shawn farner [dot com]

As most of you know, I’m involved in a service fraternity on campus called Alpha Phi Omega.  This organization has been on the IUP campus for decades, and while its members have stayed current with technology, the fraternity itself could use a push.  Therefore, I have taken it upon myself to “Web 2.0-ify” Alpha Phi Omega, not only to benefit and grow the cause, but also as a case study for others to apply to their own clubs and organizations.

A transformation like this will probably not be easy to pull off.  There are already systems in place to take care of certain processes, and people are sometimes not open and accepting to change.  Here are a few examples of the way certain things are done currently:

• Meeting minutes are sent out via email
• Events (service, social, fundraising) are signed up for on paper
• Contact lists are either sent out via email or are distributed on paper
• A phone tree is currently in place to spread important information

There are a few other examples I could add, but the basic point is this: there are systems in place now that get the job done, but incorporating Web 2.0 would do those same jobs much better and much faster.

One area Alpha Phi Omega lacks in is web presence.  The fraternity’s territory online is staked out in the form of a Facebook group.  I’ve spent the last month and a half or so exploring the ways this could be improved upon.  One obvious solution is a web site, which I have in fact been working on and hope to complete in the very near future.  I’ve built the site using Wordpress, mainly due to its ease of use and adaptability.  In the future, I envision minutes not being sent by email, but instead being added as a post.  This would solve the issue of lost emails and would also unclutter many inboxes.

As far as signing up for events, I’m certain there is a web app that could make this a breeze.  It would be easy to simply create a Facebook event for say, a service project, but we then run into the issue of certain people not having a Facebook account.  I would also like to get those who sign up to go immediately on a printable list, making things much easier for whoever is in charge of the event.  If you know of such an app, fill me in!

Google Docs and its “publish and share” feature solves my issue with the contact list.  An excel spreadsheet can be added to Docs very easily and a shared URL can be distributed to fraternity members.  This link could also be included on the APO web site.  Not only would this provide a contact list that will never be lost, it is also incredibly easy to edit on the fly, ensuring members have access to the latest contact information.

As for the phone tree, I feel that somewhere, Web 2.0 provides a much better way to spread a message quickly.  I’ve been contemplating whether or not to introduce Twitter as a possible solution, though I have a gut feeling people would not like the hassle of signing up for an account and activating their phones to receive texts.  I would also be higher on Twitter if they supported AIM, but they currently do not.  Does anyone else know of a web app that allows you to add users to a list and simultaneously send them all a text message?

That’s all for now.  I will continue APO 2.0 every few days, highlighting the latest way I’m trying to bring Alpha Phi Omega up to date on newer web technologies.  If you have anything you’d like to add, feel free to shoot me an email (shawnfarner[at]gmail[dot]com), hit me up on Twitter (@shawnfarner) or simply leave a comment.