8 comments

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  ade

  10 months ago

  nice one mas - we were just having the same conversation with a couple of people here yesterday so this is a perfectly timed blog:)
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  mas

  10 months ago

  very welcome ;-)
  
  I'm halfway through putting something together for different ways of using social media and I might get round to doing one for strategies, plus Tim Davies has stuff coming out along similar lines (I'm guessing to coincide with the launch of the social networking report he's been working on)
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  Tim Davies

  10 months ago

  Hey Mas
  
  I'm not sure I would agree with all of these. Yes - you need to get your own web presence in order - but it's not about your own website much of the time... and if your own site isn't great and is tricky to change - then head out and engage in the social media space anyway without waiting for the main site to sort out.
  
  Conversation (where people are), and publishing (on your rather nifty own 'corporate website') are different things....
  
  I also think (mainly for sake of making this a more lively comment...) it's worth emphasising the distinction between 'knowing exactly what to do when something goes wrong' - and 'knowing that there is a way in place of dealing with and responding to things that look like they might be going wrong'. The second is arguably easier, and arguably the root to go - rather than a pre-empting problems approach which could be how your last point may get read...
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• 

  mas

  10 months ago

  Hi Tim - I agree 'web presence' is a better term than website. However I still think you should get your own house in order before promoting yourself elsewhere - I don't mean by having a really flashy state of the art site - just a tidy place where people can get the information they need to understand who you are, what you do and why you are 'reaching out' - obviously this applies to organisations not individuals - but then if you're 'reaching out' on a professional basis as an individual I think you should be linking back to your organisations 'web presence' and therefore when people do visit that place it should be tidy and appropriate for the audience. For example if you're a local authority youth service you shouldn't be linking to the Council Homepage which may be a bit overwhelming and full of corporate language - but you could put up a simple page that says this is who we are etc. and this is how to contact us if you have concerns/want more info.
  
  There are some other reasons I think having your own site/presence is important:
  1. Good practice - I think it should be good practice for all youth organisations (particularly using social networks) to have a page that explains their purpose for doing so and explaining any guidelines they have in place for using social media
  2. Setting up a page on a social network shouldn't be regarded as a way to set up a cheap website - partly because that network may be closed off to some people (although this of course can be an advantage in some cases), but also because it may be the case that the information you put up on others sites may mean you no longer have full control over that data - so if your whole strategy is about a place on an external site its possible that for some reason you may no longer be able to use that service and then theres no place for people to go to find out whats happening or how to contact you etc.
  
  I agree with your last point which is in fact the point I was trying to make (perhaps badly) - that before setting up profiles etc. you need to give consideration to how you might deal with things if they do go wrong - the points listed were to provoke thought, I didn't mean you should have a list of 'X happens if Y happens' (although thats not a bad method for considering how to design policies).
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• 

  Hilary Mason

  10 months ago

  Hi Mas
  
  As one of the other comments said, very timely. In working out how we are aiming to use SNS in our authority I've been coming across sites that our youth workers have set up. Some of them have been maintained and are obviously working (to some degree) and others have just been left. I'm now in the process of getting a list together to see just what we have out there as well as linking this into how we develop policies and guidelines for our staff.
  
  For us managing this process across such a large area it's always a delicate balance between trying to encourage staff to consider and use this medium (developing and exploring their skills as they go) and ensuring that there are the appropriate safeguards and strategies in using it.
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• 

  mas

  10 months ago

  Hi Hilary - I can imagine how difficult it is especially with clubs and organisations that maybe operate 'semi independently' (or workers that do!). Also its inevitable that people get stuck in and try things out, and then also in some cases give up, and getting stuck in is by far the best way for people to learn to understand social media - but not so good if you're looking around for information and come across 'dead' or poorly maintained sites.
  
  I think 'strategy' is very much the word to emphasise now - its time for organisations & local authorities to give thought to what their strategy is to be and for what purpose they're having a strategy - and its time to provide guidance for staff looking to make use of social media and thats what I was trying to provoke with this post.
  
  At the same time its still important that people feel able to experiment - but I think this should be done discretely - rather than setting up "The Funky Youth Club Bebo Profile" which then lies dormant with only comments from spammers! Better instead that an individual plays with the site, gets to know it and then thinks about how that site could feature in a strategy - is it for promotion of membership, raising issues about awareness, fundraising, collaboration? etc. etc.
  
  I know its early days but arguably not so early that these can't now be properly considered so hopefully more will follow in your footsteps (and no doubt you and others will be sharing what they come up with for others to adopt) - but its important I think that with the consideration to policies and keeping things safe etc. theres also consideration to strategy, purpose, and making things effective.
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• 

  Chris Cook

  10 months ago

  I am in the early days of considering how this would work for us myself. There is always the issue that one worker will bring a set of skills to a position that will create a demand that the next worker cannot meet. I remember wondering what on earth I was going to do with the complete archery set that a previous worker had purchased and I had no opportunity to use! The same issue applies to online presence.
  
  The difficulty lies in encouraging workers to develop opportunities with young people for which they have the appropriate skills - and then knowing what to do when that worker moves on.
  
  For an authority, this may perhaps require some kind of quality check. Perhaps submitting details of created SNS with username and password for administrative authority so that if an issue arises then action can be taken. People with suitable skills should be appointed internally to review submitted sites on a regular basis - feeding back any comments to the site's author. If a site ceases to operate or develop then the authority should be able to remove the site.
  
  The quality check needs to be as simple as possible and the review conducted with the idea that "we're all in this together".
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• 

  mas

  10 months ago

  Hi Chris - thanks for the comment and thats a really useful consideration - how open should the use of SNS be? I'm guessing it should be completely open. All employers 'own' emails and I imagine the use of SNS within professional employment should be the same. Fairly simple to write into policies and once in place it would be easy enough either to maintain a database of usernames & passwords or (less securely) to use a common password for ID's (probably not a good idea though if you then part company with a staff member who knows that password!).
  
  The archery example is a good point too - again its about having a strategy and regarding time invested into SNS/social media as for the benefit of the organisation and something that needs to be easily picked up by other staff members if the situation requires.
  
  Also to pick up your point about an authority having the power to remove a site, that links nicely to the openness and again I'd have thought it would be regarded as intellectual property owned by the employer (although there is something to consider here about ensuring any external sites that are used do give you the control to remove data should you need to - and knowing how to go about it).
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