Austin Improv

It has begun to dawn on me that the way at least some troupes communicate with each other is less effective than it could be. Many have settled on the Facebook group as a means of getting messages to each other. My problems with this method are these:

• It requires everyone to be on Facebook. More and more people are deciding to remove Facebook from their lives, and it kind of sucks to have these anchors preventing them from doing so.
• Those of us who use Facebook regularly are constantly being deluged with notifications. It's really easy for a post in a group (such as "rehearsal tomorrow is canceled") to get overlooked in the shuffle.

Some shows I've been in have used Google Groups, which is just an email list, to communicate. I find it much more likely that I will see and respond to an email than a Facebook post. However, some people have mentioned to me that they get so much email that that is easier to overlook.

What do you think? What's the best method of conducting intra-troupe communications, to assure that the important stuff isn't lost?

I find that a combination of FB for the FB'ers and email for the emailers works best. Sure it is a pain in the butt, but a majority of folks do one or the other, so... It also helps if your troupe comes to a consensus as to what WILL be the form of communication. If the troupe votes smoke signals, so be it... Staying committed to one form of communication is the key, not the form of communication...

For a show, that'll be around for several months and then be done, I'm finding the Facebook group thing to be pretty ideal. Namely because everything's in one place, and if you want to get notification by email every time something is posted, you can.

For an ongoing troupe, the ideal way to communicate is over some delicious food, with a classic cocktail. That is, become friends, hang out all the time, and communicate every which way possible.

Roy Janik wrote: For an ongoing troupe, the ideal way to communicate is over some delicious food, with a classic cocktail. That is, become friends, hang out all the time, and communicate every which way possible.

Roy just described how Your Dad's Friends started...

Google Groups is pretty cool. You can use it message board style in addition to emailing troupe members.

It works well for The Seven Eight Sevens...

STH

i've used both with different troupes and casts, and really the pros and cons are six of one and a half dozen of the other. like Chuy said, just decide on which one your particular troupe/cast prefers and be consistent with it. and i know plenty of people who only use Facebook to keep in touch with professional contacts, so it's not that outlandish a request. it doesn't mean you're going to have to start playing Farmville or anything.

the one thing i would advise is pick just one means of group communication. i've been in a couple of shows now that had both a Google group and Facebook group, and it just muddied communication since no one was sure where to post what, and how to find which piece of information.

I'm getting more and more into GroupMe for the sexters out there.


https://groupme.com/

All you need to do is to get Peter Rogers to be in your troupe/show and you're pretty much all set.

AmyA wrote:All you need to do is to get Peter Rogers to be in your troupe/show and you're pretty much all set.

*SINGING*
To dreammmmmmm, the impossible dreammmmmmmm...