Social Media WorkshopHaven Gateway Partnership08 October 2012
Introduction
What we’ll cover – part A
-Why the dragon?-Megatrends in social media-The impact of social media on local government-Opportunities for social media in East Anglia-It’s not just about hard sell-Don’t forget the wider community
Introduction
What we’ll cover – part B
-The tools – a look at some platforms-Before you start: Information security-Digital videos: Blogging and Facebook-Micro-blogging: Twitter-LinkedIn – how do you use it?-Using social media passively – reading only
Part A
Megatrends
Why listen to a bloke with a dragon?
Because the dragon might eat you???
Because there might be more dragons elsewhere?!?!
Because Cabinet Office listened to the dragon & mentioned dragon in press release?
Because Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson invited dragon for tea & cake in Parliament?
Because 12 MPs follow dragon on Twitter?
“The “social” in social media implies a conversation. The difference between social media and the TV is that with the latter, viewers seldom engage with the programme-makers of the show that they are watching. Only in very recent times have programme makers expanded into the world of social media. Think X-Factor.
What is social media?
Megatrends 1 – the death of control
The age of influence
Big organisations and companies had a monopoly on mass communication and got used to controlling the message
Anyone literate with an internet connection can self-publish for freeHard to control, can only influence
The age of control
Megatrends 2 – Fewer gatekeepers
Many to many
Manage the gatekeepersOne-way, broadcast model.Managing reputation = managing the media.
Less reliance on media: people get information direct from the source, and from each other.New-style comms must reach beyond media to a complex interactive model.
One to many
Megatrends 3 – Fragmentation
A huge cloud of interaction
People got most information from a handful of news media.Organisations could efficiently manage (or at least monitor).
Conversations are distributed wherever people form opinions: blogs, social networks, YouTube Separate provider for the content, and the platform for the content
A few centralised channels
Megatrends 4 – New web landscape
Pull communications
The Web was a channel for pushing out information. Sites were static e-brochures. The Web was utilitarian. People felt neutral about it.
Now, people spend most time on interactive social media.The social web is informal, immersive and emotive.
Web as distribution channel Web as community
Push communications
Megatrends 5 – New journalism
Messy and opinionated
The world of press releases, news conferences and interviews was well ordered.Journalists knew the rules of the game and were predictable.Balance, professionalism, accountability
Huge and distributed.Everyone can report.Each sets his/her own rules.No obligation to be balanced.Complicated recourse for inaccuracy.Opinion dominates content.
Ordered and
predictable
How big is social media in the UK?
30 million+ accounts
Almost half the UK population
10 million UK accounts
> newspaper sales
5% of users write 75% of tweets
Impact of social media on #LocalGov
This is about partnership working
Social media is enabling local authorities to reach out and engage with local people like never before. -Monmouthshire-Cambridge
How are you engaging with:-Local authorities?-Local councillors?-Local MPs and MEPs? Do they know what you are doing? Can they help you overcome barriers?-Local journalists? They are an important link too
Social media is not hardsell
The risk with social media is treating it as an extension of direct-selling channels.
Many organisations are still at the ‘hard sell’ stage – if they are at the ‘social media’ stage at all. Social media enables users to bite back – publicly. To avoid being bitten badly, you need to be prepared to engage.
Examples:LA FitnessTomorrow’s People – a charity
Conversation & communities
You don’t necessarily know who your advocates will be
There are lots of little niches that are developing all the time. Where are yours?
If a conversation that you want to have happen is not happening, have you considered hosting it? For example Teacambs.
Is there something wider happening in your local area that you can help facilitate? Who can bring your community together and link up communities within a community? For example my CambridgeL!VE project.
Discussion point:
Any thoughts, comments or observations on those megatrends?
Part B
Social media tools and platforms
Responsibly
‘I trust my officers with the powers of arrest and the ability to deprive you of your liberty. Therefore I am going to trust them to use social media’
A senior police officer on Twitter.
-That is not to say they are given access to social media without any training. Social media carries risks. So does life. What matters is how we manage those risks.
-Part of that training involves you seeking out further knowledge – enough for you to ensure that you are comfortable using social media.
How should I use social media?
Before you start – information security
Social media is value neutral; people are not. Bad people use social media as well as good people. You need to protect yourself from the latter.
