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| Check out the South East Contest Club (http://www.contesting.com/secc/) or the League of Young Radio Amateurs (http://www.excellweb.com/lyra/) -- some cyber clubs already exist! |
Here is a paper that will raise questions in the mind of you, the club officer, about the future of ham radio clubs...cyber radio clubs. Randall Carlson, WB0JJX, ARRL Section Manager of Delaware, put together this paper at the request of ARRL Director Kay Craigie and ARRL Vice Director Bernie Fuller. What kind of discussion will you and your club officers trigger from it? The topic could be worth devoting to a club program.
Club officers' initial reactions might be that a cyber club wouldn't have the beneficial social aspects many folks desire when they join a club that takes on some cyber aspects. Randall writes, "I know from personal experience in on-line communities, that daily communication can yield friendships and relationships that often are not possible otherwise. When these relationships are supported by occasional face-to-face meetings, they are really in a class of their own. The closest analogy is the friendships that develop as a result of ham radio on-the-air chats -- many amateurs have formed friendships over the airwaves, only to meet years later. I suspect cyber clubs would or could be similar. It is entirely true that the social dynamics of this type of club would be different than a 'face-to-face' club. But those differences might appeal to a certain percentage of hams and potential hams, especially if they aren't totally happy with the dynamics of their local club. This may be a way to keep some hams involved that otherwise would slip into inactivity."
Randall says he didn't write this paper as an advocate of cyber clubs, but to get you to consider the possibilities and pitfalls of cyber ham clubs.
Virtual Radio ClubsIn a recent division newsletter N3EFN, Atlantic Division Vice-Director, raised the issue that strong local clubs are vital to the future of amateur radio. Indeed it is through face-to-face sessions at these local clubs that ARRL elected officials are best able to communicate ARRL policy and directions. They are also where we get information on what the rank and file membership concerns are. Atlantic Division Director, WT3P, has also suggested that in remote areas, local clubs might consider putting together a local ISP to allow hams in that area access to the internet and the immense amount of information about amateur radio available there. If clubs undertake ISP projects, will we reach the point where the ISP is the club? A club with no face-to-face meetings, but where all activities are conducted in cyberspace. Pay your five bucks to join the ISP and you are part of the club. It's my belief that it is not a question of if this will happen but when. Indeed it may already be here. Many clubs and organizations are using email reflectors and email for club business; it's just a matter of time till a club that's heavily involved this way slides into an all cyberspace club. Specialty groups such as EME are already making use of email to communicate. These are also candidates for an all cyberspace club. It has been my observation that the more often a club meets, the stronger the club tends to be. Electronic mail, chat rooms, and other internet communication tools would allow for club interaction on an almost daily basis. I know from experience in on-line services such as Compserve that this daily interaction can indeed result in the type of relationships and information exchange that one seeks when attending a club meeting. With specialty topics such as EME or ATV, there may not be enough local interest to form a club. Cyberspace can break down the geographic barriers and allow the group to reach enough critical mass in terms of numbers to become an effective organization. The question is whether ARRL is ready as an organization to deal with such cyber clubs and to see that the needs of their memberships are addressed. Most of ARRL's activities are geared to face-to-face meetings, and to date we have had a tendency to discount or ignore the online activities, with the idea that we would catch them at a hamfest or a club meeting down the road. I believe that it is time we start to address the use of internet activities to reach members in a less traditional manner. The members-only ARRL web page is a good start in providing content for such groups. This is just a start; there will be need for content at the divisional and section level as well -- something to replace the personal face-to-face contact that we provide as part of our duties. We need to realize that these organizations will not be paper driven and look to providing more and more of the League's products in electronic form. Organizational items, such as director representation and section affiliation, will need to be dealt with.
Randall Carlson, WB0JJX Delaware Section Manager
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