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Social Media and its contextual impact on Public Affairs

Social Media and its contextual impact on Public Affairs. Ghent Tuesday March 20 2012. Who am I?. Philip Young University of Sunderland, UK philip.young@sunderland.ac.uk @mediations #IPGhent12 http://publicsphere.typepad.com/mediations. What shall we do?. 9.00 10.30

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Social Media and its contextual impact on Public Affairs

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  1. Social Media and its contextual impact on Public Affairs Ghent Tuesday March 20 2012

  2. Who am I? • Philip Young • University of Sunderland, UK • philip.young@sunderland.ac.uk • @mediations #IPGhent12 • http://publicsphere.typepad.com/mediations

  3. What shall we do? • 9.00 10.30 • What do we mean by social media in a public affairs context? • 11.00 Case studies • 12.30 Limitations: public and private space • 1-2 Lunch • 2-4 Student groups research good examples and suggest improvements • 4.00 Your turn: groups present ideas for improving social media engagement for named organisation • 5.30 Conclusions

  4. Part 1 The Battleground • Communication cannot make the EU function better, nor can solve its economic, social, political and environmental problems. However it helps in raising awareness and mobilising people • Valentini; C and Nesti, G (2010) Public Communication in the European Union

  5. Part 1 The Battleground • Key concepts for public affairs • Access (equality, language) • http://www.mediameasurement.com/?p=2118 • http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats4.htm • http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats4.htm#europe • Engagement (it’s boring) • Trust (it’s politics) • Legitimacy (I’m English/ Greek/ etc) • http://ec.europa.eu/unitedkingdom/blog/index_en.htm

  6. Role of social media • Communication canbe a leading tool forenhancingidentity, integration, respect anddemocracy…. • Communication cancreate even emotionsand attachments • Communication can help the EU tounderstanditscitizens … emotionally (ibidxiii)

  7. What is social?

  8. Bye bye Time + Geography • PR is about Relationship Management, the interaction between organisation and stakeholders/audiences • Increasingly that relationship is shaped in an environment where the linkages between stakeholders have become heightened to an unprecedented degree.

  9. “Talking about online PR is as old-fashioned as talking about colour TV”

  10. Online is everywhere • Online isn’t the ONLY way to reach stakeholders... • ... But online is part of all PR • Online is part of the very fabric of all PR activity

  11. Little words – big reputation • But the shift has been in the visibility, the connectivity of those relationships. • We can see the connections, we can aggregate them in what we can call reputation.

  12. Vector of communication

  13. Vector of communication

  14. The Old PR

  15. The vector of communication

  16. The Old PR

  17. The vector of communication

  18. Platforms & Channels

  19. Platforms & Channels http://flowingdata.com/2011/10/27/language-communities-of-twitter/

  20. News comms in1990 • News from TV or once/ twice a day newspapers • Landline telephones • First PCs – not common, not easy! • First mobiles – big, heavy, expensive • Business communications by letter/ Fax • Photographer develop film in darkrooms • People go to libraries to find information in encyclopaedias

  21. Organisations are what says they are

  22. Key terms What are the implications in terms of • Reach • Immediacy • Interaction • Aggregation • Porosity • Transparency • Curation • Abundance

  23. Reach • Physical distance has no meaning • Organisations can talk to anyone BUT • Anyone can listen/ engage/ comment • Very hard to say one thing in one market and something different elsewhere • -> Danger of DISSONANCE (conflict)

  24. The World is Flat Reach means • Everything you do is global!!! • Social media knows no boundaries • You can’t say one thing to one audience, one country, one culture and something different to another…. • You can’t control who hears your messages

  25. Immediacy (Timelessness) • Social media is instant and always-on • There is no news cycle any more • Reputation evolves in real time • Thinking time has vanished • News control (embargos etc) more challenging • The narrative structure of ‘messaging’ is being redefined • Users access multiple sources concurrently • Almost impossible to control the sequencing of information/ revelation

  26. Curation • The creation, display and management of content in a consistent manner to encourage a desired understanding of an organisation Collecting Ordering Interpreting Displaying

  27. Cheap, quick and popular • Flip in ‘vector of communication’ means loss of ‘control’ for organisations/ institutions • First years (still now?) characterised by fear of entering an unruly domain • BUT: Did organisations/institutions ever have ‘control’ over communications? • Over reputation?

  28. Hearing more voices? • How does social media change Political economy models? • Implications of 'universal' (???) access, level playing field; low entry threshold means anyone can have a voice. • Does this mean a greater plurality of voices - or is it still elites talking to elites (bloggers as a digital chattering class)?

  29. Implications: Public Sphere • We might examine the transmission of messages: increased role of mediation; mass media to micromedia, implications of shared/ fragmented experience • What are the implications for Public Sphere (Habermas) and Social Space?

