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September 28, 2004
Digital divide SNP-style II: Beyond the soapbox
What communication skills are needed by politicians in the first decade of the 21st century? The ability to stand on a soapbox with confidence and talk out of the top of one’s head - or something more than that?
Soapbox skills are important for the leader of a political party in a country where most people still sit passively in front of the television for the best part of their lives, but for most of the rest of the party access to information and command of detail are more to the point.
In the great British tradition of getting other people to do the work, the SNP outsources technical help. The SNP website is created by a company called Heehaw Multimedia. Many MSP websites are apparently done by outsiders. Multimedia presentations, if there are any, are probably also paid for rather than created by the speakers themselves.
There are several problems with this, not least the fact that the SNP doesn’t have any money. Also party leaders are also failing to acquire the skills necessary for directing their own staff. We wouldn’t put people who can’t read and write in charge of libraries, so why should we have computer illiterates in charge of parliamentary and constituency offices?
Posted by Simon Holledge at September 28, 2004 12:37 AM