On 26 March 2024, Wellington Shire Council’s Facebook page was unexpectedly unpublished by Meta, the parent company of Facebook. This action took us by surprise and highlighted that even as a regional local government council, we are still vulnerable to the unpredictable decisions of global social media giants.
What’s more, we are not alone in facing such challenges, it’s an issue that many other organisations and businesses face online, daily.
We want to clarify that our Facebook page was not removed intentionally. It appears to have stemmed from a Facebook update, the specifics of which we are still trying to understand. Over the past week, we have been actively engaging with Meta to resolve this issue as quickly as possible, however there has been no outcome to date.
Social media might seem simple – however despite their user-friendly facade, these platforms are governed by rules and algorithms, many of which we will never understand. This makes issues like ours challenging to resolve quickly.
Going forward we will be focused on the communication channels and databases we directly manage, ensuring that we continue to serve our community effectively and in meaningful ways.
For more than five years, we have dedicated ourselves to building a transparent and honest online community, attracting a following of over 20,000 across digital channels, who actively engage with our content every day (and night). Understanding the value of this connection, we have prioritised a new Wellington Shire Council Facebook page.
Wellington Shire Council Mayor Ian Bye highlighted the value of talking with and hearing from the community.
“Keeping our Facebook pages active and engaging is so important for us to work together effectively. Please follow, share, and engage with our content across all online channels. Your participation makes a big difference in keeping our community connected," Cr Bye said.
We also encourage you to stay connected with us through as many places and platforms as possible, including our Digital Edit E-newsletter, Instagram, and our other Facebook pages including Wellington Libraries, Aqua Energy, Gippsland Regional Sports Complex (GRSC), Gippsland Regional Livestock Exchange, The Middle of Everywhere and Gippsland Art Gallery.
We appreciate your understanding and patience through this unexpected hiatus and thank you for your continued support.