Næringsbarometeret reaches more people than ever dreamt possible

Yesterday, 11 May the results of the ‘Næringsbarometer’ survey for Sogn og Fjordane and Hordaland were presented at fylkeshuset in Leikanger.    Normally, Næringsbarometer attracts a maximum of 50 people, with an event taking place in two locations in the region. Yesterday, things were very different, over 300 people heard about the latest prognosis from businesses in the region. This was due to a live webcast which is also now available ‘on demand’. In addition to this, at 13:30 today 61 people have already viewed it 'on demand'.

With the combination of social media and webcasting/video technology, we can not only reach but also involve many more people than we have previously been able to. There were over 60 comments on twitter alone. Questions were relayed to presenters in the room from twitter and answered live. People appreciated not having to leave their desks or even their homes, to hear the latest from businesses in the region. Reiel Haugland commented ‘Knekkebrød, kaffi, ullsokkar og presentasjon av Næringsbarometeret for S&Fj’ . Anne Margrete Alværn said ‘Sat på garden i Lavik og jobba med oppdrag for direktorat i Oslo, medan eg også høyrde/såg:-) Strålande! Meir! Kommunar next?’  and Anne van Oorschot commented ’Det var fantastisk å sitje her på Davik og følge med på presentasjonen av Næringsbarometer.’ When I checked ‘Facebook’ yesterday evening it was buzzing with positive comments and a desire for more of this.

What really interests me is how much more we can have access to. Although of course we want to have 300 people hearing about Næringsbarometer. We could never expect to have over 300 people sitting in a room for such a presentation – yesterday this happened! Think of the impact that more of these events can have in the future, how we can raise our competence and knowledge levels – which will directly translate into increased innovation and competiveness.

There is more happening within the next few weeks, Barnehagekonferansen will be webcast on the 19th May. On the 20th May, VideoNor together with Måloy vekst will webcast a seminar on ‘Offshore vindkraft: Mulegheiter for norske maritime bedrifter’. Kommunekonferansen will be webcast on 26th May, followed by Balestrand Summit on the 31st. Let’s not forget that most of these have both Regional and National interest, for example ‘Offshore vindkraft’  is relevant for businesses throughout the country and not just Sogn og Fjordane – so we hope that many people from outside the region will take advantage of this.

We still have a long way to go before this is a normal part of how we operate, but yesterday was a great example to show the potential and demand. In the words of Oddrun Midtbø on twitter yesterday ‘Godt jobba! Kjekt å bu i eit fylke der ny teknologi blir brukt ope, no er utfordringa å få fleire på nett:-)’. We need to reach a tipping point where this becomes the rule and is no longer the exception. However we need you to get involved, so ‘kom igjen folkens’ please, please think about webcasting, tell us about it, if you need help let us know – there are solutions to most challenges so lets find them!

Many people were involved in contributing to this event, but particular credit needs to go to Øystein Åsnes and Petter Stenstadvold from Sogn og Fjordane fylkeskommune for a job well done.