Public Services Lab Blog

Getting your message out with social media

Vicki Purewal - 22.01.2009

The web today can offer enormous possibility for supporting citizen-led action on social and environmental issues.

The web today can offer enormous possibility for supporting citizen-led action on social and environmental issues. From sites such as freecycle and liftshare, which provide a service to help people create specific change, to groups of people getting together through networking sites such Facebook to campaign on a particular issue.

Several of our Big Green Challenge applicants proposed ideas based on online communities (eg. Do The Green Thing and Project Dirt); some use online networking tools to bring people together (eg. CRAGs - who also used their online space to allow members to collaborate on their Big Green Challenge application, and Transition Towns Totnes); and others are making the most of blogs, and sites such as flickr and YouTube to share their news.

I recently heard Andy Duncan, CEO of Channel 4, describe ideas as 'the natural assets we'll have to draw on once the oil has gone'. You're probably one step ahead - using ideas to make the changes we need to proactively move towards a low carbon society. But how can you make the most of social media to help you engage with stakeholders, keep your community informed and involved, and reach out to new audiences of supporters?

Over the next 6-8 weeks, Headshift's Robin Hamman will guest blog for Big Green Challenge to help tell you how. He'll be talking about how to make the most of blogs, photos, maps, video and groups; tying it all together and keeping it going.

Robin has been working with the Big Green Challenge Finalists to help them make the most of social media, and we want to share some this training, through the Big Green Challenge blog, to help many more community-led projects benefit from online social media tools.

Robin is an internationally recognised social media and blogging expert. Now leading the social media team at Headshift, Robin was formerly the Head of Blogging at the BBC where he taught journalists, editors and many household names from television and radio how to blog. He also teaches Social Media Journalism at City University, London where he is a Visiting Fellow. Robin currently authors cybersoc.com, as well as a law blog and one about St. Albans where he lives.

Robin's first post will appear here on Thursday 29th January, and he will post every Thursday until the end of the series.