As part of our preparation for a workshop called “Embracing Technology for Online Success” at a Not-for-Profit Training Day, I’ve been taking a much closer look at the origins of social media and some of its current favourites. Fascinating stuff!

I’m one of the slow adopters of these favourites. I don’t have a Twitter account, and my Facebook page only got updated when I was working on this project. I trot out the same excuses many other business owners of my generation use – I just don’t have the time!

But hang on -  there are many elements of social media in most of the sites I participate in. I’m researching my family history so have signed up to sites like ancestry.co.uk, genesreunited.co.uk, oldschoolfriends.co.nz – all of which have some method of facilitating social interaction between their users. I’m also a member of the geocaching.com site which again has the facility to socially network (even if I don’t use it!). So chances are, if you have a computer and an internet connection, you are participating in some form of social media even if you aren’t regularly tweeting or obsessing about the number of ‘friends’ you have in Facebook.

Out of this research exercise has come a whole host of great resources, useful for any business wanting to test the waters with social media, but in particular for not-for-profits. So in the spirit of the medium, over the next few posts I’ll cover my ‘take’ on social media along with those considered the ‘gurus’ in the field,  and some useful links and resources. And so you get a view from a more active social media user, Mark, our in-house GenY, will also provide his insights.

Posted on May 17th, 2009 by Wendy Riley-Biddle
Filed under: Marketing, Social Media for Not-for-Profits