The spread of social media in our corner of the world (associations) has me contemplating the change in how we know people.
We read their blogs, follow them on Twitter, LinkedIn, “Friend” them on Facebook, and think we know them.
I first noticed this at ASAE’s 2007 Annual Meeting in Chicago. I joined the backchannel, followed and responded to the information on it, and wound up joining some of the leading technology folks in ASAE for a beer one night. I got to meet association blogging guru Ben Martin, http://www.benmartincae.com
I felt like I knew Ben because I read his blog. But of course, I don’t.
The same with Patti Digh, http://www.37days.typepad.com. I met her in San Diego, at ASAE 2008. And I read her blog, we are Facebook Friends, and have exchanged Tweets. On election night I was tweeting about my daughter Grace’s reaction to Barak Obama’s election (my daughter is African-American), and Patti was responding. I feel like I know Patti, and would be comfortable sharing a cup of tea with her.
But do we really know each other? While these electronic tools can help us in this wide flung world, are we truly connected?
I ask because I believe we are going to see an already rapidly growing area, truly explode over the next few years. More and more associations are going to turn to these tools to communicate and connect with members and potential members.
But will our members still feel like they know us?
AssociationOkie 
July 29, 2009 at 8:20 pm |
Mark, these are great thoughts and I plan to pick up on them. I’ve always described this as “if I got run over by a bus tomorrow…” One thing to consider: Your dogs are probably trustworthy, and hopefully not tall enough to reach the envelope. But I can think of a few former employees whom I would not want to have access to some of this info. So if you have human employees, perhaps the envelope should be in a more secure place. Paul