Having realised the power of social media, especially with tech-savvy urbanites, Bangkok governor Aswin Kwanmuang has embraced new media channels to directly communicate with the people.
His bid for interaction and popularity, however, has not been a raging success -- his Facebook page, launched in January, has attracted fewer than 18,000 'likes'.
"Hello everyone, my team and I have created this page to use as a channel announcing news and taking information from all citizens. If you have any complaints, feel free to submit them to http://www.bangkok.go.th/rongtook anytime," posted Pol Gen Aswin on his Facebook page on Jan 5 -- the day his page, "Phuwa Aswin" was also launched.
Months later, two new communication channels were launched; a weblog, "Talui Kortormor Kab Phuwa Aswin", meaning explore Bangkok with the governor, (www.aswinbkk.com), and a Line chat, "Line@Aswin Klai-tuk", meaning Aswin solves the problems (@aswinbkk).
Since his appointment, the governor has tried to stay connected with interactive communications, adding to the only hotline, 1555, from which Bangkok residents could file complaints. However, seven months later, there has been little response on his Facebook page from tech-savvy residents.
Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) spokeswoman Chindarat Chayothin said the governor believed direct communications via social media will help him understand the problems and the needs of the people.
"He wants communication channels, be it Facebook, Line chat, and the website, so that he can reply to people, hear their feedback directly, and create interactions," Ms Chindarat said.
Communications via social media were established following the "Now" policy which was set up by the governor soon after his appointment, in the hope of urgently solving problems in the city in a sustainable fashion.
The Facebook page will be used to announce the progress of projects and to promote interesting events that take place in the city as well as some personal stories the governor wants to share.
Through the Facebook page, the governor has been portrayed as a down-to-earth man who takes Bangkok's problems very seriously.
Most of the posts on the page feature captions and photos of the governor while working, for example, "Today I and the administrators went to check the safety issue in the Bai Yok 1 building…" and "This morning I checked on the progress of the drain tunnels…."
However, she continued, it's different on his website, with more casual language telling interesting stories about hidden corners of Bangkok.
The website features two main sections, namely "Phuwa Pa Chom", which means go around the city with the governor, and "Phuwa Pa Chilled", which means explore Bangkok with the governor.
Bangkok governor Aswin Kwanmuang uses social media to communicate with people.
While the former features tasks that the BMA has completed in all 50 districts of Bangkok, activities they have created for citizens and promoting the Now policy, the latter focuses on more leisure content such as restaurants, and tourist sites in Bangkok, both famous and lesser known.
The website aims to keep people up to date with the BMA's work and introduce them to aspects of Bangkok they may not have experienced before, Ms Chindarat said.
To make communication easier, a Line chat group was created a few weeks ago as a main channel for people to send in photos and video clips of complaints. Citizens have been encouraged to report problems.
The BMA has a team of three people monitoring comments on Facebook. They will collect and sort out issues then categorise them and send them on to relevant agencies.
The team is also responsible for gathering information from all 50 districts and screening interesting issues for the governor to choose which one he wants to post on the website.
However, Ms Chindarat admitted the response had been slow since the establishment of his Facebook page, with fewer than 18,000 likes and 19,000 followers -- much lower than expected.
Ms Chindarat thought it might be because Pol Gen Aswin was appointed, rather than elected, making him not so popular or well-known.
Nattanan Kallayasiri, the secretary of the governor and deputy spokesperson, is responsible for the Line@Aswin Klai-tuk, which drew almost 4,000 people to interact in the chat since its launch on June 24.
There were 760 complaints filed through the account; the BMA has been able to help solve around 351 of them.
He said most Line app users come from inner areas of Bangkok such as Sathon, Yannawa, Watthana and Klong Toey districts because those areas are where most social media users live.
Most complaints are about infrastructure such as road damage, blackouts, bad odours from garbage, and pavement damage. Those issues can be fixed within 24 hours. If the problems are more severe, need high funding or fall outside the BMA's responsibility, it may take longer.
He said the number of complaints filed through Line are much higher than other channels since it is the most convenient way to lodge a complaint. Photos and videos people send in help BMA officers to understand the situation.
Pol Gen Aswin said he set up all these social media platforms to let people understand and connect with him more easily. He had no intention of using it to gain popularity.
"I am trying to follow my Now policy. To hear the problems of Bangkok's people and solve them quicker. Because it is not easy for people to call me directly to complain, so I have to create other channels for them," he said.
Although many residents have questioned if social media is an efficient way to communicate with the BMA, Mana Treelayapewat, a professor from the Faculty of Communications at the University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, praised the governor for using modern channels to communicate with people.
Pol Gen Aswin did the right thing using social media; Facebook, the website and Line app, to communicate with people, he said, adding this will allow BMA administrators to understand the problems people face.
However, it needs to be two-way communication in which people could give him feedback, not only hearing what the BMA wants to tell them, Mr Mana said.
Allowing people to send in complaints more easily will also encourage them to watch out for problems themselves and not wait for BMA officials. Mr Mana said more promotion of these channels is needed.