Facebook can be a great tool for getting staying in touch with folks, and we use it. But we always want to make sure we're /using it/ rather than /being used/ by it. When indie businesses advertise their presence on Facebook (or Yelp or Google Places or Twitter or whatever) it can help connect them with more people. But it also results in free advertising for huge corporations that really don't need the help. We want to take advantage of every communication method that will help us reach further, and meet people where they are. But we don't want to offer free promo or credibility to corporations that operate in ways that are counter to our core beliefs.
So far, we've resolved this dilemna (sort of) by connecting on facebook with folks who are already on it, but not advertising our presence there beyond the facebook world.
Some of us feel pretty strongly about this, others see it differently or don't think it's a big deal relative to other issues we debate. This is the challenge but also the beauty of a consensus based organizing -we continue to learn and grow by working through these issues with each other, knowing we're all committed to a few core principles, and to the project's success, but have different and complementary ways of getting there.
Has your organization been thinking through similar issues? We'd love to hear how you've resolved dilemmas like these. Send us an email, stop by, or...start a discussion on our facebook page :)
xo
cory, facebook critic and user, making peace with the contradictions.
(http://www.facebook.com/pages/Treasure-City-Thrift/122094144529445)
