ABSTRACT
As communication increasingly moves online, so too will consultation. Ultimately, online consultation can help make consultation fun and potentially address the serious issue of consultation fatigue. Three major factors summarise the changes that have taken place within consultation since the new millennium: the demise of the public meeting, the rise of participative planning and the introduction of online consultation. The increased popularity, power and availability of the internet accounts for much of the change in public consultation over the past two decades. An important consideration is whether to run a consultation solely online, seek a mixture of online and offline tactics or run the consultation entirely offline. Certainly, online consultation should not be used as a means to reduce costs or labour. The increased popularity of social media has resulted in a wide range of social communications tools which may be used for consultation purposes.
