How Youth Organizations Use Web Presence
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Transcript of How Youth Organizations Use Web Presence
Communicating citizenship online: the web presence of youth organizations
Janelle WardErasmus University Rotterdam
The Netherlands
questions to consider
• how do organizations use their web presence?
• how do they view their supporters in this digital space?
• how can we better understand their web strategy and the choices they make regarding web content?
key terms
• the conventional realm of citizenship
• a mainstream, more traditional means to citizenship: casting a vote, joining a political party, or engaging with government (youth are apathetic here!)
key terms
• the non-conventional realm of citizenship
• encourages participation outside traditional arenas: campaigning for a single issue, like environment or animal rights (youth are more involved here!)
key terms
• one-way online communication: Generally based on a broadcast model (sender to receiver), and is primarily informative in nature
key terms
• interactive online communication: Two-way communication: response and feedback
• ‘transactional’ interactivity: Gathering information from visitors
• ‘coproductive’ interactivity: Encourages users to respond to the org and to other supporters (e.g., enabling comments and feedback)
my research
• 2007: interviewed representatives of 21 youth-focused organizations (civic or political) in the UK
• 2007-2008: analyzed interview findings, compared these findings to online content
• 2010: revisited these organizations online to see how they had incorporated social media (Facebook and Twitter)
overview of organizations
• information portals
• political party youth branches
• connecting youth with government
• single issues/campaigning organizations
• youth and global citizenship
results: youth organization web strategy
• website as an information provision tool: orgs were positive about the educative function, increased reach, and cost effectiveness
• information provision was, not surprisingly, primarily via one-way communication
results: youth organization web strategy
• inform then involve: an automatic process; flowing from accurate information
• most had no explicit tie to web content
• those that did demonstrated a mix of online and offline action
results: youth organization web strategy
• inform then involve:
• transactional interactivity common (contact producer, provide personal information, become a member)
• coproductive interactivity not often present, though considered an area for future improvement
results: youth organization web strategy
• the ultimate goal: create engaged citizens
• campaigns important, but with a desire to build life-long activists/citizens
• youth encouraged to use their voice, but only in pre-approved directions (socialization)
the move to social media
• as of April 2010, 7 out of 21 orgs had linked to social media (Facebook and Twitter)
the move to social media
• strategic: to establish a presence on a popular social media platform
• an alternative space to be interactive (website can just be brochureware)
• Facebook: transparent - though superficial - interaction with supporters
• Twitter: mainly used as a broadcasting medium
conclusions
• how do organizations use their web presence?
• how do they view their supporters in this digital space?
• how can we better understand their web strategy and the choices they make regarding web content?
conclusions
• in terms of web strategy, all organizations had a similar prescription for success: no large differences were seen between, say, an organization focused on Parliament and one focused on protesting against Parliament
• organizations want to be more interactive with supporters, but most are (still) not doing it. Why not?
• social media presence is no guarantee of interactive content
thanks for your attention!
• The book: Communicating Citizenship Online. Hampton Press: 2012
• Email: [email protected]
• Twitter: @janelle_ward