In passing I feel I ought to say that I was very encouraged by this meeting as a whole. It was a positive and forward looking and I think edifying (meaning up-building) meeting and I hope more people will post their own thoughts on what happened.

I gave a short report to the Pubs Dept meeting on the launch earlier this year of the new on-line ISA Directory of Automation which came on stream a few months ago. The URL is isadirectoryofautomation.com/

One of the delegates asked if he could enquire why a new URL, rather than a “subdomain” of the ISA URL – www.isa.org was used. I said he could ask, but I had no answer or defence, principally because it never occurred to me that this was an important point (and I could hardly be called a neophyte in this web game!)

Nobody could give an answer other than it was perhaps an easy one to remember. (The same may be true for the URL for Automation Week (.isaautomationweek.org/) and other sites set up by the ISA with URLs other than the main www.isa.org).Perhaps this was thought as a good idea in helping to establish their identity. However it was pointed out that this was perhaps a false theory in the modern on-line word.

Using these disparate or different URLS instead of strengthening the ISA “brand” by establishing one strong authoritative presences, instead dissipates the possible presence into many different channels.

Does this matter? Well, yes it does.

Have you ever tried to “google” the word “Automation?” If you have where do you find the ISA’s website? Try it now if you like! In my experience it is on page three or four or maybe even further down. In fact it ought to be in the first three entries on page one. Now try “Automation Directory” and see if you can find it. We tried it at the meeting and failed to find it after seven pages! (By the way I think that if you’ve searched for this before some search engines are intelligent enough to second guess you and move up what they think you might want further up the hierarchy! – I stand to be corrected in this but I find if I use one computer to do a search and then another I tend to get different results!

Why is this?

The search engine is looking for usage, or how popular a page or site is. So isa.org has a certain number of visitors, so will the Directory of Automation, so will the Automation Week site. But the search engine has little to go on to associate these with each other has it? Remember the adage “garbage in garbage out?” Or have you ever experienced a problem with having printing done by a professional printing firm where simple mistakes are made because you assumed that they understood exactly what you wanted without spelling it out clearly. No search engine, however intelligent, cannot identify www.isadirectoryofautomation.com, or www.isaautomationweek.org with www.isa.org. The URL isa.org does have an existing authority with the search engines but when we start another URL this is from scratch rather than building on what we already have. Each new URL has to establish its own authority from nothing. Reinventing the wheel as it were.

All searches lead to isa.org

So what to do?

It is actually a quite simple procedure, I’m told, to change this to say “automationdirectory.isa.org” or “automationweek.isa.org”. If this is done then every visit to both of these sites will acrue and be recognised as a visit to the isa.org domain and so its perceived popularity will rise and its “authority” will grow as this total increases. And so on, the addition of each section as say england.isa.org (or isa.org/england), or district say district12.isa.org etc will add the usage of these sites to the total. Say 10000 people visit isa.org and 2500 people visit www.automationweek.com and 5000 people visit the Directory they would be regarded as separate entities by the search engines and thus would be back in the exterior darkness of the back pages of Google, Yahoo and the rest of these engines.

ISA has a global presence with potentially 14 District web presences, all the sections, divisions and departments as well as some of the individual standards’ and education sites. All these can and I would suggest should be contributing to this popularity. Hopefully as a result of that simple question at the pubs meeting we will see the authority of ISA rise in the eyes of these engines and start to take its rightful place on page one.

Dear Newsletter Editors and Webmasters,

ISA has created new articles and ads that you may use in your newsletters and web pages. Some of these articles and ads promote the benefits of ISA membership; others promote ISA Automation Week 2010, some advertise training; and others encourage ISA members to volunteer, ask for help, invite visitors, etc.

These articles and ads can be found in the Society Leaders Resources section of the ISA website, under Section, then under Editor Resources. (You’ll need to log in!) Then, down the page, look under “Articles” or “Ads – ISA Products and Services.” I will be adding more articles and ads in the future, so please check back frequently.

You’ll also find a link to the Press Room on the left hand column. ISA news releases are another good resource for articles. Technical papers from our Division symposia are always a good addition to newsletters, as well.

One last thing. Please take a close look at your web pages and newsletters and check out how you use the ISA logo compared to the logo usage rules at this link. If you find that you’re not displaying the logo correctly, or that you have the outdated Society name instead of International Society of Automation, please make the necessary adjustments to protect this important branding element.

Dianna L. Noyes, Administrator Section and District Services, The International Society of Automation.

