NFPW

To Join Or Not To Join

In the past year I’ve become quite active on Facebook and LinkedIn. I have a blog, but I still don’t tweet. I’ve been part of conversations with NPFW members — young and old — about whether they should join and whether it’s a time waster.

At the least, any one in the communiations field needs to be familiar with the platforms. The only way to truly understand them is to participate, even if it’s only for a short time.

At the NFPW conference in San Antonio, Texas, blogger Nettie Hartsock described LinkedIn “as your corporate boardroom” and Facebook “as your playground.” It’s the distinction I’ve chosen to make, too. So if we networked professionally, please join me on LinkedIn. If you and I meet for dinner or talk on the phone in the evenings, please friend me.

The problem, though, is when co-workers ask you to be their friend on Facebook. It seems almost rude or antisocial to say no. Instead, I send a message and ask them to connect with me on LinkedIn.

When that didn’t work so well, I simply created a second Facebook account — this one for co-workers. I don’t post often to that one, but it does come in handy because I and my co-workers are able to share photos and videos. I work for ChildFund International, and employees travel frequently worldwide and capture video and photos of the children we serve. Facebook provides us with an easy-to-use platform to share what we’ve captured.

And ultimately, that’s the reason to join. If the platform offers you a benefit then join. If it doesn’t and is only hindering or aggravating you, then it’s okay not to join. There is another platform just waiting around the corner, and it may be exactly what you were looking for.

The Power of 3

Did you know that in 30 minutes you can address all of your social media commitments?

That was the message during one of the workshops at the 2009 NFPW Conference in San Antonio, Texas. The idea is that in those 30 minutes, you can write and post a blog, tweet, and update your LinkedIn profile.

It works. I’ve been doing it since the NFPW conference. Tonight was one of those nights that I fell behind so I was worried about getting a post up by my self-imposed deadline. In my 30 minutes, though, I did everything I needed to do.

Another session from the same workshop by Nettie Hartsock and Jennifer Hill Robenalt was to review your blog and blog roll every month. A blog roll should contain no more than 10-15 blogs, they said. So after three months check that the roll hasn’t grown out of control.

As for how often to post, yep, their recommendation was three times per week. I decided since I had a full-time job that almost always exceeds an eight-hour day that I would commit to twice a week, not three times. When I start posting three times a week, you’ll know I have the job well managed.

Suggestions for developing blog content included asking seven questions (or just three) of someone and posting the answers as an interview. Lists are always good especially when you include three tips or five hints.

So in just 30 minutes I’ve completed my blog, updated my LinkedIn profile and answered some emails. I still don’t tweet. And I’ll probably go over 30 minutes because I’ll go to Facebook, but I promise I’ll only play Bejeweled for 30 minutes!

To Tweet or Not to Tweet…

At book club the other week we started with a lively discussion about Facebook. Do we friend co-workers? What about younger relatives (think teens!)? Do you include a photo? What if a friend posts something you don’t like?

The one commonality was that each of us was using Facebook to varying degrees. And, for the most part, we enjoyed it for connecting with friends, although we all preferred sitting outside on a gorgeous fall day talking face to face.

But there are those who are rebelling against Facebook and other social means of communicating. And no, they aren’t in their 70s or 80s. Ian Shapira in The Washington Post wrote about 20-somethings who were simply saying no to joining Facebook. He called such people “networking refuseniks.”

So why do you participate — or not — on Facebook and other social media sites? Is it worth your time?

We’re considering using social media sites to reach out more often to our members and potential members in National Federation of Press Women. I’m curious to know if it will be worth our time and effort.

Let me know. (Of course, my Facebook page is closed to friends, but you can find me on LinkedIn and through this blog.)

How Is Your Professional Health?

For three days I and other senior managers at my organization discussed creating a dashboard to measure the health of our organization. The new board for NFPW is doing the same. We’re considering what a healthy number is in terms of membership. We’ve set measurements with respect to the Web. We’ve discussed financials.

It started me thinking. What about our own professional health? Shouldn’t each of us have a dashboard for ourselves? How often do we attend a networking event? How often do we read an article or book that broadens our horizons? How often do we take on tasks that don’t benefit us beneficially and eat up our time?

I decided to spend some time this weekend creating my professional health dashboard. It was eye opening. One thing on it is this blog — I’m growing my skill set. I also discovered some areas that needed work.

Once I identified what I needed to manage, I identified ways to measure. I’ll track my progress and expect to see results within six months to a year.

What are you doing for your professional health?

The Power of the Ask

“Just ask.” That’s my new motto.

A few years ago when Pam Stallsmith and I were co-chairing the 2007 NFPW conference, we knew we needed to raise funds. I’m not really good about asking for money, but if you don’t ask, you definitely won’t get anything. And so taking Pam’s advice to “just ask,” I began my calls.

And then, I asked.

And most everyone gave.

As I was preparing to become president, I needed to find members to serve on the appointed board. Pam reminded me, “Just ask.”

Our members want to be asked. More importantly they understand the power of making NFPW stronger.

I called Teresa Ford in Colorado and asked if she would design our newsletter. I had been impressed by the design of the NFPW conference program in Colorado, which she had designed. I gave her time to think about it.

When I called back she said she was busy but would do it because she, too, is involved with volunteer groups and it’s hard to get people to volunteer. She didn’t want to be the one who didn’t.

I asked Linda Koehler to edit the newsletter. Texas was only her second conference but we had spoken last year — we connected because she is from my home state of Pennsylvania. She said yes.

Marianne Wolf-Astrauskas offered several excellent suggestions during our general meeting on membership. So… I asked her to join the board spearheading membership. She was a tough sell because she wanted to be sure we (or should I say I) was going to do what I said I would do as president. But I asked, and she said yes.

And so I’ll continue to ask.

I hope you’ll answer.