Facebook Success
In 2009, 90 per cent of 20-24 year olds in New Zealand had a Facebook page. Internationally, social media has an audience of millions, and a power and reach that has long been recognised by the private sector, which has capitalised on such sites for years.
The public sector has been slower to use this tool. In 2010, the New Plymouth District Council was one of the first in New Zealand to set up its own Facebook page - it now has hundreds of followers. Following this lead, Kaitake Community Board chair Doug Hislop created one for his board.
The page has proven a huge success. Doug is its main administrator and frequently posts information of interest to his community, from updated local bus timetables, to media releases, event information and videos on the Board's projects. It is also possible for others to post items of local interest on the website.
The frequent updates and interaction has created a following for the page. Locals now use it to post their own information and events as well they provide valuable feedback on the issues and items the Board posts.
What is more, the page has cost the board nothing to maintain, just time spent administering the site by the chair - a job he does with a passion.
Above all, Doug Hislop sees the page's core value is as a sounding board. "The community will tell you all kinds of things if you ask them, and their responses can give you an idea of how the community is feeling. This gives the board an extra opportunity to resolve an issue to locals' satisfaction, so that you end up with a community in which everyone wants to live," he concludes.
Download the Kaitake Community Board's 2011 Best Practice Award entry for this project here.
