“We appreciate the comfort of knowing that Brolly has us covered.”

With five declared natural disasters in the last three years, and a population that spans higher density coastline living and sparse, disconnected inland communities, the team at Livingstone Shire Council are happy to use any means they can to connect to ratepayers and visitors when they need to get a message out.

The power of social media

Trish Weir is the council’s Manager of Customer Engagement and an adept user of all the messaging tools at her disposal, including Guardian, Whisper, and the broadcast tool developed by QUT. However social media and Facebook in particular has been a game changer.

"Facebook changes everything", says Trish.

"We’ve cut back on print advertising because Facebook allows us to reach further. Managed properly, our social channels can help us get warnings and updates out to people who live here and people who are just passing through."

The only problem is that the use of this highly effective messaging platform carries a huge risk. The Council has implemented Brolly to complement and support the shire’s communications team’s increased use of social media.

Trish has a strong disaster background and understands the council’s responsibilities to keep the community informed. “Facebook helps us reach more people at every stage – before, during and after a disaster.” She also understands the council’s responsibility to store and secure social posts as records.

"We have no control over what Facebook does with our page, or our messages," says Trish. "They could close our page down for some reason and we’d lose everything."

For Trish, Brolly has filled an important gap. “We appreciate the comfort of knowing that Brolly has us covered.”

The US parallel

US cities and counties answer to state public records laws the way Livingstone Shire Council answers to its records authority: posts get edited, replies pile up around contested decisions, and the earlier wording disappears from the public page unless something keeps it. Every version, reply and deletion in this story is the same record a US records officer is asked to produce.

Find your state’s response windows and statutes in the 50-state guide.