Follow up to NAA Social Media Workshop on 8/29/12
Toni Serna
From: Cosima Colvin
Sent: Thursday, September 06, 2012 4:49 PM
To: Toni Serna
Subject: Email summary of 8-12-12
Thanks to the 24 NA people who attended representing 13 HD123 Neighborhood Associations plus the OST 100 (Old Spanish Trail)! It was a very good turnout and everyone seemed to appreciate the presentation re: Social Media and how our NA’s can benefit by using it. A BIG thank you to Charlotte-Anne Lucas of NowcastSA who ran the show and had Mimi Quintanilla of the Active Living Council, who also gave a short presentation about helping to make our neighborhoods, and neighbors, healthier.
Although the subject matter was sometimes overwhelming (FB, Twitter, Mailchimp, Google Groups, Ushahidi/crowdmap.com, etc.), especially for those of us who are less technologically savvy, I think everyone came away understanding the importance of reaching out to their membership thru a variety of mediums and most showed an interest in pursuing these options and learning more.
Of the 13 NA’s represented, it was clear that there is a wide range of “outreach” currently being practiced - from having a committee that calls the membership with announcements to those with websites and Facebook pages. I think we all learned that we need to reach out to our membership using a variety of methods, the most common of which are email, newsletters, websites and Facebook. Some more sophisticated tools are Google Groups, YouTube, Flicker, and Mailchimp. Some NA’s feel that they have too few people using the internet to make having a website or Facebook page worthwhile, but the other side of that equation is that without that web presence, those neighborhoods will not be able to attract younger residents that rely on the internet for seeking out a place to live or connecting with people.
Trying to get up to speed on how to use some, or all, of these tools can be intimidating, so we are hoping that those NAA members that are ahead of the technology curve, will reach back and help some of the NA leaders who are less savvy in these areas. If you are willing to share your knowledge and skills with a small group of NA leaders that are looking to expand into these areas, please let us know (Ernest, Marty, Everett, Marc, Maryellen). If you are an NA leader that would like to pursue some of the tools that were discussed, please get in touch and we will try to pair you with a mentor.
Also, remember that NowcastSA is available to you for posting stories and photos that you write about events in your ‘hood, or adding upcoming events to their calendar or maybe even attending one of your events and live streaming or videotaping. They are also a good source of information as to what is going on in the city, and provide the awesome service of video archiving important public meetings so that when you can’t be in two places at once, you can go on-line and watch an event they’ve taped at your leisure. If you haven’t already, we highly encourage you to check them out at Nowcastsa.com and feel free to contact them at ne...@nowcastsa.org with questions, calendar events or news coverage opportunities. You can be sure that when Beacon Hill has their Grand Opening of the long awaited Linear Park, we will be inviting Nowcastsa to be there.
Lastly, the group in attendance opted to meet again in October, after NNO, but before the holiday season begins in earnest. Dellview Area NA graciously offered to host the next meeting, date still to be determined. We asked if there is a particular topic that folks would like to discuss at the next meeting, but nothing seemed to bubble up to the surface. So, if you have an idea, please let us know.
In the meantime, enjoy the waning days of summer, keep up the good work and PLEASE let us know if you will be a mentor, need a mentor or have a suggestion for next month’s meeting.