My work on social media strategy and online reputation these past few years has repeatedly brought me back to one approach that holds great promise for bridging polarities and enabling collaborative problem solving around some of the world's toughest and most controversial issues.
I'm talking here about Online Dialogue, when it is carefully planned, properly managed and left sufficiently open to accept all sides of an issue. In the last 4 years, I have successfully deployed some large scale public discussions around projects in the oil and gas sector, the forestry sector and the mining sector, all of which were funded by leading industry players or industry-wide associations.
For those who want to cut to the chase, see my presentation on this below:
Governments as future conveners of Online Dialogue
My ambition now is to start new conversations concerning Online Dialogue with folks in the resource sector worldwide but also with public policy thinkers. I am convinced that the merits of this approach will quickly interest other businesses but eventually, governments of all levels will also rise to their natural role as conveners and managers of such exchanges.