Marketing and networking web 2.0 to club or not to club

Last night when I was thinking about a Christmas party. I got to thinking about my days as a marketing manager and how events would be mailed out months in advance and posters put up. Then the long slow process of tickets being paid for and then nagging the lagging majority who had to be emailed for the tenth time to remind them. I remember how the benefits of the Chamber of Commerce and businessmen's clubs were so essential to businesses then. Things like tenders, medical aid, membership lists. These have all become seperate services online now and you can tender for a job as a freelancer or business and be paid online in minutes on twenty different sites. Through linkedin you can send them your resume, your client list your references in minutes. You can register, pay for and print your ticket to any conference or event anywhere in the world within minutes. You can even check out the speakers and watch videos of them in advance. Linkedin have just launched an events application. Then there's the launch of Zoopy - a social media community that makes the world a smaller place. So where does this leave those networking clubs like Rotary (who do admitedly also have charity, polio eradication and education exchange programmes to manage too) Chambers of Commerce, Businesswomen's clubs, Toastmasters etc. Who all now have websites sure. Will they be forced to adopt and join social media sites like twitter and facebook to keep up? I noticed Rotary already has a twitter account. I keep saying this because it's my job as a new media and web 2.0 evangelist, that companies and organizations will have to adopt or die, and I'm saying it again. Facebook has within it's millions of members clubs of every imaginable kind, and even those unimaginable. The news is reported and discussed in a moment now. Any disaster or travel advice is circulated between Twitter and Facebook users within seconds. So does this put people who sell this information out of business? Will people still read sector newsletters and look for recommendations from infomation services? Will marketing and PR managers be replaced by new media wizzes? Will there be no end to Facebook and Twitter growth? Hey even the WSJ newspaper had an article on twitter Want to tell us what you think, Have a burning question, or want to strongly disagree? You can do all that by sending us a comment. Wisequeen Donna Jackson Social Communications Specialist.