THE wonders of technology are being pushed forth as the Norn Iron executive is embracing the world of social media. Not only are they ‘tweeting’ links to their news releases, but the Executive ad several of its departments have launched their own Youtube channels.Some of the videos are looking quite well, and we await the Assembly questions about cost, but we have other concerns.
A cynic might say that the use of social media to directly connect with the citizenry is a conspiracy to cut out media interpretation. Having scanned the newspapers on a regular basis, the press releases are usually put in the papers with few attempts at critical analysis. Journalists have obviously better things to do…
But we believe that the Executive should take the next step. On each press release on their website there should be the ability to comment on said press release. That way the citizenry can comment on exactly what they think of the releases contents – or with their views on the Executive in general.
We suspect that this may be a step too far in engaging, transparently with the populace. To do so may mean that there will have to be a Ministerial Sub-Committee on the issue.
In the meantime congratulations to the NI Executive’s Twitterers for having the Executive’s Twitter feed reaching almost 700 followers. It’s just surprising how many of their followers are journalists and politicians – do they not get the press releases already?
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