Anti-Social Behavior

Unless you’ve been hiding in your 1950s-era fallout shelter out back of your isolated cabin in the North Woods, you are certainly aware that technology is changing the way we communicate. Thus, I’m sure you’re not the least bit surprised to see GCI devoting an issue to the topic of social media and how superintendents are using it.

We’ve been all Twittery and Facebooky and such for years now. That’s because our job is to provide you with good, relevant info on every viable platform – print, digital edition, website, enewsletters, video, podcasts, social media, etc. Hell, we’d use carrier pigeons if enough people wanted it and we could figure out how to tape little bitty Syngenta and Toro ads on the sides of the birds.

We have to be on every platform because we’re at a crossroads in the communications business where your media consumption is evolving. The age of communications choice is here and we’re damned well going to be on the leading edge of it.

A recent study we did indicated 86 percent of you still definitely wanted a printed edition of the magazine. That’s bad news for tree huggers, but good news for us since you still want our “core” product because you like to hold it in your hands, turn the pages and keep it in that bigass pile behind your desk for future reference.

On the other end of the spectrum, 6 percent said, “Never send me anything on paper again.” Surprisingly, the demographic of the “totally digital” respondents wasn’t just techy kids; it was largely older guys who are committed to reducing clutter. They have reached a point where they want to un-hoard. I dig that.

The vast majority of you told us you wanted a little taste of everything. Some wanted to browse the website daily for news. Some preferred the portability of the digital app that allows you to carry the mag around on your phone or iPad. (Did I mention we’re the only magazine in the industry that has a mobile app?) A couple mentioned they loved the digital stuff but eagerly anticipated the print version of my column to line their cockatoo cage.

But the really interesting thing about that study was how many of you wanted it all. You wanted to be alerted via Twitter that we just posted a video demonstration of a new grinding technique on our website and to also be able to read a how-to story about it in print before you sat in on our webinar about the topic. And, like the old Burger King commercials said, we’re happy to give it to you your way. That’s the way we roll.

The real question is how you and your colleagues are employing those same technologies and tactics to advance your interests at your facility.

I encourage you to read and digest the package of stories whether you’re already a full-blown Twitter-head or you’re one of the remaining few still trying valiantly to stay off the grid. To those brave souls, I address the following words of wisdom:

Remember how you told everyone that you’d never give up vinyl records?

Remember when you claimed you didn’t need no stinkin’ cell phone?

Remember how you refused to use e-mail because it was “impersonal”?

Some people don’t adapt until it’s shoved down their throats. Then, three days later, they always say, “I can’t believe I didn’t do this before!”

The bottom line is that the communications revolution that started in 1832 when Samuel Morse began sending electronic dits and dashes over a thin copper line has not stopped and will not stop because you “don’t have time to fart around on Facebook.” When you dismiss social media, you dismiss the future. The future will, in turn, dismiss you.

So, embrace it, my Luddite friends, for it is here to stay… at least until the current platforms become passé. In the meantime, I offer all of you stubborn types who claim they won’t succumb to this “silly” trend one final thing to think about: In 26 years of studying ways that superintendents can effectively communicate with golfers, I have never seen anything half as effective as blogging combined with social media to share programs, practices and professionalism. If you don’t figure that out, the guy who takes your job certainly will.