Media discussion forums (ViewFinder)

Message boards enable communities of people to share opinions and discuss ideas with other users. The usual setup means that anyone visiting the discussion board can view content but you need to be registered and logged in in order to post any messages. Host organisations can moderate content to an appropriate degree and basic statistics will be available. The key difference with the multimedia discussion board is the use of video, audio and still images.

Users can choose any of these media in order to contribute content – enabling a far richer level of interaction. Viewfinder can be used for either general or specific discussions – or targeted at specific audience groups such as 16-18 year olds. Discussions are ‘seeded’ with short video clips outlining the consultation issue and then responses are encouraged through on and off line marketing work. Marketing support is included as part of the product and outreach work with audience groups can also take place. The Content Management system includes reporting tools which makes it simple to create ‘digest’ reports and to provide feedback on conversation.