Take a look at this graph. Whatever it shows (and I'll tell you in a moment), it doesn't look exciting, does it? Something has been pretty much static for the last forty years, with no major sustained swing up or down. All rather flat and uninteresting...

"Do not feed the trolls" This is probably the longest lived and most widely quoted piece of advice when it comes to online discussions. It is advice that is presented as sure and true. And after all, given how long-standing and popular the advice is, isn't that a sign of...

Mention "YouTube" and "British government" and "failure" to most people interested in online politics or comms and the chances are they will think of Gordon Brown and that YouTube film with the unusual smiles.

There is however a quieter failure, going on every day and hitting many Whitehall departments....

There are many weighty issues on the agenda for the Liberal Democrat autumn conference in Birmingham, as well as some potentially significant debates over the party's medium term strategy and policy outlook. There is also, however, a curious omission: tax.

The word tax is not completely absent from...

When the convictions came through in the court trial over the death of Baby Peter in 2009 I had my own small experience of trying to hold the line on a legal order of anonymity against the social media tide.

The courts initially ruled that the names of...

Grey. And wanting to pay homage to Barack Obama.

That's the rather odd impression left from taking a flick through the websites of the Republican contenders to be their party's 2012 presidential candidate. Grey is the colour of the season, at least on the web. That is an odd choice,...