The Missing Cross

Here's the painting for Good Friday - conspicuously missing from my series of Lent paintings... a special request for Harvey.

Conservatives and Liberals

Finally, the Conservatives and Lib Dems campaigns reach the Norwoods.
The Conservative flier is addressed to Isla - I guess they've given up on me... Their flier is on more expensive paper but the first thing that hit me were the words: left, right and above. I'm wondering if their policies are socialist, conservative or theological... Apparently Iain Stewart has the same NSPCC half marathon T-shirt as me...
The LibDem flier is fairly trad and cheap looking but stronger on content. Makes Peter Jones look like a potential MP.
I'd love to see some local poll results - I wonder if the balance in MK South has shifted...


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Meeting App

This week's cartoon - how technology could make church meetings more enjoyable...

First Flier

I revieved my first political flier of the election campain today - a nice trifold from sitting MP Phyllis Starkey. She's obviously taking the election seriously and is not taking anything for granted. She seems determined to fight.

On the negative side, I'm already getting a bit tired of all the Labour Red...

Checked her web site and it crashed first time because of too much trafic - a good thing for her that people are visiting - but doesn't look good for visitors. The site is fairly pedestrian and would benefit from something more personal - a blog or Twitter feed - and I know Phyllis tweets so I'm not sure why there's nothing here....

All this aside, she's off to a quick start. Will the early bird catch the worm or will the other candidates have more tricks up their sleave?

Low Sunday Attendance

After seven weeks of painting, I've decided to do something different this week. It's been a while since I got my pens out and did a cartoon, but here's one for Low Sunday. Feel free to use it - but mention my name...

I was thinking about the fact that lots of people are on holiday and attendance is usually low. Not a good time therefore for a vicar to study statistics. How meaningful are our figures? When ministers boast about their congregations are they aware of seasonal factors?

On an aside, I'm beginning to wonder if social and cultural factors are more significant in church growth (and decline) than we clergy would like to admit. Is church growth an emergent property of social networks? If so, our 'growth strategies' may be little more than a way of tracking holiday habits...

iPhone apps for the Election

I've downloaded both the Labour and Conservative iPhone apps. The Conservative one is very pretty and I like the swingometer - although I do note you can't swing it in favour of Labour - can't think why...

They both give you options to get involved, ie phone friends or volunteer. They seem to be learning the lessons from the US election. The Conservative app has 420 votes so far, while the Labour app has 100 - which doesn't sound good for Gordon so far...

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Election Day One

The UK general election campaign began today. After a long 'phony war' we're finally off...

I've wished my various politician tweeps 'good luck'. I'm not neutral, if course, and have already decided (pretty much) how I will vote - although I am always open to persuasion...

What I will be watching during this election will be:

A) how the different political parties use the Internet and social media

B) what they have to say about peace, justice and environmental issues

C) how they play the persuasion game - I am particularly interested in how they manage to get people to vote

The next six weeks should be fun.

In the meantime, remember that your vote counts. As I was reading in 'Connected' the other day, one ordinary person who votes can (potentially) influence another hundred people. Your vote could make a real difference!

So let's think, pray, watch and vote...

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Marketing to the Social Web

I'm reading Marketing to the Social Web by Larry Webber. It's a good overview of the issues and options for people interested in using the internet for communications - particularly advertising.

I like his concept of seven steps:

1. Oberve: find out what people are already saying.
2. Recruit: identify a core group of collaborators who will engage in the process.
3. Evaluate platforms: work out what tools you will use.
4. Engage: build relationships by active dialogue.
5. Measure: evaluate the impact of your communications. Who are you talking to, and what are you talking about?
6. Promote: link to other social media and communities.
7. Improve: and so on...

I haven't finished the book yet, but have enjoyed it so far. It's given me a lot to think about.

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Easter Break

It's the first day of our post-Easter break today. We're looking forward to seeing Dave today. He's hoping to start a 22 mile pre-marathon run from our house.
In the meantime, we're taking it easy...


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Easter