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September 13, 2004
Digital Divide SNP-Style I: Websites
The internet doesn’t feature much in SNP plans and it’s easy to see why. Most of the party leaders are not interested. It’s indicative that only half the SNP representatives at Holyrood, Westminster and Brussels have their own websites (list below).
The reason for an MSP/MEP/MP having a website is to provide accessible public information about the member’s activities, including contact details. It’s not the only way of making information available but - unlike most of the others - it’s not ephemeral. It’s always there, always available. It’s a minimum presence on the net. It isn’t interactive. It doesn’t invite discussion like a weblog (a more ambitious undertaking) but it doesn’t need much maintenance.
The Scottish Parliament website gives some (standardized) pages to MSPs. That’s fine except that they are limited to a set formula with no distinction between members of different parties, and the interface is under the control of civil servants who (now anyway) have problems configuring it.
Those who have their own website (16):
Cunningham, Roseanna MSP, Ewing, Annabelle MSP, Ewing, Fergus MSP, Fabiani, Linda MSP, Grahame, Christine MSP, Hudghton, Ian MEP Hyslop, Fiona MSP, Lochhead, Richard MSP, MacAskill, Kenny MSP, Morgan, Alasdair MSP, Robertson, Angus MP Robison, Shona MSP, Sturgeon, Nicola MSP, Weir, Mike MP White, Sandra MSP, Wishart, Peter MP
Those who don’t have their own website (16):
Adam, Brian MSP, Crawford, Bruce MSP, Ewing, Margaret MSP, Gibson, Rob MSP, Ingram, Adam MSP, Marwick, Tricia MSP, Mather, Jim MSP, Matheson, Michael MSP, Maxwell, Stewart MSP, McFee, Bruce MSP, Neil, Alex MSP, Salmond, Alex MP Smith, Alyn MEP Stevenson, Steward MSP, Swinney, John MSP, Welsh, Andrew MSP
Posted by Simon Holledge at September 13, 2004 09:08 PM