MCC Facebook Info. and poll

[twhite]

I am responsible for putting the club on facebook. It was an experiment,there are now 21 members. How often and how many people use it is up to the club. Facebook at this time is open to the public, everything that is posted can be read by anyone in the world.

Facebook is, in my opinion, the worlds window into the club. It will be up to the club members how personal that window becomes. The website is, in my opinion, to static. It requires to much time and attention of a few people. Facebook is fluid and will become whatever the club members decide. Facebook will not replace the message board at this time. The message board is still open primarily to the club.

The next step in this move is putting the club schedule on facebook. A simple listing of trips and dates no other info.

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This would go on the document page. An application form to the club would also be on the document page.

opinions, concerns,questions???? anyone

TIM WHITE
pres.

[Danno]

Tim, I appreciate your open-mindedness on the subject of Facebook. I think I should take some of the heat for starting the whole question of "Should MCC be on Facebook or not"; but you deserve all of the credit for trying something new. I think it shows that you are a good leader; which of course you are.

The club needs to figure out how to communicate better within the membership, as well as, with the general public. Facebook might be part of the answer. I agree wholeheartedly with your evaluation of the web site, message board, and Facebook. We'll just have to wait and see what happens.

I invite every MCC member to register on this message board. Roy J. and myself will do anything we can to assist MCC members who want to register on this message board. Just drop us an e-mail and we'll get back to you ASAP. Send an e-mail message to: roy"at"rivers-end"dot"org or instructor"at"mchsi"dot"com . ( exchange @ for "at" and . for "dot" ) Whatever e-mail address you use to send your message will be used to create your new account Your e-mail address will be associated with your message board account. Only one account per e-mail address is allowed.

[Yanoer]

I don't understand the preference for facebook over this website.

I appreciate the efforts to keep the website active.

[Danno]

David, it's been a year since MCC established a page on FaceBook. There has not been much of a reaction to it in that time. There certaily is no preference to FaceBook over this message board, at least not by any significant number of club members.

My original idea was simply to use FaceBook to promote the club, not as a primary form of communication for the club. To some small extent that has happened.

The Mackinaw Canoe Club decided some time ago to stop publishing a newsletter and trip book. I believe the main reasons for that decision were the cost of producing the newsletter ( printing and postage ) and the labor/time it took for editing.

For decades the newsletter and trip book had been the primary form of communicating with the club membership. Now that the newsletter is gone, the club is searching for a better way to communicate with the membership. This message board is one of the few resources the club was left with ( the web site had been more or less taken down years ago and is no longer very active ). The problem is, not very many club members have chosen to register with this message board and they don't seem to be using it.

The only other way the club has been communicating for the past few years is with mass e-mails sent out by Frank Black. Those messages are effective and have kept the club going, but it is a cumbersome and slow type of communication. The club has been trying to figure out a better way to communicate, but so far no good solutions have been found.

One big challenge is that many club members seem unwilling to try something new or are not very tech savy. This is a tough challenge. You,can not force people to do something they don't want to or are unable for any reason to do.

If you have any ideas as to how the club can communicate better with it's membership, please feel free to post those suggestions here. I further encourage any one to contact one of the club officers with your ideas, opinions, or questions.