Improving regional communication channels is among the Great Lakes region’s immediate big goals. The Midwest, our parent region, used Facebook almost exclusively; which is true of most regions globally. Each state or metropolitan area had its own Facebook group and there was the massive Magic Judges of the Midwest group which is still closing in on almost 1,000 members. Ideas were spread as best as we could in the large super region, and if you didn’t get the memo, someone might be able to fill you in.

Distractions to Communication

Let’s get down to it, Facebook is noisy and distracting. I’ll admit there have been many times where I needed to be studying for school and instead was caught in a “Youtube Hole” when I really needed to be productive. A recent study conducted by Microsoft found that Facebook gave an average of 4 interruptions an hour that can be anything from someone liking your post to a message from a friend, and once interrupted it takes, on average, 23 minutes to get back to the task at hand. Considering that judging for most is a hobby that is a huge chunk of productivity taken away from your personal lives!

Now this isn’t a post about bashing Facebook but about how we, as a region, are going to communicate more effectively and concisely. This starts with using what I call the Triangle of Communication.

The Triangle of Communication

I’m going to start with the first base of the triangle, the Great Lakes Magic Judges Facebook group. Moving forward Facebook will be used for major announcements like policy updates, large event solicitation, and important updates to the Great Lakes Blog. Updates that aren’t pressing, such as our “How to use Slack” article series, will be posted in a single thread at the beginning of each week, if needed, with replies to that thread being not so important updates! The regional leadership’s goals are to limit the amount of notifications you receive everyday from Facebook so that Facebook can go back to being about your personal life!

The second base of the triangle is the Great Lakes blog. This blog will contain information both about and from your regional leadership, general announcements for the region such as the recent additions to the L2 advancement process, the Level 2 Application form, our Next Step program to help plug L1s into the region, helpful articles, and much much more. The goal here is to create a blog that hosts all the information you could need for being a successful judge in the Great Lakes region.

Finally at the top of the triangle is Slack. Slack is going to become the region’s primary way of communicating. Slack is a ridiculously powerful tool that allows you to set what notifications you receive, create channels for projects, run video conferences, participate in all kinds of discussions, and many other things. From now on you will know that notifications from here deal with judging or your judge friends exclusively. We want to embrace this tool as part of the future of judging! The goal here is to create a platform that everyone can communicate on, where we are spreading ideas as a region as opposed to just in a state or area, and receiving quick feedback when needed. In other words, we’ll leave a light on for ya!

New Era of Communication

I personally believe this is a new era in judging where we can spread ideas instantly and remain connected anytime we need to be! Want to discuss the new HCE policy? Head on over to #rules_policy on Slack. Looking for the latest update? Check out the Great Lakes Facebook group. Need to know who your Area Captain is? Look on the Great Lakes blog. All the information needed to be a judge is at your fingertips waiting for you!