Page 421 - Week 02 - Tuesday, 20 February 2018
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community engagement. I started writing my first regular newspaper column as a 13-year-old in 1979. I have been employed either full time or casually, in the 30-odd years that have followed, by 18 different media organisations in five different states or territories. Despite my longevity in traditional media roles, I have long understood the changing face of communications in this country.
I note that Mr Steel, in his speech, certainly addressed the changing face of communications. I think all of us in public life, including corporations, politicians and entertainers, face some enormous challenges in getting our messages through to the people that we want to connect with.
For the two years leading up to my election here, I was running my own digital communications company, focusing on social media. I understand our changing communications landscape. When I look at our various government agencies here in the ACT, certainly in comparison to many government agencies in other jurisdictions, I see a genuine appetite for experimentation. I see genuinely an appetite for embracing new forms of communication. I would like to see more of it.
There are risks involved, but I think it is a space where you can be risky. My love affair with traditional media went on for a long time and it is still going. But, as Mr Steel pointed out, that love is not shared by millennials. Millennials do not watch free-to-air TV in great numbers. They do not read newspapers in great numbers. They tend not to listen to the radio in great numbers, so engaging with them is tougher than with previous generations.
The generations before them are still engaging with mainstream media but not to the same extent as was the case 10 years ago. Again, as Mr Steel pointed out, Facebook has almost now moved into the realm of a mainstream traditional media in the way that it is being dropped by certain demographics and homed in on by others. It has forced those of us with information to share to find some innovative new ways to share that information.
When I was running my digital communications agency, I used to explain to new clients that communicating using mainstream media was like standing up on a stage in a large theatre and talking to the people on a microphone. Sure, there are big numbers that you are potentially reaching, but the message is not tailored to individual groups and engagement is pretty much all one way. The crowd have the option to clap and cheer or to boo, or they can throw stuff at you, but that is it. They cannot really communicate back.
Social media engagement is like climbing down from the stage and joining the crowd. With really good social media engagement, you stand alongside your audience. You join them arm in arm on their level and join their conversation. I have to say that I do see a bit of this coming from ACT government agencies. To join the social media conversation you have to engage with people in the same way that they talk to their friends, and your dialogue must be something that they want to hear. Social media content creation must be tailored to your audience. It must be designed to foster genuine engagement. I would love to see some more risks taken in that area by the
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