About Mark Bayly

About Mark Bayly 

Senior Manager, Digital Communications, Ambulance Victoria

In a sentence, why are you passionate about social media and digital communications for government?

In a nutshell, I love the challenge of imbedding digital communications into organisations and watching the evolution of the revolution. It often takes time, to move those traditional communications laggards, but when they embrace the change, there’s a sense of personal and professional satisfaction.

Tell us a bit about your background - how did you get to where you are today?

I’m a former ABC TV journalist who then set up his own company to work in corporate communications with Government and multi-national companies. Digital was new territory back then and I had the opportunity to shape the landscape to a certain extent. I then found myself at Victoria Police at a time when social media was fresh and new. My role was to set the strategy for the organisation. After 8 years I moved to Ambulance Victoria where the cycle of digital life starts again.

What’s been your biggest learning to date?

My biggest learning is that you never stop learning. Unashamedly I admit I’m at the latter stages of my career, but innovation, ideas and future thinking of others still excites me.

Who - agency or individual - do you most admire for their work online?

I saw this person present the keynote at a major conference some years ago. Her name is Rachel Botsman - and in her own words she is always rethinking. I find her thought process stimulating and love the way she deals with trust issues. Check out her website, rachelbotsman.com or on Twitter @rachelbotsman

What’s your favourite social channel and why?

I could say LinkedIn - and I do love it from a business perspective. But I find myself opening Instagram with monotonous regularity. I love its diversity of content, provides me with some escapism and the ability to target feeds that really interest me i.e. photography and dance.

What’s the most amazing/unusual/valuable thing you’ve personally achieved via social media?

I’ve talked about this a lot over the years, but without doubt convincing the Executive team at Victoria Police to introduce an AI driven Chatbot with multiple pathways. It took me more than two years to get the platform up, but its success gave me incredible professional satisfaction.

Let’s get warm and fuzzy for a moment - why did you join the GDLN and how do you hope to help create a better public sector?

I guess I believe I have a breadth of digital experience I can share with others, particularly new members to GDLN. But also, referencing question 3, I want to hear what other leaders have to say and what initiatives are occuring in Government.

What would you say are your areas of expertise on social, if people need advice?

Leadership and strategy spring to mind. I also believe I can provide strong advice on how to work the ‘system’. Finally I can show you how to not take yourself too seriously. You don’t want to kill yourself at work one tweet at a time.