How to attract members to our community?
CoD's aim is to provide a space for a collective brain trust of individuals and ideas that labor unions can tap into and benefit from. The more individuals the CoD community attracts and the more they share, the more the labor movement benefits.
So how do we find and attract those individuals? Do you have a good strategy in mind? What kind of content would entice people to want to register and participate here?
How to attract members to our community?
I think this depends very much upon the audience you wish to attract. There are two very real paths in the labor movement today among people who support labor. The “official”, that is to say Organized Labor (caps are intentional), and the grass roots. While these paths intersect in places, they mostly run separately. It is not really possible to have a grass roots emphasis handed down from above.
The Dark Side, which seems to be ignored by many, is the organized resistance to labor which is much stronger than many imagine or want to admit to. No labor movement will flourish so long as we don’t meet our real resistance in government and politics.
So, choices are made. Does one sit on the fence and try to be all things to all people or does one decide a direction. I suggest you must have direction if you wish to succeed.
Not clear on what you are saying
Are you saying that the choice is between 1) folks at the grass roots level (workers, activists, students, etc) and 2) folks who have paid positions within the labor movement?
I'm trying to attract who are looking to encourage unions to improve their use of the Internet. I would think there's people on both sides of the fence who are looking to do that. You don't?
You Choose or They Will
I think there are folks at both ends of that spectrum ... I don't think you can successfully cater to both. If your forum becomes predominantly one or the other ... that is who your audience will be. Which group do you think will be most effective?
Not so sure I agree
The purpose of this site is to draw out good ideas and put them in a central place so they are accessible to anyone who is interested. And if they are truly good ideas, they will address the ignorance and fear "traditional" union leaders have about the Internet and be presented in a way that is both understandable and palatable. Because good ideas aren't good unless they have real, practical value for those who have the power to implement them.