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Social Media for the Scared for @GirlGuiding
This document provides an overview of social media and guidance on its use for youth organizations. It discusses what social media is, the opportunities it presents, and common fears around it. Major platforms like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogging and others are explained. Guidelines are presented around setting up profiles, engaging audiences, addressing concerns, and developing a social media strategy and approach. The document emphasizes seeing social media's potential for connection, sharing ideas and resources, while maintaining safety, ethics and alignment with organizational policies.
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Social Media for the Scared for @GirlGuiding
- 1. SOCIAL MEDIA FOR THESCARED Dr Bex Lewis, Digital Fingerprint http://j.mp/sms-guides February 2015 for: http://www.girlguiding.org.uk This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International
- 2. Today’s Session • Introductions •What is social media? • Why bother with social media? • Introducing: social media culture • Why is there so much fear? • Where to Share? The toolbox Opportunities, ethics and etiquette • Facebook • Twitter • YouTube • Blogging • Other • Basic Strategies: Who/When?
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- 5. Let’s “tweet” eachother…“Let’s Tweet Each Other”
- 6. WHAT IS SOCIALMEDIA?
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- 8. Even though inpractice, face-to-face communication can, of course, be angry, negligent, resistant, deceitful and inflexible, somehow it remains the ideal against which mediated communication is judged as flawed. Prof Sonia Livingstone, Children and the Internet: Great Expectations and Challenging Realities. 2009, p26
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- 10. Don’t look to“PUBLISH” but to “CONVERSE” Image Credit: SXC.Hu
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- 17. Image Credit: PurchasedStockfresh Social Media: More than the cherry on the cake!
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- 19. WHY IS THERESO MUCH FEAR? Image Source: RGBStock
- 20. An incredible new technologyenables the transmission of text on a worldwide basis. It rapidly reduces production and distribution costs and for the first time allows large numbers of people to access text and pictures in their own homes.
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- 23. A moral panicmay be defined as an episode, often triggered by alarming media stories and reinforced by reactive laws and public policy, of exaggerated or misdirected public concern, anxiety, fear, or anger over a perceived threat to social order. http://www.ashgate.com/pdf/SamplePages/Ashgate-Research- Companion-to-Moral-Panics-Intro.pdf Image Credit: Stockfresh
- 24. Human Beings at machines,not “are machines” Image Source: Stockfresh
- 25. Image Credit: http://www.jiscdigitalmedia.ac.uk/video-assist DigitalLiteracy (JISC) “digital literacy defines those capabilities which fit an individual for living, learning and working in a digital society”
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- 29. 7 Essentials forFacebook
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- 31. 2: Write onWalls
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- 33. Managing Expectations While wewelcome members’ posts, comments and feedback on Facebook, Girlguiding is a non-political organisation and we reserve the right to remove or delete any posts that are of an overtly political nature, that infringe Facebook’s Terms of Service, that are identified as spam, that are designed to cause offence or otherwise detract from the positive experience of the majority of our Facebook users. https://www.facebook.com/girlguidinguk/info?tab=page_info
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- 36. This is anunofficial group for members of Girlguiding to share ideas & thoughts about anything involved in Guiding. Stuck for game ideas? Looking for a new badge to work through? Got a dilemma in your unit? Come & chat here in the group with fellow Guiders for ideas; any info you need, any questions you’d like to ask, stick them in the group. All we ask is that you try & keep on topic as much as you can. We don’t mind the odd occasional bit of randomness though! Racist, rude & discriminatory posts will be deleted, in line with official Girlguiding recommendations. Please do not post anything that may bring Girlguiding into disrepute. Although we are an unofficial group and not endorsed by Girlguiding, we always want to adhere to official policy within the group, so please keep this in mind before posting. We would particularly like to highlight Girlguiding online policy, which we would like you to think about before posting in the group, particularly with regards to posting pictures. The policy can be found here - https://www.girlguiding.org.uk/members_area__go/running_your_unit/safety/communication__onli ne_safety.aspx (You will need to log into Go! to view the page). If you haven’t already read the pages there, please have a look. When posting pictures of girls, as long as you have written permission from the parents before you put them up and avoid mentioning full names or other information that could reveal their identities, then it is allowed. If admins see anything posted where a child can be identified and no permission is ascertained, info will be deleted. If you want to sell anything in this group keep it Guiding related. We're all badge addicts and happy to see badges being sold on here, old uniform and equipment, anything like that as long as it's Guiding related. Any posts selling stuff not related (ie. not craft/badge/uniform) will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. People signing up just to advertise their business will likely be deleted. Posts advertising non- Guiding-related businesses will also be deleted. Lots of new people are asking to join, & we try hard to keep spambots & profiles out of the group; it's always possible that someone may slip through the net either way. If you are human(!) & believe we have rejected your request in error, please send us a message & let us know.
