Research and resources - bumper summer special

Believe it or not, summer is still here. Edinburgh is gearing up for all the festivals, Glasgow has lots of street entertainers and mini fairgrounds dotted about the place, and Inverness and the Highlands and Islands are buzzing with tourists. Do you remember when you were little, in the middle of the summer holidays, all the comics had a summer special? Twice the usual size, packed full of puzzles, additional stories, secret insider what-nots, and lists of things to see and do on your holidays. Now you've spent a few minute reminiscing, let me bring you right back to summer 2016 and our special bumper edition of digital resources and research.

Research

The latest from Ofcom is a really interesting: Smartphone by Default - internet users. It's a report comprised of in-depth case studies of 26 people in five cities, including Glasgow, and focused on two groups: those who use a smartphone as a second device, and those for whom a smartphone is their only device. Not strictly slap bang in the centre of Digital Participation, but of interest to me and hopefully to you, is a briefing from Girlguiding UK, with findings from focus groups held with members aged 7-14 to find our their attitudes toward digital technology.

Blogs

Here's one for Trustees. If you are one, or know one, please share this Guardian article on how charity Trustees can be supported to use social media. We know it's an area many find tricky to grapple with. Nex up is a blog about lunchbox (currently only available in London), a contactless donation box that lets you to buy lunch for a child in the developing world through Mary’s Meals. NESTAs Tech-for-Good New Radicals 2016 list is out. The list reflects both the excellent work being done to help social problems and many of the key threads and development in how we approach problems as a society. Resources Currently available in the US, Facebook has launched a ‘fundraiser’ feature for individuals. Mashable has a useful round up of what's on offer - did you know, for example, there's a Social Good team you can join? A presentation from the Institute of Fundraising Convention 2016 gives food for thought on tech principles and some innovative ways in which tech is being used. If you’re not already familiar with Slideshare then consider youself introduced! There are a number of health checks and audit tools appearing at the moment. We'll have an analysis and round up for you in the coming weeks. For now, here's one from Business Gateway, focused on snall and medium enterprises. There are a number of other resources available which might well be applicable for third sector organisations. How to’s From our friends at Be Good Be Social comes their Snapchat guide. It’s not just for the kids. On a slightly more technical front, Moz brings us a Beginners Guide to Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). Typeform is a platform to build pretty online forms. I haven’t tried it, but you can for free and without signing up.