This month's Net2 Think Tank question asked:   How do real-world (offline) events fit into social media conversations and campaigns?  

Has your organization tried a Flickr campaign - did those photos ever move offline?   Are you working to change legislation - have you tried letting people sign a petition both on and offline?   What about Twitter - Has your organization considered a real world "tweetup" to bring your community together"?   Allen Gunn of Aspiration focused on the on and offline element of conferences recently in his Huffington Post article about N2Y4.   What opportunities have you found for balancing offline and online events?

We have some great contributions this month to share!   You can still add your thoughts in the comments, too.

Allison Fine's response in The Connection Between Online and On  Land addresses the conflict many people have when trying to accept either on or offline social change work, and especially when accepting them together.  

"...social media activists haven't emphasized the on land piece enough. Remember the old advertising adage; it's not until they scream that they heard you that they actually have. We need to yell it louder. Online and on land are inextricably linked, social change can't happen online alone, social change can't scale on land alone. But techtopians like me get really, really excited about a new mapping of the Iranian blogosphere (see it here, it really is sooo cool!) and are less focused on parlor meetings and coffees and Meetups they're not as sexy. But   the change that we want to see won't happen without them."

Allison's answer is to be intentional about integrating on and offline efforts.   "We need to keep asking the question, 'And how does this [effort/campaign/outreach/gadget] connect to on land efforts?'"   Read her full post here.

Beth Kanter responded in her Activating the Activists with Social Media post, where she shared the question, "We have 5,000 friends on Facebook, now what?   How do we activate the online activists to take action offline?" with her Twitter network during the recent convening on Network Effectiveness hosted by Packard Foundation and the Monitor Institute.   She rounded up the responses from Twitter and shared them in the post.   Responses included:

Via Commonknow

• In your status updates, use the news feed to raise awareness
• Escalate relationship w/periodic updates through Facebook messaging with higher asks
• See example of EQCA No on Prop8 http://bit.ly/2OhDRB
• Deepen relationship through custom apps that improve on org activites (event fundraising, petitions)

jeffshuck@kanter I'm biased, but events are a powerful way to move online advocates offline. Create something to attend!

easibey@kanter actions that r easy/doable. The Save Darfur Coalition asks to organize events, vigils. They are quite successful - http://rde.me/Nz

jonratliff@kanter face to face meetings deepen the enthusiasm for activism. I suggest a tweetup.

chloevdc@kanter remind them that the tools they use can only go so far. technologies are only as good as the people (and activists) behind them.

You can review more Twitter responses and the conversation on Beth's blog here.

Joe Solomon asks What's the Right Offline Event for your Organizatoin's Online Community?  

Social media conversations and online campaigns create whole new models for bringing together & powering the progressive movement. Although at core: People coming together in the real-world are key to fueling how we organize for change. We need real world events to be a central part of our online organizing. We need offline events to meet each other, bond eye-to-eye, and forge the collaborations that will make our social networks stronger, better connected, and ultimately transformative.

Joe also provides an overview of five different offline event models and how they may work for your organization's online community, inlucding Green Drinks, 350.org Actions, Net Tuesdays, ChangeCamps, and more.   Read his full post and the event descriptions here.

I (Amy Sample Ward) wanted to add to the conversation, too.   This past Saturday, I attended Tweetcamp - an experimental event in London that combined elements of a Tweetup and Barcamp with the goal of moving on online network of people offline to form a stronger comunity.   I highlighted some of the "what worked" and "what didn't work" items in the post, as well as thought about what happens after your organization or group has successfully organized an offline event with your online network.

How is Tweetcamp going to move the community? What will the ripple effects of this be and how can the Tweetcamp organizers faciliate it?   (Or, if it had been an event organized by a nonprofit organization as a chance for those who found the organization online to come together offline to learn more, get involved, and so on, how can the organization move those particpants and network members up the ladder of engagement as part of the community?)  

How will the network maintain the community?  

You can read more about Tweetcamp and moving from online to offline community here.

What do you think?

This is your chance to add to the conversation!

All four contributing posts ask more questions than just the initial Net2 Think Tank topic.   Do you have any ideas or answers to share?   Has your organization rallied its supporters online to get together offline? How did you do it and what did you learn?

About Net2 Think Tank:

Net2 Think Tank is a monthly blogging event open to anyone and is a great way to participate in an exchange of ideas.   We post a question or topic to the NetSquared community and participants submit responses either on their own blogs or on the NetSquared Community Blog.   Tag your post with "net2thinktank" and email a link to us to be included. At the end of the month, the entries get pulled together in the Net2 Think Tank Round-Up.