One of the most interesting and versatile online tools for public engagement presented at 2gether08 was Yoosk, which enables people to pose questions directly to politicians and other major figures. Participants can vote on the questions to indicate those they feel really deserve an answer, which makes it all that bit more democratic.

I’ve just heard from Yoosk founder Tim Hood that Yoosk is now being used by Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell on a platform promoted by the Halifax Courier, as you can see here. More background on Yoosk here.

I talked to Yoosk founder Tim Hood before 2gether08, in the company of political blogger Mick Fealty. We had hoped to use Yoosk to pose questions to panelists in the debate that Mick organised.

As it turned out, we couldn’t manage that because of time pressures, but we did have an interesting discussion about the how Yoosk was being used by the Courier, and how it might be used more generally in at events to make sessions more interactive. Not only can the otherwise passive event audience help set the agenda by posting their questions in advance, others not able to attend can also join in. It’s a really neat way of blending online and offline.

Yoosk was shortlisted in the UK Catalyst awards and is pitching to the Ministry of Justice Building Democracy awards programme, that I wrote about the other day over here. That programme has attracted a wealth of ideas, and I hope MoJ manages to broker some collaborations as well as handing out £150,000 to ten of the projects.

Joanne Jacobs is Australian, an academic and a consultant in social networking technologies. So when she presented at 2gether08, on lifecasting and microblogging, she offered a great mix, catering for distant friends viewing the webcast and giving us plenty of stats as well as terrific insights into how and why formats like Twitter work well.

You can recreate some of that experience by seeing Joanne’s slides as well as the video, and looking at tweets featuring both Joanne and 2gether08.

Joanne defines lifecasting as:

The continual updating of one’s ideas, perspectives and activities through status updates to Facebook, Friendfeed, Twitter or some other social network platform.

and suggests it becomes particularly useful when tags  are introduced to allow searches and summaries. You can see  how that works for a combination of Joanne and 2gether08.

Among the many presentations at 2gether08, the one that led to lots of “did you catch that  …” remarks  was JP Rangaswami talking about the Cluetrain Manifesto ten years on. At the event is seemed like a touchstone for our explorations of the relationships of people, technology, commerce and society. Now you can see JP here, introduced by Euan Semple.

JP is Managing Director of BT Data, and widely known for his insightful blogging as Confused of Calcutta. Cluetrain in the late 1990s set out a vision of how the Internet would transform relationships and communications without and within organisations. The Cluetrain website said:

A powerful global conversation has begun. Through the Internet, people are discovering and inventing new ways to share relevant knowledge with blinding speed. As a direct result, markets are getting smarter—and getting smarter faster than most companies.
These markets are conversations. Their members communicate in language that is natural, open, honest, direct, funny and often shocking. Whether explaining or complaining, joking or serious, the human voice is unmistakably genuine. It can’t be faked.

At 2gether08 JP suggested that Cluetrain was as much reminding us of what we had lost, as it was talking about the future. It was taking us back to a time before organisation and communication was dominated by command and control, and broadcast mode. It articulated what people were already feeling, and enabled them to say: it’s not just me … and I can get on the Cluetrain too.

JP identified five themes from Cluetrain:

1. people are human beings
2. people work in communities, and community extends beyond the walls of the firm
3. hypelinks subvert hierarchies … and so conversations can go laterally, not just up and down the ladder of control
4. conversations are richer with the new tools available, and firms have less capacity to control their employees and customers
5. people, in that context, have some power, and what is happening has a democratising influence.

JP also offered four themes for future exploration: governance of the Internet; consumers’ ability to aggregate their own information; identify; and intellectual property rights.

You can see the original Cluetrain site, and also read Cluetrain here.

The use of mobile or ubiquitous technologies to enable transformational improvements in learning and teaching practice has become something of a phenomenon where everyday devices from mobile phones to game consoles and mp3 players, social and media sharing networks and much more have created a rich and diverse learning landscape that exists beyond the school or university gates. Schools need no longer be “buildings”.

London is host to an annual event that has become the worlds largest conference to focus on these issues where over 800 innovators, early adopters, thought leaders, education professionals and policy makers come to discuss and explore the impact that these ubiquitous, affordable technologies are having on learning and what this means for the future of our educational institutions. The event is called Handheld Learning 2008 and will be held at The Brewery, Chiswell Street, EC1 during Oct 13th - 15th.

Lead speakers include author, Steven Johnson. social media scientist, danah boyd, Professor Stephen Heppell, Futurelab Research Director, Keri Facer, MIT Media Lab Chief Learning Architect, David Cavallo, former Sony Computer Entertainment Chairman and President, Chris Deering and many others.

