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Ontario Government Considers Facebook Consultation
from the may-want-to-unblock-it-first dept
The Ontario Premier says he wants to engage young people in dialogue on Facebook (via Michael Geist) over protests against proposed restrictions on young drivers. The strict, zero-tolerance proposals have caused many young people to speak out on Facebook, and one protest group now has over 140,000 members. The Premier has responded publicly, "I think we need to find a way to get on Facebook... I think we need to find a way to engage in a dialogue in a social network where they are," noting that most young people won't come to the traditional legislative meetings. There's one snag though -- government computers currently block Facebook.
This isn't the first time a Facebook group has caught the attention of Canadian politicians (it's also not the first time this Ontario government has proposed controversial driving laws). Over the past year, a Facebook group, created by Geist, protesting proposed copyright legislation, was mentioned repeatedly by the opposition in federal parliament. This time, the government itself is bringing an online protest to attention. The idea of Facebook consultations drew some criticism in the comments on Geist's post -- why should the government conduct its business on a proprietary, privately owned silo? But Geist isn't suggesting that the government rely on Facebook or any one service, just that they could make use of services that people are already using. Facebook is especially relevant for legislation affecting young voters. In an earlier column, Geist notes that it takes more than just an "if you build it, they will come" approach. Governments could broaden their online consultation strategies to include a presence on social networks where active dialogue is already taking place. In this particular case, it's still a bit too early to tell if this is just talk or if the government is serious about experimenting. A good first step might be to reconsider that Facebook ban.
Blaise Alleyne is an expert at the Insight Community. To get insight and analysis from Blaise Alleyne and other experts on challenges your company faces, click here.
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one way street
The govmt wants a mechanism to convince people on an issue ... why do they not consider that their stance on the issue is incorrect ?
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Re: one way street
haha, well, hopefully McGuinty (Premier) was signalling a real desire to listen. He does go on to say, in the article, "if not this, then what? What responsibilities, what assurances can they provide us that they'll do what they need to do to keep themselves safe?"
That does show an intention to engage in real dialogue. But whether it would actually happen or not is a different question.
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I guess everyone in the world is supposed to know who Geist is. That must be why you bombard us with his name. No other names were used, esp. Premiere, who is mentioned oft. Exactly what is this writer committed to?
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