  30. Public Sphere: Inquirytrands • Possibility of creating a supranational public sphere • Empiricalstudy of transnational media • Europeanisation of national public spheres • NB C&V arguethattheory of public sphere has anintrinsic bias tonation state model

  31. Conclusions: The new (PR) reality • Command and control models of communication are dead • Every institution/ initiative has an online reputation/ legitimacy • Citizens are shaping (online) reputation/legitimacy (trust) right now • They are using social media – but how? • We are all connected, whenever we want and wherever we are

  32. Who doesn’t use the Internet? 9 million people One in Seven of UK population

  33. Whatcan SM contribute? • The use of new media is believedto have the potentialtoincrease levels of trust andsolidaritywhich are prerequisites of politicalandcivic engagement • C&N 2010:13

  34. How can public bodies use SM? • Dissemination of news • Archive/ library/ information banks • Can create communities/ forums for Public Consultation • Push vs Pull channels • Why do people want to engage? • Is it fair to privilege the digitally literate?

  35. Legitimacy • Drawing on Scharpfinput-output framing of legitimacyC&N suggestcommunication • Allowsforelectoralparticipationbyimprovingcitizenknowledge • Enablesparticipation in policy making bygiving information • Promotespolitical actors responsivenessbyimprovingknowledgeabouttheirpreferences • Focuses accountability towardscitizens

  36. Public Consultation • Tomkova, J Toward a ‘direct dialogue’: evaluation of public eConsultationsinthe EU context (in C&N) • Constituteinteractive ‘telluswhatyouthink’ participatory platforms thatenableordinarycitizensandcivic actors topurposivelyassemble input, deliberate, informandinfluence policy anddecision-making (279)

  37. Public eConsultation • Theycansimultaneouslyincorporatevertical (citizentogovt) as well as horizontal (citizentocitizen) interactions • Difference is thatthey are (usually) initiated/ fundedbypoliticalinstitutions • May have set duration

  38. Five types (Tomkova) • Question & Answerdiscussion forum • Polls snapshots, measurement • Deliberative polls panel consultations • Petitionsinitiatedbottom up bycitizens • Editorialcitizens, representatives of civil society invitedtocomment more formally on specific policy documents

  39. Normativepremises • TransparencyandAccountability • Legitimacyandbetter policy outcomes • Deliberation (Habermas, Dryzek) • Through deliberation the circulation of ofconflictualpreferenceswith society motivatedbygenuine (ratherthanexternallyimposed) consensus formationbased on moral, rational, practical jufgmentandmutual respect is more likelyachieved

  40. Civiceducation • Advantages of doing public consultationinclude: • Convenience, expediencyand flexibility • Enhancedinteractivity • Faceless interface – eliminatesvisualsocialclueswhichconstrain face to face

  41. 2: Case Studies • Germany • http://www.bundesregierung.de • Steffen Seibert @RegSprecher tweets (but journalists don’t approve) • But not @AngelaMerkell (too busy! Doesn’t want ghosted tweets)

  42. EU Commission http://ec.europa.eu/commission_2010-2014/president/index_en.htm http://ec.europa.eu/atoz_en.htm

  43. Have your say • http://europa.eu/take-part/consultations/index_en.htm

  44. @sweden • Sweden lets its citizens run Twitter account • Sheep farmer tweets for Sweden • http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16534090 • http://thenextweb.com/twitter/2011/12/16/sweden-lets-citizens-take-over-its-official-twitter-account-this-is-either-genius-or-insanity/ • Sweden is tweeting to the world, and this week she is Hanna, "just your average lesbian truck driver“ • http://tvnz.co.nz/technology-news/sweden-lets-its-citizens-run-twitter-account-4691513 • Authenticity?

  45. UK

  46. UK ePetitions • http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/ • Grant a pardon for Alan Turing • Britain wants referendum to leave EU • Responsible department: Foreign and Commonwealth Office • The Daily Express is crusading to end Britain’s membership of the European Union. We want the Government to arrange for an orderly withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the EU either by means of an enabling referendum or directly so that the British people are once again placed in charge of their own political destiny. We would like this matter debated in parliament

  47. UK regional government • Many UK councils still not using social media • http://www.prweek.com/uk/news/1120983/many-councils-not-using-social-media/ • Coventry City Council came out as the council with the highest number of followers, members and friends on Facebook and Twitter, with 24,080. • Socitm's Better Connected research showed that Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council, which has more than 20 Twitter accounts, posted the most tweets of any council. • http://www.socitm.net/info/214/socitm_insight/151/better_connected_2012/1

  48. Better Connected: Socitm findings • Task Achieving standard • Find out school term dates 80% • Pay council tax 71% • Find records office opening times (counties only) 70% • Apply for council job 66% • Find rubbish collection days 63% • Renew library book 51% • Find winter gritting routes 48% • Find out about getting help at home 43% • Find opening times for local swimming pool 38% • Apply for dog licence (N Ireland only) 35% • Find out how to register death ( N Ireland only) 35% • Object to a planning application 33% • Register a food business (N Ireland only) 23%

  49. Sent to Coventry http://www.coventry.gov.uk/

  50. GM Police 24 hour Tweet • Police force uses Twitter to show daily load • http://on.ft.com/w27dcY • GMP 24: Data analysis of police tweets • http://menmedia.co.uk/manchestereveningnews/news/s/1345672_gmp_24_data_analysis_of_police_tweets

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