[7/4/2009 SteppersUSA Daily News]
Facebook & Touching New York
By Markie Bee
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New Photos are available in the photos page including Thursday at Orbies and Touch and First Friday at the Razz. Facebook has been on the front page of this and other web publications for a while now and I thought I would write about it and its impact on the Chicago style steppers community. Of course, it's a great networking tool… if you mostly want to network with those you already know… to start with. The roughest part is to expand that network to more people you don't know (isn't that what networking is about?). One great method I saw demonstrated was when a person introduced a new Facebook person on the wall and asked others to "Friend" them. Just think, if everyone introduced someone new to each member of the Chicago style steppers community, the impact could be pretty big. Overall, the age of people on Facebook is relatively young, it's like the quote I put on Twitter; "Ever met a teen or twenty-something that understands the value of networking or could articulate a thought in 140 characters or less?" Most steppers are beyond the twenty-something threshold, but age really isn't really the point when it comes down to it. It's the networking and what it can do for the genre. In the case of SteppersUSA it's being able to reach out to a wider audience and getting closer to the current readership. Facebook has added about 30 visitors since I started using the service. The Chicago style steppers group is up to 301 members as of this writing. I'd like to see the number over a thousand, but I guess we have our limitations. One of the biggest problems I see with Facebook is how people promote their sets and lessons. Ninety-nine percent of the promotional efforts are pointed toward people who already step. I've mentioned that in the past. The genre needs to grow so promoting to the general public is very important and probably should be done in public groups. Spending too much time on Facebook can be hazardous to your mental health too! You end up playing inane games and generally wasting your time. Oh wait that's part of what being on the web is about, right?
I met Marty Majeske and some of the New York Steppers last night as I made a swing through Orbies and then through the new set at Club Touch. Dre Blackwell ad Rello were teaching some moves to them as part of their Thursday night stepping class, then I saw them again when I visited with Sam Chatman at Touch (Nice touch, those stripper poles!).

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