Finally Facebook

It is the biggest social networking site of this generation. Boasting over 500 million active users, it’s the first thing that comes to mind when someone says the words “social media.” 700 billion minutes are spent browsing the site every month. And yet, before today, you would not find an official Sustainable Waterloo Region presence on – you guessed it – Facebook.

We at Sustainable Waterloo Region have not been living under a rock for the past two years. The decision not to engage with Facebook was a conscious one. The initial decision was based on the fact that the organization was driven primarily by a team of youth volunteers but with a mission geared at the more mature business community. Sustainable Waterloo Region was concerned with appearing young and inexperienced through a presence on what was primarily a young people’s medium.

More recently, however, it is clear that the demographic is shifting and that people of all ages are finding a use for a Facebook profile. Still, Facebook was low on our priority list. With our successful Twitter profile and the great popularity attracted by this blog, we may have become guilty of the mentality that “we were doing fine without it.” But, one of the many beauties of volunteering with Sustainable Waterloo Region is that when one of us has an opinion, it gets seriously considered. We began to hear growing interest from the team about the value the organization might receive from a Facebook presence. As social media manager, it became my responsibility to assess how and where Facebook could benefit Sustainable Waterloo Region.

The result of this process is what you’ll find here – our Facebook fan page. Here we will post new opportunities with the organization, event invitations and information, news about the Regional Carbon Initiative and its members, research that we think is neat as well as general news and updates about the organization. Another great benefit of Facebook is that it is a useful way to engage in two-way dialogue with those who take an interest in the organization and our work. In other words – we want to hear from you so that we can really foster a community there.

So, I encourage you to check us out on Facebook and perhaps even click “Like” if you feel so inclined. As with all of our new projects, I welcome your feedback. Have we missed something that you’d like to see on our page? Is there something you think we could do better? Is your organization on Facebook? If so, what impact has it had?

Can’t wait to hear from you,

-Jenn