I often get asked how you make a social media surgery. To the left is a list of ingredients, below is how you use them.
This is for a standard social media surgery and is ideal for community, voluntary and neighbourhood groups.
Last year I would have said this is enough to serve a city, but since then I’ve got a bit greedy and think that every neighbourhood should have a surgery much like this one. I’d recommend you read all the way to the end before starting to mix the ingredients.
Shopping List
A Diary: This should be full of dates and used to avoid clashes with other things
Lists of people – 3: Here in Birmingham we use three lists of people. One is a list of people who care about where they live and get things done (some people call them active citizens). This list can be any size, although bigger tends to be better. These are our patients. We have a much smaller list of people who themselves have bigs lists of people who care about where they live and get things done. We send the dates (see above) out to these people who circulate them to their lists. Finally you need a list of people who care about where they live and get things done and know about the internet. These are your surgeons.
As you get better at this recipe you will find that people who first appeared on the patients list will move across to the surgeons list. That’s exactly the result you’re looking for. In fact those people are the sweetest part of the whole confection. Also if you are making different social media surgeries for different neighbourhoods you will probably find yourself acquiring a whole range of different lists. That’s normal, but do keep them in separately labeled jars.
A room (with corridors): This is the standard size social media surgery so you just need a standard sized room. Most rooms come with corridors, please don’t discard these. We have found them very handy as marvellous overspill spaces.
Tables and Chairs: Some people like their tables and chairs in neat rows, I prefer them just how they come. So scatter these around.
Tea & Coffee: Let people help themselves.
Wi-Fi: Never skimp on this. A good social media surgery will be drenched in wi-fi. If you find yourself tempted to drizzle the ‘nets the whole thing will certainly turn out flat. Some types of wi-fi come with a key. If you have that sort make sure everyone can easily find it.
Organiser (1 or more): You must have at least one of these so dates get set, rooms get found, wi-fi checked, lists updated, e-mails sent out. It also always helps to keep a couple of spares in your store cupboard. Don’t use too many organisers though, that can spoil things.
Welcomer (1): People really don’t believe that a surgery can last between 90 minutes and 2 hours and nothing formal happens. So it’s good to have someone to welcome the patients through the door, take their details and explain to them what isn’t going to happen (you’re not going to get lectured at, speeches won’t be made, you won’t be made to do or learn anything your don’t want to). The welcomer also introduces the patient to their surgeon.
Social Capital: This is the most important ingredient. We started with Birmingham Bloggers Group social capital, which had been simmering for a good 20 months, thickened by all sorts of strange ingredients. Think of social capital as the stock pot of your social media kitchen, you need to keep it constantly bubbling away. By the way, it has to be home made and hand made. In an emergency you can borrow some social capital from your neighbour, but please take care to return it as soon as you can. Some people are tempted to use shop bought social capital. It never works.
Note: Some of you may be surprised to see that I have not included Expectations in this recipe. I use zero expectations when making a surgery. Anything more than that can sour things.
Happy surgeoning.
This is the Birmingham standard social media surgery. Other recipes may be available from Sheffield, Solihull, Brighton, Nottingham, SCIP in Brighton, in Dave’s head, A Solo Bassist, Pete Ashton, Manchester, Mosman, Australia.
August 12th, 2009 at 6:59 pm (#)
Very good. Couldn’t be better.
August 12th, 2009 at 8:26 pm (#)
Got to see you via ustream today. Yaaay. :)Well done.
August 12th, 2009 at 8:34 pm (#)
Thank you bronxelf. Must admit I tried to be off cameras as much as possible.
August 12th, 2009 at 11:00 pm (#)
Nice write up. I wonder if it would work with ‘policy officials who are enthusiastic about their policy area and get things done’… is the model unique to local communities do you think?
And do the patients need some aptitude at least for the tools and culture, if not knowledge?
August 13th, 2009 at 12:17 am (#)
Thanks Steph. It can work in all sorts of environments, although will need re-shaping a little accordingly. One key thing though is the the environment has enough potential and willing surgeons.
The patients need to be able to choose to be there or not and the opportunity to keep coming back to get the help that’s relevant to them.
I’d love to have a crack at engaged policy folks.
