To blog or not to blog: Revisited
Last year at the International Conference in Vancouver, one of the big questions I was asked as soon-to-be Chair of IABC was whether I was planning to pick up the baton as Head Barista of the IABC Cafe from then-chair Warren Bickford.
Perhaps foolishly, I responded with an enthusiastic “yes,” knowing and commenting publicly that my time in the Cafe would have to be considerably less than Warren’s, though none of us wanted to lose the momentum that he had built or the opportunity to facilitate a healthy two-way dialogue.
Admittedly, I have been able to spend less time in the Cafe than even I anticipated, as I have been working hard to balance my responsibilities as IABC Chair, an increasingly demanding day job (which is a good thing, if my boss is reading this post), my family and my sanity–not necessarily in that order.
Early on, I set out to recruit Guest Baristas who could help with dialogue in the Cafe and ensure that there weren’t huge gaps of time without fresh content. I have been incredibly impressed by these folks and want to thank Tom Keefe, Scott Cytron, Todd Hattori and Barbara Gibson for their help this year.
And, the development of IABC’s Cafe2Go monthly podcast this year with the help of Shel Holz, Neville Hobson, and Archana Verma has given IABC members and other interested parties another choice for hearing about issues related to the association and the profession.
The point of my post is not to recount successes, to whine, or even to defend my periodic absences from the Cafe, but to ask patrons what you’d like to see here in the future and what kinds of topics would convince you to become a part of the discussion.
I think your insights could help IABC recruit the right people, and enough of them, to ensure that the discussion in the Cafe is robust and on target. And they could also help Todd Hattori when he is asked the question about participation in the Cafe during his term as Chair, whether that question comes during the upcoming International Conference in New Orleans or at some other point in time.
Inquiring minds want to know…
May 31st, 2007 at 6:46 am
Glenda,
I think it’s folly to suggest that the volunteer chair of a major international organization be mandated to be the chief barista of a blog. The chair has enough to do being the chair.
Perhaps it’s time to re-think the IABC Café. If this is supposed to be a gathering place, people aren’t gathering. If this is supposed to be a place to discuss IABC issues, that isn’t happening either.
IABC has been overly generous in setting up social media sites for members and guests to discuss all manner of communication items. Some are more active than others but none are overly robust.
MemberSpeak, the earliest gathering/problem-solving site, is still going strong and may be the best site IABC has. And, IABC Buzz is starting to pick up.
If the IABC Café remains a fixture, then maybe we need a more defined description of what it’s supposed to do. Perhaps the Café is the place to report on what’s happened at board/committee meetings. Maybe it’s the place to hand out kudos.
In the meantime, I’ll hand out a kudo now: thanks, Glenda, for your year as chair and your commitment to IABC.
May 31st, 2007 at 11:14 am
Personally, I’d go to an IABC blog to find out what IABC is doing, your rotating authors (if you keep with that format) being the committee chairs reporting on Committee activities, plans, quandaries. I’d go to see IABC responses to indictments (I think well deserved) like that found here (www.blog.ragan.com/shadesofgray/2007/05/dont_ask_y…) about the association’s failures on Web presence, advocacy, muscularity and attitude, and other similar indictments on prominent communications blogs (like this for example, http://blog.holtz.com/index.php/weblog/the_future_of_professional_associations/). It’s my great hope you were already aware of these discussions taking place on other communications blogs.
How about a definitive discussion about real, concrete benefits to pursuing accreditation? Becoming accredited is a sizable effort to undertake without knowing precisely what value one will take out of it. I have yet to have someone ask me in job interviews over the last 15 years whether I’m accredited by anyone, let alone IABC.
But you see I don’t think you needed me to point out these important topics. I’m sure you hear about these concerns, thoughts in your work as Chair, at conferences and workshops, and in environmental scanning on IABC and communications, don’t you?
michael clendenin
June 1st, 2007 at 10:53 am
Thanks, Wilma and Michael, for your comments. While I certainly have drawn some of the same conclusions as yours, Michael, about what people might like to see in the Cafe, I think it’s always good to get input, rather than just making assumptions.
Maybe that’s a stylistic difference that is uniquely mine, or maybe it comes from spending nearly 20 years in association communications and management.
