Digital Doorstepping Done Right

Two years ago, there was some debate about the ethics of digital doorstepping – the practice of media diving into blogs or social networks looking for quotes and interviewees for their stories, particularity in the aftermath of a tragedy. This morning, in a meeting with some folks from Community Care, our title for social workers, I was interested in seeing an example of digital doorstepping done, as far as I can see, right.

A poster on the CareSpace forums started asking if any social workers in the Doncaster area though the recent stories about social work there were justified. Community Care asked anyone who wanted to share their experiences annonymously to do so, and they did just that.

And that caught the attention of the mainstream media, with ITN diving in, followed by the BBC.

The story appeared on the BBC website this morning (although, with no mention of Community Care or CareSpace. Tsk.)

Why is this digital doorstepping done right? Well, in this instance, the people involved were actually looking for publicity. They weren’t the shocked victims of a crime seeing their quasi-private space violated. The BBC poster clearly signed up as themselves, giving their name as well as the company, humanising the approach a little. And they didn’t just lift testimony, they solicited contact.

Slowly, we learn…