August 17th, 2009 at 4:42 pm (#)
[...] Be2Camp: Featuring talks from Dave Harte, Jon Bounds and Nick Booth [...]
August 19th, 2009 at 11:23 am (#)
Hi Nick
Great article and congrats on a successful model that seems to have reached some kind of critical mass.
FYI SCIP has recently been running Community Web Surgeries in Brighton. We use more or less the same ingredients so apart from the name there’s not a huge difference in content.
In our case it was linked to the web design training we deliver using Wordpress.com, which includes support with whatever social media the ‘patients’ feel is relevant to them.
Can you add that to your list? More details at http://www.scip.org.uk/community_web_surgery
BTW The NixonMacinnes one you have listed for Brighton seems slightly out of place as it was delivered at a conference for marketing people. I’m not knocking it – and Tom Nixon is on SCIP’s board – but I wonder what connection you see between a grassroots community event like your surgeries and a more marketing oriented activity such as the NixonMacinnes example?
Thanks
Mark
August 19th, 2009 at 11:28 am (#)
Thanks Mark,
It was in fact your work I was looking for when I came across the NixonMcInnes work. I agree – they are very different bests. At the moment the model is being used by so few people I’m OK with a nod in a variety of directions.
August 19th, 2009 at 11:42 am (#)
Hi Nick
Thanks for that.
One issue we came across with the Surgeries was a suspicion on the part of the patients that they may be sold something. Running a social media surgery in a conference about social marketing seems like a great tactic for increasing sales, but it may also confirm some people’s suspicion about the underlying motives when the same name/model is used elsewhere?
We struggled to recruit the patients – but had lots of web experts available, several of whom were quite clear about wanting to dip their toe in a potential new market.
We accommodated them quite happily – and made sure they were transparent about their motives in the surgeries – but again I wonder whether the problems we had reflect a concern on the part of the potential patients that there is an underlying marketing message here?
Contrast this with having 40 people sign up for 28 places on How to build a free website courses [using Wordpress.com]which ran alongside these surgeries.
Just a thought, but having found it easy to recruit surgeons, and difficult to drum up enough patients, its an issue which we are looking at before we run any more similar surgery sessions.
Thanks
Mark
August 19th, 2009 at 12:01 pm (#)
I’m new to your site and I keep wondering if I am thinking about the same thing that you are writing about! If not, please forgive me.
6 months ago, I started a drive to improve the internet presence in my small town. A little naively, I think. We’ve lurched this way and that, but it is I get the impression of huge progress but often in ways I didn’t expect.
Its a spiral I think. Try a little – see what happens. Adjust to the people who want to get involved. Try some more.
We do have people intent on making money right now and others who just join in and the money flows to them! A bit Buddhist-like or a small English town, but it seems to work like that.
August 23rd, 2009 at 7:12 pm (#)
Jo (sorry for the delay in responding). We are talking about the same thing. Different people have different approaches to blogging and online publishing at the place where they live.
Some wish to apply the same methods as mainstream journalists, others like to be sure a piece is done and dusted and “complete” before they press publish, others are happy with asking questions, or sharing half thoughts.
Some want to reflect the positive, others the negative.
Many of of us as all the above, but at different times. So it is an ongoing process. You’ve probably twigged that you’re as much about building community as you are about making media.
September 1st, 2009 at 1:32 pm (#)
[...] course we know this isn’t true. You could just swing by a social media surgery and get free advice from an expert, who will get you blogging on wordpress in half hour (with RSS [...]
September 29th, 2009 at 3:52 pm (#)
[...] Recipe – how to make a standard social media surgery [...]
October 3rd, 2009 at 10:07 pm (#)
[...] a loose ‘collective’ of people to get things off the ground. Using the excellent Recipe – How to make a Social Media Surgery provided by the equally excellent Nick Booth aka podnosh we discussed what format we should take as [...]
October 22nd, 2009 at 9:49 am (#)
I like the way this is written.How are we supposed to re-shape Social Media Surgery, Nick?
You’re right there, this enviroment does have a lot of potential and willing surgeons. :)
I’m excited about this and I cant wait to see what you are going to do to make this successful?
X
January 20th, 2010 at 9:53 pm (#)
[...] is with almost heart thumping glee that I get to write about the first use of a social media surgery in Africa (at least the first I now [...]