Regardless, like Wilma, the problem I see is that only a very small number of communicators (relatively speaking) participate in Cafe conversations, but I know that there are lots of people lurking out there. I posed the question to see if some of you would step forward and share your thoughts.
Michael, I think you raise some great issues that I and other baristas can cover in future posts. And, Wilma, you certainly raise some important food for thought about the purpose of the Cafe.
And, while we definitely hear about issues, things are constantly changing in our profession. I think the Chairman’s blog gives us a tool for staying in closer touch with the issues that you think are important.
That’s why I asked the question…
June 1st, 2007 at 11:18 am
“I think it’s folly to suggest that the volunteer chair of a major international organization be mandated to be the chief barista of a blog. The chair has enough to do being the chair.”
Wilma, you’re coming dangerously close here to implying that communication isn’t part of leadership–or at the very least, that a blog like this can’t be an effective form of communication.
I think Warren’s contribution here changed some people’s perceptions about IABC and its leadership. They felt it wasn’t as mysterious as they’d thought. They saw how hard the chair worked (by reading his travelogues seeing how he fit in all this travel with IABC work). And they watched him face tough questions head-on.
From my perspective, as an outside observer, this blog was one of the very best things Warren did during his term.
Perhaps a chairman shouldn’t be MANDATED to do a blog, but in a communication association, we all believe, don’t we, that communication and leadership are not two different things ……
June 2nd, 2007 at 2:26 pm
While I’m not speaking for Wilma, I certainly to have something to say about this one, David, as you might expect.
I’d say that you’re spot-on about Warren’s contribution here in the Cafe and the impact that it had on perceptions of IABC and its leadership. At the time, Warren’s approach was necessary and effective. In fact, Warren set the bar very high for anyone following in his footsteps.
I’d venture to say, though, that his approach is not the only effective approach, and even Warren suggested that we try a different approach to the Cafe during this Board term.
While some might argue (I’d even be one of them) that participation in the Cafe wasn’t always as robust as it could have been this year, I think that there’s been a lot of very valuable dialogue, thanks to Todd Hattori, Tom Keefe, Barbara Gibson, Scott Cytron and Warren–and even I have contributed from time to time.
What I read in Wilma’s post, certainly drawing from my own experience, is that it is next-to-impossible for the Chair alone to manage an ongoing, effective, robust dialogue in the Cafe–along with the other duties of being Chair, and having a day job and a life outside of both of those positions. And that sometimes the Chair won’t be able to be in the Cafe as much as he or she would like, and certainly not as much as others think they should be.
I hope that you’ll agree that the basis for judging the effectiveness of the IABC chair during his or her term should be based on more than just that.
June 2nd, 2007 at 4:28 pm
Agreed. Of course.
June 4th, 2007 at 9:16 am
Hi Glenda,
Thanks for the response. As a member of the audience to whom you are “speaking” and trying to interest, I hereby give you full authority to tell me what’s on your mind as a communicator, a blogger, an IABC member, Chair of IABC.
I also hereby reassure you that in whatever it is that you have on your mind, I’ll have an interest, though I might not always respond. I think people will come if they feel they’re getting unvarnished, pure direct communications on the important issues of the day. People will come to the Cafe if they feel that they’re going to sit down for a real conversation over coffee (or Diet Cherry Coke, if you’re a non-coffee drinker like me), full of opinions.
While I thank you for taking an interest in what interests/concerns/titillates me, I’m actually coming here — and to the the other blogs I visit — to see what interests/concerns/titillates you (or other blog authors) and what perspectives others have on the topics you raise and how they might be different from my own. I’d like to hear about the issues/questions/comments you have brought to you as Chair and in your related travels. I’d like to see your take/response to the things written/podcast about IABC, it’s role, leadership, value, direction, whether or not they were mentioned here first. The blogs that are most successful — to my mind — are the ones that present the mind and voice of the author most directly and personally, not the ones that present an organization.
Hey, it’s your blog, have at it! Write what you want to write! Do it your way, on the topics you wish to cover. Liberating, isn’t that?
For the record, I thank you for all the time and energy you have dedicated to the association and the industry. Not an easy job. Keep up the good work. Look forward to seeing you in New Orleans!
michael clendenin