Home page

Text size

E-mail this page

SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
The current era of communications is "no longer a time for secrets," and hiring a communications specialist would help the City of Yellowknife become the "most trusted, responsive and timely source" for information about the city, the municipal services committee heard on Aug. 22.

The city mostly keeps citizens informed "on a one-way basis," Brian McCutcheon of Outcrop Communications told the committee, citing newspaper ads, radio PSAs and the city's website as examples. Outcrop, which recently conducted a $50,000 communications study on behalf of the city, recommended the city use two-way communications to keep citizens engaged.

"You want to be where the conversation is," McCutcheon told the committee, "where people are talking to each other about issues. Social media is where you have to engage a significant part of the population, particularly those 35 and under."

Outcrop recommended the creation of a city Facebook page, Twitter account and YouTube channel. McCutcheon noted users will demand "that the information be relevant, consistent and honest," and "that it is communicated frequently and that it is monitored and evaluated."

"I resisted (Facebook) for years and finally got into it for council work," said city councillor Paul Falvo. "It's an easy way to do it. It's an instant blog and presence, but it's also a two-way communication where you can have a conversation with people on an issue."

Falvo was hailed as the council's social media guru, perhaps due to his engagement with the public during the 2009 landfill fire.

"I took the information that was out there and was distributing that," he said. "From the feedback I got, people were glad to have that information."

Outcrop said hiring a communications specialist - which Coun. Cory Vanthuyne said "has been in our budget for some time" - would create an atmosphere where the city becomes a trusted source of information in good times so it is also trusted in bad times.

Online conversation is powerful, Coun. Amanda Mallon noted, and highlights the importance of broadcasting accurate information.

"I believe somewhere out there is a petition encouraging citizens to sign up to stop city hall from tearing down the Gold Range," Mallon said. "We've gone from acquiring a few lots on 50 Street to a group of citizens thinking we're doing something we're not. Perhaps we can use social media to put down the facts without opinions."

The city uses only one of the three social media tools Outcrop recommended. The Twitter account @CityofYK, was last updated Sept. 2, 2010.

Only the mayor and three of the eight city councillors have Facebook pages. Mayor Gord Van Tighem has 201 fans while Couns. Mark Heyck, Paul Falvo and Cory Vanthuyne have 248, 420 and 428 fans respectively. Van Tighem has updated his page twice in 2011, while the three councillors update theirs daily or weekly.

We welcome your opinions. Click here to e-mail a letter to the editor.