This morning’s Observer column.
Two disconnected events last week showed how far we still have to go in understanding our new communications environment. In one, an Anglican bishop was suspended for some remarks he made on his Facebook page about the forthcoming wedding of two graduates of St Andrews University. In the other, a 27-year-old accountant had his appeal against a conviction for posting a joke message on Twitter dismissed.
First, the bishop…
Reflections in my sitting room.
Classic boom-‘n-bust story by the excellent Lisa O’Carroll in the Guardian.
It was the story of Ireland’s boom and bust in a nutshell: a newly built apartment block near the windswept coast of far-flung Donegal, once valued at €9.5m, was selling for €500,000 (£425,000).
But now, it seems, it’s not even worth that. Navenny Place, a 47-apartment complex, was withdrawn from auction this week after just one token bid of €5,000 – and that was after the auctioneer reduced the starting price to €300,000, or €6,383 per flat.
The apartments are situated on the edge of Ballybofey, a pretty town in the heart of Donegal, and are described by the estate agent as “architecturally superior”, akin “to the type of property found in London’s Docklands”.
Hmmm… Only a couple of things wrong with the story. Firstly, Ballybofey is quite a long way from the coast. And only an estate agent would describe Ballybofey as “pretty”. I’ve always thought it was a pretty drab little place whose main claim to fame was that it housed Donegal’s biggest department store.
Walking through town early one morning I saw these on a doorstep and wondered about the story that lay behind them.
Mick Fealty’s Live Blog of the count in the Donegal South West by-election is absolutely riveting.
In a preposterous interview on Radio 4’s Today programme, Labour’s new child prodigy, Edward Miliband, declared that he wanted to be the “champion” of the “squeezed middle”. Well then, asks my friend Andrew, “who will champion the squeezed bottom?”
Precisely. Step forward Lord Prescott.
On a cold November day, a reminder of high Summer.
Talk about swallowing one’s pride. Or having a gut feeling about a certain track.
Gives an indication of the scale of user-generated content on the Web.
Larger version here.
