Gary's views

Gary's weekly views

Each week an article by Gary has appeared in the Plympton Plymstock and Ivybridge News in South West Devon. The articles are published here

NEW TECHNOLOGY

On Friday I met a man in a pub in Plympton. Not as sinister as it sounds: he was a university lecturer who lives in the constituency and we were there to discuss his PhD research on the use MPs make of websites. It was a thoroughly convivial encounter, but I left feeling heavy; pondering whether I really do make the best use of modern technology in the way I do my job.

I was under the naïve impression that having my own website would send a clear signal to the world at large – especially to the young people that all politicians are so keen to reach – that I am cutting edge and e-approachable. Not so – as my academic friend brutally pointed out to me. Any young person, now used to the all-singing all-dancing interactive websites of the largest corporations in the world, would come away from visiting my meagre website feeling distinctly disappointed, branding me a hopeless dinosaur.

I spent the weekend boring my family about it. Should I now make a major investment in cutting edge technology?

Some of my more “techy” colleagues do most of their post by e-mail; constantly update their gloriously interactive websites, peppered by unrelenting wisdom from every dusty corner of their constituency. Should I commit a huge chunk of my time and budget into constructing a website that seeks constituent’s views on every subject under the sun, publishes regular surveys and gives a blow by blow account of all of my opinions no matter how daft? Have I somehow been left behind by technology I did not understand?

“You don’t want to get too wrapped up in this new-fangled stuff,” my father loudly declared on Sunday as we tucked into my world famous barbequed sausages, “people still like to deal with a person. Pass the sauce.”

“Maybe,” I replied, but deep down I worried that I had simply inherited his Luddite genes.

But I thought back to the advice surgery that I had held earlier that weekend. 15 people, many in real need, having a one to one encounter with a fellow human being trying to help them. A handshake, a smile, hopefully a professional ear, with action to follow on Monday. It is why I came into politics. It helped me decide.
Yes, I must find ways of engaging with the thirty-somethings, but technology should be our servant, not our master. Not for the first time in my life, I am going to be guided by my dad.

posted by Nigel on Tuesday, July 15, 2003