In a recent discussion with ISA leaders regarding how to lessen the number of emails it sends members, the topic of Facebook fan pages came up. The context of this discussion was focused on how ISA could be at least as effective at marketing its publications while reducing the number of emails it sends. I was asked to explain specifically how a fan page compares with email marketing, and I came up with seven advantages:

1) “Opting In” vs. “Not Opting Out”
People must take an affirmative action to “become a fan,” which says a lot more than “I choose not to opt out.” From a marketer’s perspective, these become your top shelf, number one, gold plated prospects. And you treat them that way.

2) Marketing Upside
When someone becomes a fan, all of their friends see it. This has tremendous marketing “up side.” When someone doesn’t opt out of emails, nobody knows and there is zero additional up side.

3) Build a Community
Fans can interact with one another on the fan page, providing book reviews, answering questions, talking about their favorites, etc. This is the very essence of Web 2.0.

4) Analytics
Facebook provides detailed statistics with regard to interactions that occur on fan pages. This makes is very easy to quantify the value of the page over time. Typical email marketing solutions provide counts of the number of times a message is read or a link is clicked. However, Facebook has additional metrics that can measure interactivity and “buzz.”

5) Reach
Fan pages are open to everyone on Facebook (that’s 325 million users) – not just your email database.

6) Demographics
The fastest growing age demographic on Facebook is 35 to 45 year olds. This is a critical demographic for many organizations.

7) Cost
Fan pages are FREE. Enough said.

Let me know if I missed something.

The member asks!

On the right track?

By Eoin Ó Riain

Over all of this, however, is a very striking thing. A real affection for our society and genuine care and anxiety that we come out of this crisis as a stronger society both for ourselves as members and for the automation profession and discipline as a whole.

First the blame game!

By this I mean the negative comment. “ISA has always been in this business for its own gain, screw the punter and collect the money.” “The books, the courses etc are too expensive and anyway who would buy them etc etc.” “It’s no wonder it is in the situation its in when it treats the member the way it does.” Every effort made by those charged to bring the society forward is attacked and quickly a “them and us” mentality is fostered.

Now the defensive game!

This is seen in many organisations. We can see it in virtually every government in the world. Even in Churches! It is seen for instance in a report I read recently that the current administration in the US is reportadly excluding a television news service from access to the sources of information because they perceive their reporting as inimical to their aims. That may or may not be true but this overt attempt to control the media is no longer possible.

Another one is one that appears to be used on people like Jim Pinto. Now Jim is an articulate, thinking automation person. He is a fellow of the society, he is a published author and a proven entrepreneur. He has published many commentaries and ideas, with some of which I agree, with others I do not. His commentaries are by no means limited to ISA and the reactions of some of the commercial entities who do not like what he says are even more drastic and twentieth and even ninteenth century than ISA’s. Though people hear this kind of criticism it appears they are not listened to. Sometimes the reaction is to deflect criticism and/or suggestions by telling them to “get into the game” and “be a leader.” The implication being “If you feel your idea is good then come in and implement it! – otherwise we will proceed as we are no matter what you say!” I think that that sort of response is disrespectful and worse is stultifying to progress. And we are assured that “…ISA is on the right track.”

Reactions from some of the commercial entities include an instruction not to engage with him at all.

The vibrant Cleveland (OH) section made a wonderful and perceptive presentation to the ISA Executive Board in pre-crash 2006. Were any actions taken? The Cleveland guys think not. It was an interesting meeting, they were thanked and things proceeded on their merry way while membership continued to stagnate. “…ISA is on the right track.”

Many others in private like Cleveland, and in public on various blogs and internet-groups, have commented, suggested, cajoled but still the impression given is of a brick wall or worse a soaked sponge!  “I accept what you say, within reason,” but “…ISA is on the right track!”

The old school is ended!

Up to the last few years it was possible to manipulate, in one way or another, public opinion through control of the means of mass-communication. Many countries still operate “state” radio and television stations for instance. That was true of the old “eastern-bloc” countries in Europe and it worked for about eighty years but it was bound to fail as access to other resources became more and more possible, radio and television stations accross the frontiers. And so it did, spectacularly in 1998 with the downing of the Berlin Wall or the fall of Ceauşescu.

The new school

Remember Tiananmen Square? The orange revolution in Kiev? Indeed I remember myself in the early years of “the troubles”, being in Belfast – this was the early seventies. The two communities of the Shankill and the Falls taken over by elements who set up rival raidio stations. There was a slight problem on a small street (Percy Street) between them and a call went out on the Raidio Stations looking for people to go to the site. Within about 15 minutes two large and hostile crowds had assembled with a bewildered British army presence between them.

More recently the election of the current US president used the “social medis”, really for the first time. But it wasn’t always favourable to the man who won the election but one thing that was noticeable that dissent was not quashed on his campaign cyber-presence platforms. People were engaged and responded where they were!

