The hot new way for local governments to use note pro is to create a web media platform with citizen writers
Hello. I am Aoyagi, a director in charge of public and educational sectors at note.
Since 2020, note has been providing note pro free of charge to local governments. The number of local governments using the plan has now grown to 200.
They are using it to share information in various fields, such as hometown tax programs, relocation, tourism, and communications for residents.
Among these, a topic that has recently seen an increase in inquiries from local governments is the use of note pro to create a web media platform with citizen writers.
Local governments recruit official citizen writers and provide educational content for participants, such as workshops on how to take photos and write articles. The articles written by the citizen writers are then compiled on the local government's note pro page.
Participants gain knowledge, and the local government can increase the amount of content that conveys the charm of the region. It is a mutually beneficial initiative.
In this note, I would like to introduce some case studies for local government officials who are interested in citizen writer initiatives.
Citizen writers who depict the charm of the town from various perspectives
The first local government to utilize note pro for a citizen writer initiative was Shunan City, Yamaguchi Prefecture.
The concept of this web magazine, which launched in February 2022, is to deliver a way to walk through the town that is a bit different from travel magazines, precisely because it is depicted from the unique perspective of citizen writers.
In Shunan City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, official citizen writers publish a note magazine titled 'Shunan City Guidebook Created by Everyone by Shunan City Citizen Writers,' featuring articles about life and scenery in the city from their own unique perspectives.
The goal is to complete a niche, lifestyle-focused Shunan City guidebook that can only be conveyed by those who actually live, work, study, or simply love Shunan City. We propose a new way to walk through Shunan City that is a bit different from travel magazines.
From gourmet food and sightseeing to local events and even bus stop pronunciation quizzes, the charm of the town is depicted from various angles.
It is also very easy to understand that an article introducing the members who are active as citizen writers is pinned to the top of the magazine.
In May 2024, Sakai City, Fukui Prefecture, and note signed a partnership agreement with the goal of supporting note usage by citizen writers.
Sakai City's initiative aims to foster civic pride among the younger generation and promote permanent residency. Therefore, it is a project handled by the Relocation and Settlement Promotion Division.
Articles written by young citizen writers deliver the charm of the region to young people. The young citizen writers themselves also rediscover the charm of Sakai City through their reporting.
The project is designed with the intention of involving the younger generation as both readers and writers.
note has decided to cooperate by conducting workshops for citizen writers and providing advice for Sakai City's official note.
From here, I will introduce Sakai City's initiatives in a bit more detail.
Sakai City, Fukui Prefecture, has young citizen writers create content for young people.
Sakai City's citizen writer initiative started this year.
Sakai City Rashisa Caravan was the name used to recruit young citizen writers in their teens to 30s. There were 13 applicants for the 6 expected spots.
The concept is to rediscover the charm of the region through interviews with citizens who embody Sakai City's brand message, "Rashisa, Kagayaku." (Individuality, Shining.)
Sakai City brand message "Individuality, Shining." The people who appear within it. The team that will rediscover and share the charm of Sakai City by interviewing and experiencing the activities of people who shine in their own unique, free, and attractive ways throughout the year is the "Sakai City Rashisa Caravan."
Creating connections between the young people participating as citizen writers is also one of the important measures. Therefore, the project is designed with team building in mind.
The activity period for citizen writers is approximately one year. After taking four preliminary workshops, they will conduct interviews at four locations and write four articles each.
One-year flow for citizen writers
June-July: Preliminary workshops (4 sessions)
August-October: Interview/Writing (1st article)
November-January: Interview/Writing (2nd article)
February-April: Interview/Writing (3rd article)
May-July: Interview/Writing (4th article)
The articles are published on the individual notes of the citizen writers. By adding them to the magazine prepared by Sakai City's note pro, they are creating web media with the citizen writers.
Most of the citizen writer participants are writing articles for the first time.
Sakai City held preliminary workshops, created a manual for interview requests, and prepared article formats to serve as examples. They also provided 10,000 yen in activity expenses per person and made arrangements to allow them to accompany others on their interviews.
Many mechanisms are in place to make it easy and fun to participate, even for beginners.
