Conference Roundup: Understand Social Networks and Make Them Work for You

1. You’re still trying to get a handle on your basic software infrastructure.

2. Your target audiences aren’t using social-networking tools. “If your constituents aren’t there, there isn’t a good reason to be there,” MacLaughlin said. “But, it is something to experiment with.”

3. You don’t have time to experiment with something that might not work.

4. You’re not willing to deal with technologies that don’t work as well as they could.

5. You’re not ready to invest in gaining a real understanding of the medium.

6. You want clear editorial control over your brand and message.

Still have questions? MacLaughlin suggested reading these books: “People to People Fundraising: Social Networking and Web 2.0 for Charities” by Ted Hart, James Greenfield and Sheeraz Haji; “Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organizations” by Clay Shirky; and “Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies” by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff.