Digital Inclusion

Ben was at the Digital Inclusion Conference in London yesterday. It's a big thing in an age where online communities are becoming more and more central in people's lives, and the debates go on as to whether these online relationships - via Facebook, Twitter etc - are any real replacement for physical relationships. Here's a video of him talking to a protester, in a conversation that scratches the surface of the whole issue:



Fascinating stuff, especially to me with my sociology studies. I think this is the sort of thing that the team behind the course I've been doing should consider including when they update it (it came out in 2002, so parts of it are looking very dated now).

Chris

I Heart Oxfam

I love books. I always have one on the go, whether for study (I'm part way through a BSc (Hons) in Social Sciences with the Open University) or simply for pleasure. The problem is that they ain't cheap. The standard price for a paperback these days seems to be £7.99, so unless some kindly soul gifts me Borders or Waterstones vouchers, my general supplier tends to be Oxfam.

There are several Oxfams dotted around Leeds. The one in Headingley has an excellent bookshop, but this morning I had a pretty successful stint in the modest little shop in Horsforth whilst dodging a particularly beefy shower (as Sian Lloyd might say). I managed to get Lady Oracle by Margaret Attwood, The Child in Time by Ian McEwan and The Accidental by Ali Smith, all for the princely sum of £5.97. One I keep looking out for is A Touch of Love by Jonathan Coe, as this is the only novel of his I haven't read - and, much as I love his work, I do rather object to paying eight quid for what is a fairly slim novel. So if anyone reading this has a copy that they don't need to hang on to, and they live in Leeds, then please feel free to pop along to your local Oxfam;-)

Chris