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The Leveson Inquiry is currently considering the culture, practice and ethics of the press in the UK. It’s often in the news, and regularly features on Twitter. Yesterday a Twitter meme spread like wildfire, and is still active today. It spread with the hashtag (a label that acts as an internet link) #popleveson – basically people have been reinterpreting songs in the style of the inquiry. Politicians, journalists, celebrities and even a police chief constable have been getting in on the act. These are the ones I’ve come up with in the past 24 hours:

I know, Mr Cohen, there was a secret chord that David played. But I would contend that you don’t really care for music, do you?

It seems to me, Mr Murdoch, that you fought the law. I would suggest to you that the law won!

I understand Mr Bragg that you wished on two shooting stars, yet subsequent investigation has shown them to be satellites.

You say you don’t know where, Mr Wilson, yet you keep on insisting that she sends you there.

You chopped down the mountain, Mr Hendrix, and picked up all the pieces and made an island, but did you raise a little sand?

For the record, Mr Cocker, can you just confirm that you first caught her eye at Saint Martin’s College?

So, Mr Costello, what is it you find so funny about peace, love and understanding?

My observation, Mr Murdoch, is that it’s the same as it ever was, same as it ever was, same as it ever was, same as it ever was.

I know this might be the hardest button to button Mr White, but I shall continue to press this line of inquiry!

You may smile and grin at the changes all around you Mr Daltrey, but the general public won’t get fooled again!

You seem to have Ms Clay’s private number. Can you please clarify that this was not obtained illegally Mr Bell?

He was shot six times by a man on the run. Could you confirm, Mr Oldfield, that he was carried away by a moonlight shadow?

You’ve been reported as saying, “There is no future, in England’s dreaming” Mr Lydon. Could you clarify what you meant?

Are you seriously expecting us to believe, Mr Jagger, that you didn’t consult the colour chart in B&Q?

While they were dragging the lake, Mr Costello, were you aware that she was filing her nails?

Your testimony has been very articulate, Mr McCartney, but now it’s just “Nah nah nah nah nah nah, nah nah nah, hey Jude…”

Although I’ve explained the concept (in the spirit of the meme) I’m not going to explain any of the them. But, rest assured, they do all refer to a song – it’s up to you (dear reader) to work out which one!

Today is my 4th Twitter birthday and I’ve posted my 35,000th tweet. Although I wasn’t part of Twitter when it was launched, it was a very different place in those days – with a fraction of the users today and not widely known. I have shared its growing pains as it continually outgrew its servers. I have used Twitter to document my life during those four years, from the trivial to the life changing. I have made new friends, some I have now met in real life and others I have yet to meet – either way, they are very real friends. It’s been a fantastic tool for networking in my working life, and given me direct contact with people in the public eye. I have used Twitter to share my interests, as well as my Christian faith – and, as a result, have built up a large circle of friends and contacts of all faiths and none. It keeps me in touch with the real world, and often challenges my thinking and attitudes. Twitter (along with Facebook) are dominant in the social media world and both have their critics, but I have found them a very positive force for good. It depends on your approach and your creativity. Happy Tweeting!

Pink Floyd fans will immediately recognise the title of this post as a lyric from The Wall. Writing poetry can sometimes be thought of as rather a dark art, even by those who regularly write prose. Although I enjoy writing, it’s not an area I’ve moved into – even though I’ve wanted to. I love reading poetry, appreciating the well-chosen turn of phrase that paints a picture that sends the mind into the wonderful world of the imagination. Come to think of it, isn’t that what all art seeks to do? The creators of music, paintings, sculptures (and the like) all seek to evoke responses in the mind and of the imagination!

Twitter (with its limit of 140 characters) lends itself to a genre of poetry identified by the hashtag #micropoetry – and today I was inspired by someone I follow on Twitter (whose poetry I find fascinating) to have a go. They are written quickly and can be composed anywhere – my first attempt was in the shower this morning:

The warm embrace of the water/the tingle of the shower gel/ready to face the day.

The others were composed while I was out and about, and posted online from my BlackBerry. Here they are (slight changes have been made so they scan better), do let me know what you think. You can use or reproduce them in the terms of my Creative Commons licence. Thanks.

Music blaring/lights flashing/shoppers rushing/tills ringing/people shouting/Jesus hiding.

Reindeer in a straw-filled pen/Skaters in an open rink/Salvation brass in a ring/…it must be Christmas!