Steve Moore will be hosting a 2gether morning of surprises (naturally) to engage a panel of speakers and the audience in a debate over how the technologies that learners already use outside of the school can be embraced for learning rather than being banned which is often the current position. Confirmed speakers in Steve session include Matt Locke, Channel 4, David Langridge, Microsoft and Richard Warmsley, T-Mobile with other to be announced shortly. There’s an Awards Party on the evening of the 13th, also at The Brewery.

Early bird registration is available until 31st July and includes a FREE Nintendo DS with game as well as entry to the Party. The DS is yours to keep but we ask that you bring it to the conference for a fully interactive experience during the 3 days. Those who attended 2gether08 receive a further 5% reduction on registration by using the code “2gether”.

Please join us and help keep these events connected and the ideas and actions continuing.

Register here

However I feel rather different about 2gether, in fact I feel way different. I feel an urge to harness and build upon the creative volunteering that underpinned it, the pragmauptopism - to use Charlie Leadbeater’s phrase - that was the hallmark of those two days and evening inside the walled gardens at Rochelle. Feedback suggests that others field the same. You want more similar events - and for sure theyn will follow and soon, watch this space - but it is clear that keeping the community together and allowing it to grow and diversify is something we need to think hard about. My instincts are to do this is a way that is participative in keeping with the 2gether vibe. George Por and David Wilcox have already submitted ideas about how this could be achieved and have suggested I look at some of the emerging open franchise models that being experimented with. I will. I want to explore how we can share the brand with others , share the various social tools that we used at the event so that others can pick up on and experiment them with them and share their learning and do all this is a way that doesn’t compromise the values, ethos and vibe that the brand has already generated. How can we cede control and gain influence? Thoughts?

Here are photos from Flickr tagged 2gether08 - thanks everyone.  You can find them here. I used Flickr Slideshow Generator which seems to work OK, but other suggestions for displaying photos tagged by many different people would be welcome. Oh, and if there’s still some on your camera or phone, please upload and just tag 2gether08.

Jemima Kiss wrote a series of posts on her Guardian blog: about the opening session with Bill Thompson, Matthew Taylor, Umair Haque and John Naish; on Andy Bell’s session where he urged people to develop “generous” web projects; on Is politics big enough for the web; and about Unchained and the ice-cream experiment.

Jemima also interviewed Blake Chandlee at 2gethr08 and asked him about Facebook’s attitude to data ownership, how the platform can be used for social activism and whether the site can really maintain its exponential growth. You can listen to the interview here.

Earlier this year Social Innovation Camp brought together social innovators and technology specialists who could help them develop their projects over two days … then urged people to take up their organising ideas. In Steal this Camp, from their session at 2gether08, they offer nine lessons.

Tom Taylor ran a five minute teaching session as part of the School of Everything’s series at on eight ways to orientate yourself anywhere: navigation hacks.

Tim Davies reports on his youth work 2.0 session at where participants discussed, among other things, young user led workshops, media creation by young people, and training for young people to build their own software.

Justgiving, the website where people raise money, offered seven lessons to avoid digital divorce: listen to your users (x2), expect criticism, be open and honest (x2), don’t expect to please everyone, and enable.

Darragh Doyle brought us some pole dancing pics which may have been loosely linked to Web 2.0 the musical.

Oli Barrett, in The Daily Networker, says he had an enjoyable two days, and “If 2Gether was a company, I’d want to work there”.

Mark Earls reflects on speaking and listening at 2gether08. Key insight from JP Rangaswami on Cluetrain plus 10 - It’s all about the people and not the technology.

Johnnie Moore thought 2gether08 had a lot of the elements that made Reboot a success: “a good venue that feels down-to-earth; lots of tracks to choose from, scope for doing a few things on-the-fly; a bit of social network technology but nothing too fancy; and a cafe area in which to schmooze.”

Nick Temple, from the School for Social Entrepreneurs, writing here and here says he enjoyed 2gether08, got mixed feedback from a mixed crowd for a session, adding “networking was great, even if the social media-meets-social good crowd is a relatively small and incestuous one.” He observes: “The techies and geeks and philosophers seem to have plenty to ponder / debate / discuss; the (social) entrepreneurs seem to have less in terms of action-focused stuff or content that can help move their organisation forward….beyond the networking, which is where most value from these things come, as ever.” Video here of Nick and Cliff Prior mapping the social entrepreneur landscape.

Charlie Beckett, author of the book Supermedia on networked journalism, was interviewed at 2gethr08. He says best sparks came from the workshops, and offers a few randowm thoughts: Why are politicians the only people without a support group? What is the Online equivalent of a street protest? How do you listen online? What’s entrepreneurial about social enterprise when it doesn’t make a profit?

