Challenges for migrant media pioneers
In our last blogpost on social media and migration we reflected on the question how social media initiatives have empowered and facilitated migrant communities in the past few years. The report was based on a round table we organized with different pioneers and stakeholders. We found that initiatives play a role in connecting Diaspora and specific ethnic groups, generating dialogue and discussion, and sharing knowledge.
As Stefano Kluzer rightly commented, we mainly focused on the role of online services, not that much on the role of offline initiatives empowering digital illiterate migrants by teaching them ICT skills. An issue that obviously plays an important role for migrants and integration and is supported by initiatives like Computerwijk.
We see that pioneers have initiated all kinds of interesting social media initiatives related to themes of migration. However, now the pioneering has been done, the question is how to proceed. What are the challenges for these initiatives in the near future?
1. Financial sustainability
One of the main challenges that we also identified in the field of open governance, is the challenge of sustainability. After setting up a website and community successfully, how to stay alive?
Since a lot of initiatives basically do not have a commercial strategy and are often financed by subsidies, long term finances is a problem, especially in the current economical situation. The main challenge here is to find ways to create value and cut costs. This challenge might be met by innovative business-models.
With regard to possible business models, the main capital of these initiatives has shown to be the community they represent and the information they possess. There are opportunities to convert this into financial income and sustainability of the online activities. One might think of companies or institutions that want to reach the specific groups connected to the particular initiative; commercial organizations as well as public institutions or mainstream media.
Organizations like maroc.nl are often approached to provide ‘Moroccan’ talking heads. Maroc.nl worked together with a Dutch public broadcaster who regularly asks a panel of Dutch citizens for their opinions on different news related topics. Because they lack Moroccan panelists they worked together with Maroc.nl. This could become a more professional service in the future. Also other constructions of initiatives converting their network into economic capital were discussed. The Chinese online Radio crtv.nl for example shows how the information they possess is a commodity as well. They resell their programs, which they broadcast in the Netherlands anyway, to radio stations in Sjanghai who are keen in knowing how living in Amsterdam is like.
So, looking for new business models for the near future, the overall question is how to make value from their peer group by commoditize people as well as information.
2. Cooperation
An often-heard point of improvement and challenge is cooperation between likeminded initiatives. Besides the chance to cut costs, working together might empower the movement of migration related social media initiatives enormously.
During our round table session representatives of all initiatives thought that meeting each other and sharing experiences was very valuable and not very common. Finding win-win situations and try to combine forces might lead to more valuable networks, political relevance, connection with business and more organizational efficiency.
When it comes to sharing information as a service, cooperation might lead to even more valuable information. When it comes to news and media an alternative media network of migrant initiatives for example might contest regular mainstream media. Other information may be shared as well, nationally and internationally. The initiative all included for example uses indymedia.org as mediaplatform. Miramedia.nl tries to connect social media initiatives on neighborhood level.
Furthermore, together one can hold a stronger position towards the government and other established institutions as well. Most initiatives feel that they represent a new bottom-up group of people and feel hardly represented in the established order, even when it comes to the existing migrant institutions, in the Netherlands referred to as LOM (Landelijk overleg migranten).
Not only the relationship with the government could benefit from collective efforts. Better contact with business can be interesting as well. Offering particular services together and being more visible for commercial enterprises are related possibilities.
Cooperation and sharing information and knowledge might also result in more efficient organizations. Confronted with similar organizational issues the initiatives might learn from each other and might even come up with new ideas.
3. Staying connected
With these opportunities in mind the second issue with regard to sustainability becomes even more urgent. How to keep people connected? How to serve your peer group? In some situations it proves to be difficult to keep people connected. On the other hand, most of these initiatives have a strong unique selling point. They identify with an existing group. And as long as they can be ‘authentic’ in this identification, they have a loyal audience. Maroc.nl kept in touch with their rank and file by offering a free SMS service during Ramadan.
A pitfall is to have a too strict or conservative idea about your users. If you are focused too much on your standard focus group, you might miss a lot of opportunities. You have to be flexible with regard to the composition of the target group. All in all, whatever the precise composition, keeping strong ties with your audience and community is an important challenge for the future. Understanding the users and engage them are the means to achieve this.
4. Sensitive issues
A specific challenge for this cluster of social media initiatives is the political sensitivity of migration related issues. Heavy issues such as radicalism are discussed online. Several initiatives try to facilitate open constructive discussion. However, some of the initiators feel that there is a general distrust in society with regard to these issues and others misuse their openness, such as mainstream media. The particular role of the communities as mediator between specific sub-groups and wider society confronts the initiators with dilemmas of openness and safety for their users.
Researching the state of migrant media
So, in our analysis of the rise of migrant social media initiatives, financial sustainability, cooperation, staying connected and coping with sensitive issues are the main challenges we see for the field for further development. We are very curious for your opinion on this analysis of challenges for the future.
And building upon these challenges, what are the general recommendations for a vital migration and social media movement the following years?
