11 November 2021

The School of Communication (SCOM) organised the SCOM Talk Series 42 on 11 November 2021. Mr Kwok-wai Wu, the co-founder of Facebook Page 《胡．說樓市》and a seasoned media expert, was invited to be the guest speaker, sharing his entrepreneurial experience as well as the challenges and opportunities of operating an online property news platform with SCOM teachers and students.

Mr Wu shared that his work experience gained and the network built in Cable TV, Sing Tao Daily, and Sing Pao laid a good foundation for setting up his own business. At that time, Mr Wu found that much of the property-related news and information was confusing with questionable authenticity. He therefore created the Facebook Page 《胡．說樓市》with two partners in 2017 with the aim of providing transparent and detailed information of the Hong Kong property market to the public.

Mr WU emphasised that being neutral and down-to-earth is essential for new media to gain trust from audiences. 《胡．說樓市》is thus positioned as an interactive communication channel with audiences. Through exchanges with the Page audiences and netizens, they as owners of the Page are able to collect newsworthy information for further investigation and reporting. Mr Wu adopts a consumer-oriented approach to operate his Facebook and YouTube channels. Apart from reporting traditional property news about mortgages and sales in Hong Kong, they also offer solutions to the audiences who encounter problems with their properties. For instance, a property owner who was plagued by water leakage in her newly-purchased flat had contacted the property developer for many times, but there was no appropriate follow-up action. She then contacted Mr Wu, hoping that her case could be reported by《胡．說樓市》to catch media attention and coverage so that the property developer would respond to their request and follow it up. Mr Wu shared how their channel dealt with the case to ensure that all parties, including the property developer, the property management company and the property owner, had been given a fair chance to provide feedback and relevant evidence. They had also conducted on-site inspection and sought advice from the inspector. After dealing and communicating with all parties, the problem was fixed finally. He remarked that through such handling, a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of the case could be built up, and true and neutral reporting was maintained in the channel.

During the Q&A and chit-chat session, students raised questions enthusiastically. In addition to answering students’ questions one by one, Mr Wu also encouraged students to get in touch with the market and consumers of different social strata more so as to equip themselves better for standing out in the industry in future. He praised students for their acumen and proficiency in using social media, but at the same time advised them to learn from experienced industry practitioners since they would be more capable of extending their potentials by synergising knowledge, skills and experience.

After the talk, students said that they had developed a deeper understanding of self-media and the property-related news industry and benefited a lot.