Building a Virtual Chapter/Organization

[Don]

Given that we are questioning how an online organization might have value, the first and maybe most important question that comes to mind involves whether there is a good reason to have an organization like the CVRS or a local chapter if it only exists online. So …

Since so much information on vintage electronics (and everything else) is so readily available on the Internet, is there any reason/benefit to having an online organization?

If yes, why, what benefits?  If not, why not?

[Rhonda]

The online organization we have is important. I have been able to reach out to local resources I didn’t know I had access to before I discovered CVRS. Also there is a lot of misinformation on the Internet – not everything is factual. I also notice a lot of electronic resources can be cryptic and incomplete so it helps to interface with others through the forums to find the real gems and truths out there. Understandably we will not have a lot of traffic as we are a narrow niche in the world but the work we do is vital to show newer generations what we had and how we made do with those resources.

[dwhite]

I will add something from a different perspective: the view of one of the organization’s administrators. When I agreed to take on looking after the schematic service and membership for the CVRS, I thought only about the time/energy it would take. The member who had done the schematics before me had commented that he kind of enjoyed it because he got to talk to members across the country and hear what they were working on. I thought, yeah, right, another sales pitch. He only wants to dump it. But what he claimed turned out to be true for me, as well.

Combined with looking after membership, I’m in contact with people every couple of days or so. Yes, it’s true that some of them only request schematics/help and disappear immediately after. But a lot of others don’t. I’ve had dozens of great email conversations with new members, people who have only discovered the CVRS, had no idea about the resources it provided, or more important, the chance to contact others on the Forum about what they are doing. And they’re excited! Same thing with the schematics. Even when a model is difficult to find and we have to search only by the set of tubes, the back and forth communication often turns into enjoyable exchanges.

So, when I think of the CVRS, I think less about the services than I do about the contacts I have with members. For me, that is one of the biggest values of the society. And it was sprung on me unknowingly! I realize that most members may not have as much contact with others in the group as I do simply because, well, unfortunately, they aren’t also “forced” to be in contact. (I’m employing a bit of irony here, folks.) But they could be – on this forum. That’s why when I think of things about the CVRS that have value, I think about this chatroom. What a great place to have a multi-member conversation. And online conversations can be almost as good as meeting face to face. So for me, I’d put the forum, if only for its potential, right up there at the top.

[Author]

Posts