Social media is an equalizer. Everyone gets a voice and a platform. So, understandably, it can get a little noisy and crowded at times.
 
Our Federation has a decent presence on various platforms. I have my own sites too (you can follow me on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook), as do many of our lay and professional leaders. But there’s a lot more for us to do.
 
I think one main reason for this is that our understanding of the impact of social media is itself changing and evolving. Social media isn’t a fad or a shallow reflection of trivia. It’s increasingly a powerful mechanism for social and communal change. Here, in our Jewish community, in our time.
It would be easy to write off these platforms and say they’re irrelevant, they’re meaningless. “Real” communication is face-to-face, meetings, events. And partly, that’s true. But it’s only partly true. Because increasingly we’re seeing meaningful creativity on our Facebook pages, in our tweets and blogs, and in our photos and Pins. And if we don’t keep up, we’ll be left behind. If we don’t use these media, we’ll be irrelevant to them.
 
Because what people forget about relevance on social media is this: people don’t share facts on social media, they share emotions.
They share caring.
They share belonging.
 
We now have a consistent brand – a “hashtag” that we use throughout our social media efforts: #IamGMW. I urge you to use it whenever and wherever you can to show your connection and pride in who we are as a community.
 
We’ve done a lot. But there’s a lot more to do. Until we’re fully strategic and planful about how we use social media as a federation and a Jewish community, it’s not going to reach the heights we deserve. Steve Jobs once remarked that social media is the intersection of humanity and technology. We’d do well to remember that.
 

 

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