Social Digital Knitwork
As the COO of our agency, Social Media is not my area of expertise. However, I am thrilled that we are using Facebook to effectively recruit graduates and interns. I am intrigued by the ways our account teams are using Social Media to connect consumers and brands on behalf of our clients.
Personally, as a member of one of the fastest growing groups of Facebook users” baby boomers, I both watch and participate in the growth of Social Media with fascination. I have reconnected with my high school friends, joined the alumni group for my graduating class, connected with camp friends, and posted pictures of my family on Facebook. Also, as a baby boomer professional, I have been using LinkedIn for quite a while to stay connected with my professional network.
As much as I enjoy Facebook and LinkedIn, what I find even more intriguing are some of the more targeted social networking sites. I love to knit. I love everything about knitting – shopping for yarn, deciding what to make, designing patterns, and talking with other knitters. That’s where Ravelry comes into play. I am one of 300,000 members of this rapidly growing social network designed for knitters and crocheters. Just like Facebook and LinkedIn, I have a profile. I also have a notebook where I share my knitting projects, my “stash” – all the beautiful yarns I have purchased but not yet used, and my queue all the projects I want to knit (if only I had the time). Ravelry is an open community in that all users can view other user’s notebooks. I love my knitting community on Ravelry.
However, there are members of the knitting community that are missing on Ravelry, the yarn manufacturers, designers, retailers and magazines. I consider them to be part of my knitting community, but they aren’t talking to me on Ravelry. Sure, they are advertising on Ravelry, but they aren’t participating in our dialogue. They aren’t sharing trends in the industry, providing us with tips on how to use their product, what inspires them, or even responding to some of our frustrations and problems when we use their products. I am glad that Ravelry is a community and is not overly commercial; however, as a consumer I would like to share this community with the brands that represent the knitting world. It’s time to expand the social digital knitwork!
