Not good! Having a gov dept for tech means it gets •Cabinet-level focus •the priority from Treasury •the resources (people) to plug tech into other Depts’ agendas If DSIT is merged with another dept—tech gets lost in the shuffle…along with UK’s global leadership in tech. www.ft.com/content/fec8...

Burnham eyes Jonathan Reynolds to lead beefed-up business department

Incoming prime minister discussing plans to give ministry more powers over science policy

ft.com

These are hilarious. Something about the skeuomorph in this era of APIs and algorithms…

John Oxley@joxley.jmoxley.co.uk · 2mo ago

Telling my kids this was Keir Starmer's digital ID scheme.

Help shape the Mayor's AI and Jobs Taskforce to understand the impact of AI on Londoners’ jobs, and how we can support: what's AI actually doing to your work, your sector, your city? Take our @mayoroflondon.bsky.social survey; join the online discussion; RT! www.london.gov.uk/talk-london/...

We had a W3C Technical Architecture Group face-to-face meeting recently. @sphericalcowconsulting.com wrote about what we’re up to: www.w3.org/blog/2026/th...

The W3C TAG Meeting in London, March 2026

Earlier this month, the W3C Technical Architecture Group (TAG) gathered in London for a multi-day face-to-face meeting. While the TAG meets regularly online, these in-person sessions remain an importa...

w3.org

[With vibe coding] “Standards do not get softer just because building gets easier. In fact, they become more load-bearing.” Sing it, @bmwelby.bsky.social. This is 100% true. Standards are what makes that vibe code work with anything else. It’s where the vibe-coded app becomes useful in the world.

Alex@blangry.bsky.social · 5mo ago

This might be the most sensible thing I've read in months.

For a (non-militant) atheist, that was perhaps the last publication in which I would expect to get a link, but it's rather lovely.

A group of volunteers have been running @nhshackday.com since 2012. In a crazy world, it is all about coming together with common purpose to solve problems in our health service. Please reshare this post about #30 in Cardiff Mar 21/22. We would love to have you join us. ti.to/nhshackday/3...

Sending love and good wishes for inspiring conversations, effective planning and important mutual support to everyone headed to #ukgc26. I’m sad I can’t be with you this year, but my thoughts go with you! @ukgovcamp.com

One of the best parts of Christmas… it’s #duvetKnowItsChristmas A laugh about where we are sleeping tonight, and a few pennies for those who don’t have a bed. Merry merry, all 🎄 www.gofundme.com/f/duvet-know...

Donate to Duvet Know It's Christmas, 2025, organized by Rhodri Marsden

Unbelievably, it's the 15th year of this thing. What is it? Improbably, the nig… Rhodri Marsden needs your support for Duvet Know It's Christmas, 2025

gofundme.com

Unbelievably, #DuvetKnowItsChristmas generates such good will on social media that over the years we've raised somewhere approaching a quarter of a million quid for homeless charities. If you can spare a bob or two, sling some to Centrepoint, and here's the link: www.gofundme.com/f/duvet-know...

Donate to Duvet Know It's Christmas, 2025, organized by Rhodri Marsden

Unbelievably, it's the 15th year of this thing. What is it? Improbably, the nig… Rhodri Marsden needs your support for Duvet Know It's Christmas, 2025

gofundme.com

This is the 15th year of #DuvetKnowItsChristmas, which is preposterous. Rules: if you find yourself dealing with unusual / claustrophobic / gaudy sleeping arrangements this Christmas Eve, share a picture with the world. Use the hashtag (with capitalisation) and cc me if you can be bothered.

Thanks to @rhodri.biz for the inspiration, after running #duvetknowitschristmas for a decade. I'll be reposting the best ones throughout the evening. Tell me your nightmares.

Along with #duvetknowitschrismas, time for a new yearly tradition: #ITschristmas, where we share IT support horror stories from helping family over Christmas. Here's mine to start:

Jonty Wareing@jonty.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Time between walking through my relatives door and fixing a tech issue that has been "driving them mad": 8 minutes. The TV was in demo mode. It has been in demo mode for several months.