If you have staff that report to you, you or your institution may have duty of care to ensure your staff are properly trained to be aware of, if not, handle social media.
Please ensure that both you and any young people that you know read through guidance from the Information Commissioner at http://www.ico.gov.uk/youth.aspx
A short clip on safe social media use
A short digital video on social media guidance from the Department of Justice in the State of Victoria, Australia.
Greater variety of interaction
Social and digital media has the potential to transform how organisations interact with people – not just customers and stakeholders.
-Podcasts-Digital video – including animation-Blogs-Fan pages – e.g. Facebook and Myspace (!)-Sharing of third party content-Micro-blogging – e.g. Twitter
Issues of accuracy and credibility of sources? Recall megatrends earlier.
Digital videos
To demonstrate one such method of learning, I commissioned four young people to help me produce some digital video guides on social media tools.
Introduction to Facebook – by Kate McAlpine and Martin Young, @WhatKatie_Did and @MediocreDave on Twitter respectively
Introduction to blogging on Wordpress – by Nyika Suttie - @PuzzledByADream on Twitter
See https://twitter.com/about
•“Twitter is a real-time information network that connects you to the latest information about what you find interesting.
•Simply find the public streams you find most compelling and follow the conversations.
•At the heart of Twitter are small bursts of information called Tweets. Each Tweet is 140 characters in length, but don’t let the small size fool you.”
What can you get into a tweet?
Lots
-Announcements
-Links to news, information, articles and columns
-Photographs
-Comments
-Feedback
How do I use Twitter?
Excessively
-I know I need to tweet less regularly. (1,000 tweets and re-tweets is not particularly healthy!)-I tweet through an ‘avatar’ – in the name of Puffles the Dragon Fairy.-I tweet using both laptop and smartphone-I use Twitter both as a medium for online chat and as a medium to share information and state opinions. WARNING – this is where people get unstuck – more to follow-I have published “House Rules” that I use to manage people’s expectations.-I have met up with people I first stumbled across through Twitter, and I have sold cuddly toys online to people I’ve not met.
Who can you follow and engage with?
That is up to you, but Puffles has lots of recommendations in a series of blogposts themed as Puffles’ Twitter Lists
Following and unfollowing is much more informal than friending/unfriending on Facebook. Turnover of followers tends to be higher
Don’t feel obliged to stick to ‘professional’ contacts. Branch out to other areas of interest – especially hobbies.
How do I use Twitter?
Social media is a new phenomenon. Therefore lots of people will inevitably be either unfamiliar and/or uncomfortable with it.
You won’t become an expert using Twitter overnight. It takes a little bit of time to get used to it. Be patient.
Twitter exchanges can have the feel of a private 1-2-1 chat in the pub. But the whole world is potentially watching. -Diane Abbott-Chris Huhne
Don’t drink and tweet. You know why.SPAM – it’s evil and I hate it but we have to deal with it.
Would you like to see a demonstration of Twitter?
LinkedIn – a bit like Facebook, but for business
• At its most basic level, it is your online CV
• Helps link you up with other potential contacts that may be of interest to you
• Tends to be more popular in the commercial world
• Most people within my network do not use it actively – hence why I rarely use it. This may not be the case with you.
“I’m interested in reading who is saying what on social media, but don’t want to be active”
Questions?
Copies of these slides can be found on my website at:
Credits
• Icons on slide 3 http://designrfix.com/freebies/free-icons-ultimate-resource-list• Slides 4-9 – Jon Worth • Stats on slide 9:
FB as of Feb 2012 at http://www.clicky.co.uk/2012/02/uk-facebook-statistics-february-2012/ Twitter as of May 2012 http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/may/15/twitter-uk-users-10m
• Social Media Policy Guide – Department of Justice, State of Victoria, Australia at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8iQLkt5CG8I
• Facebook and Blogging digital videos, - my own commissions
Acknowledgements
• Jon Worth for being brilliantly supportive as always• Nyika Suttie, Martin Young, Kate McAlpine and Alice
Sheppard for their hard work on the videos• My family as always for putting up with me• Puffles – for being Puffles• All of Puffles’ followers who help make social media
so much fun, varied and interesting• All of you that attended, commented and fed back
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