Social Reporting

Comment

Comment by Tim Davies on December 23, 2009 at 5:36pm

As a lot of the content we gathered at IGF has fallen off our aggregator page at http://www.netvibes.com/igf09 I've put together a prototype of a more static aggregator here: http://igf2009.practicalparticipation.co.uk/

One of the big issues about social reporting I'm reflecting on a lot right now is about the legacy of content gathered. Should it be allowed to fade out? Collated and made easier to navigate? Summarised in editorial pieces? The website at http://igf2009.practicalparticipation.co.uk/ has taken the collation approach - but I'm sure there are merits to exploring the other approaches also.

Comment by Mwende Njiraini on November 29, 2009 at 9:46pm

Social reporting using twitter at the IGF in Sharm was an excellent experience. Now we have transcripts catched in realtime that we can refer back to at any time. I hope to use social reporting for other public forums I attend.

Comment by Stephanie on November 28, 2009 at 8:38pm

Dear Tim,

I have just read your quick reflections on Social Reporting at the IGF, and I must say I thoroughly enjoyed it!

As someone who has attended other WSIS/IGF meetings, I can tell you that this year, Pete, Dejan and youself have made a lot of difference in a very positive way. This year, the Diplo fellows and extended friends have taken a hands-on, more focused approach into using the right tools to report. As a result, individuals who were not present at Sharm could really follow what was going on, almost as if they were present in Sharm.

As you said in your blog, the aim was not to replicate, but to capture those significant moments which a transcript is more inclined to treat as static. And even if some of the resulting blogs appear as mini-transcripts, at closer scrutiny one can still notice tell-tale signs of innuendos in the blogs, which add so much value to the blogs.

I think that what everyone benefited mostly from was the fact that Pete, Dejan and yourself taught the team how to use the social reporting tools *in a significant way*. For the Diplo team, the IGF was more than an event. It was the pinnacle of months (for some, years) of discussing and debating so many IG issues. Most of us (probably all) have gone through the IGCBP; most of the Diplo crowd knew each other already, whether online or offline. Being at the very heart of it all undoubtedly instigated every Diplo person to think, debate and react. And it was only natural that every person would feel the impulse of sharing it all.

But maybe the trick is to find the right tools, and to feel comfortable in using them, and this is where the team gained the most from this experience. I am not sure whether any of the team has had any previous training in social reporting, but the Saturday (Nov 14) training really helped us become very aware of social reporting and learn how to use the tools appropriately.
It is also true that when the event ends, things are just getting started, and this is very evident from the Diplo community website. Most of us are still getting back into gear and catching up at the workplace after being away for a week, but personally, I look forward to what’s next, and I honestly hope that the team will value all the training and keep putting it into good use.

Three cheers to you, Tim and Dejan!

Comment by Tim Davies on November 22, 2009 at 2:07pm

I've just put together some quick reflections on Social Reporting at the IGF here.