{"id":2048,"date":"2011-08-01T13:05:09","date_gmt":"2011-08-01T18:05:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/onthinktanks.org\/articles\/\/"},"modified":"2016-01-26T13:06:01","modified_gmt":"2016-01-26T18:06:01","slug":"making-the-most-of-social-media-liz-carlile","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/onthinktanks.org\/articles\/making-the-most-of-social-media-liz-carlile\/","title":{"rendered":"Making the most of social media: Liz Carlile"},"content":{"rendered":"
Liz Carlile, Director of Communications for the\u00a0International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), has published a briefing on\u00a0making the most of social media for international development purpose<\/a>s.<\/p>\n She addresses some of the opportunities that the world of the web has to offer. I have discussed some of these in this blog\u00a0in previous post<\/a>s.<\/p>\n In it she also addresses some key challenges: I particularly like her discussion on the \u00a0challenge that organisations face in relation to letting (or not) their employees and associates use the web and their brand. This is a key issue not often formally addressed by think tanks but dealt with in practice. You only have to read the Twitter accounts descriptions of many think tank staffers -most have to say that their views are their own. Even organisations like ODI and other think tanks tend to add disclaimers to their official publications: the opinions of the authors (even if full time employees) are not those of the employer.<\/p>\n And the same goes for the increasing number of personal blogs that researchers keep, the online communities they join and engage in as individuals, etc.<\/p>\n But the briefing, I think, is flawed in its excessive optimism for the importance of social media -and the internet. The same unfounded optimism that is present in discussions about mobile phones in Africa.<\/p>\n The facts provided to argue for the importance of the web are not specific to a) the development industry or b) the developing world. A third of the world may be online, but\u00a0only 5.7% of those online come from Africa<\/a>\u00a0(which is only 11% of the African population). And although the rate of growth in access has been dramatic (2000%) this does not imply that poor (or “most”) Africans are benefiting. Furthermore, we know that access often just means that someone has a computer near by. Being online cannot be equated to participating online.<\/p>\n