Social media and RCVS elections

RE: Social media and RCVS elections

Alistair Graham-Evans — Thu, 29 Apr 2021 21:35:18 GMT

If I had to come up with a figure it would be at least 50%
Maybe there is general apathy in spite of dissatisfaction. In the face of such doom and gloom ( judging from comments on social media) I thought that more people would vote to get council members interested in general practice.

Maybe the whingers on social media who paint such a depressing picture are the minority and the majority are happy and getting on life. Maybe young graduates gripe is with management and employers and they see no future prospects other than rushing through consults and trying to meet KPI’s in their 10-11 hour working days.

The grim attrition rate is now becoming apparent as OOH centres start to close and I don’t think it will be long until clinics start to downsize as a business plan in the face of difficulty finding staff - actually this is already happening where I am and people report phoning around several clinics in a desperate search of a vet to look at their pet. The AVA seems to have suddenly stated getting alarmed about vet numbers about 10 - 15 years too late.

I guess I whinge a bit about the difficulty finding staff as client demand grows. What cheers me up is the wonderful cohort of young talented vets we have on staff now who are a pleasure to work with. Some have unfortunate tales to tell of how they were treated as new graduates in some clinics - we are not perfect by any means but if you unclip their wings and attempt to improve working conditions many of these young vets will fly.

RE: Social media and RCVS elections

Arlo Guthrie — Thu, 29 Apr 2021 19:38:13 GMT

[quote userid="6765" url="~/001/nonclinical/f/off-duty-discussions/29805/social-media-and-rcvs-elections/230145#230145"]Disappointing turnout again.[/quote]

Alistair Graham-Evans What would you call a good turnout? I've always been told that the veterinary turnout is not that different to other professions.

And I wonder what can be done to improve it. I used to think that voter turnout could be improved by initiatives to reach out to more voters. These days, I am more inclined to think that it doesn't really matter how much you reach out if voters feel disenfranchised.

RE: Social media and RCVS elections

Alistair Graham-Evans — Wed, 28 Apr 2021 22:39:42 GMT

Disappointing turnout again.

Doesn’t take long to read candidates statements and then you can follow up and make them accountable for their actions once elected.

RE: Social media and RCVS elections

Arlo Guthrie — Wed, 28 Apr 2021 18:58:28 GMT

[quote userid="2122" url="~/001/nonclinical/f/off-duty-discussions/29805/social-media-and-rcvs-elections/230132#230132"]Currently we have just over 30,000 [/quote]

Wow, that is good going for a bookshop in Hereford! Impressive.

[quote userid="2122" url="~/001/nonclinical/f/off-duty-discussions/29805/social-media-and-rcvs-elections/230132#230132"]Played properly, as Danny obviously did, it can be hugely influencing and helpful, and helps to drive people in to the shop. [/quote]

Absolutely. Whether that will continue for long remains to be seen, though!

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-9521811/The-tell-tale-signs-youre-getting-old-ordering-cappuccino-Facebook.html

(I think lots of middle aged people have migrated to Instagram, and amongst the young, Snapchat seems to be where it's at now).

RE: Social media and RCVS elections

George Cooper — Wed, 28 Apr 2021 13:54:26 GMT

Facebook and The Social are indeed powerful, as well as subversive, places. My son runs The Children's Bookshelf in Hereford, now in its sixth year. It is primarily a Facebook Business, having manipulated its pages for those 6 years. Every new customer (when open) is asked where they heard of us (I'm now part of the team as "Grandpa Book" - hi5ing all the kids who buy books!) and almost without exception it is through FB. We have gone from a steadily increasing number of "likes" and "followers" up to 7, 8000. Currently we have just over 30,000 followers and that increase recently and rapidly has arisen for two reasons - first was a comical thing about mistakes kids make in school, and secondly that, having been closed for a year or so, and potentially faced with permanent closure, we've been given a lifeline by the local council to help regenerate the City Centre and offered a prime unit from which to help increase footfall. People have been overjoyed at our return and have been busily "sharing" the news bulletins.

Played properly, as Danny obviously did, it can be hugely influencing and helpful, and helps to drive people in to the shop. Books are tangible three-dimensional physical items that people want to handle and browse, and given the tumble of Kindle, and the stratospheric rise in reading again, our website (difficult to populate) has remained a sideline other than for bulk orders from Schools.

RE: Social media and RCVS elections

Arlo Guthrie — Wed, 28 Apr 2021 09:40:35 GMT

[quote userid="6550" url="~/001/nonclinical/f/off-duty-discussions/29805/social-media-and-rcvs-elections/230126#230126"]

Arlo, don't let it worry you! I am sure you would have been voted in had you been eligible to stand!!

[/quote]

Laughed out loud. I wouldn't want to be voted in even if I could be. I think it's quite a good place to have a seat, on the periphery with no particular axe to grind.

My observation was genuinely not a jealous one. I just think it's interesting that there's a lot in the news about how politics is affected by Facebook, and now the veterinary profession is being influenced by it too. But unlike Trump or Putin, I don't doubt Danny's motives for a second, and I do think it is a good thing to engage with the voters as well as he has done.

It'll be interesting to see where things develop. For example, it has always been argued that RCVS Council members are there to be representative, not to represent. But if a candidate or candidate starts generating huge numbers of votes, I wonder if that subtly changes the balance of power, so to speak, giving the individual more of a mandate.

RE: Social media and RCVS elections

Bob Russell — Wed, 28 Apr 2021 09:22:41 GMT

Arlo, don't let it worry you! I am sure you would have been voted in had you been eligible to stand!!

I have a natural aversion to anything Facebook so rarely head over there!

RE: Social media and RCVS elections

Francisco Gomez — Tue, 27 Apr 2021 18:40:48 GMT

I use both platforms and I feel that although the two can be used for similar things, they are indeed very different.