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- 38. 6: The LikeButton
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- 40. We can seethe potential for…
- 41. Image Credit: Landingnet.co.uk 10Essentials for Twitter
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- 51. 10: It’s goodfor… • New connections via shared interests • Building your “brand” • Pre/During/Post Event Conversations • Breaking news • Asking questions • Sharing good resources • Sharing pithy statements/quotes • Being “polemical”
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- 53. We can seethe potential for…
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- 63. We can seethe potential for…
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- 65. Ideas for Content? •“See what we’ve been up to” • Thoughts & Reflections • Reviews (Books, films, websites) etc) • Ideas for debate • Interviews (Text, Audio, Video) • ‘Best Of’ Content • ‘How-to’ Posts • 10 things you can… • Guest Posts Image credit: RGBStock
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- 67. Think About • Whoare you blogging for? • How often can you blog? • What style of blog will you use? • What content can you produce? • What do you want Google to find? • Who else can you bring on board?
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- 74. We can seethe potential for…
- 75. Principles of GoodEngagement •Be interesting •Be encouraging •Be active •Be helpful •Be authentic Image Credit: Stockfresh
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- 77. Who does socialmedia?
- 78. Who is YOURaudience? •Who are you interested in reaching/listeni ng to? •What ‘problems’ are you seeking to solve for them? Image Credit: Purchased Stockfresh
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- 82. Youth Leaders: AFew Thoughts! • Look for the opportunities for discussion and connection • Build into policies about e.g. dealing with pastoral issues. • Establish accountability procedures, e.g. another leader in Private Message conversations • Ensure your groups understand you can’t give counselling and may have to pass on the information they share if at harm • Define curfews and acceptability of what can be shared – publically or privately Advice from Paul Windo, Urban Saints
- 83. Youth Leaders: AFew Thoughts! • Permissions/Consent • Seek permissions from parents for contacting young people via email, mobile or other platform. • Establish consent for the use of photographs for publicity, on group websites, or placing on Facebook. • Consider creating a catchall statement to place upon registration forms, which assumes these permissions unless parents opt-out. • Language • Use clear, unambiguous language, avoiding abbreviations that can be mis-interpreted. For example LOL typically means ‘Laugh Out Loud’, but can also read as ‘Lots of Love’. • Take care how you sign off in communications. Avoid e.g. “luv” or “xxx” Advice from Paul Windo, Urban Saints Image Credit: Stockfresh
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- 85. What is yourONE takeaway action?
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Editor's Notes
- #2 Goals of this session: What exactly is social media (and why do I need to worry about it?) ? What does social media culture look like? Get a sense of how social media can be useful for you both personally and professionally.
- #3 930am start Social Media for the Scared for Girlguiding Does the rest of the Girlguiding community seem to be using social media to interact, but you have no idea how to do it? Feeling rather overwhelmed? Come and gain an overview of social media, and get excited by the possibilities! Who is this training for? This course is designed for those with little or no experience of social media, particularly those lacking the confidence to engage with it. Aim: This half-day course will give you the confidence and skills to get started with social media (no computer required). Content You’ll be offered a whistle-stop tour of the current state of social media, face some of the fears you may have about using social media, understand the range of tools available, and study examples of projects where such tools have been used successfully. Learning Outcomes By the end of this course you will be able to: Understand why you need to be taking part in the digital world, particularly social media. Recognise the opportunities offered by tools such as Twitter, Facebook, blogging, and YouTube. Comprehend how to conduct yourself online - the ethics and etiquette of social media. Appreciate some basic strategies to manage your online engagement.
