If I’m honest, I’m not particularly comfortable with social media. Blogging is new, and at this point, rather forced. (But, I am a fantastic lurker! I love reading what other people have to say on blogs and listservs.) I signed up for LinkedIn and Facebook, but mostly because I felt like I had to. I’m still struggling to understand how this all fits. Before Facebook, I didn’t know what my friends’ status was (and I still don’t since I haven’t logged on for 3 weeks) and that was OK. When I first started using Facebook, I was completely overwhelmed. Was I suddenly expected to know all the details of my friends’ lives? Because it felt like information overload, I stopped using it. Now, when I log on once a month, I have 50 requests and posts and messages. So, I gave up. But after I got over the guilt of not using Facebook, I realized that I’m not missing out! I still know what I have to know about the lives of my friends and family. Most people don’t talk about any serious problems or internal struggles they’re having on Facebook – they pick up the phone and connect with someone. So, I’ve decided that it’s OK for me to use social media on my terms (I’m different and that’s OK). I don’t have to go on to Facebook everyday. I don’t need to respond to blogs. Social media is a tool like everything else (Jamie had a great blog post about that recently). It’s not something that should control me, but rather should be something that enhances my knowledge and relationships. Finding that balance of how to use these tools is different for everyone and people should not expect to use – or have others use – them all in the same way.
All that said, I do recognize the value of social media and have had to figure out how it will work as a tool for my association (the Association of Water Technologies, AWT). To make sure we didn’t miss the boat completely, I signed up AWT for all the biggies – Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google Groups– if for no other reason than to claim the name. We also started an internal wiki for volunteers to collaborate on projects. Of the major social media tools, we’re only using LinkedIn, right now. But, I am trying to sell my Board on the idea of an interactive conference platform that allows attendees to connect – it’s kind of like Facebook, but designed for the conference. We’re also finding that our standard means of reaching our members – email – is becoming a little stale and we’re seeing a decrease in open and click-through rates. Social media tools, such as Twitter, might be a great way to re-engage the membership, so that is something we’re looking into as well.
So, I’m making my foray into social media grumbling slightly (to myself; I try to be enthusiastic to my Board), but knowing that it is a great way to help people connect and enhance their association experience.
