The Rye

More Red Tape?

Honestly, I wonder at the sanity of the Government.  I can see it now, the Cabinet table, all gathered round, GB: "Right, this credit crisis is going to cause significant pain for consumers and businesses alike, we need to find a way to help them remain agile in these difficult times."  At which point HH pipes up: "I've got an idea, lets introduce a bill which will create lots of red tape, with lots of lovely bureaucracy and then we can employ even more civil servants from the pool of laid-off workers to manage it".

Bloody stupid, regressive and pointless politicking from the right honourable member for Herne Hill. 

42 Holes in the House of Lords

I'm no fan of the Lords, in my mind the replacement of an unelected body based on aristocratic succession by one filled with cronies and MPs that have kindly stepped aside to allow the anointed ones free passage in safe seats is a bit like taking an old car that needs replacing and then crashing it into a wall and declaring it a 'custom'.

However, thats the way it is so I hope that the eminent peers find it in themselves to inject some sense into the government over 42 days.  The decision by Gordon to make this a matter of 'principle' is even more dreadful than the fact that i had to listen to David Davis this morning and agree with every word he said. 

I just wonder what is next?  Armed Police the rule rather than the exception?  Perhaps a nice little military camp just off the Scilly Isles...

It'll Never Catch On

I set this blog up about a month or so ago with the stated objective of trying to properly understand how this whole 'social media' thing worked in real life.  I've sat and watched the whole thing from afar for some time now...with an honest 'i sort of get it' point of view but without a genuine insight into how the whole thing really worked. Its actually surprised me in many way, my blogging activity goes up and down somewhat but the most significant change is the way it has changed how I consume media.

My bloglines account is the first and last thing that I read and I value it more than many traditional media sites,  since i can now see how blogs/social media/whatever you want to call it is actually driving the mainstream media agenda.  As you can see, I'm naturally interested in politics and its remarkable how many times i'll read in the newspaper something which I read about through a blog a few days before.

Anyway, I've got work to do..but I would recommend reading the last few posts on here which sets out in far better language the answer to the question of 'why blog?'.....Also check out the business week article that Antony refers to here .

In recognition that I have just ripped off all of Antony's latest content, i should mention that he is, in my humble opinion, the foremost authority on how this weird and wonderful social media thing works - he's an old colleague from my agency days, who spent many hours trying to convince me (and others) of the value of this stuff back in early 2005...guess which one of us now has a super posh job flying all over the place as 'head of social media'.....  Anyway, in honour of his love for Jay-Z et al....Yo, Yo!