- #4 … Hello, introduce self… (latest version of Twitter) - This book written to help fight against ‘moral panics’ – we’ve survived every other technological development … and we need to think what differences it makes to our lives … but not be over-awed by it all… Covers a lot of digital culture, designed to take the fear out of using it – seen as the biggest sticking point for most… so useful for all, but with particular focus on those aspects that affect kids
- #5 Wondering how many of you are (confident) social media users? FB, Twitter, or what? How much can you tell about me from the 160 characters – quite a bit, a few connection points maybe, but not everything – e.g. no mention that I have a Baden-Powell Trefoil and got halfway through my warrant before I started travelling so much…
- #6 5 mins (could do with cards with people’s names on) Social Media – all about RELATIONSHIPS, so we are going to start by getting to know each other as if we are on Twitter … in some ways we are looking at the kind of issues that will arise, including some exercises that you could do with youth groups..
- #7 940am Think about what you are trying to achieve… if achieving is “we’re having an experiment with social media”, that’s OK too… otherwise what is
- #8 … this is what many people think the internet is about … just a big ‘timesuck’, but thankfully the attitude is changing amongst those I’m meeting – question changing from ‘why should we waste our time’, to ‘we know we need to get with it, but we don’t know how…’
- #9 What do we think about this as a quote … and also how much do we value written communication? discuss
- #10 Commonality – finding a starting point & getting to know each other – essential building blocks of any evangelism, etc… with a strong focus on LISTENING! You’re looking to provide information, engage in dialogue, listen to your audience … build a community who will be interested in the other things that you do .. Expect that these next few days will take some time to digest … it can seem like a lot of information, but this is intended to challenge, enable strategy and move us forward.
- #11 Not PUBLISHING, but looking for CONVERSATIONS/relationship building.. We started with that exercise as a chance to get to know a little something about someone else – we don’t need to know it all .. But we connect over shared interests…
- #12 What is social media? http://youtu.be/MpIOClX1jPE Best part of 4 mins, still the best video, even though it’s really old … discuss what makes feel?
- #13 Think about what you are trying to achieve… if achieving is “we’re having an experiment with social media”, that’s OK too… otherwise what is Better question often is, what am I missing out on if I don’t join in ..
- #14 SMALL GROUP WORK FOR 5 mins, then feed in/discuss Emphasise am focusing on the POSITIVES, not the negatives… what possibilities do you see?
- #15 Understand the Culture… In the same way as if you went to work overseas, you’d seek to understand some of the customs and the language, and this is what we want to get you feeling excited about your adventures into the online spaces, and starting to see the potential for Guiding work…
- #16 Qualman – just over 3 mins (business focused, but worth thinking about…, comes from a marketing perspective, would you quibble with any of the stats? Anything in particular strike you? http://youtu.be/zxpa4dNVd3c
- #17 Organisations made up of the people inside them… friends will become your ‘advocates’ - If I share something, my friends may see it – far more than if just the organisation does – so you are looking for things that people might want to share! (Push/Pull)
- #18 Needs to be built into everything that you do, not a last minute afterthought… but sending a tweet once you’ve done everything else you’ve needed, rather than thinking about how it works as part of the WHOLE picture and thinking you’ve “done” social media = a problem. http://stockfresh.com/image/873908/cherries-on-top-of-frosted-cake
- #19 SMALL GROUP WORK FOR 5 mins, then feed in/discuss Now’s your chance to talk about the things that are worrying you, where you see the risks, and we’ll see how we can deal with those, but note, if we spend too long worrying about the things we fear, we spend too long fighting them & not enough time taking advantage of the potentials…
- #24 Anecdotal evidence supports Baym’s (2013: 1) findings that when new forms of communication are introduced, people either feel that personal relationships are under threat as communication becomes increasingly shallow, or excitement is felt as opportunities for newer and stronger connections is felt. Either way, our social connections are changing in a digital age.
