John Bacon, JD PPGGNY President

Do you get a regular stream of LinkedIn, Facebook, and other "invitations" in your inbox like I do? Have you sent a few of your own to colleagues and friends? Staring at your computer screen all day, do you sometimes wonder what happened to the telephone and written letter as effective communication technologies? Have you been laughed at by your children or other young people who prefer "tweeting," texting, and other modes of electronic communication? What do our donors and clients think of these new media?

I still use the telephone and written letter extensively-and best of all, the in-person meeting-but have taken baby steps into the social media world and know it is here to stay. My employer is an active social media user, so I have learned just enough of the jargon to know how little I know. We can and should do more to use social media as a tool in our fundraising work here, and I fortunately have colleagues who can advise on best practices and standards. But these measures and the media themselves are evolving rapidly and will continue to do so, making efforts today likely to be stale within months (remember Friendster and Myspace?).

Our March luncheon speaker will explore how social media and philanthropy intersect and will no doubt help spur on my own efforts at work-and home. PPGGNY itself will wade into social media this spring: stay tuned and consider connecting with us when we are up and running.

NYPPS registration is up and running, so sign up for that May 26 event if you have not done so already and encourage others to join us.

We serve you, our members and friends, so please keep your comments, suggestions, and inquiries coming to me at jbacon@nypl.org or the PPGGNY office. I look forward to seeing you soon.