Just to let people know about some of the events that might be of interest to MyCouncillor site users who are going to be at the Party's Federal Conference in Bournemouth from this weekend.

Training - Councillors and the Internet - Sunday 2.30-3.45 Royal Bath, Bayview
with Mary Reid and Tim Pickstone
This is an general session about emails, website tools, websites, blogging and social networking.

Training  - MyCouncilor sites - Tuesday 2.30 - 3.45 Royal Bath, Gladstone
with Tim Pickstone
This is a session aimed at existing MyCouncillor site users looking at imporving how we use our sites. The session will cover: what content to use; making best use of photos; and the basics of HTML code. The last 30 minutes of the session is an open "surgery" to answer any queries that people have.

MyCouncillor Day!
Tuesday 22nd September is MyCouncillor Day at the ALDC Stand. We'll be celebrating how Lib Dem Councillors lead the way for online presence - come and see if you can spot your site on our special stand display.
Julia Goldsworthy will be "launching" the day at 10.30am - it would be really good if any existing MyCouncillor users could be around to say hello to her - if you could let us know at the stand before Tuesday.

Hope this is useful, and to see many of you in Bournemouth.

One new theme, in two colous has been launched for MyCouncillor users. 

The "Fresh" theme, is available in both Lib Dem "Gold" and the new additional Lib Dem "Aqua" colours. It's the first MyCouncillor theme with only ONE sidebar (the right hand sidebar). Instead, pages are listed across the top of the site. (You may need to think about how many pages you have, and the length of their titles for this to work!). 

To change your MyCouncillor site theme - go to "PRESENTATION" in your site admin. 

This month's MyCouncillor featured site comes from Cllr Karen Chilvers of Brentwood in Essex.

Karen has had a site now since May 2008, and she has been posting regular updates throughout that period - always important if you want people to keep coming back and checking for the latest news. Karen's site is a fascinating mix of council news, requests for feedback on things happening in the ward, updates on local planning applications, as well as general musings and comments about her life outside of the council.

Karen has also created a number of static pages that she uses to update people on her campaign to do 75% of her shopping in local shops, her requests for action by the council ,as well as a bit on local history.

What comes out is a real sense of someone who is a real human being who clearly cares about her area. It also has the unique distinction of being the only MyCouncillor site to have pictures of both dogs and meerkats on the front page!

All ALDC members are entitled to a free MyCouncillor site.  For details click here.

Each month we try to highlight the work of one of the many Liberal Democrat Councillors who have a "myCouncillor" website - free from ALDC. 

This month we feature Cllr Howard Henshaw, Lancashire County Council and Fylde District councillor. www.howardhenshaw.mycouncillor.org.uk

We particularly like how Howard has just "kept it simple", but has kept the site regularly updated with local news. If you're interested in a myCouncillor site, ALDC members can register free online here.

This month's "Featured Site" from ALDC's MyCouncillor website system is "WorkingforWhitefoot" (www.workingforwhitefoot.org.uk).  

The site is a good example of three Councillors working together on a single site, in this case Councillors Daniel Houghton, Pete Pattisson and Cathy Priddey who all represent the Whitefoot ward in Lewisham. 

We particularly liked the site's excellent use of bold and bright photos, almost always "action shots" featuring members of the team. The video lower down the front page is an excellent example of taking forward a local campaign with a short video.

Northover's Speed Bumps from Pete Pattisson on Vimeo.

MyCouncillor sites are available free of charge to every ALDC member.