Building relationships by NOT building another online social network

I have been discussing how ministries should put their values into their web site. Our church, for example, values relationships. But how to show that online? In previous posts I suggested that blogs are useful way to build relationships, especially if comments are allowed. I also described how a church in Chilliwack, Canada, focused their web site on community.

When trying to develop a web site that is relational, many organizations automatically think they should build their own online social network. I am an alumni of three different universities, and all three of them have tried to get me to join their social network. Even a high school I attended wants me to link up.

In the physical world we don’t do this, so think of it this way…if you had a group of friends that you wanted to meet with regularly, you wouldn’t go build a coffeehouse. You would instead find a suitable place (such as a Starbucks, It’s a Grind, Denny’s, etc.) and arrange to meet there. In fact, many times meeting in a more public space allows you to be seen by others and attracts them to your organization. So why would an organization go through the expense of building their own social network when there are already several good social network sites out there? And if you have a ministry that wants to reach out to others around you, what better way to do it than to make your group visible to the public? Sites such as Facebook already provide tools for you to integrate your group into their site – so use them!

What do you think? Does your organization use Facebook or another social network site? Or are you contemplating building your own?