Engaging the Public

On July 6th we organised an event which attracted around 35 people. The premise was that politics should be about engaging the public, informing them, interesting them, exciting them and involving them. Yet there is widespread disinterest, disengagement and distrust in our political system. This one-day event is designed for sharing ideas about why the public show disinterest and distrust and how we might consider re-engaging the public, encouraging people to get involved in politics. Our research focuses at the local and national level of politics. We will introduce ideas ranging from understanding the political consumer to how to engage and mobilise members of the public using the latest technologies and how to audit communication. This is how the day went:

The Promise and Problems of Online Deliberation

There is a fascinating report by Laura Black available free here which assesses the deliberative prospects offered by different forum design choices. The report includes a great schematic which gives an accessible overview of the implications design choices have for designing and hosting spaces that facilitate deliberative decision making. The question that is perhaps not answered is how to make people want to have a conversation in the first place, and then how to start that conversation - but for those with an audience that want to talk this gives some invaluable insights.

Research shows government departments do not use social media properly

Mark Pack highlights that government departments are in broadcast mode only and have reasonably few followers. See this video from PR Week. My own work (presented at the ECPR and currently being revised for publication) suggests there is a correlation here, that the more interactive you are, and the more personalised, the more people engage with your message.