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Tuesday Jan 20, 2009

Be part of the future

Hi everyone,

As a result of funding from Vodafone and V, YouthNet is building a comprehensive new website to help young people make decisions about their work, training and study options.

As regular users of the boards will know we always try to involve our users as much as possible in new developments. However this time we're planning something much, much more ambitious. If you're under 26 we'd be really excited to get you involved in creating and shaping exactly what this new site will be.

I've always felt that the more users can be involved in new developments, the better a website can be, however, previous development has been constrained at times - limited by the time we've had available and the requirements of having to update an existing service rather than starting from scratch.

But there's no similar problem here. By starting with an entirely new website we can really get everyone interested involved in the real nitty-gritty of building a website. For us it means an opportunity to check our thinking with yours and share all the excitement a huge new project can bring. For you it's a chance to get involved with something that will be an important and exciting part of young people's lives. It's also an opportunity to see how things are born on the web, from a very YouthNet perspective.

So if you think you have an idea of what would improve your time at school or work; if you want to get into web development; if you think your opinion is something we should hear; if you want to write, draw, film or record the experiences of others - or are just a little bit curious - then this is a great chance for you. It's also a great chance for us to shape how we'll be doing all future consultation, including work for the good ol' Site.

You'll be volunteering through YouthNet, with the support of the communities team, and let's make one thing clear from the start - you're opinions will have a real, lasting effect on the future of our work and a website you may be using in a few months.

If you're up for it then all you need to do is apply through the project group member opportunity over on our sister site, do-it.org.uk and bear in mind the opportunity is based online and is available to everyone across the UK.

I'll look forward to working with you

Posted by Jim ( 4:37 PM ) Link to this post  |  Comments[1]

Monday Jan 19, 2009

'Monging out' - a response

On Thursday I posted a blog post asking about using the term monging out.  I posted it because it'd been pointed out that the word originated from a reference to people with Down's Syndrome; something I was unaware of and so were the people I asked.

This was not trying to be offensive or controversial, I certainly have no desire to upset or discriminate against people with Down's Syndrome or other illnesses. I'm not prepared to use personal experience as a defensive, suffice to say I have a lot closer connection with Down's Syndrome than many other illnesses.

But I'm also not going to go down the route of pandering to every Daily Mail reader who gets offended by the slightest thing we say on this website. If a word, that once had an association with Down's Syndrome, but is now in common use with no reference to that association, has offended one person... does that really mean we should drop everything to remove it?

So I did what I felt was best... crowd-source and ask our audience. And you have answered.  For that reason I have removed the word.

Olly

Posted by Olly ( 9:26 AM ) Link to this post  |  Comments[2]

Thursday Jan 15, 2009

Are we right to use the term 'monging-out'?

If you use the phrases “lynch-pin” or “on the nail” you are using phrases that derive from slavery. You probably didn’t know that, and now that you do, would you stop using those phrases?

It’s an interesting question and one we’ve had to tackle this week. The phrase in question was “monging out”, and it’s appeared in an article on looking after yourself, that has been on the site since September 2006. We received a complaint about the use of the phrase because, as the correspondent points out, “it derives from a perjorative term for people who have Down’s Syndrome, and refers to a sad period of our social history when adults with a learning disability were abandoned in front of the TV, if they were lucky.”

Perhaps it’s my ignorance, but I didn’t know that, and hadn’t made the connection. A quick straw poll in the office suggests other people didn’t get the association with Down’s Syndrome, and took the phrase to mean being a coach potato. Nor do I believe that writer intended to make any connection with people who have Down’s Syndrome. And, having been on the website for two-and-a-half years, with just one complaint, it’s doesn’t appear that large parts of the general population are aware of its origins either.

The correspondent complains that use of the word “only perpetuates negative stereotypes”, and yet if few people actually understand the connection, what negative stereotype is it reinforcing?  Those of a certain age know why the word spastic is generally deemed offensive in the UK, yet acceptable in the US. I remember being hauled up by a teacher for using the word ‘wally’ to describe someone, and then being told that it was offensive because it referred to an individual called Wallace who had been misunderstood. There is no real evidence that this is true (most accounts seem to suggest that it comes from a 1974 music festival in Stonehenge), but Wally is offensive enough that the Where’s Wally books were renamed Where’s Waldo when they launched in the States.

We certainly don’t set out cause offence on TheSite.org, but we’re here to reflect the lives of young people aged 16-24, and that’s as much about the language as the attitude. We’d never use the kind of language Prince Harry used to describe a fellow solider, and equally most likely steer away from the term Chris Moyles used to describe a ringtone he didn’t like. But our language has moved on far less in the last fifty years than at any point in its history, and the notion that a word was once offensive means it shall forever more be so seems is, in my opinion, a backwards step. Stephen Fry has the most excellent argument about why fretting about ‘correct’ language is dangerous.

It’s for that reason we’ve left the term in. But we’re happy to debate it and I’d welcome you comments on whether you think that was right.

Posted by Olly ( 3:38 PM ) Link to this post  |  Comments[14]

Skint gourmet

If December was the month for over-indulgence, then after a very expensive end to 2008, January has certainly been the month for surviving on left-overs, scraping pennies from the money box to buy a packet of digestives (no really, I experienced that yesterday when I went to buy biccies for a meeting) and whinging about the fact the credit crunch doesn't seem to mean food is getting cheaper.

So, an email from the Motley Fool giving me a price comparison for the cheapest supermarkets to buy fruit and veg from has been most welcome. I've also enjoyed reading threads in our food forum about what food you can buy with your last tenner, and have gone back to basics with TheSite.org's articles on eating like a pauper and easy recipes which tend to be cost effective.

However, the thing to really get my attention is any tips related to eating my favourite food - curry. So, I'm loving this credit crunch curry video - and trust me chick peas are really yummy. Seriously.

 

Posted by Helen ( 2:25 PM ) Link to this post  |  Comments[1]

Monday Jan 12, 2009

Meet an Apprentice winner

I love The Apprentice: It’s about the only reality TV programme that I’ll make an appointment to view. The last series, whilst it has some classic moments (plus someone I used to work with), does feel a bit like it’s leaning less towards the serious job application process to a bit of comedy-entertainment with people you can laugh at.

The first series, when it was on BBC2, no-one understood the format and none of the contestants were using it as a quick way to become a quasi-celebrity, was won by Tim Campbell.  Tim did his time with Surallan, before deciding to set up a charity that promotes entrepreneurship among young people: the Bright Ideas Trust.

Tim is a really engaging person to spend some time with, so I caught up with him to get some ideas about how to get a job and become an entrepreneur. Watch the video.

Posted by Olly ( 2:37 PM ) Link to this post  |  Comments[0]