Flowerbed of rubbish/discarded cardboard coffee cup/cigarette end in compost/acutely-angled ale can/symptomatic

Frozen penguins/hog roast/gourmet liquorice/mulled wine/Gregg’s pasty/random verse

xfactor/strictly/celebrity/bigbrother/ephemeral

Like so many people, I woke up this morning to the news that Osama bin Laden had been killed. Interestingly, in this age of social media, I read about it on my BlackBerry while checking Facebook and Twitter. While everyone had been thinking he was hiding in a cave in Afghanistan, he was actually found living in luxury in Pakistan! This, of course, raises quite a lot of political questions. One thing that I found unsettling was the celebratory scenes in America, celebrating his death in the streets is not going to further the cause of peace. But my main reason for this post is to highlight an excellent and well-balanced press release by the Muslim Council of Britain entitled ‘Now Let the Healing Begin’.

Farooq Murad, the Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain, made the following statement on the reported death of Osama bin Laden:

“Few will mourn the reported death of Osama bin Laden, least of all Muslims. Many Muslims will reflect on the ten years that have passed in which our faith and our community have been seen through the prism of terrorism and security. The Muslim Council of Britain has consistently stood firm against terrorism and violence, and will continue to do so. His extremism has been responsible for the deaths of many people, including many Muslims around the world. The actions of his movement which have no basis in the teachings of Islam have led to the pursuit of unjust wars and untold suffering.

Today our thoughts must be with the families of all those who suffered in the terrorist attacks around the world as well as of thousands of innocent lives lost in the wars against terrorism. It is unfortunate that his assassination has deprived them of the opportunity to see him brought to justice in the court of law.

Al-Qaeda’s ability to sow discord and mistrust between Muslims and others has caused untold damage. We must restore our belief in human dignity and peace by ensuring that we stand firm against all forms of hatred, injustices and violence.”

This guest post comes from Sue Thomas, Professor of New Media at De Montfort University in Leicester.

In today’s networked world, many skills which we may already have but not recognise as special are coming to the fore. The Institute for the Future in Palo Alto, California, have identified a skill set which they call ‘amplified’. It features qualities such as ‘Cooperation Radar’  - the ability to sense, almost intuitively, who would make the best collaborators on a particular task, and ‘High Ping Quotient’ – responsiveness to other people’s requests for engagement; propensity to reach out to others in a network. You can read all ten of them here. The language may be very Californian, but the skills are ones we would all recognise. And social media is helping us to do them even better.

In 2009 I ran a project called ‘Amplified Leicester’ which brought together 30 very different Leicester people and helped them develop their ‘amplified skills’. That project is now over but this year we’ve been hosting a series of talks and panels at Phoenix Square where we look at ‘amplified’ approaches and discuss how they can be used in specific contexts. So far we’ve looked at politics, police, and crafts (see embedded video), and this month we’re considering faith (or not) in an panel discussion convened by George Ballentyne of the Council of Faiths and called Amplified Communities of Faith or Belief.

George’s guests are a very varied group – Sughra Ahmed of the Islamic Foundation, Richard Hopper of Leicester Secular Society, and Matthew Hughes of Samworth Enterprise Academy, a Church of England school. It takes place at 7.00 pm Wednesday 23 March 2011 at Phoenix Square. Do come along to hear what they have to say and join us in the Screen Lounge afterwards to continue the discussion. It’s free and open to all. Book online here and join the Amplified Leicester community here. We look forward to seeing you! The Twitter hashtag is #ampleic for all Amplified Leicester related tweets.

Note: In the video, David says “anti-feminist” at one point when he clearly means “anti-sexist”, he’s not being allowed to live it down! (John)

The Bishop of Leicester as been reflecting on the dramatic events in the Middle East and North Africa, and has suggested that we ask ourselves some important questions, even though the full consequences and significance of what’s happening cannot yet be fully grasped.

Firstly, do we need to rethink some of our assumptions about freedom within Muslim countries? The demonstrators are clearly wanting the freedoms, rights and opportunities we enjoy. Secondly, what does it tell us about about politics in an age of social networking and mass communication? People now have the means to mobilise themselves against dictators, and are “not fundamentalist Muslims clamouring for Sharia Law, but citizens who seek the freedom to voice their opinions and change their societies in very much the same way as we do”. Thirdly, what do we mean by “Western values”? Because patterns of thinking are changing in front of our eyes.

He concludes, “That is an inspiring vision for all of us. As a Christian I believe we should be praying for those who are risking their lives for change at the moment. And perhaps we should be praying too that we will have the wisdom to see and to understand the meaning of the changes that are happening and to support a vision of a more peaceful and just world”.

You can read more here!

I love song lyrics as they can be hugely expressive, comparing favourably with the best poetry! I also enjoy sharing lyrics (and I know other people do as well), so I’ve created this special day for sharing lyrics on social media as updates. Put February 16 in your diary and start thinking of your favourite lyrics! There’s a Facebook Event which you can join and invite others to join. Please spread the word! The hashtag to use for anything related to the day is #songlyricsday and this is especially important on Twitter.