Amazingly Interesting...

...and very forward thinking. I just saw this video that was posted on PITV that is by Susan Fox talking about Digital Immigrants vs. Digital Natives (thanks for posting Maddie).

What an interesting topic, and an interesting way of looking at the generational differences that are evident in our memberships. How are we communicating and interacting with our members who are in these different categories and life stages? Is there thought being put into the medium of our messaging to account for these potential issues?

In my own organization, I am seeing the Digital Immigrants really acclimating themselves into the culture of the natives, as they continue to use digital more and more. At the same time, I don't think we can confuse them beginning to use it as a necessity with being as comfortable with it as the natives. So, we have kept our print publication as a bridge between these different groups. We haven't gone all digital, but that's the future and we continue to inch that way.

I certainly think that we in associations should be cognizant of the differences in our Digital Immigrants vs. Digital Natives in their needs. Digital Immigrants will likely never become as proficient as the Natives, so we shouldn't force them to be with the way we are communicating and with the programming we are offering.

Again, very interesting topic.