Networking in the Finnish Archipelago

Social networks can be built around nearly anything. But you had better build them around something close to your heart, if you want them to provide any value. And the island of Nagu (around 1500 inhabitants) in the Åbo Archipelago in south-west Finland clearly qualifies as close to my heart. Since 1.1.2009, Nagu is a proud part of the City of Väståboland, whose tourism bureau contacted me in March.

Use social media to support your passion

I was asked to help Väståboland use social media to develop local tourism. My pleasure! I have a vision how the social networks should be used to develop tourism in small, local communities, and I’m happy to contribute to the best of my knowledge. And, all you SIME blog readers, I suggest you to pick your own favourite place to help out. Perhaps you have a weak spot in your heart for where your roots are, and perhaps you could help them get going?

But I’m not a tourist in Nagu! I nearly live there!

The thing is that I’m only a part-time Nagu inhabitant, as I changed my permanent dwellings from Grankulla (outside Helsinki in Finland) to Munich in 2006. That’s where I’ll stay for the time being, but I go to Nagu as often as I can and I grab every opportunity to strengthen my roots there; the latest such opportunity was last summer, when my son followed his father’s footsteps and was confirmed in the Nagu church. My roots in Nagu consist of summers spent there since 1970, from my parents having moved there 1983 (and from the house I inherited from them), from a number of relatives and friends and from my grandparents growing up in Nagu.

Hence, you could be lead to assume that I have nothing to do with tourism, when it comes to Nagu. Almost the entire brochure “Unforgettable Nagu” is known to me, in contrast to what it would be for my neighbours here in Munich. But my vision is vastly different from pushing brochures to complete strangers.

Top tip: Use existing networks!

In my vision for promoting tourism in Nagu, the local tourism bureau builds upon existing networks. And the existing networks primarily consist of the 1500 people already living there, secondarily from the category of “part-time inhabitants” that I represent myself. We feel deeply for Nagu. We have strong ties to Nagu, and thick roots. At the same time, we have other ties to a life outside Nagu, and drag strangers and outsiders to what we perceive to be the most beautiful place in Finland. Who would be better at promoting a place than somebody you know personally, who speaks with passion for that place? Further credibility is added if the person does it voluntarily, without personal gain. And that’s exactly how we part-time Nagu inhabitants behave, and we’re supported in our efforts by many of the guests that have already visited us in Nagu.

If the Väståboland tourism bureau is smart, and that’s how they seem to be after the two-three meetings I’ve had, they will start “bribing” us and let us do the hard work through cultivating our outside-Nagu networks. The bureau of tourism should give us their attention and hand us the tools we need to spread the gospel.

Another top tip: Support the supporters!

But we don’t want payment only in bathing balls, t-shirts and cheerful comments of the “thanks for the good job!” kind. Sure, that’s needed, too. Yet, the most valuable currency we can be paid in is a growing network in Nagu. That we know more locals. That there are more familiar faces to greet at the local store. That Börje (of “Börje’s Fish” fame) recognizes us, both in the Nagu harbour and on his Facebook fan page. That some of our neihbours learn to know us so well, that they recommend us to call Bisa-Pekka when something has to be dug, or Bobi Saarinen when we need to fill part of our garden with sand. That we know ever more participants in the yearly Around Möviken race, or the local Chamber Music festival. That someone tells us about the burglary in the bus outside Martha’s Guest House mid-May. That we get to hear about Eija Lamsijärvi, who can help with catering at parties, about who can help with our construction site, about who can look after our house when we’re far away ourselves. That our children get friends of the same age, and start properly understanding the local dialect of Swedish.

For this vision to come true, the bureau of tourism needs to be brave and see their big-picture duty. They have to start spending time with us, and see us as a combination of voluntary workers and Ambassadors for tourism in the archipelago. They should provide us with great web pages (such as the newly started Facebook.com/Nagu.fi fan page, or Wikipedia pages about Nagu in many languages). We should get to hear local gossip; the somewhat cryptic elderly gentleman Bertel Nagubo already has a Twitter account Twitter.com/Nagubon and his own Facebook page facebook.com/Nagubon, where he has so far entertained his friends not only in the local Swedish dialect, but has also tried his hand at the popular tourist language of German (or Bertel’s own brand thereof). We must be provided with the opportunity to meet each other virtually, through texts and pictures on the Facebook fan page. We must get the opportunity to share our photos of people, nature, sea, of everyday life and of parties — on Facebook, Picasa and Flickr. As our web based networks grow, we must be provided with the opportunity to meet in person during the many events in Nagu, particularly in the summer. It’s now up to the Väståboland tourism authority to oil the machinery, give us the proper channels and platforms, to help us strengthen our networks in Nagu. If we get to know the contacts we need in Nagu, our strong ties strengthen further. We are already passionate, and with a bit of help, the Väståboland Tourism Bureau doesn’t just have four people but four hundred or four thousand.

Go practical: Drive Facebook, Twitter, Picasa and Flickr users to you

It’s around this vision that I’m currently building some concrete suggestions for the Väståboland tourism bureau. They were quick to set up the Facebook fan page for Nagu, which already got over 600 fans. In order for Facebook not to be the sole leg to build upon, I’m promoting the use of the #Nagu hash tag on Twitter. I’m eager to set up a photo competition “Nagu 2010″, where you turn in your entries over Facebook, Flickr or Picasa. I hope for a wifi connection for the ferry waiting lines (Nagu is connected to mainland Finland through a 10 minute ferry service, for 30-50 cars at a time). While waiting, we all have more time to chat and run into each other over the web, than we have when we’ve arrived at our respective destinations in Nagu.

Today’s Good Deed: Go find your own island to support!

The vision is certainly applicable not just for Nagu, which is only a part of Väståboland. But, after all, it’s still just a vision and we’ll need to learn more from reality before we can spread it cost-effectively elsewhere. That’s why I suggest Nagu as a guinea-pig. This summer, expectations aren’t yet overwhelming when it comes to the web presence of a tiny island. Collecting experiences, we’ll be in a great position to spread the experiment to the rest of Väståboland next year. It makes sense to learn from our mistakes in a limited environment.

I’m looking forward to the summer of 2010 as the starting point for an ever stronger network between permanent and part-time Nagu inhabitants. We will see an extensive web presence for Nagu, through pictures and texts provided by us voluntary ambassadors. Local entrepreneurs will earn more money, through a healthy growth of tourism in Nagu. Put us city dwellers to work for you, dear inhabitants of Nagu!

Links:

• The fan page of the Island of Nagu: Facebook.com/Nagu.fi
• The Twitter page of the elderly gentleman Bertel Nagubo: twitter.com/Nagubon
• His Facebook page, requiring knowledge of the local Swedish dialect: Facebook.com/Nagubon

One Response

1. Lkgrohn says:

   August 4, 2010 at 15:05

   Kaj,
   How many times you have visited Kasberget? It is a MUST.

   http://www.synestesia.fi/music07a.html

   Reply