We are all Social now
David Wilcox, who has been doing social reporting with John Popham as part of the Big Lottery Fund's People Powered Change programme, asked me to write something about our ideas and experience for the Social Reporters blog. Here's what i came up with....
Let me present you with an edifying spectacle. Whilst you are eating your breakfast and contemplating the day ahead, Channel 4's Jon Snow is already blogging. And after he's finished blogging he will tweet to his followers that the blog is written and the day will have begun.
This is the new world in which we live. It's a 'conversation' rather than a series of announcements. The venue is the Media Trust's one-day conference, Communities For A Digital World and our keynote speaker is, you've guessed it, Jon Snow @jonsnowC4.
Sometimes an event that you hoped would be insightful, engaging and full of practical suggestions turns out a bit differently. I could say that of the social media event at the Hansard Society, which formed part of The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Social Sciences week. Okay, so there weren't too many practical suggestions but, as Meatloaf famously said, two out of three ain't bad.
Hmmm, I wonder if Meatloaf is on Twitter? @RealMeatLoaf
Anyway, insightful and engaging it was. The event started by smashing some commonly-held misconceptions about the use of social media in the so-called Arab Spring.