Professionals Embrace Social Networking but No Replacement for Face-to-Face
August 4th, 2009
by Mark Sklarow, Executive Director, IECA
IECA has sought to be ahead of the curve (if only slightly) by embracing new social networking and communication tools to assist members in connecting with each other and sharing information, and have found many admission representatives and families paying attention. We’ve been rewarded with nearly 3,000 of these blog postings read each week, hundreds of “friends” to our Facebook page and ample evidence that these efforts are accomplishing the goals we set out for them.
Now as we launch our conference registration and open our Summer Training Institute tomorrow, I wondered whether there remained an important place for face-to-face meetings or whether my preferred way to share had become passe.
A recent survey conducted by the social networking industry confirms that while adults are using Twitter, Facebook, and blogs more than ever (representing the fastest growing segment), their preference is for good, old-fashioned in-person gatherings. And it wasn’t even close.
In sum, 87% of adults said they preferred to deal with other people in person rather than via computers, and for women it was over 90%! Additionally, two-thirds of respondents expressed dismay that they weren’t seeing their friends more. And that’s real friends, not Facebook “friends.”
The bottom line for the Independent Educational Consultants Association and our colleagues: while new technologies and new networking tools, like the one you are reading right now serve a useful and important purpose, they cannot replace the environment created at a conference when you can look people in the eyes, introduce colleagues, shake hands, sit down and have a talk and hear the inflection in their voice, read their eyes and body language and gain more in a five-minute talk with a vendor or admission rep than you could learn in hours surfing the Web.
Let’s get to those face-to-face meetings. I’ll see you there!
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Tagged:changes in consulting practices, educational consulting, IECA Conference, IECA Networking Reception, networking, Social media
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