Weekly Patrol Box #15

I've spent a lot of time this week working with Scouters on the Internet.  That is, helping them to get it.

There are so many tools available to us to help make our jobs easier, yet I bet half of all Scouters don't even use email on a regular basis.

This weekend, take the plunge.  Become electronic.  It is mostly, if not completely, free.  Just like a Cub Scout belt loop, stick your toe in the water--it won't bite you and you'll be glad you did.  In no time, you'll be swimming like a shark!

1. Email--get it and use it if you don't already.  Force yourself to communicate with it.  I've known people who could only type via the "hunt and peck" method, go to 30+ words a minute in a year.  Yahoo mail and Google mail (gmail) are free, have tons of storage, and great spam filter capabilities.
2. Instant messenger--AOL AIM, Yahoo Messenger, and others are available.  If you have Yahoo mail, you can use the same ID to run Instant Messenger.  Your Scouts use IM all the time (when they aren't using their cell phones to text).  
   
3. Text on your cell phone--you can almost always upgrade your account with a cell carrier to add texting cheaply to your cell phone.  For $5 a month, I get 200 text messages.  Not a lot compared to what your Scouts use, but great to reach them in a pinch.
   
4. Blog--Google has made blogging fool-proof.  Anyone can have a blog, and it seems like everyone does!  Maybe it is something your troop's historian can take charge of?  See last week's Patrol Box for blog ideas.  Even our BSA camp has one.
5. Facebook--be available to your Scouts.  They are on here!  So are their families and tons of fellow Scouters from your council.  Ten minutes a day goes a long way to staying on top of what is happening in their lives.
6. Twitter--this new tool gets easier and more intuitive everyday.  Everyone says the same thing--at first they don't get it, then suddenly a light bulb goes off, and it makes sense.  The amount of information waiting for you is enormous.  Come see me on Twitter to see what I mean.
7. Hootsuite--this allows you a great way to watch your Twitter account.  If you already use Twitter, and need a way to organize it better, try Hootsuite.
8. Youtube--again, your Scouts can help you find relevant material.  Search for Boy Scouts of America to get your feet wet.
9. YahooGroups--keep one for your pack, troop or crew to stay in touch.  Email archives, links, databases, picture archive, polls, and best of all you can set it up to be private--only people you allow to view it and participate in it can do so.  Everyone else is shut out.  Look for "Cub Scout Talk" and "Boy Scout Talk" first for high caliber information and help.
10. Something new--be open to try the new stuff that comes along.  

Once the Scouts see that you are active and that you get it, they share more with you and help you be a more effective leader.  Speak their language and you'll have an easier time reaching them.  

Put that Betamax away.  Step away from that 8-track.  Get a phone without a cord.

What tools do you use to make your more effective as a leader?  How do you communicate with your busy Scouts and busier families?  Comment away!

Wired Scouts and Wireless Scouting

This has been an interesting year so far, and not at all what I imagined.  

I've been working on a number of projects, and learning how to work in a few new tools, like Facebook and Twitter.  Our council's camping committee asked me to put together a web presence for Camp Rock Enon in the little blip of Gore, VA.

So, how does this benefit you, the Scout and the Scouter alike?

First, these tools are being used regularly by our Scouts.  They "get it" without the long explanations.  They don't require the convincing that these tools are worthwhile, important or relevant.  I've yet to meet a 40-50-60 year old Scouter that just "gets it".

It is a perspective thing--often our Scouts have had the Internet in their homes their entire lives.  These tools are as pervasive to their existence as we see television and radio.  Yeah, that wasn't fun to realize.  We all like the story about the Scoutmaster who had to explain rotary dial phones to his Scout so he could call home.

Some of these tools will come and go.  In the past 15 years, we've seen the near death of fax machines, replaced by scanners and email.  

There is a place for it.  Like pitching a tent, starting a fire and reading the weather, technology is an important skill.  Maybe we don't need a "Web 2.0" merit badge, but our troop historian may need to be a bit more savvy.

But the important thing is to embrace them so that we can understand our Scouts' lives.  A "wired" Scout ("wireless"?) out camping is a different creature than one who a few years ago couldn't make a phone call from his front yard.

Second, the Internet can help you generate interest in your local council's units, activities and camps.  Big or small, there is a great opportunity to share what makes Scouting special with other members of the Scouting community and the broader world.

My efforts so far have been small and careful.  But I'm getting feedback from our local Scouters, and even from outside our area.  They are getting the word (tweet) and seeing programs (blog) and learning that we have something going on.

Our summer camp is almost completely booked solid, in a down economy.  

I've seen an email from someone who "discovered" us and is looking at 2010 events now.  Another person reached out to see if Camp Rock Enon could be a stopping point before the next Jamboree.

The future of Scouting is now.

How do you embrace technology?  or your council?  What do your Scouts use?  Have you asked them?  Comment away below.