- #25 Importance of online/offline (rather than virtual/real)… Always remember that there is a human being at the other end of the keyboard The Long tail..
- #26 JISC – organization I work with particularly interested in HE/FE – this is their definition – think is a helpful working definition, and I think is something we want for girls to leave Guides at (not a particular responsibility – alongside schools, parents, etc but is a useful space which allows for peer-to-peer conversations).
- #27 1030am
- #29 [Official age 13 for many, but many younger online … my nieces, neither is 10 yet, both have limited access via MP3 players – so can now connect via WhatsApp (parent’s responsibility to look at who they connect with).
- #30 Despite the fact that kids say this is ‘no longer cool’, it is still a core site used ‘because everyone is on it’, but the day-to-day activity happens elsewhere.
- #31 Basics of all – FB strong on being a ‘personal account’ and doesn’t allow duplicate a/cs – may get away with it but if they decide – can shut both down… “Vicky Feldwick facebook is fantastic for communication between leaders when planning meetings etc. It's fast, free and can be on the move as well.” “Jenine Davey I use Facebook in a personal and Guiding capacity. We have secret groups for our Rainbows, Brownies and Guides, as well as a closed group for leaders in our Division. I'm also a member of tons of Guiding groups that we use for badge swapping, ideas, advice, etc. I have a personal Twitter account and a personal Pinterest page with boards for various categories of crafts for events, special occasions, holidays etc.”
- #32 Share messages via walls – see here can add location, photos, emoticons and choose who to share with, etc… Remember that you may be FB friends with congregation – how does that change the kind of things that you might write/share? (Pete Broadbent, the guy who was like ‘ooof- a sermon tomorrow’, etc.) …
- #33 External facing … everything’s open here… build relationships
- #35 How much can we find out about people – what posts are effective and worth doing more of? Organic reach = harder…
- #36 This is the main group on Facebook for those working with Gguiding, are also sub-groups for Rainbows, Brownies, etc. and units can have their own groups. “Jennie Reeves Use fb and text to communicate. But still print forms as so many people seem to have issues with emailing of forms. I don't like twitter or public Facebook as photos of the girls can be seen by public and to be honest I would rather parents publish the pictures and then I'm not liable. We do also have a guide who isn't allows photos on social media. For this I do my upmost to prevent photos of her being published.” “Emma Gale I use email and text to communicate with my Brownie parents (text is reserved for times when I need to communicate quickly as I know parents don't read emails every day). I am assistant leader at Rangers, and we have a closed group for all the girls and leaders. We also use text and email for communicating with them (their choice). I keep in contact with my leaders via email mostly (easiest for us as we work different hours). I use Facebook to keep in contact with my LiT that is off at university. We have set up a closed Facebook group for Brownies to share photos mainly, but haven't actually used it yet.” “Alison Hartley We use closed fb pages for district and trefoil , I am struggling a bit to sort it for my unit, and new to twitter not sure I get it yet but great ways to communicate” “Emma Maudsley I use FB to communicate with my parents (secret page), to talk to other Leaders (public and private pages) and to promote GG in my County (I run a public page for this). I also have a personal twitter @TawnyOwlEmma and I run our Division twitter account @LancGarstDiv. I use instagram for my business @sockmonkeyemporiumuk and have posted GG stuff on there too tagging @girlguiding in my posts. Oh and I use Pinterest to create boards for Brownie holidays, badges etc www.pinterest.com/SockMonkeyEmp” Note: Public, Open, Closed … this is a closed group.. Lots of practical discussions about ideas that can be shared, how to get ££ off those non-payers, etc. but also recognise that there may be parents on there, not just guiders! Good place to “turn” a conversation before something “goes bad”, but more positively, allows creativity!