We’re looking for a venue partner who can help with physical space to support this open, community-driven, and free-to-attend event. 🗓️ When: A Saturday in Spring 2026 (Flexible) 👥 Size: 100-120 people 📍 Where: Accessible UK location, ideally Leeds Please get in touch! ukhealthcamp.com/venue

UK Health Camp the free ‘unconference’ on digital, design and data for health and care

Come and enjoy a full day having conversations about #health, #digital, #nhs, and more. Register at ukhealthcamp.com

ukhealthcamp.com

I have a new job. To explain it, let me tell you a story. Have you ever been in the hospital, or with a family member in the hospital, when all the chaos is surrounding you — the busy nurses, the other patients talking, the machines going beep-beep-beep, the occasional… 1/

Starting day 1 of the W3C/IETF TAG & IAB workshop on Age-Based Restrictions on Content Access. Adult content, alcohol, social media restrictions, advertising/tracking…We’re looking at the technical and architectural choices in solutions.

Do I know anyone who publishes children’s books? A close friend has inherited several wonderful books originally published in the 1960s, and they’d like to bring them back to the world. Can anyone help?

@paulclarke.com And what would Harry Pearce actually be doing today? “Power failure”…!

This is such a shock. Nick was one of the most human, funniest (often inappropriately so), and kindest people I know. He often reminds me (reminded? reminded) me that it’s not about the tech, it’s about the people. What a loss to our world. Thank you for many years of everything, Nick.

Lloyd Davis@lloyddavis.eurosky.social · last yr.

I lost a dear friend, a most generous soul. We've all lost a fine blogger, podcaster and community builder. perfectpath.co.uk/2025/04/16/n...

Looking for good teaching material: case study from a low or middle-income country of a healthcare innovation that was successfully adopted and transformed patient outcomes. Got some old examples, looking for a recent one. THANKS if you can suggest. #healthpolicy #digitalhealth

@davidallengreen.bsky.social For reasons I can not fathom, American schools do teach it as “the Magna Carta”. Or at least, they did when I was a kid there. 🤷‍♀️

🚨The UKDayOne think-tank has published a major new paper by @peterkwells.com and @annapowellsmith.bsky.social on how opening up UK geospatial data – including the Postcode Address File – could unlock billions in economic value, modernise public services and foster competition. 🚨

Making the UK’s Geospatial Data Fit for the Future - UK Day One

ukdayone.org

Hey data nerds, Defra has just launched a 'Land Use Consultation' which says government wants to: - make more [geospatial] data accessible for the public benefit - free up more Land Registry data - explore options to increase transparency of land & property data. consult.defra.gov.uk/land-use-fra...

Thank you to everyone for another wonderful @ukgovcamp.bsky.social. This year felt cautiously hopeful, enthusiastic, and looking for the spaces in which to do good. Fingers crossed that everyone in the community finds those spaces, whether they be teams, policy areas or tech advances. #UKGC25

Happy first night! 🕎

One of the best parts of Christmas… it’s #duvetKnowItsChristmas A laugh about where we are sleeping tonight, and a few pennies for those who don’t have a bed. Merry merry, all 🎄

Rhodri Marsden@rhodri.biz · 2y ago

So I'll be back around then. We'll be trying to raise a bit of money for Centrepoint, bearing in mind that there are a bunch of people who have nowhere to go this evening. gofund.me/637d21d0 ENDS FOR NOW 🎄🛏️

If you run an indie or community web service of some kind and are worried about the incoming Online Safety compliance duties, we’ve put together a @carefultrouble.bsky.social mailing list and been in touch with Ofcom to see if they’ll do some engagement buttondown.com/indie-and-co...

Indie and Community Web Compliance

Tl;dr not really a newsletter, but an informal community list for indie and community web makers who want to maintain a vibrant Web that works for everyone :-) Before 16 March 2025, UK providers of “...

buttondown.com

For anyone having trouble with the earlier link, the Ethical Web Principles are here www.w3.org/TR/ethical-w...

We began the Ethical Web Principles as a W3CTAG doc, to record the ethics behind our architectural decisions & advice. Today, it’s a W3C statement: it’s been endorsed by W3C as a whole Thanks to my co-editors @torgo.com & @rhiaro.co.uk; rest of the TAG; & all who helped www.w3.org/TR/ethical-w...

We began the Ethical Web Principles as a W3CTAG doc, to record the ethics behind our architectural decisions & advice. Today, it’s a W3C statement: it’s been endorsed by W3C as a whole Thanks to my co-editors @torgo.com & @rhiaro.co.uk; rest of the TAG; & all who helped www.w3.org/TR/ethical-w...