Newsbomb

There are two separate problems. Firstly, for the most part the topics the newsletter covers are not the ones students are concerned about at the moment. There will be some photos from the new Union which is opening in the city centre in a couple of weeks, but there is no mention of the Rector problem - Aberdeen Uni has, to the best of my knowledge, been without a Rector since the most recent incumbent's term in office ended, despite elections having been pencilled in for November. 2004 - nor is there any talk about student radio (a key election pledge for the current AUSA president that hasn't materialised) or indeed the promised referendum on NUS membership (a key election pledge for the current AUSA president that hasn't materialised).

There is, however, a nice poem about the Hilton Campus Union which closes at the end of term and a whole page dedicated to meeting the ladies who staff the General Office at AUSA HQ (who are, it should be noted, wonderful people though this is conveyed better by meeting them in person than by email).

Essentially, the first problem is that the newsletter doesn't contain any news that is particularly relevant to those AUSA hope will read it. The second problem is the way the information is being presented.

Through the year (Years, in fact. Communication between AUSA and the student body has never been what you might call good.) meaningful communication between AUSA and the students it represents has been minimal. It is not as if nothing has been happening during the academic year. Besides the lack of a Rector, student radio or an NUS referendum, AUSA has announced plans to refurbish the Central Refectory as well as the adoption of a new three-year strategic plan. Yet these fairly important developments have not been publicised. It's unfair to say that the information has been obscured or hidden, because it's readily available. What is unfair is the sheer amount of work it takes to find anything out.

And now, all of a sudden, AUSA has decided that it has all these really important things that all students must know. The newsletter is going to be one huge, indigestible lump of information that is going to be uniformly ignored. Confronted by an unsolicited email with an attachment, most students are going to question how much of value they've heard from AUSA this year and weigh it against the chances of this email containing any vitally important info. Then they'll hit delete.

The one-shot email newsletter is a hopelessly inefficient method of communication. It contains too much information and too little of real value. Some of it is interesting, but unnecessary. If AUSA wants an email newsletter that works, they need to revise how it is conceived and distributed.

1. Go monthly. This way the info in the newsletter is more relevant at any given time. It also cuts down on unnecessary content because everything has to have temporal relevance.
   
2. Don't include the content in the email. Host the content on the AUSA website and put links to the individual articles in the email. This allows people to pick and chose what they want to find out and gives them a sense of control. If there's anything desperately important, keep it in the email. If not, a brief description and a link will do.
   

I suggested these things when I was asked to typeset the newsletter. I was told to make a PDF to email to everyone. It doesn't necessarily matter to me whether people read it or not, I still get paid. But AUSA have taken the route of doing what is easier for them rather than what is easier for their members - the students. That matters to me.