A note writing study session for those writing articles for the first time
A feature of Sakai City's initiative is that the preliminary workshops are comprehensive. As shown in this image, four workshops are held over two months.
The first session is a workshop to decide on interview subjects. Participants brainstorm 20 things they want to interview about, write them down, and then select their subjects. We also hold a social gathering after the workshop to provide an opportunity for participants to get to know each other.
The second session is a workshop where participants learn how to take wonderful photos from a photographer. They learn about composition and retouching techniques.
The third session covers how to conduct interviews and how to structure the information gathered from them.
For the fourth session, I, as a note director, visited Sakai City to conduct a study session on how to write for note. This study session was held as a special event based on our agreement with Sakai City.
I would like to provide a brief report on the note writing study session here.
The note writing study session in Sakai City was held on the evening of July 26, 2024.
Most of the participating citizen writers said they knew about note but had never written on it before.
Therefore, the goal of the study session was set to make them want to write on note.
After introducing what kind of service note is, we first presented a topic and had them write a short piece.
This was so they could revise their own writing, which they had written as they normally would without any specific awareness, at the end of the study session.
After they finished writing, I shared several key points based on the premise that "if web content cannot be understood intuitively, it won't be read to the end."
For example, one point that seems simple but is often forgotten is to "keep sentences short."
I advised them not to try to write short sentences from the start, but to write everything out at once, then go back to insert periods to break them up, and to cut out words that aren't necessary for conveying meaning.
In addition, I touched upon "designing text visually" as a point unique to web articles.
Paragraph breaks should be inserted based on visuals, not grammar. Use kanji, hiragana, and katakana freely while considering the overall balance. Create rhythm by balancing photos and links. I explained these three points.
I explained the importance of paragraph breaks in particular using examples. Most people read articles on their smartphones. If you don't insert a paragraph break every two or three lines, the smartphone screen will become a solid block of text.
I helped them grasp this sense of how difficult such articles are to read by showing them concrete examples.
After explaining a few of these points, I asked them, "Now, please try revising the text you just wrote while keeping the points I've shared in mind."
"I was so confident I had written it well, but it's terrible!" "I want to rewrite all my past articles right now." "My line breaks and paragraph breaks are in all the wrong places..."
Sounds like screams or shouts could be heard from the venue.
Finally, I introduced some tips on how to create titles and had them title the pieces they had written.
With that, they had written a note ready to be published, and the workshop came to an end.
Write a piece of text without thinking about anything. Learn how to write easy-to-read text. Revise the text while keeping the points in mind. By experiencing this cycle in a workshop lasting about an hour and 15 minutes, they were able to get a sense of what it's like to write an article.
We received feedback like this in the participant survey. I was relieved to see that the workshop's goal of making people want to write notes seemed to have been achieved.
I was very satisfied with the content, which was full of practical exercises; I felt that my level of understanding was significantly different depending on whether I wrote the text myself first or not.
I tend to write stiff sentences, but I was taught, "Instead of the writing rules taught in compulsory education, try writing in a visual-oriented, easy-to-read style." I'm now looking forward to posting on note, thinking I'll try writing more freely and enjoyably, and try designing my sentences!
However, what the author, who served as the instructor, was curious about the whole time was that Mr. Kodama, the person in charge on the administrative side of this project, was the one enjoying it the most.
Perhaps 70% of the screams were from Mr. Kodama.
Mr. Kodama writes the official Sakai City note, so please take a look if you'd like.
At the time this note is published, the citizen writers of Sakai City have finished all four preliminary sessions. From here on, their interviews and article writing will begin.
Once it is published, I would like to add a link to the magazine to this article as well.
The Sakai City citizen writer initiative has many learning programs and ingenious ways for participants to enjoy their activities.
To all local government officials, please feel free to use this as a reference.
Also, at note, we are strengthening our collaboration with local governments, just like our initiative with Sakai City.
City branding, migration and settlement, education, industrial promotion, and more.
We are working on projects to solve issues through information dissemination by concluding agreements with local governments for various purposes.
If you are a local government official interested in 'wanting to do something with note' or 'wanting to talk about what possibilities exist,' please feel free to contact us.
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