Rotarians make good use of social networking
Rotary International News -- 26 October 2009
Rotarians are publicizing club events, reaching out to new members, and keeping in touch with program alumni through LinkedIn and Facebook.
Using Facebook has allowed District 7980 (Connecticut, USA) to connect with former Rotary Youth Exchange participants in preparation for a reunion.
"We have also been using LinkedIn to connect with other Future Vision Plan pilot districts to share thoughts," notes Alan Hurst, a member of the Rotary Club of East Hampton and District 7980's Youth Exchange chair.
K.N. Chandrashekaran, a member of the Rotary Club of Hyderabad North, Andhra Pradesh, India, recently began using Facebook to share Rotary-related news. "I created an invitation for the RYLA 2009 being hosted by my club, and some non-Rotarians have responded wanting to know more about RYLA [Rotary Youth Leadership Awards]."
More and more Rotarians are finding that social networking is a great way to connect with other Rotarians, broaden their horizons, and spread the message about Rotary to non-Rotarians. We recently asked Rotary club members on RI's official LinkedIn page to share their experiences with social networks. Here are some of their responses:
Virginia "Viky" Garcia, a member of the Rotary Club of Laredo-Under Seven Flags, Texas, USA, says her club recently established a Facebook account. "I post invitations for all of our fans that let them know who the upcoming speaker is. The hope is to be able to recruit more members by providing information to them on our activities and the freedom to ask questions before going to visit with one of our members."
Facebook has helped Bill Pollard, a member of the Rotary Club of Churchland-Portsmouth, Virginia, USA, to keep in touch with Rotarians he met during his visits to other clubs during his year as governor of District 7600. "It also provides a great opportunity for our friends on Facebook who are not Rotarians to read our conversations about Rotary," he notes.
The Rotary Club of Orlando, Florida, USA, has had success attracting new members through both LinkedIn and Facebook, says Linda Rolf, a member of the club and a software development specialist. "There is no doubt social networking opens doors that simply would not be possible otherwise."
"I believe we must learn to communicate with members and prospective members any way they want to receive communications," notes Kevin Learned, governor of District 5400 (parts of Idaho and Oregon, USA). "We have to acknowledge and embrace generational differences in communication preferences."