repeat’ would occur, the recession triggering life/career changing decisions in people. What do people think will happen? Have you got volunteers from the finance sector? Will they stay or go?!