CBC's Facebook Experiment
Attempt By Public Broadcaster To Attract Youth Generates Controversy
Jun 29, 2007
Foray into world of online social networking has mixed results for Canada’s public broadcaster
In an attempt to gain relevance with a younger generation, CBC has embarked on a campaign on Facebook to explore the top wishes among Canadian users of this social networking program. However, from the second day onwards, this project has elicited extreme curiosity as it quickly became a battle for the cultural and social beliefs of various interest groups.
Wish List
To become a part of the CBC experiment, all that interested individuals have to do is to join the CBC “Greatest Wish” group, and to either create a wish on their own, or vote for an already expressed sentiment. When one votes for a previously-created wish, it is possible to see who created that wish, but the voter does not get to learn anything about that person other than their name and a small photo.
The idea behind this now-controversial project was that it would help CBC attract a younger online audience that the public broadcaster often has trouble reaching out to. CBC has become, in the eyes of many young Canadians, an irrelevant government tool, that appeals only to elite urban baby boomers.
With this said, CBC has, for the most part, been a leader to other Canadian media outlets in the adjustment to online media tools that the internet has offered. CBC was one of the first major broadcasters in North America to establish a viable web presence so quickly. This transition to accepting CBC Online as part of the main organization has been easier than expected, in part due to pod casts and the ability to archive interviews and topic discussions.
Facebook Group
The fact that CBC chose to use Facebook as the means to get a message across to young Canadians seemed, at first, to be a relatively innovative idea. Canadians who used Facebook were encouraged to vote on the Great Canadian Wish List, and were told that the winner would be announced on Canada Day.
However from Day 2 onwards, it has been clear that hot-button social and cultural topics have ruled the day on this Facebook-CBC project. Specifically, Canadian social conservatives have had a real say in how the wish list on Facebook has turned out.
As of Friday June 29th, the top three answers on the Facebook list are:
- Abolish Abortion in Canada, 9327 votes
- I wish that Canada would remain pro-choice, 7767 votes
- For a spiritual revival of our nation, 4413 votes
These results show how issues such as abortion and gay marriage are still very much a part of the discourse in our society today. The results so far also how a poll like this has the potential to pick up momentum and become somewhat of a cultural statement. The fact that the Pro-Choice side was able to mobilize against this and come in second (or so it seems at this point) is also worth mentioning: people on both sides of this debate care greatly.
Whether or not CBC chooses to do this type of online poll again remains to be seen. The idea is interesting in the first place, and it is difficult to see how organizers could have predicted the strength of the grassroots movement on the right. Facebook provides numerous options for the mainstream media and CBC should be commended for going there in the first place.
