In my role I have not engaged with social media in a way where we opened up the page for people to comment. In effect we would use it announce new content that would link users back to our website which contained more comprehensive information. What has proven to be quite popular for discussions and social organizing in South Africa has been whatsapp groups. In that sense I have seen groups coming together at national level as representatives in the SANAC Civil Society Forum, to local level for community activists.
Since Anne’s presentation I have started to consider how a platform like facebook can actually open up the discussion to new perspectives and voices that can otherwise be missed if one opts for closed chains of communication. I could see how a communications plan with well developed key messages on which relevant stakeholders and champions have been trained could open up greater participation and correct understanding.