- #37 .. Which is also what you’d want for unit groups, so parents can join, and so don’t have to be friends with the members Hot Topics – e.g. the uniform - https://www.facebook.com/groups/2247586524/permalink/10152152963736525/ - 94 comments – a great insight into what your members truly think … (note the expectation to be consulted – not that unusual in the communication age) [Responsibility of working with an age-group for Guiding+ who are legitimately allowed on FB, etc. – affects the group dynamics online/offline]
- #38 Don’t expect the number coming to match the number identified… but gives people an opportunity to invite their friends, etc… and reminders to appear in the timeline … may work particularly for Guiders who may use Facebook more…
- #39 That network effect – among friends – leverage people’s pre-existing relationships – let people share a story fast … (but typically need to build them up as a regular user first) http://a.abcnews.com/images/Technology/ht_facebook_old_new_like_button_ll_131106_16x9_992.jpg
- #40 Tweets = 140 characters long…
- #41 Quick post-it notes into the discussion, or ongoing on a flip chart? 1050am
- #42 1105am Let’s look at one of the fastest growing tools out there… Lots of people have this response to Twitter, but it’s got a growing user base … a couple of years ago had about 100 million active users, now nearly 300 million… http://www.landingnet.co.uk/blog/the-truth-about-all-this-twitter-ing-twoddle/
- #43 Tweets = 140 characters long… (thinking throughout how much of this might you share?)
- #44 140 characters OR less … can be shared… Explain send one small message and cascades out .. Message gets bigger with each RT – I have 7k followers, someone with 40k RTs – they are saying message is worth listening to .. And all their audience may see it too…. Moderated Retweet (esp to make it shorter), and Hat-Tip … all about collaboration, acknowledging the source, etc…
- #45 Ability to REPLY … (see here) What like about this – timeliness, friendliness, taking responsibility even though it was for a different company… is possible to just broadcast, but …
- #46 “Twitter brings you closer to the things you are passionate about - and for millions of people across the globe that is faith.” http://news.sky.com/story/1022800/senior-bishops-to-tweet-christmas-sermons Easy to find people … if know who they are – the ‘search’ up the top … read their bio, and click ‘follow’ = easy to ‘unfollow’ afterwards... Don’t forget to ‘piggyback’
- #47 We saw this at the beginning, 160 characters – particularly to manage expectations – Who, When, What Get inspiration from looking at what other Guiding units do… [Find a Guiding ‘name’ – e.g. the main GG Twitter a/c]
- #48 How many to use, how to create a new one, use them in other publicity , etc. prospective pitfalls.. Keep it short, consistent, advertise it beforhand, let people know about it (don’t try and take over an organic hashtag), make sure it makes sense and that it’s not already in use for something else… Go live online to see some in action…
- #49 Show how to change to other areas, be aware of tailored trends, etc. Have fun joining in …
- #51 Katy Perry, Justin Bieber, Barack Obama = top 3 accounts followed by others… wanted to find someone mentioned as a ‘known’ ex-Guide! Understanding a ‘verified’ person .. Doesn’t mean they not ‘real’ if don’t have one, but if they do, have been verified by Twitter…
- #52 Don’t forget = it’s PUBLIC, PUBLIC!
- #54 Quick post-it notes into the discussion, or ongoing on a flip chart?
- #55 1130am Remember this is Tweens, so pre-13 … don’t necessarily need an account to watch YouTube, which do for other accounts. YouTube = the second largest search engine after Google… NOTE: These are those that are underage, although 13+ = similar … few other sites not mentioned here…
- #56 YouTube = 2nd largest search engine … often for ‘how to….’ – how might we change what comes up at the top of the search rankings – bearing in mind just creating something won’t appear… https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=how+to+girlguiding
- #57 The official channel … this particular video had decent number of views as it taps into topics in the news today…
- #58 Nearly 50 million views…. Watched because was shared on FB … (5 mins)
- #59 There is no magic bullet – create upload optimise amplify… (2.5mins)
- #60 People actually make a decision within about 30 seconds… think about the stories you can tell them, and how you can connect with them for the kinds of things that they will be searching for! http://minimatters.com/blog/youtube-best-video-length/ There’s no magic bullet – create, upload, optimise, amplify
- #61 Interesting range of topics… and noted that the topics that people are particularly interested in, they will watch for longer… e.g. the Kony video was about 20-30 mins long… “We also saw that, contrary to popular wisdom about what goes viral, neither “difficult” subjects nor fact-filled presentations scare people off. Nearly 20% of the people who watched a deep dive into American health care policy thought it was worth passing along to their friends. A powerful historical video of a teacher giving her young students a firsthand lesson in bigotry was viewed more than 3 million times. And four of the posts in the top 100 were about the important (but thoroughly unsexy) topic of income inequality.” http://blog.upworthy.com/post/72763554347/the-most-upworthy-topics-of-2013
- #62 Not just YouTube – other devices, inc Vine- http://www.buzzfeed.com/juliapugachevsky/most-remarkable-stop-motion-vines-of-2013 – the power of 6 seconds, again, viral? Vine has just launchedVine Apps for Children - http://www.adweek.com/socialtimes/vine-launches-vine-kids-a-looped-video-app-for-children/614100 (hand-selected for those 5 and under)…
- #63 More videos accessed and made – on the move – mobile data still not amazing – so short, rough & ready = order of the day. Children most likely to have mobile as their first ‘independent’ digital device …
- #64 Quick post-it notes into the discussion, or ongoing on a flip chart?
- #65 1150am Largely informal … reverse diary … tends to do commentary on a particular subject, range of content … more interested in a consistent readership than trying to reach everyone…
- #66 Cut content in half, and then again … avg 350-500 words or short blog posts, etc… but remember are always reasons to break a rule…
- #67 What sites have inspired them – some suggestions we can use if not others – think about what makes the different sites work? We’re going to spin through a few that might inspire you … then what do you think? Typical 7 of this, etc… old trick from newspapers, although is somewhat of a resistance to it.. Secular inspiration – what does the world love to read? http://www.buzzfeed.com http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/tech/ http://www.reasonsmysoniscrying.com
- #68 Use a simple software such as Wordpress.com… use other tools where have built relationships and hashtags to draw people in to invite as bloggers…
- #69 What do people have time/inclination for? People find it easy to write/read … increasing numbers using these formats though – don’t forget about them… carry audio recorder around.. (or apps such as soundcloud…)
- #70 Rich term - https://www.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=Girlguiding&term_meta%5B%5D=Girlguiding%7Ctyped On FB group: “Beth Pinky Jenkinson Pinterest is amazing for craft ideas!” http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/visual-content-for-social-media/
- #71 Possibilities for e.g. photo a day, encourage contributions around hashtags, etc.
- #72 So, a reminder of big platforms… Google+ can affect search engine results, but most people I know rarely use it; LinkedIn for corporate connections – so can be useful for that, as is a less ‘social’ platform so many managers will join it first, Foursquare uses GPS to log in…
- #73 Snapchat important to know about… really popular with those of Guiding age … most using innocently, but is also known as the sexting app.. https://www.snapchat.com/privacy
- #74 Not mentioned in that list, but was becoming popular just about the time I wrote my book… part of a pattern of increasingly private 1-2-1 or 1-2-many … cannot broadcast into these spaces so reliant upon that network of networks we talk about at the beginning…
- #75 Quick post-it notes into the discussion, or ongoing on a flip chart?
- #76 … and don’t forget the cat.
- #77 1215pm http://www.rgbstock.com/photo/nFX8EEi/Chess
- #78 The person with the passion for it, the good communicator – the driving instructor, rather than the mechanic – the communicator rather than the computer geek….
- #79 Problems – are there any have an idea of where the digital might help? Then feed back in – will we have a flipboard … let’s hold onto some of those, and start to think about what digital tools might help solve them…
- #80 Range of tools – timing – need to be consistent, but can “bulk prepare” so long as don’t then leave it and not re-engage… need to get to know your audience and know when they interact with things – with social media platforms, give a sense of ‘expectations’…
- #82 Here’s my suggestions for a ‘daily workout’ – anticipated to take around 20 minutes a day… worth the investment – really has to look active to generate interest!
