by Victoria | Sep 30, 2012 | activism, NHS stuff |
So what can corporates and activists learn from each other and how can they interact most effectively in social media spaces? That’s what @markoneinfour and I wanted to find out at our Snog Marry Avoid? workshop during Social Media Week in London on 28 September 2012. To consider the question, we welcomed a mixed group of activists and corporates (and a few who fell into both camps) who engaged in a lively discussion and took part in a scenario which enabled us to tease out some of the issues. We particularly focused on the public sector, although many of the lessons may apply more broadly. My main learning point from the day is that activists and public institutions often want the same thing. But if they fail to develop reciprocal relationships then their standpoints about how to get there can easily become polarised. This is amplified when acted out in social media spaces. So here are 10 social media lessons derived from our scenario where an activist group and public sector institution have a potential clash of interests online. Some points may have more resonance for one group over another, but we found that they generally applied to both: Clarity of purpose – be clear about what you want to achieve so you can employ the right tactics to help you get there. Sounds obvious but we found this was crucial in thinking strategically and avoiding getting stuck in a corner Act swiftly – respond to questions or concerns quickly, even if it is to say you’ll get some more information and update later. Letting comments hang around online...
by Victoria | Sep 19, 2012 | mental health, NHS stuff |
Today was our first ever social media surgery – except really it ended up as a day of workshops with all sorts of interesting people thinking about different aspects of social media. We didn’t actually get to do many surgical procedures – it ended up as more of a collaborative and conversational event. It was a complete experiment and, on balance, I think we may have pulled it off. The best bit about it for me was the fabulous mix of people: from those with lived experience of mental health difficulties, occupational therapists, psychologists, public relations professionals, service managers, volunteers, nurses and psychiatrists (and quite a few people who fell into more than one category). And a real mix of sectors – NHS, local authority, voluntary and private sector. This led to the most interesting discussions and different points of view from a group of people with wildly varying degrees of experience using social media. It was a delight to have the event co-hosted by Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and Leeds Mind – role modelling good partnerships. We had workshops on topics varying from campaigning (including a live Facebook conversation) from @changeleeds, peer support online from @BPDFFS, the art of blogging from @helenstanding, projects and organisations using social media from @inkwellarts, and the Leeds Wellbeing Web from @leedswellweb, plus me facilitating a discussion about online personal and professional boundaries. So today I learnt a few new technical tricks, had quite a bit of what I already know confirmed, but most of all I learnt that sometimes it’s a good idea to just have a go at...
by Victoria | Sep 17, 2012 | activism, NHS stuff |
I think corporates and activists should sometimes snog, occasionally avoid and probably never marry. To extend the metaphor a bit more than is probably necessary… Married life would just make everyone far too comfortable and the frisson of a snog and the tension of uncertainty are more likely to lead to a healthy vigorous debate. I’m approaching mine and @markoneinfour’s Snog, Marry, Avoid? Workshop from a corporate perspective as a result of the steep learning curve we are engaged in at the NHS Trust where I work. We are busy working out how social media enable us to build connections and relationships with people who have a stake in what we do. This isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes we get a hard time on Twitter; we occasionally get negative feedback on Patient Opinion; our chief executive’s blog has been known to get some very challenging comments. And of course social media have the potential to amplify far more than word-of-mouth might do. Mark is right when he suggests that social media are both exhilarating and nerve wracking for institutions. A number of campaigning groups have used social media to raise concerns with our NHS Trust and there’s no doubt such a public forum ensures a quick response. I’m keen to explore how they can perhaps do it more effectively in our workshop. But there are also areas of common ground where activists and corporates can work together, for example on social marketing campaigns where there are themes of mutual interest. I think the key to encouraging more snogging is to increase the engagement of people working within institutions such as...
by Victoria | Sep 12, 2012 | activism, NHS stuff |
Here is a post from @MarkOneinFour about a joint workshop we are running together as part of Social Media Week on 28 September in London. Here’s his take on the topic: Along with Victoria Betton I’m giving a workshop called ‘Snog, marry, avoid? Activists versus corporates in the public sector‘ as part of Social Media Week 2012. The event is about the increasingly obvious new area of interaction between people and public services that is opening in social media and the challenges and opportunities it poses. One of the things that I’ll be touching on is the idea that social media (twitter, facebook, tumblr, blogs) have become the coffeehouses of the 21st century. This is hardly a controversial idea. During the 17th and 18th century ‘Age of Enlightenment’ coffeehouses were spaces where, for the price of a penny, people could meet each other and discuss things. See if this description by historian Brian Cowell sounds like social media to you: The coffeehouses were “places where people gathered to drink coffee, learn the news of the day, and perhaps to meet with other local residents and discuss matters of mutual concern.” The coffeehouses were places where, for the first time, a class of people were hashing out their own ideas and responses to what at the time was the eroding of autocratic rule by Kings and Lords and finding their own voice. As Cowan says “the coffeehouse was a place for like-minded scholars to congregate, to read, as well as learn from and to debate with each other, but was emphatically not a university institution, and the discourse there was...