Russell Davies explains a little of what went into his presentation at 2gether08: includes long photos, clouds, and maneki neko. Have to wait for the webcast video for the whole thing.

Robin Hamman offers notes of his contribution to the panel session “Inside Out - How Social Technologies are Influencing Work”. Robin recounts that when he worked at the BBC (until very recently) he found that he was better able to reach people within the organisation by using external tools like Facebook than by using the intranet. His advice for the future: ” … if I was trying to bring people working in an organisation together online, I’d use a mix of tools - I’d have discussions, blogs, wiki’s or whatever is appropriate behind the firewall but, in the same space, I’d also aggregate and editorialise the activities of staff that take place outside the firewall”.

Steve Dale shot some video of Cabinet Office Minister Tom Watson launching the the ‘Show us a better way‘ website. Dave Briggs picks up the story, as do Paul Bradshaw and Tim Davies, who were at 2gether08.

Christian Heilmann, writing about a geek meets people who want to change the world on Yahoo Developer Network, says “the main social issue I subscribed to solving at the event and the nearer future is try to make the gap between the geeks and the people with great ideas a little smaller”.

Dave Briggs recounts the session he ran at 2gether08, using the social media game to help people decide what technology tools and approaches were appropriate for two scenarios: an online umbrella community for local low carbon networks, and one looking at supporting respite carers online.

Tim Davies explains how he took advantage of the Think Public design clinic to develop his pitch to a 2gether08 judging session on the value and needs of detached youth work. Asks for further help to scale up his ideas.

Simon Berry posts the presentation he made in his workshop on the Coca-Cola campaign. He wants the company to use Coke distribution channels for simple medicines. More here Simon’s interview with the BBC.

Alan Patrick says he was able to participate virtually in 2gether08 through the webcasts, Twitter feeds, and friends there.

Emma Mulqueeny offers a round-up of contracts that she made, and sessions attended: “The festival atmosphere really works: great minds, superb minds, are communing with those who are passionate about stuff (not that one cannot exist without the other but you know what I mean). The air is electric, everyone is levelled, everyone is open and some really cool bumph (cannot say ’stuff’ again) is happening. Goodness knows if any of it will result in anything, hopefully it will - there is an awful lot of ‘OMG if only I knew you earlier’ going on”.

Roland Harwood at NESTA Connect: I really enjoyed 2gether08 last week. A festival focussed on exploring the positive social potential of technology. The buzz was palpable and it was great to be involved and participate. Steve Moore has an uncanning knack for collecting interesting people and bringing them together. I don’t know how he does it and I suspect he probably doesn’t either but we can learn a lot from simply bringing together a smart and passionate group of people, and creating the space for them to collaborate.

Ben Matthews finds a lot of people are Twitterers at 2gether08. He also shows us on YouTube how to make a frog from a business card.

Now needs to pull photos 2gether I guess.

Update: they are here

Technology writer Bill Thompson, a judge in the New Statesman New Media Awards 2008,  has been involved since the awards started 10 years ago. He is well-placed to applaud both the consistent support of  NS publisher Spencer Neal, and that of competitors committed to turning ideas into action.

On this occasion Bill was standing in for Cabinet Office Minister Tom Watson, who was called to a Commons vote. Earlier Tom - see interview here - had launched a competition called Show Us a Better Way offering £20,000 in prizes for projects to use government-collected data more innovatively for public services.

Bill said he thought that Tom would ask those assembled to be patient but persistent, recognising that government has habits that are hard to change.

He would also ask people to keep up the pressure on him and his team to open up services, to take more risks and to break down unnecessary barriers.

I think he would ask you to prove him right by building great services and tools on top of what is already out there, by stretching the limits of the possible and even the permissible

To give him ideas and allow him to demonstrate what could be done with existing services, and what more could be done if more data feeds and data sources were opened up.

Then he would ask you all to come back next year and win this competition.

Full recording here of the awards ceremony.

Bill suggests in this interview at 2gether08 that you should be embarrassed if you don’t make the effort to understand new media.

One of the highlights of the first day of 2gether08 was a debated host by Matthew D’Ancona, editor of The Spectator, with guest panellists: political blogger Mick Fealty who writes as Brassneck and Slugger O’Toole; Sunny Hundal, Liberal Conspiracy; Rory Sutherland, Vice Chair Ogilvy Group; and Tom Steinberg, founder of MySociety.

There’s another 20 hours or so of video recorded at 2gether08, and we’ll bring you more soon.