Formulating social media activism strategy in heritage conservation : the case study of Pang Jai Fabric Market

Abstract

Social Media is very popular and ubiquitous in modern daily life and it is always being used in promotion and advocacy, including heritage conservation practice. On the other hand, scholars and research are kept reminding us that society engagement and public participation are morphing responsibility and role of stakeholders in heritage practice, while social media act as one of the most important catalyst of such process, changing the behavior and understanding of practitioners in heritage conservation. Empirical evidences are readily available, though it is not thoroughly discussed and no guideline or organized assessment are made to leverage the effect of social media is protecting or operating a heritage site. The thesis develops a strategy in social media activism specialized in heritage conservation, by referencing from two social media measurement metrics as the theoretical basis. As social value and interpretation is paramount to a historic site, archiving ‘living heritage’ with sustainable development is significan, these elements would be added to produce a strategy in heritage version. The strategy holds up three objectives that would like to be achieved: 1. To maintain physical and intangible value of the site; 2. To encourage participatory culture in heritage practice and; 3. To enhance social value and perform living heritage practice. The strategy is then put into a case study in Hong Kong: Pang Jai Fabric Market, which has been using social media as a public. Site visit, interview to the campaign organizer and assessment to the site’s situation and stakeholders’ response are major data collection method. These data is used to analyzed and further optimized the strategy for future reference. This framework of social media guideline is referenceable for any people who wants to raise a heritage conservation practice using social media.