Social Media Actually – Communities
Last week I gave a presentation on the practical aspects of using Social Media in various sectors, starting with Communities. The choice was pretty simple. In 2005-2006 I freelanced between BBC Radio Manchester and QT Radio (under CSV Media’s umbrella), doing lots of radio programming, interviewing, and presenting. QT Radio and Radio Manchester’s Action Desk (later Interaction) both focused on communities: how to engage them, how to let them contribute positively, etc. In April 2006 I also took part in a mediabridge event that connected a gallery at Manchester’s Cornerhouse with a studio in Tijuana in Mexica. The topic was again how to empower communities through the use of the Media.
I’ve been using various social sites and tools since as early as 2000; my life has been predominantly web-based since 2005 (although I can spend days offline, too). But you can surely imagine the surprise I’ve taken away from an event at The Circle Club in Manchester where three speakers were debating Social Media. It was a perfect deja-vu moment: three years on, communities seemed to be in the same kind of rut. How to gain the voice? How to be heard? What to do to make this happen? Just as they used traditional media (radio and TV) in 2005-2006 to gain presence, so now they were trying to use Social Media to the same end.
Whilst this is a never-ending process of a re-discovery of the wheel, I created this first presentation as a response to communities’ questions, and also as a way to trial the reaction to the possibility of measuring the ROI for communities, individuals, and non-profits. We tend to put a lot of effort and passion in our work, so it is understandable that we are then disappointed with measely results. The thought I was trying to put across is: if there is a reason for publishing something on the web, then we’re on the Advertising territory. People don’t always come to read/see/listen to whatever you uploaded, so you may have to go where people are and let them know. The way to give yourself some spin here is by putting the most basic estimate on your time and effort. And, of course, strategic thinking paired with some humanly possible flexibility is instrumental for success.


