Last weekend VB once again set off from the Island to take part in TAL11, the Guardian/TAL Hyperlocal Unconference (what’s an Unconference?).
Readers may remember that at last year’s event VB was awarded the prestigious inaugural award of ‘Best UK Hyperlocal Site‘.
We were really chuffed to receive recognition from peers for five years of hard work and doubly-chuffed as we also picked up an award for ‘Best Coverage of A Story’ for our reporting of the Vestas Sit-In back in 2009.
Another award!
This year we were once again flattered to be presented with an award for our work on VB.
Sarah Hartely from The Guardian nominated VB for the Best Forensic Reporting Award, for our live spreadsheet of how each Isle of Wight councillor voted on the proposed budgets at February’s full council meeting.
Sarah said, “I chose this one and it goes to the VentnorBlog for the great spreadsheet you did on voting. I thought it was really simple, really effective and really did the job.”
Striving
We strive to be as innovative and forward-thinking on how best to deliver information to our readers, whilst making those responsible for council decisions accountable for their actions.
The use of the spreadsheet was picked up by several others in the media at the time (David Higgerson, for example) , so it’s great to see VB being followed across the UK.
Buzzing
We came away from the Unconference buzzing with ideas and plans for the coming year.
Watch this space!
What’s an Unconference
It’s called an ‘unconference’ because it’s the opposite of a regular conference where you sit and listen to someone droning on talking or giving a PowerPoint presentation. Unconference sessions allow open discussion and the subjects are chosen by the delegates who vote for their favourite.
The purpose of TAL11 was to gather hyperlocal bloggers, journalists, developers, local government officers and interested media types to discuss the future of hyperlocal news, share ideas and experiences and recognise the great work taking place on this fast-growing scene.
