So I’ve
reluctantly decided to allow myself to be dragged into the 21st
Century and the dumbed-down world of social media and its jolly japes milieu of
anodyne trivia designed for college chums - not knowing quite what I’m letting
myself in for.
Little hope
of getting any serious discussion of the issues or indeed any comments at all,
especially as all the partners are in hiding, afraid to show their faces. And that’s why Facebook is used by SMP and others who want to give an
appearance of democracy and engaging with the public while delivering nothing
of the kind.
The format
of Facebook contrives to disperse and diffuse (therefore effectively defuses
and emasculates) comments criticism and complaints across a wide canvas even in
one screen making contributions from the public easier for the managers to deal
with or ignore. It’s ideal for slippery management stratagems. In this it’s completely different to a blog or
a public meeting where at any one time the focus is totally on the one point
being raised making it much harder for a manager to avoid. No wonder they like
it. Its scattering effect gives them another managerial tool for avoiding
debate and accountability.
Over a
hundred people attended the initial meetings only to be told they were not part
of a consultation just being given a chance to write some ideas on post-it-notes and then
go home. Considering their age profile I doubt many of them are users of
Facebook. So it can't be claimed that a Facebook page is part of a consultation.
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