Back in July 2009, I wrote a Viewpoint article on Maui News urging the Maui Visitors Bureau to participate in Social Media and Networking. I was a bit hesitant on publishing the letter because I was concerned that Maui Visitors Bureau would be offended. Thankfully, they were not (or at least I was not aware that they were). And the good news was that I found out later that at the time Maui News published that article, MVB was already doing some initial consultation on updating their website and adding some social media components in there. To make the long story short, they did participate in social media and they are now seeing the good result. In the past couple of months we have been reading in the paper various articles on how the tourism industry on Maui is doing well compared to other industries, and it’s continuing to bounce back.
All these background story and introduction to say that this year 2011 – if a business on Maui is not participating in social media, they are already behind the game. I found a great article (via Twitter) last December 2010 and I shared it in various networks I am with. In that article it says:
The Bottom Line -Embrace Social In 2011 Or Be Left Behind. The train has left. Organizations must put together a social business strategy that meets their business objectives, matches their organizational culture, and provides the right level of technological support. Expect reference architectures for social business to emerge that incorporate design thinking, innovative user experience models, business API’s, and deeper vertical focus. Not all organizations can and will adopt social business. However, those that succeed will leapfrog their competition with a disruptive technology and business model for 2011 and beyond.
I have a lot to say about social media on Maui. I can talk all day about social media. But A Maui Blog is not really a social media blog so I will end this post for now. If you are one of those who own a business or Maui or is hired to manage a business on Maui and your company is not yet participating on social media, I highly recommend you attend #MauiSMUG. Moreover, if your company is already participating in social media but would like to improve on it and make if effective and relevant to your biz, I also suggest you attend the #MauiSMUG.
More information on the 2nd Maui Social Media User Group, as well as the registration link is found at the High Tech Maui website.
