As we welcome our 281st Twitter follower, it seems an appropriate point to pause and reflect on this new way of communicating. For me, there are three key things. Firstly, for gathering inbound information, Twitter has no rival. A skim over the profiles we follow in the morning gives me an unparalleled view of that is happening in politics, science, the economy, sister professions, and, best of all, what’s happening with our own members.
Secondly, in terms of the outbound information we broadcast, Twitter gives us a multiplier effect that we have never enjoyed before. Our messages are retweeted by our followers to their followers in a sort of vast electronic telephone tree, and we are currently reaching people we have never reached before.
Thirdly, and most importantly, it gives us a unique window into the working lives of members. By following the people who follow us on Twitter, we get a fresh view every day of what members find interesting and relevant – as well as some of the on-the-job commentary that does not get published anywhere else.
Yesterday morning Universities Minister David Willetts MP dropped by the Landscape Institute. He was on a tour of Charles Darwin House, looking at how professional bodies and learned societies are collaborating. Having just heard all about the work our neighbours do on biodiversity, it was good that he concluded his tour with a visit to us to get a quick sense of how landscape architects translate this into practice. He left happy and hopefully somewhat enlightened.
The LI’s Policy Officer Stephen Russell recently completed a work-shadowing experience with Defra’s policy advisor on sustainable construction. The aim of the scheme is to strengthen links between government and voluntary organizations, by having staff members working on related themes, spend a day working with each other. The exchange was very productive and it enabled the LI to reinforce its messages about green infrastructure with key civil servants. Conversely, it was helpful for us to learn more about the reduction of over 900-pages worth of existing planning policy in England to a new 50-page National Planning Framework.
Lastly, my iPhone app recommendation for this week is OldMaps by the Landmark Information Group. The app is free and it allows users to choose a location in the UK on a modern map, then peel away the modern layer and look below at historic OS maps of the same location. It is a fantastic way to flip backwards and forwards through time watching buildings appear and disappear – or, in the case of my own house, watch a street appear from green fields just after the First World War.