Listserv or Community Platform -That is the Question
The Communication Puzzle
The LESLLA board of directors has been grappling with the best way to suport communication among the LESLLA community. There is no best approach, but there are clearly less effective approaches.
Here is our conundrum: There are paying LESLLA members who we reach via Wild Apricot — some of whom have also been added by request to our listserv. There are LESLLA practitioners who sign up voluntarily for correspondence via our listserv. There are individuals who we only reach via our Facebook page, and others who we only connect with when we meet in person at conferences and symposia. In addition, LESLLA members are limited in their ability to truly engage with one another. Rich exchanges back and forth via the listserv are discouraged because of Inbox fatigue. Posting to the LESLLA Facebook page only reaches folks who click on the ‘community’ tab. The communication is generally one-directional — namely from LESLLA to the community. We really want to change that — we want to foster opportunities for more meaningful interactions among you all!
Introducing the Community Platform
Community platforms are not new, but they are overtaking listservs. There are several compelling reasons to consider moving away from our LESLLA listserv and onto a more interactive, inclusive, and member-regulated community platform. Among them are the following, including ideas that resonate with us from this blog:
Spam filters don’t like listserv messages, so much of what we share doesn’t reach you.
Managing our listserv is cumbersome and time consuming. We’ll spare you the details, but adding and managing members requires the work of 4 board members and one listserv manager.
Community platforms allow for scheduling posts, which helps when we’re navigating time zones worldwide with many pending events (e.g., coffee breaks, symposia, elections, etc.).
Community platforms allow for multiple modes of reaching people - social media, push notifications, text, email, etc.
Emails don’t have good levels of engagement. Many emails aren’t opened.
Communication on a listserv contributes to overflowing inboxes, irritated members, and unsubscribe requests. With community platforms, members can set their notification preferences. Members can also feel free to engage in ongoing conversations without worrying about being told how to interact with the community.
And so, with that background information in place, we’d like to announce a little communications pilot program that we’re running this summer. Beginning today, LESLLA has launched two community platforms. One is a simple Facebook Group. The other is a server on Discord. Let me provide a little bit of background on each.
Facebook Group
Let me start by saying that I deleted my personal Facebook profile over a year ago, and haven’t looked back. Facebook resistors — I hear you! But, I did create an alias with a Gmail account I never open. My alias, Elizabeth McVeigh (as opposed to Rai Farrelly) has no friends. But “she” manages several pages on Facebook — Girls Education International, Project Wezesha, LESLLA, Utah Women Climbers, For the Love of Animals, and CU Boulder TESOL. In other words, Facebook is still an indispensable tool for promoting events, fundraising, and bringing together members of a community. You can be part of it without selling your soul to Zuckerburg. For the Facebook lovers — you’re already on board, and that’s awesome!
Benefits of a Facebook Group:
Many people are already familiar with the platform.
Members can post and respond to one another freely.
You can connect with one another directly for personal and professional collaborations.
You can set your notifications to arrive where and when you want them (or turn them off!).
You can create polls, post docs, share videos, ask questions or request advice, and more!
It’s free.
Downsides of a Facebook Group
There are people who do not wish to use Facebook, which disengages a segment of the LESLLA community.
Discord
Discord is new to me. In fact, while exploring community platforms, Discord did not come up in my research. It was introduced to me by a student who illuminated for me all the ways that we can use the platform. It’s very popular among gamers and IT folks, but is increasingly being used by teachers and professors as well as clubs and organizations.
Benefits of Discord
It’s simple to use and navigate.
It keeps us old folks on our tech game. (Maybe next we launch a LESLLA TikTok channel?!)
You can sort posts into topic areas so members can post in the appropriate categories, as well as find posts related to their respective needs (e.g., research, teaching resources, policy frameworks, advocacy, etc.).
You can set your notifications to arrive where and when you want them (or turn them off!).
You can post docs, share videos, ask questions or request advice, interact via voice and video, share your screen, and more!
It’s free.
Downsides of Discord
It’s likely new to the majority of the LESLLA community, so there will be a learning curve.
It’s not as aesthetically pleasing as Facebook. (You’ll see what I mean when you visit.)
Getting Started
Facebook: You can ask to Join the Facebook group by going HERE. You will nee to be approved by an administrator. This is to avoid Group Trolls who seek to spam all over the Internet. You can then invite your FB friends and they will be approved.
Discord: You can Join the Discord server for LESLLA by going HERE. You can either participate online or download the app to your computer or phone. You can also view this Discord tutorial to learn more.
Oh the Places We Will Go
We will be monitoring usage on both platforms through the summer to make a determination about which one seems to be the most effective for building community and sharing resources. Perhaps we'll find that both are effective in their unique ways, or maybe we'll see that LESLLA practitioners have a clear preference. And, maybe from members of this community we’ll discover something that works even better!