Social media is one of the greatest innovations of the 21st century. Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other similar sites are some of the most easily accessible, user-friendly, and free ways to market yourself and your business.
However, just like SPAM clogging up the inbox on my e-mail, I’ve had a few run-ins with people who abuse social media, particularly Facebook.
I am appalled at the already-famous people on Facebook that troll for clients…going through my friend list and sending requests to everyone on it, including my elderly relatives, my young nieces and nephews, etc., because they have apparently jumped to the erroneous conclusion that everyone on my page is related to massage. People do this because they are trying to sell a class or their books or whatever. It incenses me when my dear elderly aunt e-mails me and wants to know who so-and-so is, because they’ve sent her a friend request and the only friend they have in common is me.
The awful thing to me about this is that some of the most well-known and well-off people in this profession are the ones doing it.
The majority of my FB folks are massage therapists. I didn’t friend many of them; most of them friended me. I assume they’ve read my blogs, read my articles, bought my books, or attended my classes, and I have no problem accepting their friendship. A couple of times when someone prominent in the field sends me a friend request, I have gladly accepted, thinking that maybe they read my blog….so when they start trolling my friends and relatives, it’s a big let-down for me that they’re not interested in me at all, except as a conduit to harvest all the people on my friend list so they can pitch their classes, books, or whatever they’re selling.
I think this is pathetic, and the only way I know to stop it is to un-friend these people and out them for the trolls they are. I just hate it when that happens.
Laura Allen
Last week I attended the first annual gathering of the Alliance for Massage Therapy Education, which took place at the Grand Summit at the Canyon Ranch in Park City, UT. It was an excellent gathering, and I hope it’s a good indicator of things to come.
Rick Rosen, Executive Director, opened the meeting. Tom Myers gave the keynote speech, and conducted a workshop for continuing ed providers. He is an effervescent and entertaining speaker. We also heard from Jan Schwartz, representing ACCAHC; Les Sweeney of ABMP, Neal Delaporta of the NCBTMB, Kate Henrouille of COMTA, and Kathy Jensen of the FSMTB.
Friday began with discussion groups and brainstorming for “Visioning the Alliance.” Friday night, we all boarded gondolas for a ride up the mountain to the Red Pine Lodge for an excellent meal. There was still snow hanging around. The view from the gondola was awesome. Saturday, workshops included an offering on the MTBOK, and a class for school owners on increasing enrollment. I personally attended a great class by Cherie Sohnen-Moe on Ethics in Education.
Saturday was also the day for seating the first Board of Directors. Ralph Stephens, Mark Beck, and Cherie Sohnen-Moe were seated. The other 4 members are the AFMTE’s original leadership team, and include Pete Whitridge, Iris Burman, Stan Dawson, and Su Bibik. There were a few rumbles about that, as the leadership team also acted as the nominating committee for the first election. Rosen stated that it was being handled in a transparent manner, and that as a new start-up organization, it was not without precedent and was done for continuity’s sake. Diana Thompson, immediate past president of the Massage Therapy Foundation, stood up and agreed that it was an acceptable practice for a first board as long as it was handled in a transparent manner. A nominating committee was also chosen for the next election.
All in all, it was an excellent meeting. I particularly enjoyed meeting Jan Schwartz and Mark Beck in person, hanging out with Sally Hacking, Christopher Alvardo and Angela Palmier, the folks from the NCB, meeting friends from NC and far and wide, and in general had a good time, in spite of the fact that I got a dreadful case of altitude sickness.
The Alliance is an independent organization that was started last year in an effort to provide information and advocacy for schools, instructors, and CE providers. Industry supporters are also welcome to join. I encourage all schools, teachers, and CE providers to become members. The AFMTE is all about the advocacy and advancement of education, and will depend on the involvement of educators to meet those goals. Visit their website for more information.
