In attendance at my first non HIV/AIDS related conference, the Association of Cable Communicators Forum 2008, entitled Access the Power, Connect. Communicate. Transform., I earnestly tried to see the connection between a cable public affairs conference and how it would provide me with new and different skills in order to oversee HIV/AIDS grant programs and direct service youth work. As the topics of discussion unfolded to talk about social media, social networking, negotiation, and branding; it slowly became clear to me that regardless of the industry, there are true similarities in the ways in which corporations and non-profit organizations attempt to get their message across to clients/consumers. Who is tapped into these mediums and how they are utilized within the different structures are a different matter altogether.
One of the sessions that most peaked my interest was a discussion on social media; which is the integration of technology, social interaction, and the construction of words and pictures. As I sat there learning how cable industries utilize the “blogosphere” to understand their clients, their communities, and the reputation of their brand in the overall marketplace, a light bulb went off in my head. I realized that non-profits are doing the same thing, just not explaining it in the same language!!!!! Online outreach has been occurring in the chat rooms of Manhunt.com, Facebook.com, and Myspace.com for quite some time now, with HIV/AIDS health education specialists answering health education questions through “im’ing” and “chatting” in specialty chat rooms and meeting individuals where they are at in terms of providing necessary information in a safe and secure environment, while guaranteeing the anonymity of the individual (which at times is the only safe way for someone to ask the a sexually charged health related question).
Websites, blogs, podcasts, etc. are some of the newest forms of social media that will allow for AIDS service organizations to recruit, educate, and inform their target populations. What ASOs need to do is to develop social network campaigns that delve into the gamut of its’ social services; although social media has traditionally been used by the Health Education/Prevention departments of ASOs, imagine the new services and ideas that could be garnered if agency social workers, case managers, or even the Executive Directors themselves had a blog? What if an agency’s youth group were allowed to blog on the agency website about issues that affected them daily? This open exchange of ideas and opinions would allow for the tailoring of services to meet specific needs, to the dissemination of new thoughts and ideas to flow from one agency to another, and could eventually lead to the partnering of agencies and programs that would have never thought of working together before.
The blogosphere’s influence can reach beyond what individuals think about a company and its’ services; a blog has the ability to inform, educate, and evaluate. It is a tool that can be utilized to gain vast social, economic, and attitudinal knowledge about a target population. While not all of our communities have access to a computer, and therefore do not have access to some of the tools of social media, it is important to think about integrating social media into an agency’s outreach roster in order to meet individuals on a variety of fronts: through direct social services, print campaigns, phone communication, public education announcements, websites, and lastly through a weekly blog or podcast. Imagine the educational possibilities if one individual could receive the same information through all of the above named media outlets?
So I have to admit, I judged a corporate conference; I didn’t believe that it could provide me with new skills in order to re-define HIV/AIDS prevention and help me to learn how to look towards the future. I couldn’t have been more wrong, it seems that the cable industry and AIDS Services Organizations are both working towards the same goals: helping to serve more individuals, educating client’s about their services, and working to meet the expectations of their consumers; it just seems that we speak different languages, thesaurus anyone?
