Are Professional Organizations Old School?

In my professional life, I have been a member of several organizations. Some of these have been very rewarding, and some very questionable. In recent interactions, many young professionals are telling me they get what they need from online sources. They are skipping the traditional lunch and happy hour circuit for online networking sources like LinkedIn and Facebook. There's no question that it's more economical, both time and cost-wise, to invest in online groups - but is this pocket of professionals missing something?
I am not picking on recent grads, by the way, I have known many professionals who preferred not to join organizations and had long and successful careers.
So there's the question - Are the non-joiners missing out, or are they really the enlightened crowd?

Photo gracias: Flickr user Binkixxx.

Social Media for School PR.

Richie Escovedo and I presented the below Social Media Tools for School PR presentation this week at the Texas School Public Relations Association Conference in San Antonio. It is always interesting to see where questions will lead. I've been part of presentations on this topic quite a bit in the last year, as well as many conversations. There's been a positive trend that the majority of PR professionals are beginning to shift from a slight resistance to social media to a healthy curiosity.
The majority of questions centered on these topics:
1. Promoting social media when many social media sites are blocked at schools and school facilities
2. Facebook - Good? Bad? (special interest in photos & tagging)
3. Blogging - How often? How does one find time?
4. Security issues with social media related to students, staff, and PR initiatives



This presentation is also available on Slideshare.

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