Online interaction – possibilities and obstacles when working

with young people.

JOINA a project with focus on youth organizations and the use of social media.

Marita Isaksson project manager JOINA and freelance organization consult.

Kontaktnätet 2011-2012

Marita Isaksson

The project

Economy  

With support from The Swedish National Board for Youth Affairs.  

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Target group  

National organizations working with youth and their regional and local membership organizations.

 

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Main themes   •  Communication •  Knowledge •  Marketing

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Goal

•  Identify new ways to network and answer the questions: Where? When? and How?

•  Explore needs, possibilities and obstacles.

•  Gather and present inspiring examples.  

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The process

•  Live-broadcasted panel-discussions

•  Internet-surveys

•  Interviews

•  Report and inspiration

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The questions some of them …

•  What is social media? •  Positive? Negative? •  Risks, threats? •  Who is an organization in social media? •  Does social media promote democratic

structures? •  Is social media accessible? •  Is social media: Inclusive? Exclusive? •  Stress?

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The Answers some of them …  

On the positive side  

•  Direct contact •  Simple and easy •  Statistics •  Fast and effective •  Interaction •  Visibility creates attention •  Multifunctional

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On the negative side  

•  Impersonal •  Repetitive •  To much competition. •  Subjective •  Everything is available. •  Stressful •  Lost in the crowd •  Superficial •  Surveillance

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The identity of the organization  

•  The organization is both “we” and “I” depending on the media and interaction. Facebook is we but Twitter tends to move towards “I”

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Democratic structures  

•  Yes and no. Both examples where social media and interaction online can promote democratic structures and where they work the opposite way are available. The core is how they are used. And there tend to be some self-regulation.

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Accessible and inclusive?  •  Most people in Sweden have access to

internet, at home, in school or in public places (eg libraries).

•  Increased communication. •  Decrease in meetings in real life. •  Easy to join a discussion and find

networks. •  Cognition can be a hindrance as well as

mobility. •  Surveys (made by .SE) conclude that half of

the Swedish citizens do not feel included in todays information and digital society.

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StressFactors  

•  Hard to make the right choice, regarding media.

•  To much to choose from. •  The need to learn to filter the information. •  Rumors, stalking, lies, fake accounts. •  The risk of having your account hacked and

hijacked.

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The respondents were active primarily on Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, SoundCloud and Dayviews. They also mentioned Google+, YouTube, Vimeo, Instagram, Flickr, SlideShare, Bambuser, Vimeo, Blip.tv, Picasa and Wikipedia.

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The Insights some of them …  

Social media and online interaction are great tools but … there are some major disadvantages.    

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•  Everyone is there. •  Quick and easy way to get your message

out. •  Networking, communicating. •  Cost-effective – for free! •  Possibility to act fast and spread the word. •  Improved visibility.

 

On the plus-side …

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On the minus-side

•  Stress – a feeling that you must be online 24-7.

•  Promises made online don’t count in real life.

•  To build a vivid organization you need to meet people face-to-face.

•  For real involvement, commitment and participation social media and online interaction is not enough/not suitable.

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conclusion  

•  Online interaction is brilliant. It can be of great help and support. But to meet in person is still the thing. When you meet you bond, establish a solid connections and visions. This is essential for a well-functioning organization.

•  To network online and with the help from social media is useful in an initial phase and to nurture already established connections.

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•  Keep in mind that not everyone is online, can be online or wants to be online. Don’t forget to communicate, interact, involve and to keep in contact with them.

•  Make online communication and information accessible and including.

•  Plan your digital presence in order to avoid stress and to be overwhelmed with must-do.

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The future  Kontaktnätet are today using Facebook and in a few weeks we will present a new website. The intern communicating is kept active with the help of GoogleDocs. The organization is also using SlideShare and has tested vloging.

Marita is working on a master-thesis in philosophy exploring personal identity in digital environments.

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Thank You! Hope to see you soon again.

Marita Isaksson marita_isaksson@hotmail.com

@MaritaIsak www.kontaktnatet.se

Marita Isaksson