I just spent two days with colleagues attending Policy Link's Equity Summit in Detroit. There were 2300 folks attending from across the US and internationally. The theme of the summit was to raise and change the discussion around Equtiy - that it is no longer an ethical thing to do but is becoming an economic imperative as the demographics are significantly shifting in the US.
Equity is also both the ethical and economic direction for Canada to take given our diverse populations and changing economies. You can find out more about Policy Link here.
During the Summit, there were about 20 individuals who were regularly tweeting their thoughts, ideas and impressions (search the hashtag #equity11) and following these tweets, you were virtually following the learning of the community.
But, last night I had an idea, to truly change the nature of the conversation about equity, we could have used the power of social media and spread the ripples even farther. If, at the closing session, we asked each delegate (all 2300 of them) to email 10 colleagues with the message - I would like to talk to you about equity. Then 23,000 would be included in the conversation. If these folks were asked to tweet, facebook, or email their colleagues, the ripples would go further.
The power of social media is there for our use. We can change the conversation. We just need to utilize the opportunities when we are gathered face to face creatively and create the ripples of conversation and change. Let's no longer leave learning events, summits and conferences without making the commitment to tell at least 10 of our friends and colleagues about our experience and the new energy we found.
