find out about "WIWIH" = social networking for hospitality

There is a correction to this post thanks to Davy from WIWIH! Correction in red below.
While perusing around on the Internet for other blogs on hospitality technology I stumbled across a great find. Who is Who is Hospitality or WIWIH for short. Now, though I'm not sure about the acronym (wee-wee?) I have been using the site pretty consistently for about a month. If you work in hospitality here are all the reasons I think it is a good idea to join up.

help the growth curve
It's about time a site covering hospitality globally was created, but that also has specific interest groups for discussion forums. Hospitality is generally so far behind what is happening this is a good thing. Sign up so you help move the growth curve along.

social networking is not going away
Though there was a post today on wiwihblogs by Travolution Blog that the social networking trend may be slowing down, I don't believe it is or is going to. Many professional communities will continue to have a slow adoption rate until it becomes a standard, until enough of the generation between 25 and 35 reach the senior director to C-Level positions (they have always used it so will continue to expect to), or until there is enough business benefit (read revenue opportunity) that you must. Social networking will mature and evolve over time, but it will also continue to grow. It may not be the FaceBook or LinkedIn of today, but it will be around. If you join your first social networking site in 2 years you will be disappointed.

free education
You read that right, free education. Like many other social network sites WIWIH includes a forum offering discussions and questions. When I signed up I joined Guestroom Technology, WIWIH Lounge, HITEC 2008, and Spa & Wellness. The members of the group create a forum where information is shared openly and freely for the benefit of everyone in the group. And seriously, who turns away free advice on a topic you are interested in.

share your expertise
In the same way you get an education, you get to give one. If you have hospitality knowledge and want to share it with the world then right now WIWIH is the place to do it. Why wait to share your expertise four to five times a year at trade shows when you can share it all the time now? If you really do know what you are talking about, the upside to this is you get recognized for your expertise and will probably get invited to speak at more trade shows.

track industry trends
The part of WIWIH I've used the most is WIWIH BLOGS. For those who have signed up with WIWIH and have a blog you can RSS feed your blog so it appears in WIWIH blogs (this blog is), but also monitor the "Recent Blog Entries" section for interesting content. If you've read about this blog you know I started this blog because I could not find anything else like it. But, through WIWIH I found The Hotel Technology Blog by Terence Ronson. Terence posts great stuff there that I've really enjoyed reading. (The one downside to The Hotel Technology Blog is Terence publishes his blog via the WIWIH blog platform, meaning you can't RSS feed it outside of WIWH.) The biggest downside to this is if you are not a member of WIWIH you cannot read any blog hosted on the WIWIH BLOG platform. Davy from WIWIH corrected me on this. Anyone can view WIWIH blogs and they also support an RSS feed. One more reason that WIWIH is a good thing. Thanks Davy for the correction!

#1 reason - networking
Above all else the best reason to join WIWIH is networking. Tim Sanders (a marketing guru and pretty successful author) says in Love is the Killer App "the size of your network equals the size of your net worth". WIWIH is attempting to bring together some of the greatest minds in hospitality to network with each other and share. In addition to the forums and blogs there are job postings, event calendars (with attendees), video feeds, and profile listings similar to LinkedIn. For me it was an easy decision to join up. It costs me nothing and the benefit is all mine...what more could you ask for?

Thanks WIWIH for starting this site and bringing us all together.