How companies can manage community perceptions of the CSG industry

Abstract

In today’s digital age, individuals, companies and entire industries have never been more exposed and publicly answerable for any actions or planned developments they may take. This has become particularly apparent in the case of Australia’s CSG industry. Community and broader public perception of the industry is, for the most part, unfortunately unfavourable—why is this? The present global transparency agenda, a phenomenon that is witnessed in many other emerging industries, is incredibly susceptible to misinformation. Any individual, through accessible mediums such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube can create a popular grassroots movement in an instant, which is often embraced by the public without any appropriate critique. How does an industry combat misinformation? How do industries tackle the issue of a public so willing to embrace a negative perception of an emerging industry without the normal processes of analysis and examination? This extended abstract offers insight about the mindset of these communities througha qualitative analysis of public perceptions of the CSG industry, practical advice about how to most effectively communicate your company’s message to the industry, and an insight about how communities consume their media and how this is changing.