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project, and partly because it was easy to use by a novice. The Hansard
Society configured the site, and also provided Jamie with training and
technical support, but the content and 'voice' are Jamie's own. (Jamie has
since developed the site himself). Prior to the launch, the Hansard Society
undertook an extensive campaign to publicize the site and generate inter-
est. The site was monitored by both news broadcasters (the BBC, CNN)
and influential newspapers (the Guardian, the Independent, the Times and
the FT). Jamie wrote daily contributions commenting on a wide range of
topics including homelessness, and conveying the experiences and opin-
ions of other homeless people whom he interviewed. Since the election in
May 2005, Jamie has continued to write his blog, attracting considerable
on-going interest (Jamie's Big Voice 2005).
This case study provides a highly accessible example of ICT-enabled
'one-to-many' communication which conveys grassroots opinion and first-
hand reports of real-life experiences of adversity. Blogs are uniquely em-
powering of marginalized individuals who find themselves developing
their own capabilities and new social networks while informing others and
engaging in wider, sometimes global, society. Writing his blog has given
Jamie confidence to comment on social and political issues. He has be-
come more aware of resources online and in the community. However, the
benefits of giving him an online 'voice' extend beyond the individual
level. At the time of the Hansard Society's report of the project in 2005,
there had been more than 5000 'hits' on Jamie's website. Readers included
homeless people themselves, and some were surprised to find that home-
less people were entitled to vote despite not having a fixed address. Com-
municating personal experiences in this way serves to promote wider
understanding of social problems, provide insights, engage others and,
potentially, to inform policy-making.
Mark Flannagan, Director of Communications and Campaigning for
Crisis, comments on the value of blogs: “
Jamie's Big Voice is an example
of a phenomenon that should spread to every organization to tell it like it
really is. Let a thousand blogs bloom. Each one will capture one perspec-
tive of what it is really like to live with a long-term chronic health condi-
tion, to live as a single mum, be concerned about the destruction of our
planet or to be homeless
” (The Hansard Society 2005).
5.4 Conclusions
A stated objective for this chapter is to inform new initiatives and projects
intended to engage with the 'hard to hear'. To this end, the most important
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