Build it before you need it

One of the common comments in my “Connecting with Consumers” class is that online communities aren’t important if you have a strong offline community. Some people feel that spending time online, blogging, reading blogs, posting comments on Facebook walls, and participating in online forums, is taking time away from face to face relationships.

 If I had a choice, I would almost always pick face to face communication over any other method. It is the path of least resistance (it’s familiar) it’s easy to gage commonalities, and it provides instant feedback. Online communication is more intentional, it requires thought, exposure, and is often ignored or misunderstood by others. But it is well worth the effort. Participation is always key, online or offline. I think we are looking for ways to connect and finding them in places unexpected.