Social Media in the Pacific Islands

The Lowy Institute is undertaking a research project on the use and potential value of social media in the Pacific Islands region. Our definition of social media includes online social networking tools (such as twitter and facebook) and includes blogging.

Please be as descriptive as possible and include as many examples as you can. We really appreciate your time and input into this research project.

1. Please list your:

Name:

Age:

Job title:

Organisation:

Country you spend the most time in:

Any websites/blogs you are affiliated with:

Social networking tool (including blogs) you use the most:

2. Do you use social media in your work and/or personal life? If YES:

(a) When did you start to use social media?

And WHY?

(b) How often do you use social media? (Please circle)

Daily More than twice a week Weekly Monthly

(b) What do you use it for?(Please circle as many as you want)

To stay connected with friends/family To meet new people/make new connections

To communicate opinions Career networking Work-related reasons

To monitor news & developments in the region To learn new things

Please list any other uses?

(d) What impacts does it have in your work and/or personal life?

3. If you or your organisation uses social media in a work context could you elaborate on how social media (including blogging) offers benefits to you (in a work context) and to your organisation?

4. Does your organisation monitor and track your own content or follow important issues on social media? (eg.follow the proliferation of your own content, monitor certain issues to better understand the sector your organisation operates in,follow emerging trends etc.)

If YES:

(a) How?

(b) Which social networking tools do you find most useful in this sense?

(c) How does this (monitoring social media & blog sites) benefit your organisation?

5. Do individuals in your organisation undertake any work-related blogging?(Including contributing to a work blog or contributing blog posts to an external blog)

YES – whenever we want SOMETIMES – with permission NO - never

Could you please explain your choice?

6. Do you feel free to voice your views openly on social media sites and on blogs?

YES – all the time SOMETIMES – depending on the situation NO - never

Could you please explain your choice?

7. From your experience, and in your opinion, could you outline how open and interested (or not) Pacific Islanders are in using social media?

Very interested Somewhat interested Not at all interested

Could you please explain your choice?

8. From your experience, and in your opinion, could you describe and outline the social media and blogging community in your country (or another in the Pacific Islands region) that you have knowledge of?

9. Do you think social media and blogging is a tool for greater information sharing and transparency in your country (or another)?Could you explain why you have answered YES or NO and give examples if you can think of any.

10. Are there any particular limitations to social media use in your country (or another) that you can pinpoint?(eg. limits to internet access, lack of awareness or understanding, cost of internet access/mobile phones, lack of training, education levels)

11. Could you outline any potential drivers of change that could facilitate greater social media use in the Pacific Islands region?

12. Do you think Australia (whether it be the Australian government, NGOs, the private sector, academia, think-tanks) has any potential role to play in facilitating greater access to the internet and social media in the Pacific Islands region? Or promoting drivers of change such as greater internet freedom?

Please provide any additional comments, examples or stories that you believe may be useful to this research project.

You can include website links, reports, articles etc. Please feel free to stay in touch with the author on if you think of other useful examples at a later stage.

THANK YOU!