Recent posts in my Europe Category
May 10, 2012
“Do you want your internet to work? Yes/No”
There was an interesting post on the eConsultancy blog from Graham Charlton yesterday about the forthcoming changes that mean websites are being obliged to obtain consent for the use of cookies.
March 8, 2010
The Winter Olympics online review: Part 3 - Online tabloids in Sweden
In the third part of this series, I'm reviewing the very similar online coverage of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics from two of Sweden's biggest papers - Aftonbladet and Expressen.
February 17, 2010
European Young Journalist Award 2010
There are still a couple of weeks for young journalists to enter the European Commission sponsored award.
June 4, 2009
European Elections - do the right thing...
So with the Government seemingly imploding and The Guardian withdrawing support from Gordon Brown, politics would be the obvious thing to blog about today. On currybetdotnet I've already produced an unofficial guide to the London European Election candidates, looked at how the parties appear in Google and pointed out some of the things that caught my in the election literature delivered to me. I seem to dimly recall that there are restrictions on what you can publish in the...
June 2, 2009
A Google-eye view of the European Elections
A lot of people do their primary research these days using Google as their only gateway to the Internet, and I wondered what they would be finding if they were looking for information on the parties standing for Thursday's European Elections in London. The mainstream parties All of the mainstream party listings in Google are pretty similar. The initial homepage metadata in all cases stresses the name of the party leader. Who says personality politics is dead? The second...
June 1, 2009
My 'undecided' view of European Election literature in London
So, for the first time that I can recall, if you polled me a couple of days before an election, I'd have to honestly say I was 'Undecided'. I'm seriously thinking of voting for a smaller party or an independent candidate, and so last week I did some research and put together a brief list of all of the candidates for the London European Election. As I'm unsure who to vote for, I've also been paying closer attention than...
May 23, 2009
A quick online guide to the minor party and independent London European Election Candidates
"London European Election Guide"
A brief outline of the independent candidates and smaller parties standing for European Election in London
September 20, 2008
My Euro IA Summit plans
This time next weekend I shall be preparing to give my presentation at the 2008 Euro IA Summit in Amsterdam: "Taking the 'Ooh!' out of Google - Getting site search right for news". The event is being held in the Tuschinski Theatre, which should be an experience. I'll be posting a few notes from the event here, and also doing a more thorough write-up for the Free Pint stable of publications who put together the FUMSI magazine that I contribute...
December 5, 2006
The Daily Mail's flip-flops over EU driving standards
Yesterday's anti-EU rant disguised as news in the Daily Mail was aimed at the proposal for common standards across the community for driving licences, which might require drivers to be periodically re-evaluated for medical conditions that might affect their driving, and renew their licence every ten years. The thing that perplexed me was that three years ago, when the Mail was reporting EU activity in this area, the tone was almost on the verge of positive, well, as positive as...
December 1, 2006
Cypriot flag dispute at Arsenal
The relationship between Greece and the rest of the EU on one side, and Turkey on the other side, has been getting a lot of attention this week due to their inability to reach an agreement over Cyprus. Since the turmoil caused in 1974 by first the Greek backed coup on the island, followed by the Turkish invasion, relations have still not been normalised over thirty years later. Only Turkey recognises the northern part of the island as a nation...
November 24, 2006
"Booze Cruise" ruling exposes Europhobe ignorance in the UK
There are some stories that are virtually guaranteed to bring out the worst of Europhobia in the British, and depriving them of their divine right to cheap booze'n'fags is one of them. However, the reaction in the forums on the BBC and the Daily Mail to the news that the European Court had not ruled in favour of Brits being able to buy cheap mail order ciggies from elsewhere in the EU was as ignorant as it was savage. Typical...
October 17, 2006
Why I, and thousands like me, can't make up the European Year of Workers Mobility Citizen's Panel
A little while ago I wrote about the European Workers' Mobility questionnaire and hotline from ECAS, dealing with the question of how easy it was to move between EU members states for work. Having done work in 3 members states so far this year I was interested in taking part. Last week I got a follow up email, asking me whether I might be willing to participate in the European Year of Workers Mobility Citizen's Panel. It is a...
October 16, 2006
Eurodesk workshop in Budapest
Last week I ran a seminar for the Eurodesk AISBL General Assembly and Eurodesk Network Meeting, which was being held in Budapest. The event took place in Budapest's European Youth Centre. My contribution was billed with my own description, that I would be: talking to them and running exercises to help them develop their understanding of reaching out to a youthful internet audience, on building an international web presence, and in utilising user-centred design principles to improve their online...
September 20, 2006
European Workers' Mobility questionnaire and hotline from ECAS
With my work over the next few weeks taking me to Scotland, Austria and Hungary, I'm naturally very interested about the free movement of workers within the EU. In fact, 2006 is European Year of Workers' Mobility. The European Citizen Action Service has been running a hotline to help people find out more information about moving for work within EU states, and also has a survey consulting organisations and citizens about how they have found the practicalities of free movement...
September 15, 2006
Eurodesk seminar in Budapest
I'm very pleased to be able to say that I will be running a session as part of the Eurodesk Network Seminar on October 13th in Budapest, Hungary. Eurodesk are a group supporting the European Union's YOUTH programme, providing information and advice to young people in Europe and organisations that work with young people. They also manage the European Commission's Youth Portal. I will be talking to them and running exercises to help them develop their understanding of reaching out...
August 30, 2006
Migrationwatch UK demonstrate that 4 out of 5 native British adult workers 'take more from economy than they put back'
I've written a piece on 'A lemon tree of our own' - "Flying the flag" - about some of the changes I noticed when I went back to the UK. One of the principle ones was the way in which the debate surrounding immigration to the UK from EU citizens from Eastern Europe has reached a hysterical crescendo in the tabloid press. It seems that everything from hospital waiting lists, low wages, rising employment, rising unemployment, the pensions crisis, England's...
October 6, 2004
Never over-estimate the understanding of your audience
This made me laugh today. In covering the story of the EU map which missed out Wales, the Daily Mail decided it didn't trust readers to recognise the correct outline of the British Isles, and helpfully pointed out where Wales should have been....
February 6, 2004
Today is European Safer Internet Day
February 6th is the European Commission sponsored Safer Internet Day "The aim of this very important day is the celebration of children's rights to a Safer Internet by highlighting to everyone that it is the responsibility of all sectors of society to become involved and promote this worthwhile cause."...
October 17, 2003
ER vs EU
I had to laugh at the front page of The Sun today - "EIIR vs EU" It was a story about a monolithic institution, that was unwilling to reform, which was costing taxpayers an immense sum of money for very little return, most people didn't understand what its function was, and it was stuffed with foreigners like Germans and Greeks.... ...and this institution was going to save us from the European Union ;-)...