CONSENSUS INC. - TRANSIT VISION OUTREACH-2010

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ConsensusInc. Interact. Innovate. Influence. era when people were spoon-fed filtered information is dead-today word-of-mouth is the new paradigm. Social media is not a fad, it's everywhere and it's here to stay. In this new paradigm of peer-to-peer communications, virtual trust trumps all. Objective news reporting and rigorous fact checking, though still valued by many, are losing a race where speed is more important than accuracy. Furthermore, according to new comScore data, the Latino online population increased by 3.3 million users in the last 11 months. Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft and Facebook sites were among the top sites visited by Latinos in January 2010. In a young community such as Santa Ana, "peer-to-peer" communication plays an important role in the credibility of a project. Social media tools such as Facebook, Twitter, and others help facilitate this peer-to-peer communication and serve as a venue to allow stakeholders to provide thoughts and opinions about a project. Most people won't believe what an agency tells them, but they are likely to believe what their friends and neighbors tell them. The reality is that these peer-to-peer conversations will likely be taking place with or without the City's engagement, and it would be best for the City to host the dialogue in order to more easily distribute positive messages and correct misinformation. Generally speaking, public transit projects have a very long time span from inception to completion, and the Fixed Guideway project is no exception. What is crucial during this long span is maintaining a constant stream of communication with interested stakeholders, which is effectively maintained through Twitter and Facebook. As such, Consensus Inc. will: ¦ Set up Facebook pages for the Santa Ana Fixed Guideway and SARTC Master Plan projects; extend the reach of the page with peer-to-peer outreach and develop a strategy to add 'friends.' ¦ Set up a Santa Ana Fixed Guideway - SARTC Master Plan Twitter account; extend the reach of the page with peer-to-peer outreach and develop a strategy to add 'followers.' ¦ Develop a text messaging campaign to allow those who want to receive updates on their cell phones to opt-in to receive information. ¦ Create a contact card for distribution at every interface that includes the project identity, the project hotline number, and the addresses of the project's Facebook, Twitter, text message opt- in, blog/ website, and e-mail. Santa Ana Transit Vision Public Outreach-City of Santa Ana