- #83 Youth Workers/Leaders Similar advice to that for teachers applies to many in youth work, including taking particular care over the information you share online. A 2009 survey emphasized that many in youth work end up engaging and working with socially excluded young people and young people with complex needs. These groups may lack the access to technology, and are more vulnerable to risks when they are engaged with online social networking. Paul Windo, Communications Manager for Urban Saints, emphasises that youth leaders have great opportunities to befriend the young people they work with, and to engage them in debates about issues such as identity, self-worth, belonging, and integrity. There are also great opportunities to make use of the tools in a practical way: As a youth leader, it is a very convenient way of messaging and informing members of our youth group, and inviting them to events and [connecting with] each other when we're not together… Sadly for your child to be the only one in a group NOT to have access to Facebook can itself be a matter for isolation - they may not get invitations to youth events for example, and ridicule and bullying for being the 'odd one out'. (Parent, 16-19) Policies and Guidelines Social media needs to be considered within overall policy decisions, including developing policies for how youth leaders will deal with pastoral questions, and suicidal “cries for help”, including an easily accessible list of contacts available for staff to use. Paul Windo returns to give us some advice: Permissions/Consent Seek permissions from parents for contacting young people via email, mobile or other platform. Establish consent for the use of photographs for publicity, on group websites, or placing on Facebook. Consider creating a catchall statement to place upon registration forms, which assumes these permissions unless parents opt-out. Language Use clear, unambiguous language, avoiding abbreviations that can be mis-interpreted. For example LOL typically means ‘Laugh Out Loud’, but can also read as ‘Lots of Love’. Take care how you sign off in communications. Avoid e.g. “luv” or “xxx”. Protecting Yourself as a Youth Leader In using communications technology, great care must be taken to ensure that both the young people and the leaders/workers responsible are not put at risk and that there are clear boundaries in place and means of accountability provided. Accountability Publish and display ‘guidelines’ that both leaders and young people have contributed to – especially where there is unsupervised Internet usage. Be prepared to allow access to your social networking accounts to your line manager. If you would have a second leader in the room if you were meeting face-to-face, ensure that others are CC into emails or Facebook messages. Save any potentially abusive emails, or disclosures of abuse, either for future reference, or to be passed onto the appropriate person. Confidentiality In digital communications with youth/children, be aware that they may be prepared to disclose more than they would face-to-face. Ensure that those in your groups understand that you are not qualified to provide counselling (unless you are!), but can give general advice within a personal capacity. Consider adding a disclaimer such as this as to what you may do with their information: If there is a concern, e.g. that the sender or someone else, particularly a child, may be at risk of serious harm, we may need to share those concerns. In such circumstances we would inform the sender giving details of who would be contacted and what information would be given. Boundaries Consider having a dedicated mobile phone/social-networking page specifically for work, which provides more accountable interaction with young people and protects your personal privacy. Note that Facebook terms and conditions do not allow users to have more than one profile. It’s not recommended to keep images of young people on personal devices – these should be downloaded and stored on organisational devices. Define curfews for exchanges of instant/direct messaging on social media. Some further resources http://network.youthworkonline.org.uk An online community to debate the impact of digital technologies on work with young people; and about the policy or practices of digital youth work. http://www.youthworkessentials.org Developed by ‘You Scotland’, a set of resources designed to help you develop quality and inclusive programmes for young people. http://youthworktoolbox.com A site set up by a UK practitioner to share advice, guidance and resources, which have all been tested and proven to be effective. http://www.cypnow.co.uk/category/disciplines/youth-work An offshoot of the magazine designed for professionals working in the sector. ‘Youth Work and Social Networking Final Research Report’, Tim Davies and Pete Cranston, http://blog.practicalparticipation.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/fullYouth-Work-and-Social-Networking-Final-Report.pdf, September 2008 ‘Help – I want to communicate safely’ http://www.ccpas.co.uk/keyfacts/
