My Tribe

BACKGROUND The digital revolution and rise of participatory culture is changing the way we communicate, learn and engage with the world. ABC Radio National and other broadcasters are grappling with the paradigm shift and seeking meaningful, practice-based responses. The creative project, My Tribe, was a participatory online feature with radio outcomes produced for ABC Radio National's flagship features program, 360Documentaries. It explored ideas of belonging, identity and community. CONTRIBUTION Kyla Brettle was the Producer and Project Designer of My Tribe; the concept was developed by her in conjunction with David Carlin and Marius Foley. The work builds on early ABC Radio National and ABC Pool collaborative projects, and explores approaches to adapting and expanding radio documentary content online. My Tribe builds on the knowledge developed by a small number of other broadcast/participatory projects produced by ABC Radio National programs, including Natasha Mitchel's Gene Pool and Michelle Rayner's My Street. It moves beyond previous projects by exploring user-oriented approaches to working with user content and trialling new approaches to developing online radio feature content. All projects were housed on the beta version of ABC Pool (which has since been replaced). Subsequently, a commissioned paper about My Tribe was presented at the 2012 ABC RN Radio Beyond Radio Conference in Sydney. SIGNIFICANCE My Tribe was a significant vehicle through which to explore and rethink the practice of radio documentary and feature production in the digital age. It was the most successful ABC Pool project on several indicators, including number of works, engagement and participants. At the conclusion of the 360Documentaries funded initiative, ABC Pool selected and re-commissioned the project to launch and showcase the redesign of the new ABC Pool website.