· Effective online networking ·
Beth Kanter has written an article for Techsoup: "Eight Secrets of Effective Online Networking". Beth surveyed a few people at non-profits (including Seb Chan from our very own Powerhouse Museum :)) to find out how they use social networks and has collated some really interesting responses.
I've been wondering what types of people (or, rather, what types of personalities) are best suited to online social network maintenance. Basically, I guess I just want to find out if I'm a freak (!!) because online I'm totally out there, but offline I'd really rather sit in a dark cafe with a coffee/wine and one or two mates. I reckon one of the most important qualities is curiosity, because that will ensure you will want to find out more about your online supporters. I disagree with Ian Wilker, who suggests that people who are effective at real-world relationships are the best people for the job:
When recruiting participants, Ian Wilker, a social media consultant, suggests seeking out the same qualities you would look for in a face-to-face networker. "Find the people ... who are incredibly effective at advancing your mission through real-world relationships with others," he said. "Encourage them to bring online the same values and passion they exhibit in real life."
I'm not great at real-world relationships because I'm a *total* intravert and am usually shy when I meet somebody for the first time. However, I am a pretty good networker because I want to find out how and why people do what they do. I think it's my curiosity that makes me an effective networker, not my people skills. So if you're looking for somebody to take on this role at your organisation, my suggestion is that you look for somebody who is *outgoing* which is quite different from being *a people-person*.
I agree with Lewis from The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), who says, "People love having an actual person to connect to from an organization, and two-way communication is what makes social networks so successful." On ANTaR's MySpace page I always sign off my comments and posts as "Priscilla @ ANTaR" for two reasons: (1) although I'm there on behalf of ANTaR I'm still trying to build a personal relationship with our supporters, so it's important for them to know who I am as well as who the organisation is, and (2) when I say something, I'm making it clear that it's my opinion and not necessarily that of the organisation ... this is a safety net in case I say something that isn't quite our organisation's official "line".
Apparently DailyKos also started its network up in a similarly personal fashion:
Micah Sifry, Executive Editor of Personal Democracy Forum, observed of über-successful political blog DailyKos, "[It] started as one person's blog, and that person, Markos Moulitsas, spent untold hours building his community. He once told me that in the early days, when he had maybe several hundred regular readers, he knew the names of every single one and would notice when someone hadn't been on the site for a while, and when they returned, he'd greet them personally. It takes that level of leadership engagement to build a successful [social network] around activism."
Finally, some more advice from Lewis @ HSUS that I agree with: unless something *huge* is going on that is directly relevant to your cause, only check your social network site once (or maximum twice) a day. Otherwise you won't get anything else done!
Tuesday February 19, 2008
Categories: Campaigning
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