Feedback unit Reach sets up Facebook profile in bid to engage S'pore netizens
Li Xueying, Straits Times 28 Jun 08;
YOU can now poke, suckerpunch, and send a tulip - or perhaps a Venus Flytrap if you prefer - to the Government.
For it is now on Facebook. To be precise, its feedback arm, Reach, has created a profile on the popular social networking website.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong yesterday viewed it at the launch of Reach's roving interactive exhibition at the HDB Hub in Toa Payoh.
Putting on his spectacles, PM Lee confirmed four friend requests (adding to the existing 281), checked out photos of Reach events and typed a message on the wall of one of its friends.
'Welcome to Facebook! Glad to have you as a friend. Please tell your friends too,' he typed, signing off as 'LHL (for Reach)'.
The profile was created two weeks ago and was made public to all yesterday. It can be found by searching for 'Reach Singapore'.
Reach chairman Amy Khor said it was a necessary platform to engage netizens.
'Singaporeans are increasingly comfortable with the new media. So to engage them on this platform is not just something logical but vital,' she said, noting that Facebook was one of the top 12 search hits for Singaporeans last year.
At the same time, the nature of Facebook means there is a 'multiplier effect' as friends of friends can be linked.
They will be able to give their responses to poll questions, such as what they think of the Budget, the National Day Rally or simply the latest policy announcement.
The Facebook effort is the latest in the arsenal that Reach is building to engage Singaporeans as it tries to combat the perception that the Government does not listen enough when it formulates policies.
For those who are less Internet-savvy, a roving exhibition was launched yesterday. It will tour community centres in the heartland and educational institutes islandwide.
It addresses questions like 'Does Reach edit my feedback?' The reply: 'Feedback is not edited to retain the original sentiment and nuance.'
At the event, PM Lee also suggested that Reach start an online live screen showing the latest feedback.
Dr Khor, who is also Senior Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, later said Reach will look at posting a summary of the top three issues each month either on its website or on its Facebook profile.
Giving an update on Reach's progress since she took over in 2006 and revamped the former Feedback Unit with efforts like a blog, Dr Khor said results have been 'encouraging'.
In the past year alone, input increased by 40 per cent while the number of members jumped 70 per cent to 8,500.
Marketing executive Rita Ong, 37, who has a Facebook account, said such new efforts will appeal to younger Singaporeans. 'As they spend so much time surfing the Net, giving their feedback is now just a matter of clicks.'
The long arm of Reach, on Facebook
Today Online 28 Jun 08;
HAVE a gripe about a certain policy? You can now whinge about it on Facebook — straight to the Government.
Reach Singapore, the feedback agency in charge of garnering public views, on Friday launched its profile page on the social networking site in a bid to engage the net-savvy, especially the young.
“I understand it is among the top 12, hit-wise, of Singapore’s Net best sites,” said Reach panel chairman Dr Amy Khor, adding that there are more than 340,000 Singaporeans on Facebook.
She added that the site’s unique features, such as the ability to reach a user’s list of friends, ensures a “multiplier effect”.
For starters, the agency may broadcast on Facebook a summary of the top three talking points each monthly — a suggestion from Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, according to Dr Khor. This would show that Reach “reads through every feedback, analyses it, summarises it and channels it to the relevant ministries”.
The agency has been exploring new media tools such as blogs, web chats and discussion forums to expand its feedback channels since it was revamped in October 2006, she added. “Over a one-year period, we have seen our feedback input increase by 40 per cent. The number of forum members has also increased by more than 17 per cent to more than 8,500 now.”
On Friday, Reach also launched a roving interactive exhibition with games and quizzes to engage heartlanders. — Nazry Bahrawi
REACH launches first roving interactive exhibition in heartlands
Channel NewsAsia 27 Jun 08;
SINGAPORE : The amount of feedback collected by the government's feedback arm REACH has gone up by 40 per cent since its restructuring in October 2006.
Not content with that, it is now venturing deeper into the online community to better engage younger Singaporeans. Its latest new media initiative is to join popular online social networking site Facebook.
Facebook is arguably one of the hottest social networking sites around, and the government's feedback arm has just added its profile to it.
Even Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong got into the act on Friday - writing a note on Facebook's wall.
Since REACH was formed, it has banked on various new media channels such as webchats, blogs and SMSes to reach out to a more diverse segment of the population.
With Facebook, REACH hopes for a multiplier effect as it connects to those already active on the network.
Its various initiatives, both online and off, have shown very encouraging results.
Dr Amy Khor, Chairman, REACH Panel, said: "The number of People Forum members has also increased by about 17 per cent to more than 8,500 now, and in fact, the dialogue session at the heartlands has actually increased our dialogue participants by three-fold."
To widen its reach in the heartlands, the unit has also launched a roving exhibition, which kicked off at the HDB Toa Payoh Hub on Friday. The roving exhibition is going to go across the island over the next few years.
Meanwhile, REACH is thinking of summarising the top discussion issues of the month on its website or Facebook profile.
Dr Khor said this will close the feedback loop, where comments and proposals are analysed and channelled to the relevant ministries. - CNA/ms
Active citizenry exhibition opens
Business Times 28 Jun 08;
THE government agency for connecting with citizens - Reach (Reaching Everyone for Active Citizenry @ Home) - launched a roving interactive exhibition at HDB Hub Mall in Toa Payoh yesterday.
The exhibition aims to increase heartlanders' awareness of Reach and the feedback channels they can use to engage the government, thereby encouraging them to share their views on policies and social issues.
Reach chairman Amy Khor said: 'It offers an excellent platform for us to reach out to the masses right on their doorstep, increasing our presence among residents and making our feedback channels known to them.'
Besides static information displays, members of the public can interact with Reach ambassadors and take part in interactive quizzes and games at the exhibition.
Visitors can also provide feedback via on-site laptops and explore Reach's profile page on social networking site Facebook.
'New media tools are an extension of what Reach can do to engage segments of the population who might otherwise be left out of the feedback process,' said Dr Khor.
