Thursday, May 6, 2010

There haven't been a lot of times when something really struck me as spot on thinking, the below excerpt from Geoff Livingstons blog (http://geofflivingston.com/) is one of those times.

His thoughts on the personal, one-on-one relationships that are built through social media really resonates deeply with me. It's not so much the ding on corporate communication, because I think he believes (and so do I) that mass communication is important, it's the addition of the new communication, through social media, that holds NEW power.

******************************************************************************

“So what’s an organization to do? Stop content publishing, stop pushing your spiel. Start talking, practice the law of natural attraction, bring your network to you by becoming part of the larger ecosystem. It’s what Dell and LiveStrong and so many other successes have done.

When you let go of the postured brand control methods of mass media communications, and become a contributing part of ecosystems, things start to happen. You see organizations entrenched within larger conversations. People start paying attention, and a community starts to take hold.

When nonprofits and companies get over themselves and all of their contrived communications — like an awkward young adult finding themselves — they are able to focus on the big picture, and participate online in meaningful ways. They can add social to their larger communications mix as a real means to begin conversations with stakeholders. Whether that’s for fundraising/sales, community relations/customer service or volunteers/community loyalty, it really can happen on the social web.”

******************************************************************************
I believe that the need to connect is such an amazing thing - and I wonder how my professional life and network would be different today if social media had been around when I first started out.

I encourage the young and the old to get into the game now - there is so much to gain and if done right, with heart and sincerity, there is little to lose.

P.S. - Thanks Barbara for connecting me to this!

4 comments:

Jeff Hurt said...

Geoff Livingson always offers a great perspective. I'm with you Christine, I wonder what my professional and personal life would be like had social media and the Internet happened earlier in my life.

I do know this much, the world has changed and many association staff and leaders act as if the world has not suddenly,
irrevocably, cataclysmically, epistemically changed—and
changed precisely in the area of communications, connecting, education and learning.

PCMA Membership Blog said...

Jeff - thanks for your comment. I love the fact that I can seriously learn something new and interesting each and every day - merely by reading 140 characters in Twitter; or by connecting with a long lost friend or colleague through Facebook. It's so cool!

Geoff_Livingston said...

Thanks for the feedback. I am glad you found the article to be useful.

PCMA Membership Blog said...

Geoff - good to hear from you. Thanks for your comment.