2008National UniServ

Managers Conference

Using Technology in Our Work with Staff

Maureen Cronin, NJEADon Blake, NEA

Agenda

• Social Media Survey Results:What you told us . . .

• Overview: Web 2.0 and Social Media• Social Media: Issue Organizing by Example• Step-by-Step:

MySpace, Facebook, Change.org, Linked-In,YouTube

• Is Social Media for You?• Making Successful Use of Social Media• Dialogue: Leveraging social media

1. Briefly describe experiences if any, you've had with staff using or encouraging the use of social networking sites such as You Tube, Facebook, MySpace or others with local leaders/associations? Were these positive or negative experiences?

What You Told Us . . .

2. How do you or your UniServ Directors/Representatives apply social networking to association organizing and representation?

What You Told Us . . .

3. How much time is devoted to the use of social networking in your work life or the work life of Uniserv staff?

What You Told Us . . .

4. What conversations are occurring in your state about the use of social networking as a vehicle to generate member involvement in collective action?

What You Told Us . . .

Lingo

(1) Web 2.0(2) Social Media(3) Social Network(ing)

Web 2.0 and Social Media

Example: igoogle

Social Media:Three Basic Elements, Three Dynamic Changes

(1) Everybody can be a publisher(2) There are no gatekeepers (content or comments)(3) Finally, social media is about the tools themselves

(1) the way that technologies are designed,(2) the way that participation spreads, (3) the way that people behave.

Elements:

Dynamic Changes:

web-based services that allow individuals to:

(1)construct a public or semi-public profile within a bounded system,(2)articulate a list of other users with whom they share a connection, (3)view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the system.

Social Networking Sites

social network sites are unique not because they allow individuals to meet strangers, but rather that they enable users to articulate and make visible their social networks

62 million active members83% Caucasian, moreconservative group

110 million active membersMixed demographics

Social Media:Issue Organizing by Example

Is Social Media For You?

• You’re still trying to get a handle on your association’s basic technology infrastructure•Your target audiences aren’t using social networking tools•You don’t have time to experiment with something that might not work•You’re not willing to work with technologies that don’t work as well as they could•You’re not willing to invest in gaining a real understanding of the medium•You want clear editorial control over your brand and message

Six signs that Social Media Isn’t for You:

Opportunities in Social Media

• Establishing a simple Web presence•Promoting specific actions or petitions•Consolidating existing, unofficial social media related to your organization•Informal outreach that blends the personal and professional•Researching potential partners, employees, etc.•Strengthening relationships between people who already know each other• Encourage and respond to constituent feedback quickly