It looks like our new website is up and running. What do you think? We’ve put a lot of time and effort, creating the design, structuring the layout, and ensuring that the overall function and purpose of our new corner in cyberspace is up to our standards. Although our website might look completed, it is far from it. In the next few weeks you’ll see it gradually evolve into a well-designed, well-structured, full-functional website. We, at WAPADH, are hoping to make our website, our blogs, our Twitter, and Facebook accounts are as interactive as possible. That’s where you come in. Some of you have already joined these social networking sites and are contributing comments, participating in conversations, and adding pictures to “our network community” on a regular basis. Kudos to those of you who’ve jumped in with both feet! You may not realize it, but you just might motivate some of your colleagues to join. If you haven’t signed up for a Twitter or a Facebook account, get to it. I understand that they may be a bit intimidating. Okay – maybe a lot! In addition to coming across a bit intimidating, they may also come across as being quite trivial and pointless. That seems to be the general consensus when people unfamiliar with these social networking sites first hear about them. However, once you’ve gotten the hang of Twitter and Facebook and are fully immersed in them, they are not only informational, but they are pretty fun, and dare I say, addicting, as well. Just ask anyone who uses these social networking sites on a daily basis.
Before I go on, let me give you a brief history of social networking. Even though the term “social networking” may sound new to you, it really isn’t a new innovation. Believe it or not, social networking sites have been around since the mid-90s, but in recent years, social networking has exploded across the web. The Web 2.0 initiative has made modern social networking sites increasingly popular and easier to use than the initial wave of sites that launched some 15 years ago. In short, social networking sites are here to stay. They will only get more popular and people will continue to use them in new and innovative ways.
Because social networking sites have become such an important innovation in recent years, WAPADH will sponsor an informational session on Twitter and Facebook for those of you who are a bit curious about these social networking sites. For those of you who are already familiar with Twitter and Facebook, don’t feel left out. You are also more welcome to come and provide some insight on your experiences. This information session will also include a step-by-step opportunity to sign up for these social networking sites and also to become part of “our network community” as well. Be on the lookout for information soon on all of our blogs!
Even though each of our blogs have an assigned author already, we not only want them to be reciprocal through comments that you have an opportunity to leave, but we’d also like them to be a way for our WAPADH community to be guest contributors as well. So, if there is something, WAPADH related, you’d like to contribute to one of our three blogs – a story, an idea, a recent outing with your consumers, photographs, – whatever, please don’t hesitate to drop us an email, a text, or a phone call. Our information is on our website. If meeting in-person is more your style, you can always stop by our offices too. All of us have an “open door” policy.
I look forward to crossing and crisscrossing paths with you as a new and exciting chapter begins for WAPADH.
