ecomm-a-rama

We here in the sprawling ecomm nerve center toss around social media, web campaigns, 2.0, mapping apps and other buzzwords like cheerios flying across the table at breakfast with a 3 year old.

What we’re NOT trying to do is the more of the same… one way email statements that tell someone to pass on a one way message to someone else. We’ve proven we’re good a that. Very good. And it can certainly have an impact (especially when one needs to toss around big impressive numbers).

But I deeply believe that what we better do - as a movement and an organization - is simply use these tools better to have actual conversations. Two-way, three-way, whatever-way. People need a to know we’re hard at work on the stuff they don’t have time to do. But we keep asking people what they want and we keep hearing - we want to do more, really we do.

Maybe it gets at the companionship deficit… which I’m not sure is a term coined by Bill McKibben but which Spike Jones does a nice job working into a related post about social communities.

Why not engage people and build community? Why not let people build companionship with these issues?

There’s so much buzz out there about “social networking” that it’s easy to feel out of touch and overwhelmed. For those of us that are new to the world of online communities, getting familiar doesn’t have to be such a daunting task. You might even find that you’re further along than you thought. Ever posted a photo on Flickr, looked at DIGG, or watched a video on YouTube? If so, you’re not so new after all! If not, have no fear. It’s easy to get started. Interested in trying something new? The RAD Campaign has a list of social networking communities here (and this is just the start of possibilities), along with some tips on engaging in these networks. For those of you who like visuals, here’s a fun map.

If you’re interested in how TWS might use some of these networks to advance our programs and issues, this might also be handy.

The only way to truly understand how these applications might engage our audience is to try them out yourself, so get busy. Give it a shot.

Look me up on Facebook, LinkedIn, DIGG, del.icio.us, Flickr, Plaxo, or twitter.