Social Networking

Gases and Welding Distributors Association members know that when they attend meetings they benefit from the opportunities available to network and share information with business partners, efficiently and inexpensively. In fact, networking is a primary reason for membership. Following that logic, it is critical that we take full advantage of the opportunities already available to us that afford increased networking opportunities and improve GAWDA's value proposition.

Do social media tools such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube have a role for GAWDA? You bet they do.

If you are too old to be a member of Young Executives, the current technology probably leaves you confused and intimidated. But if you think about it as an expanded Chamber of Commerce meeting, or a worldwide coffee shop in which colleagues gather to share information, current technology becomes much more user-friendly.

These social network sites also raise a myriad of concerns about privacy, legal liabilities and staff resources required to monitor and respond to postings. GAWDA's experience with Editors Blogs on Welding & Gases Today, the Edge and the Wiki has shown that while members benefit from the information shared by our editors, they are less likely to share their own insights and information.

If nothing else, the current economy, together with the success and growth of the Young Executives program and the relative youth of our association's current leadership, indicate that it's time for GAWDA to use social media to increase networking opportunities for our members.

Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, all previously commandeered by our children and in many cases, grandchildren, for strictly social purposes are quickly becoming viable and profitable marketing tools for business and industry.

LinkedIn, a strictly business-focused social networking site, provides opportunities in which we can connect and network with business professionals in our industry. We can also connect and network with existing and potential customers, various suppliers of products and services, potential employees and even the cousin of your eighth-grade school buddy, who just happens to manage a six-figure purchasing budget for the products you sell.

Within LinkedIn, we can create specific networking groups for individuals, industries and even associations. We can extend GAWDA's reach and communicate with various industry stakeholders who may or may not be members of our association.

I discovered that someone who was not a member of GAWDA had already created a GAWDA group on LinkedIn. They were using the GAWDA name, our logo, our mission statement, and even had a link to our Web site. I contacted them and suggested a “friendly” takeover instead of pursuing any legal remedies for violating our trademark and copyright. They agreed.

Once you create your personal account, search for the Group: GAWDA-Gases and Welding Distributors Association, and then click on the blue button to join. An e-mail asking to join is then sent to me as the administrator. Once I accept your request, you are ready to start networking with other GAWDA LinkedIn members.

Learn more about social networking by reading "You're LinkedIn. Now What?" in the fourth quarter 2009 ssue of Welding & Gases Today Online.

Over the next several months, we will be having discussions with members of the Group to determine how the site should be structured and administered. One of the first questions to be considered is, “Should the Group be for GAWDA members only?”

Not convinced of the value of social networking? Begin slowly. Go online and google “Relationship Economics” or “The Nour Group” or “David Nour,” a business-to-business social networking expert. Join LinkedIn and set aside just 30 minutes each day to search for your customers and suppliers, then fellow GAWDA members, and then look at their friends and contacts. Join GAWDA's group on LinkedIn.

Now please excuse me. I need to read the tweet from this magazine's editor about a new MIG welding application just introduced, which is sure to open the door to increased profits for our members.