TNC2012 BoF: How can NRENs benefit from the use of social media?
22 May 2012
Introduction - Gitte Julin Kudsk (DEiC)
TF-CPR Work Item Overview - Domen Božeglav (ARNES)
Social media is no longer "just for kids".
ARNES now has very active FB, Twitter and LinkedIN profiles
ARNES covered RIPE NCC meeting on its Facebook site and saw large spike in interest - suggests technical people also using social media.
Around 2010 NRENs started using social media for marketing, communications, PR purposes, as seen in TF-CPR. Everyone was "minding his own 'social garden'", but work item was started to share know how. Started gathering information for an extensive study, but decided to stop and take a different approach: created a "Jumpstart Pack" with information about why to use use certain social media, which are best for different uses / audiences, and advice about using different social media, how to get started, monitor success etc. This received feddback from TF-CPR in February 2012. Needs final 'tweaking' then can be available as community tool.
ARNES also has been using Facebook for its Computer Security Incident Response Team's (CSIRT's) work to promote Internet 'safety'.
'Witness Report' - "Safe on the Internet – Use Case" - video presentation by Jasmina Mesić (ARNES)
The ARNES computer security response team has found Facebook to be useful for an awareness campaign about Internet safety.
Facebook is ususally seen as a source of risk and threats but after a year say it's an ally. Targeted adults 25-45-ish because use online banking and socila media. 3 posts per day. Take advantage of Facebook features: set up custom tabs such as online risks, report a scam, safety news, are you a web detective - users look for real-life scams and compete for prizes. Use timeline to landamrk milestones in network security.
FB page increased traffic to website = no. 1 referral, more efficient way of getting information than e.g. web banners, allows promotion of other channels. and connect with other organisations in the field.
4713 followers can share news with their public. This is the true potential of socila media.
Q's / discussion:
suing social media suceesfully takes a lot of work and time. If you go on holiday, figures drop. But it's easy to revive it.
Question: Who goes to the website compared to the Facebook pages? Domen: We looked into it, and we think we are reaching a wide community. Through friends of friends. We only have about 300 people following us, but they engaged by sharing or likes.
Results of Survey of Technical Task Forces - Laura Durnford (TERENA)
Laura: The work item so far has focused on Comms work, but this BoF would like to broaden the view. Survey send to all the taskforces.
...(more about survey from slides...)
Questions:
Valentino: Is the taskforces the right audiences to ask in this surveys / they might not nescearly belong to an nren. Laura one person answerede he didnt belong to a an NREN
2. TaskForces a froum for discussion using dinosaur technology, seems to be a lot of discussion about the topics in socia media Can we extend the use of social media? ... waiting for discussions...
Laura: The training in september focused also on the problems we had in using the social media - and some of the aspects are the same as the survey results show.
'Witness Report' - "Safe on the Internet – Use Case" - video presentation by Jasmina Mesić (ARNES)
Lars: how to use it for by to techies
people don;t want to hear frmPRs, they're on Sm to have personal comms - need particular reason for people to be interested, wnat to hear from people you know. but can be a source of trusted expertise - unerstand personal network. Unless something v specific such as the security eg.
NORDUnet tweet trouble tickets - useful for people elsewhere to keep tabs wthout having to go to website. Would appreciate blog with news from TFs - to post on central blog about meetings, outcomes etc. LArs ony reads emails if someone trusted tweets it and it points to something trusted.
needs support , needs guidelines, difference between company blog
Q: don't need a strategy for SM
Paul: GEANT - was required to write a strategy document "use your common sense"
a channel - don;t need a SM strategy, need a comms strategy that's a company comms strategy not a coms team strategy
'Witness Report' - "Safe on the Internet – Use Case" - video presentation by Jasmina Mesić (ARNES)
Andrew:
accidentally discovered blogging as the best platform - 177 posts in 2 yrs. Marketing team convinced him to tweet too. Are no guidelines so learning from everyone else. Blogging on reglatory issues wants it to be reliable but not authoritative, i.e. people trust it but don;t count it as legally correct. Janet community tells him if they think he's got something wrong but no-one at Janet does. Spends 1hr-1 day to produce each and company happy with that. Looks for role models in blogs and twitter - ok with blogs but not with twitter. Doubles tweets by saying "I'm reading a doc" and then "I've written a blog about it". Would like guidelines on e.g. tone, what to post where etc.
Can't my blog be more than just a way of publishing web content. Moving towards Drupal where every JAnet user can set up account and imteract - can I e.g. crowd source updates to old documents like I now do verbally? What is twitter for apart from advertoising blog posts. Someone in States has been sued for moving companies and taking followers with them.
Quality v quantit - particopant gave a speech In ALberta and someone from local govt said they read his ctical blogs and they decided to change their policy in response.
Question over personal/professional profiles.
Andrew: has clear split as spends no time online on personal basis
Brian, HEAnet: You can no longer ignore social media. Must have a strategy.
Magnus: The next generation of users have a different way of consuming information - blogs are great way of updating on projects etc. Readers will consume what they want to consume.
Laura: Is it easier to post technical information in a SMNR format?
FCCN: worked on strategy, but decided lack of resource said they would not do that. however have since started sending out technical information via twitter. Are other NRENs doing this?
CANARIE: they use it as a rich communicaton channel, and use it to start conversations and drive people to blogs, other material. They use their audience to help drive through change/opinion.
Laura: are we putting too much emphasis on social media? would training on how to use socme be useful to technical staff?
Cathrin: how do NREN directors experience techies tweeting in the NREN environment? Do PRs not like techies doing their job?
Brian: HEAnet employed comms manager to boost awareness. Can't be too formal about communications, but a slight relaxation is necessary. Don't get too worried about engineers tweeting. Employees should be trusted to be sensible without saying the wrong thing. They are trusted to do other things, why not trusted to tweet/blog.
?: Social media is happening without policy and/or guidance. We should focus on audience
CANARIE: avoid too much marketing filter - otherwise people
Laura: can we have concrete decisions
Should we bring training in for technical people?
Magnus: we should not have any guidelines
Cathrin – we do need guidelines, stay in areas, stay out so as to encourage involvement
RIPE NCC: strategy crafted through workshops involving rep from each department. Tweet PR stuff, vacancies, share knowledge. also valuable for learning/training. they ask for feedback on training material. Would not imagine receiving information any other way. If conversations get going on socme, perhaps they should move it to another platform (f2f, email etc. Obviously be careful what you say, just as you would if you went to the bar and started talking to people.
Andrew: given lots of responsibility, but there is a safety net.
Brian, Andrew, Cathrin, Robin winsor, Marcus and somebody from xxx (Dr Karagiannis Fotis) - all happy to take part in producing guidelines which will be offered to community.
Laura and Domen reminded of wiki and materials available there.