1. Social Media
or
Action Media?
BTR11: Social Networking Below the Radar
Big Lottery Fund: London
Angus McCabe
4th April 2012
Funded by:
Hosted by:

2. Why BTR11?
Supported by Barrow Cadbury Trust
Key questions:
o Can social media promote and support grassroots
‘below the radar’ community groups and
activities?
o Is social media a mechanism for change or chat?
o What lessons have been learned?
o Where next?

3. ‘Starter’ Questions
From 8th July 2011 ‘kick start’ event
If the policy agenda is about transferring power to
communities then:
o What needs to happen?
o What can we do?
o Who else needs to be involved?
o How could social media play a role?

4. BTR 11: Activities 1
• Beyond the Radar kick-start event: Communities and
Local Government, 8th July 2011
• How can community groups achieve their goals
despite the cuts? Live Q&A event: 19th July
2011, Guardian on-line with NCVO, Urban
Forum, CLG, Volunteering England and Small
Charities Coalition
• What motivates people to act?; 19th October 2011
webinar with NatCAN, St Helens CEN, North West
CAN and Home Office

5. BTR 11: Activities 2
• *Civil Society Beyond the Radar; 30th January
2012, online discussion with Community Matters
• Below the Radar and the unintended consequences
of voluntary sector reconfiguration; 1st February
2012, webinar with Barrow Cadbury Trust, CDF, Big
Lottery and Trust for London
• *Strengthening civil society through social media;
28th February 2012, on-line discussion with
NatCAN, David Wilcox, Social Reporter
*Organiser and facilitator – Globalnet21

6. How many took part?
Civic crowd site 2,217 views , 1,546 visit (70% new)
Video views: 20 – 60 per video
Power points: slide share over 500 views
Guardian Q & A 1,100 views, 126 comments
Webinars Natcan, 70 thoughts, 466 views, 146 visits
BLF, 159 thoughts, 26 people, 2,159 views
Globalnet21 Community Matters, 21 online
Social Reporter, 35 online
But who took part and what did they gain/do ?

7. Actions
Proposed actions from the ‘kick start’ event:
o Community reporters
o Organising mentoring visits
o Supporting area based community development
workers
o Mapping local assets and networks
How do we know what happened next?

8. Questions
How does this compare with your experiences
with other social media in terms of:
The methods used to engage?
Level of participation?
Characteristics of participants?
Ongoing dialogue – beyond ‘event’?
Discussion or action?

9. Lessons learned 1
Time and timing
Marketing: the push and pull of social media
Issues of accessibility: digital exclusion, ‘ease of use’
and ‘comfort zones’
‘Competition’: does anything join up in social media?
Topics and topicality
Going viral…..easier said…….
From chat to change…..easier said……

10. Lessons learned 2
‘Mirroring’ the real world.
S/he who types fastest….
Meetings: both real and virtual – which facilitates
which?
Mind the technology gap!
Open or structured discussions?
Favourite tools for interaction
Overload of information and ideas
Different timing different audience different debate

11. Discussion questions
If social media is chat – does this matter and what does
it achieve?
Social media as ‘noise’; the ‘plethora of voices’ – a
strength or a weakness?
If social media is about change – what are the triggers
and techniques?
Who has power or control in social media?

12. Social media below the radar
Getting/using social media with and in below the radar
community groups:
Does it matter?
What might social media do?
What’s the strategy for success?
How do we ‘measure’ impact?