Early ‘80s, Northern Italy.
A 12 years old kid periodically stops in front of a wall in a city‘s central street, where a couple of local ski clubs’ notice boards display news about past events, weekends on the snow, pictures of participants.

2009, same city, same wall.
The (still young!) guy, now in his late 30s, is taking a stroll downtown. He doesn’t live there anymore and doesn’t have many chances to be around so the walk has very much the feel of a trip back in time.
For his astonishment the notice boards are still there and still getting updated, 30 years on!

In an era where social technology is changing the Internet and the way the world works, the ancestors of Facebook and Twitter are still there, on the same wall, and with updated content (photos, calendar of events, summaries of the group’s previous days out).

Amazing and sweet to see how decades haven’t changed anything in what used to catch my attention as a kid, despite dozens of online platforms and tools ready for use being available to Sport organizations and communities.

But nothing happens without a reason and while I was reading the board, a middle-aged guy came to post new material (the display is protected by a glass so only the person who in the Internet age we would call the “administrator” can change the content).

We started talking.

He told me about their passion as a community, the fact that the kids of the early members are now in the club as well, about the friendship and relationships that generated through skiing together through the years.
At a certain point, still not believing to what I had just discovered, a mix of mellow memories of my childhood and professional interest, I asked why they kept the notice board up through decades and never moved it online, listing all the benefits and advantages.

The reply was clear: they don’t want a profit or any financial benefit whatsoever and they have a strong link to tradition, they don’t want the community grow uncontrolled and getting out of hand and they are worried about monitoring what people post.

I understand his point of view, as there could be a few misconceptions around the subject.
Stepping into the online social scenario is not only for people that have as a goal monetization and revenue and most of the times, with a help of a few settings, the community is the best monitor of itself.
One of the main motivators for joining the Social technology revolution is pride and the increasing need of belonging to a group with a defined identity.

I told my new friend that a new approach wouldn’t mean that they would have to take off their historic bulletin board but that it would also allow people like me that have never met any of them to share my experience and say thank you for this memory trip through my teenage years.

Alessandro De Zanche