Despite the snow today in Pittsburgh, my thoughts turn to ice cream.  I love ice cream.  I’m very boring.  I like chocolate and vanilla.  I particularly like the ice cream as the herald of spring.  I know it is spring here in Pittsburgh because I watch my local ice cream stands open up.  It means winter is over and those summer birds of our community return.

So what can ice cream teach us about social media communities.  It rained hard one day last week and my neighborhood ice cream shop did not open.  It was sunny on Sat. and the lines stretched.  IT snowed today and again the shop was closed.  It is supposed to warm up later in the week and I’ll bet the shop will be open and serving treats.

You see the shop is outdoors.  It is an outdoor experience and therefore best enjoyed during sunny days.  They could open today and they might sit around and wait for hours to serve one brave soul.  However, they are in tune with their community.  They know we don’t want to participate on days like this.  The community knows that they don’t need to participate on days like this.  That is a relationship that works.

The lesson.  Don’t force relationships in your social networks.  Demonstrate that you know what your audience wants and participate when they want to participate.  Engagement - what a treat.  Man, I am craving ice cream now.