Mineral Exploration is the official publication of the Association of Mineral Exploration British Columbia.
Issue link: http://digital.canadawide.com/i/370216
F A L L 2 0 1 4 25 I n the exploration, development and mining sector, it is recognized that negative news – often one- sided stories prepared by activist organizations and anti-development groups – spreads quickly, while posi- tive stories – those that demonstrate the value and benefits that the mineral development sector brings to society – are plenty, but are not well dissemin- ated. Corporate social responsibility and communications professionals are well aware that media outlets are inter- ested in stories of conflict and contro- versy as opposed to positive stories of collaboration and win-win partnerships. The speed and breadth of social media seems to have made this dichot- omy even more prominent. In 2014, Deloitte published its Tracking the Trends report, which expressed that ". . . mining companies are in the spotlight – as cast not only by international media but also by a growing number of monitoring and standard setting bodies. Social media has elevated these activi- ties to new levels, enabling the instantaneous and global dis- semination of news in real time. As a result, corporate reputa- tions, access rights to new dis- coveries and market valuations are all at risk like never before." This presents both opportuni- ties and challenges to the sector. Even with staggering data showing Facebook has over 1.15 billion users and Twitter has 550 million, when it comes to social media, exploration and mining companies are still dragging their feet to join. The "conversations" in these forums include, at a growing rate, the environmental and social perfor- mance of the sector. Perhaps what stops many companies from actively partici- pating in these conversations about their own performance is the belief that join- ing these types of communication out- lets increases the risk of overexposure and subsequent disparagement. Yet not all companies fear the risk of venturing onto social media, having Joining the conversation COMMUNICATING SOCIAL PERFORMANCE THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA By Monica Moretto >> CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY