The Yellow Brick Road Part II

This next seminar title really had nothing to do with anything, but it gave good information.

Seminar:  Don't Forget Your Ruby Slippers (by LCI Leadership)

• Don't sit and wait for something.  Ask to lead!
• Learning is a life-long process; make it a priority.
• Have a greater impact on people.
• Establish goals for yourself. 
• Be specific
• Make sure they're measureable
• Be attainable
• Identify obstacles for reaching your goals (not enough time?)
• Use Webinars as a learning tool.  They're short chunks of time.
• Learn your best way--lecture? Slideshow? Paper?  Which way do you learn best?
• Collaborate and work with others
• Commit yourself to the task at hand.

Too often we just sit back and go with the flow.  This class showed us how to become a leader--the value of learning, using resources available.  Do YOU want to be a leader in your club or workplace?  Are you using all the resources available to you?  If you want to know about the resources available through LCI, contact one of the leaders in the club who can direct you.

Seminar:  Social Media Today (by VDG Mahesh Chitnis)
In case you haven't noticed, our International President Barry Palmer is a strong believer in the power of social media.  So much so that he introduced this class. 

What is Social Media?  The ones we're most connected with are Blogs, Facebook, Twitter, and You Tube although there are many others. 

Why is it so popular?  Because it disseminates information quickly, in real time. Take the ptarmigan we had in our back yard the other day.  We posted a picture of it on Facebook and instantly we had friends lining up for dinner!  Okay, that's not entirely true, my point being, through the use of Facebook, Twitter, etc., you can get your  message out now, right now, in real time, and know people will see it. 

Other reasons Social Media is so popular is because:

• it allows you to have a social relationship, one-on-one, with others without having to leave your house.  This is especially important to seniors who are home-bound.
• you can reach a target group through Social Media.    

You can reach hundreds of people through Social Media.  International President Palmer posts challenges on his Facebook page.  You can collaborate on an idea and have quicker decisions made.  It's quick.  It's easy.  PLUS, you're developing a friendship with others.   

We also talked about our target audience and how we need to use different methods for different target groups.  Seniors might need a phone call but the younger generation are texting and tweeting all day long.  If we want to bring in more young people, we need to communicate in their language. 

The best tip I got out of this class was when VDG Mahesh suggested we invite our neighbors and friends to our events over Social Media. So next time we have an event--litter pick up, barbeque and auction, vision screening--put a post on Facebook inviting your neighbors to join you.  I will.  Will you?