Acronym

What happened to 2009 - it seems just yesterday I started having to think when I wrote the year out - here are my top 5 things I am thinking about as we see 2010 approaching:

1. It is still all about relationships - whether we use a social network on the web or face to face or just by phone - it is all about building and sustaining relationships - it is what we do as association professionals

2. While I have not gone to much professional development this year - I have learned more and read more thanks to joining the Twitterverse - I will remember to stay engaged. Learning is never ending and I grow personally and professionally each day because of it.

3. This year, we have begun the process of clarity over control (thanks SocialFish for putting it so well) - and how clarity is much more important than just being transparent - we need to make sure our members not only know what is going on, but, more importantly, understand what is going on with their organization

4. Value is still the most important thing. I will try to remember this everyday and be conscious of it as I go about my day.

5. Lastly, I will continue to be kind. Because as a plaque in my office says - 'Because Nice Matters' - we are all human, let's remember that and treat each other as we would want to be treated.

Thank you Brian for your great thought provoking post.

You bring up some great points, Brian. While I agree with most of what you discuss, I think you're wrong about social media. I realize this argument is based upon anecdotal claims, but I think social media, specifically Facebook (Twitter too) is being transformed by various groups and being used as a powerful tool for all sorts of things. (Just recently one relatively unknown Senator - who just won the Nobel Prize - and also won the Presidency proved that social media is a powerful tool for political organizing). That's actually how I'm using it as the Promotional Writer and Dir. of Marketing for a grassroots, advocacy group.

My Facebook page - you can find me if you do a Google search for C. Cryn Johannsen! - is a professional platform for the non-profit advocacy group founded by Robert Applebaum. It's the Forgive Student Loan Debt Movement. Applebaum created a Facebook group (anyone can), and called it "Cancel Student Loan Debt to Stimulate the Economy." That was back in January 2009, and Mr. Applebaum thought he'd only attract a handful of people. As of today, we have well over 231,000 supporters! (I credit myself as doing a lot of the leg work to attract new members by using other forms of social media - Tweeting, posting on all sorts of comment boards about student loan debt, etc.) As the second in command for the group, I have built up a strong, interconnected coalition of "friends" on my Facebook page. When I first started volunteering in this role, my Facebook page comprised people who were mostly my closest friends. But I began to think about how I could use it professionally and for the group. After all, I had started a blog for the movement (Education Matters), was doing all sorts of advocacy work on behalf of students, writing letters to politicians and media outlets, etc. I realized that I was sending important messages about the group's activities, my role as a lobbyist, researcher, advocate, etc. on Facebook (updating my status routinely is key), but these things were only being sent to a limited number of mostly friends on my Facebook page. That's when I had that "aha!" moment, and realized I needed to build my base and on MY Facebook page. I now have well over 1,200 "friends," and am beginning to receive friend requests at least 2-3 times a day. (That's in result to my new "friends;" they are spreading the word about who I am and what my Facebook page is all about.

For example, just last night I spoke to some filmmakers out in L.A. If they hadn't found me on Facebook, our paths would have never crossed. Moreover, I had a meeting with someone in D.C. who's an outstanding candidate for helping us strengthen our group. While we met in person - that's still one of the most crucial ways in which to network and build a group, sell a product, etc. - he found out about our group from an online article. He did a search for us, my professional Facebook page was one of the things that came up, and he "friended" me.

At the same time, it's important to note that I am now experiencing the limitations of using Facebook for an advocacy group of this sort. For starters, it's impossible to actually contact all 231,000 supporters at once (I guess if a group has more than 1,000 members, you can't send out "group messages.") The other drawback? There's a lot of lively conversations and debate about the student lending crisis, loan problems, news, etc., but it's as if it's STUCK on Facebook. Despite these logistical limitations, I don't think Facebook will die. In fact, I think it's changing, and that's for the better (i.e., people are using it for different purposes - for political movements, to raise awareness about company products, etc.)

The real challenge is using Facebook with other forms of social media, and understanding how they ought to be understood in a holistic sense. So, let's say you have a Facebook page for your company, but it's not linked to Twitter or LinkedIn. Even worse, no one in your company bothers to update your Facebook page. Well . . . it's utterly useless. Social media as a tool must be used, cultivated - that's what it's meant for. If it's neglected and languishes, then the dynamic nature of social media is rendered useless.

C. Cryn,
Thanks for the great post and wonderful example of the power of social media! I appreciate you challenging my thinking on this...yes, I agree, the technology has great potential and has already been used to do great things, and I agree that won't change long-term...I think you are hitting on the point I was dancing around; you must have a strong purpose and business strategy behind it...maybe I am just overwhelmed with the amount of new information that is out there, in so many different forms, as well as a bit overwhelmed with the overabundance of social media experts that have popped up everywhere...its hard for me to navigate through all this info and set of new applications/technologies, and really determine what will have lasting impact and value...I think facebook, or what facebook will become as it evolves over time, will still be a powerful force, as will many others (provided they can find a way to turn a profit)...thanks for the great story and example, it helps keep me motivated when I get a bit overwhelmed with all the possibility out there, infinite choice gives me a headache sometimes!

Brian,
Your #5 - the social network will self-destruct - it brought to my mind one of those funny science fiction movies, where the you think the blob is destroyed, but all you've actually done is created 1,000 smaller blobs to grow and divide again and again. (I think I just divulged too much about how my mind works and my entertainment preferences.)

Anyway, back to you point. I think what we'll see is diversification--maybe the social network will self-destruct, and what we'll be left with is a number of tightly bonded mini-networks. Maybe association member communities will drive this trend, with or without their organization's infrastructure to support them.

Or maybe not. I can't predict the future. I just try to make it work for now.