July 7, 2010 By 1 Comment

Some thoughts on a Steering Committee

Our Direction
Image by B Tal via Flickr

I’d like to take a moment to share my thoughts on having a Steering Committee for New Media Cincinnati. I’m loosely gathering them around the concepts of people, planning, and purpose. I’d love for you to share your thoughts in the comments.

People

It’s been amazing to see how this group has matured over the past three years, to the point where members of the community are willing to share their vision for what it can do. I speak of members, but, as you know, this term is relatively loose in its definition.  Chances are, if you’ve been to a New Media Cincinnati event, are connected to our presence online, I consider you as part of the community.

Obviously some are more active than others. Some of you have been coming around since that first get together at the Golden Corral in Middletown back in October 2007. Others have been regulars since we met at the Panera near Tri-County Mall.  Others have only just begun to spend time with us online and in-person.

To me, the group has always been about connecting in-person. Connecting online is so easy. Some might argue it’s too easy, because it’s possible to hide online. Showing up and being present in-person takes courage. It shows that you’re interested in further developing the relationships you are (or have begun) building online.

Planning

Putting together an event takes planning. It’s not enough to say, we’re meeting here at this time. It was at first, but now, we need to have a place that not only will be able to hold everyone who comes, but also will meet other needs.  In addition, there are communication expectations that the community has and administrative things to be done.

And there’s the outreach, care and feeding of people new to the community as well as those who have been around for some time.  How do we keep the events interesting? How can we meet the needs of people who are new to this space as well as those who are not?

Furthermore, is there an opportunity to get paid for time spent in running the group? We’ve explored this at times in the past, and I believe there is. What events other than the Second Saturday event could we hold that would really meet some of the needs, ones that could be conducted for a fee, perhaps?

Purpose

For almost three years, I’ve done much of the organizing, planning, promotion, and running these events. I don’t have time to do this all by myself, and I’ve been relying on others more and more.  And for this group to become the best version of itself, there needs to be others who share in this passion, too.

The roles of the New Media Cincinnati Steering Committee are as broad as they are important:

  • Serve as a sounding board for the rest of the community, whether those who are brand new or those who have been around for some time.
  • Serve as community direction committee to help set priorities and strategy for the group, both online and offline.
  • Organize and run subcommittees as needed for the monthly and other special events.

The Steering Committee could consist of 4 elected members of the New Media Cincinnati community. These members are nominated by their peers, or members can nominate themselves, describing why they believe they should be elected. Eventually we would have 6 members with three positions coming up for re-election each year. This set up would provide a combination of consistency while providing the opportunity to gather fresh ideas and approaches each year.

Your turn

Comments are awesome!   Especially when they are in line with the comments policy.

What we need

Your thoughts and ideas, especially with what has worked for other similar groups. Questions and thoughts for clarification. Suggested next actions. Be helpful!

What we don’t need

Grammar and spelling corrections. Reasons why this won’t work.  Disrespect for me or others in the group. Flame wars, name-calling, and other behavior warned against in the comments policy.

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About Daniel Johnson, Jr.

Daniel Johnson, Jr. founded New Media Cincinnati in 2007 to address the need for people in the Greater Cincinnati area connecting online to connect in-person. Since then, the group has grown to be one of the most-active networking groups of its kind in the area. Together with the Steering Committee, they continue to volunteer their time to help make this group the best version of itself. Connect with Daniel on Google+.

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