For all councils, online tools are increasingly key in understanding how they can remain nimble in responding to changing customer needs and demands. Nationally, people are behaving differently.

We’re checking our digital networks, timelines and Twitter from an online world sitting in our palms and we’re watching a screen of news, views and (sometimes) abuse.

Communities and individuals are information-hungry and media-savvy. Paying attention to what is being said and done on social networking sites is crucial for ‘public sector plc’ if we want to harness the energy and promote positive outcomes, manage reputation effectively and gain valuable insight into what is floating customers’ boats or upsetting apple carts.