Three community organizers plan on turning their social media experiment into a full-length documentary.
Four months ago, Kyle Schembri, Mat Wright and Susan Jones began a weekly Twitter-based discussion on Greater Victoria issues.
B次元官网网址淲e wanted to keep it open and really informal,B次元官网网址� Schembri said. B次元官网网址淚t was completely an experiment. We had no idea what would happen.B次元官网网址�
Under the hashtag #YYJchat, the Twitter conversation has quickly grown into an open platform hub for town hall-like discussions. They take place every Tuesday from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. and feature a well-known guest responding to questions from organizers and the public. Topics range from politics and regional amalgamation to the best place to buy a bottle of wine.
B次元官网网址淭hereB次元官网网址檚 an informal accountability for these guests to answer questions,B次元官网网址� Schembri said. B次元官网网址淚 wouldnB次元官网网址檛 normally get to pose questions to these decision-makers, but with #YYJchat, I can do that.B次元官网网址�
The online discussions are curated and posted each week on VictoriaWave.ca, the brainchild of Schembri and Wright. The duo began producing podcasts last March, but it wasnB次元官网网址檛 until Jones suggested they utilize Twitter to engage more discussion that the website really gained traction.
B次元官网网址淚 always refer to it as a face-palm moment,B次元官网网址� said Wright, who runs a local marketing and communications agency. The website received more than 100 unique visitors during last weekB次元官网网址檚 #YYJchat discussion with former provincial NDP leader Carole James, but using Twitter makes it difficult to measure those people who observe without participating.
B次元官网网址淭witter can be an intimate conversation, but at the same time, youB次元官网网址檙e broadcasting that to the world,B次元官网网址� Wright said. B次元官网网址淭here may be 80 or 100 people engaging, but there are likely hundreds more watching.B次元官网网址�
#YYJchat has had an impressive lineup of guests since its inception, including mayors Barb Desjardins of Esquimalt and Frank Leonard of Saanich. Federal Green Party leader Elizabeth May will guest-host sometime in the next month, at her request.
But donB次元官网网址檛 be fooled by the political slant. #YYJchatB次元官网网址檚 organizers are open to any relevant topic and every willing participant.
B次元官网网址淭he good thing about Twitter is anybody can come on board,B次元官网网址� Schembri said. B次元官网网址淢y mom hopped on board last week and started texting me, asking why I wasnB次元官网网址檛 posting. And she doesnB次元官网网址檛 even use Twitter.B次元官网网址�
Across Canada, 52 per cent of people use Facebook while 18 per cent are on Twitter.
In Victoria, those numbers are estimated to be at least 10 per cent higher in a city well-known for its early adoption of new social media platforms. In 2010, Mayor Dean Fortin declared June 30 Social Media Day, the first city in the world to do so.
The trio hope to release YYJ: A Social Media Documentary, next year. In order to fund the project, they are accepting weekly sponsors.
To learn more, visit or tap into #YYJchat on Twitter next Tuesday.
dpalmer@vicnews.com