Nowadays news is instant. Whether it is an earthquake in China, a corrupt election in Iraq, the death of a popstar, or the nomination of a new president-elect secretary, we know about it instantly.

The world has changed!

So how does this effect ISA in its current difficulties?

On occasion I have made comments or responded to comments on various blogs and forums. I have been approached in private to suggest that some of these comments be made “through the established channels!”

But what are these channels? Section meetings? The ideal place is of course the leaders’ meetings. But these are at best three a year. One district Meeting and two “society” meetings, usually in far-away places. I have attended these in Houston, Anaheim, New Orleans, Vancouver, Phiadelphia, Orlando as well as in many Europen venues. Yes, one can learn a lot at these but it requires your presence there!

What are these channels? Lift up a telephone? send an e-mail? To whom? Not everybody has that information. And in any case the reply may answer MY query but what about the other thousand members who may have the same query?

I remember once in the early days of the internet when, at a conference, the speaker asked how many had a website? A few hands went up. Then he asked, “How many of you have your prices on your site?” Nobody had. Why? Mostly because the site owners feared their rivals would get the prices. In fact they forgot that if these people really wanted their prices they would get them whether or not theu were on the website. For me that was one of those great moments of clarity, when I realised that this media was different. Another was when I showed the web to a printer. I could actually feel his fear as he realised the power of this medium and how it might effect his business.

I have been told that the value for discussions such as this on groups such as LinkedIn is limited because the misinformation can quickly generate a negative herd mentality and take on a life of its own. This may be very true but there is a remedy staring us in the face. PARTICIPATE!

When a comment is made on a LinkedIn group which is false, correct it! Not by a private e-mail to person who made the comment but there, in public, where the original comment was made.

How many comments have been made in public that have not been answered? Participate in the debate.

That is not happening to any large extent now. There are a number of places for this to happen and this site is just one more. We have had some excellent talks and debates about the ISA’s web presence for instance. Suggestions have been made that ISA have Ning-like functionality “baked in” for its departments, committees, sections, etc… There are free open source frameworks that would make it easy to provide this functionality. In other words there is little or no cost element.

Some effort has been made to do this but only by the volunteers and not in an integrated way. Image and Membership Department have used it and the Publication Department are also trying to see how they can use systems like this. But really no input from staff (that I can see) other than criticism “as far-from-perfect resource typical of these free systems” or the not invalid “we are too busy.” And of course they are busy, but what with? (As I write this I learn, but through the grapevine, that some attention is being paid to this at RTP, but it is only a rumour but “through usually reliable sources!” A response to this blog would be a usefulw to confirm this?)

Recently they (Senior Officers/Staff) attended the Council of Engineering and Scientific Society Executives leadership forum in Florida.  I never knew there was such a body but then I suppose I don’t need to!  Based on data quoted there from Tecker Consultants and conversations with the other attendees we are assured that “…ISA is on the right track!”. One comment I saw on this said caustically “The ‘Council of Engineering and Scientific Society Executives Leadership’ forum was attended by people who are all in the same sinking ship.” I suspect that comments with the same general meaning have been voiced by others though maybe less colourfully!

I have emphasised the “web presence” of ISA. Why? Because that is the most visible way of showing, that ISA, as a body, IS up for, and to, the challenge. It is also the least expensive. But I see nothing happening there. Do a Google search for “Automation.” Where is ISA? Down near the bottom of page three (as Instrumentation, Systems & Automation Society, a year after the name change!) Search “Instrumentation” and it’s on page two. Am I wrong to expect it not only on page one but at the top of page one?

Incidentally it is very useful to see what other entities (not only other societies) are doing. We have good examples in the leading automation companies. For instance National Instruments have a Community and Social Media Manager (actually they say Geek! She is Deirdre Walsh). Why? Emerson have done a survey on the big (and paradoxical) changes occurring in the automation world and are acting accordingly. (See my own blog last month on conquering-complexity!). I came across an interesting book on the extraordinary changes that are occurring in our world today. Seth Godin in his book “Meatball sundae” talks about the tinkering that many entities are doing. They are missing the big picture. When the penny drops the realisation is truly revolutionary, a paradigm shift:

“So, if we embrace this approach, we don’t have to just change our website – we are going to have to change everything about our organisation. our mission, our structure, our decision making…”

ISA is on the right track? Tell the members how? Show the members how membership benefits them more than non-membership!

Leaders, please engage! Please respond where the members are! Come out from the ivory tower! Lead!

Members, participate! Participate where the leaders can lead!