Thursday April 10, 2025 | VICTORIA, BC
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
The Capital Regional District (CRD) has joined the ranks of other levels of government, agencies and some media outlets who are no longer using the X platform.
Since shifting to being called X (formerly Twitter) the platform owned by Elon Musk has been increasingly adapted to promoting certain types of posts over others.
Up until today, CRD had 8,350 followers on X and over the years had made 11,200 posts.
The infamous status of having the ‘bluecheck mark’ to indicate credibility on the platform has been diminished to some degree by most applicants being approved for the status (for a monthly fee), but still does offer an Edit function which not all other platforms provide in their functionality.
The CRD decision to discontinue their participation on X is effective today, April 10, 2025.
Safe and inclusive online presence:
“This decision comes after careful consideration of the platform’s evolving policies and the CRD’s commitment to maintaining a safe and inclusive online presence,” as stated in the CRD’s news release on this topic today.
“The decision to discontinue the use of X reflects our commitment to ensuring reliable and effective communication with our community,” said CRD Board Chair Cliff McNeil-Smith.
The Capital Regional District has a board comprised of elected officials from the 13 municipalities and three regional districts of the Greater Victoria area.
More dependable channels:
“We believe we can better serve our residents through more dependable channels and encourage everyone to subscribe to our email notifications to stay updated with the latest news, alerts, and public notices.”
CRD notes a “decrease in reliability” and “reduced engagement” on the X platform. They intend to “focus on more consistent communication channels”.
Based on a CRD staff report, the board has decided not to shift to Bluesky but they are continuing their presence on LinkedIn, says Sudha Krishna, CRD Manager of Social Media and Marketing.
CRD has chosen to post service alerts on Facebook. Further, they encouarge residents of the capital region to get notifications on the CRD website and by subscribing to Notices and Alerts.
By comparison, upon leaving X, Island Health and an increasing number of municipalities including View Royal have embraced the use of Bluesky.
About social media platforms:
- X is still widely used for delivering livestream feeds by politicians and government. The technology is robust.
- Bluesky has been attracting users who engage in thoughtful, issues-oriented comments and debate including elected government officials, organizations and community leaders as well as mainstream and independent media.
- LinkedIn has primarily a business leader user base where elected officials and media also have accounts. Their interface is not as advance as X or Bluesky.
- Facebook has become more widely used in recent years by family and community groups with a wide range of commentary. Meta as the owner of Facebook has for about two years now intentionally excludes professional media outlets, so Facebook is not really a reliable source of current news.
- Instagram and TikTok are video-content based and tend to be more for product and trend promotion instead of news.
CRD advising their X followers:
The CRD will inform its followers on X that it will no longer post nor respond to questions or comments made to this account and direct followers to the CRD website and other social media channels for updates.
The CRD will work to enhance its presence on other social media platforms and improve communication through direct notices and updates on the CRD webpage as well as expanded email subscription options.
Maintaining a positive and constructive online presence is a priority for the CRD. By focusing on platforms that better support this goal, the CRD can ensure that messages are effectively conveyed, and public engagement remains meaningful.
Shifting back to websites:
Clearly since the late 1990s, websites have been the mainstay of the Internet presence of most businesses, governments, and community groups.
The stability and presumed curation of content on established websites is seen as a more reliable more of information than are quick posts and threads of information in social media.
Credibility of publishers and publishing:
All of this shift away from social media and back to websites or portals on specific topics reflects the longstanding credibility of professional publishing, including by professional media (mainstream and independent).
Corporate and government websites require regular updating and in most cases are vetted by senior levels of management.
Professional news media have editors and web managers to maintain the credibility and flow of content.
===== RELATED:
- Island Health shifts away from X & joins Bluesky (February 10, 2025)
- Town of View Royal shifts away from X (February 8, 2025)
- Editorial: Over-dependence on social media could jeopardize 2024 election campaigns (August 9, 2024)
- NEWS SECTIONS: SOCIAL MEDIA