upload your story by Gregory Vasey from australia

There’s a shift in voice from mass media (one source of information addressing a wider audience) to that of participant observers’, where anyone is able to contribute to ‘the story’. Innovations in communications technology now allow us to share our own views, ideas, and experiences with a global network. This shift in voice has great potential to empower people to take action on matters of the environment and sustainability.

As an example of this shift in voice, the Gulf oil spill has become not only a story about an environmental catastrophe, but also about the general public’s own coverage of the event. As the way we participate in such conversations evolves, new opportunities for “Green Communications” emerge, such as:

1. Hosting conversations that promote the exchange of “green” ideas, engaging with communities on matters of sustainability, and enabling unlimited capacity for the transfer of knowledge and experiences – The growing abundance of social networking and personal blogging sites are becoming increasingly intertwined, allowing people to share their views via many channels and media. An effective forum for hosting “green conversations” must utilize media applications to allow people to contribute to the conversation in any manner with which they’re equipped to communicate.

2. Adding clarity and accessibility of information about topics relating to the environment – As sustainability encompasses so many disciplines of expertise and impacts so many people, it is imperative that we are able to visualize the causes and effects of our actions within complex systems. The need for clarity is also evident in the growing range of crowdsourcing applications, where anyone with a computer or smartphone is able to upload their stories, photos, GPS locations, etc. With this influx of information from such a diversity of sources, there is a heightened need to collate and represent these findings accurately.

3. Establishing a green-oriented culture that advances sustainability to the forefront of our collective psyche – Green communications must provide participants with a venue where they can contribute their perspectives. Green ‘culture’ should be spread through any media channel that is popular among its intended audience.

The conversations surrounding the Gulf oil spill have utilized communications technology to a degree that we have never seen before. Upon examining the multitude of ways people have shared information, it becomes apparent that these new channels hold great potential in bringing more people into the Green Conversation.