2011 was an important year for your society. This was the year where NABIE began a strident effort to communicate almost exclusively via electronic means. Our effort will continue, but to be successful members must also begin to utilize resources we are developing.
The most important resource for members is their presence on our website. Remember that you have the capability to amend and edit much of the data the public sees about you. Your log-in involves the use of your email address and a password.
If you have changed your email address since the website database entry for you was created, and you did not update your email at the time of the change, you will need to log in using your old email address. Should it be the case that you have also forgotten your password, our automatic password retrieval system will not operate correctly as it will mail the password to your OLD email address. In such a case, contact NABIE headquarters using the contact information on the website.
NABIE issues nearly all its information now electronically via email blasts and the website. Please make sure that your email program is set to accept emails from NABIE and not treat them as junk mail.
LinkedIn and Facebook are also communication tools for us.
LinkedIn maintains a closed group exclusively for NABIE members. That means no one can join the group unless they have membership in NABIE. We use the closed group discussion board as a means to disseminate information. Group members can also initiate discussions on topics appropriate to our professional mission.
NABIE’s Facebook page offers a way to also get out information about our organization. Postings appear from time to time on our wall about matters of importance that relate to the building inspection engineering profession.
We continue to investigate and utilize additional electronic media to communicate. Constant Contact is being evaluated as an additional tool for member outreach. Your board and various NABIE committees now also utilize Go To Meeting as a means for conducting NABIE business, never needing to leave our local offices.
Our outreach efforts have been very successful over the last year, enabling us to communicate effectively with about 90% of our members, exclusively using Internet based means. However, we continue to have some members whose information is not current. That can mean any of the following:
- an incorrect, or no, email address
- an incorrect physical mailing address
- an incorrect telephone number
The final phase of member outreach will be an attempt to track down such “missing in action” members. Most of that effort is likely to involve telephone calls.
However, networking is an important part of business building and simply staying informed. As you communicate with other NABIE members, ask them if they are entirely current on the website. You might also do a bit of “data mining” and check if the information about colleagues appears up to date.
As we move into 2012, we will continue to foster more widespread use of such communication tools. Let’s make sure everyone is included.