- #84 Youth Workers/Leaders Similar advice to that for teachers applies to many in youth work, including taking particular care over the information you share online. A 2009 survey emphasized that many in youth work end up engaging and working with socially excluded young people and young people with complex needs. These groups may lack the access to technology, and are more vulnerable to risks when they are engaged with online social networking. Paul Windo, Communications Manager for Urban Saints, emphasises that youth leaders have great opportunities to befriend the young people they work with, and to engage them in debates about issues such as identity, self-worth, belonging, and integrity. There are also great opportunities to make use of the tools in a practical way: As a youth leader, it is a very convenient way of messaging and informing members of our youth group, and inviting them to events and [connecting with] each other when we're not together… Sadly for your child to be the only one in a group NOT to have access to Facebook can itself be a matter for isolation - they may not get invitations to youth events for example, and ridicule and bullying for being the 'odd one out'. (Parent, 16-19) Policies and Guidelines Social media needs to be considered within overall policy decisions, including developing policies for how youth leaders will deal with pastoral questions, and suicidal “cries for help”, including an easily accessible list of contacts available for staff to use. Paul Windo returns to give us some advice: Permissions/Consent Seek permissions from parents for contacting young people via email, mobile or other platform. Establish consent for the use of photographs for publicity, on group websites, or placing on Facebook. Consider creating a catchall statement to place upon registration forms, which assumes these permissions unless parents opt-out. Language Use clear, unambiguous language, avoiding abbreviations that can be mis-interpreted. For example LOL typically means ‘Laugh Out Loud’, but can also read as ‘Lots of Love’. Take care how you sign off in communications. Avoid e.g. “luv” or “xxx”. Protecting Yourself as a Youth Leader In using communications technology, great care must be taken to ensure that both the young people and the leaders/workers responsible are not put at risk and that there are clear boundaries in place and means of accountability provided. Accountability Publish and display ‘guidelines’ that both leaders and young people have contributed to – especially where there is unsupervised Internet usage. Be prepared to allow access to your social networking accounts to your line manager. If you would have a second leader in the room if you were meeting face-to-face, ensure that others are CC into emails or Facebook messages. Save any potentially abusive emails, or disclosures of abuse, either for future reference, or to be passed onto the appropriate person. Confidentiality In digital communications with youth/children, be aware that they may be prepared to disclose more than they would face-to-face. Ensure that those in your groups understand that you are not qualified to provide counselling (unless you are!), but can give general advice within a personal capacity. Consider adding a disclaimer such as this as to what you may do with their information: If there is a concern, e.g. that the sender or someone else, particularly a child, may be at risk of serious harm, we may need to share those concerns. In such circumstances we would inform the sender giving details of who would be contacted and what information would be given. Boundaries Consider having a dedicated mobile phone/social-networking page specifically for work, which provides more accountable interaction with young people and protects your personal privacy. Note that Facebook terms and conditions do not allow users to have more than one profile. It’s not recommended to keep images of young people on personal devices – these should be downloaded and stored on organisational devices. Define curfews for exchanges of instant/direct messaging on social media. Some further resources http://network.youthworkonline.org.uk An online community to debate the impact of digital technologies on work with young people; and about the policy or practices of digital youth work. http://www.youthworkessentials.org Developed by ‘You Scotland’, a set of resources designed to help you develop quality and inclusive programmes for young people. http://youthworktoolbox.com A site set up by a UK practitioner to share advice, guidance and resources, which have all been tested and proven to be effective. http://www.cypnow.co.uk/category/disciplines/youth-work An offshoot of the magazine designed for professionals working in the sector. ‘Youth Work and Social Networking Final Research Report’, Tim Davies and Pete Cranston, http://blog.practicalparticipation.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2009/08/fullYouth-Work-and-Social-Networking-Final-Report.pdf, September 2008 ‘Help – I want to communicate safely’ http://www.ccpas.co.uk/keyfacts/
- #85 Return to this for a final time… if there’s lots of time, open to Q&As, if not, quick whip round…
- #87 Between 3-4pm … Final word – remember – there is always a human being at the other end of the keyboard… think before you type… Questions?