Netnotworking

Citation

Hayes, S. (2013), "Netnotworking", Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, Vol. 17 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/jfmm.2013.28417aaa.001

Netnotworking

Netnotworking

Article Type: Editorial From: Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management, Volume 17, Issue 1.

As, what is fast becoming the norm, I am in America as the year draws to a close and I write the editorial for the first issue of the journal in 2013. Hawaii to be precise, where I am happy to be a “first time attendee” at the International Textile and Apparel Association (ITAA) annual conference; a veritable jamboree of design, education and research events based on the coast in Waikiki, Honolulu. Now I am sure most people will agree that at conference, it's what goes on outside of the formal sessions that counts most. And, it's fair to say, that the Americans are experts at networking – much more so than us timid Brits. So, on the first evening I was party to an inaugural meeting of all the first time attendees – designed to induct us into the ITAA approach to conferencing. It was a great idea and worked well, although as a 40-something PhD and head of school, I felt a little awkward in the company of grad students from all over the USA! But what a great way to start the event – as if to say, “you may not know many people here or how we do things, but talk to people and you soon will”. That's the point I am trying to draw out here; talk to people. It's easy, as I am now, to sit at a keyboard and computer screen and connect with people but the use of the network is simply not working, it's not networking. The main point of my attendance at this conference was to meet – face to face – the many authors, referees and Editorial Advisory Board (EAB) members that work for universities in the USA. I have had the chance to network informally with the likes of Tammy Kinley, Belinda Orzada and, over a delicious cocktail on the Moana terrace, Minjeong Kim and dine with the likes of Sharron Lennon and watch Kim Johnson give her address. E-mail, especially those generated automatically by manuscript Central, just doesn’t achieve the same. But living in the UK, it's hard for me to see everyone without such an event. What struck me, and an issue raised by Minjeong Kim, was our need to leverage better the skills and experience we have in the EAB (I am sure I have mentioned this before) so, if you are reading this and are (or would like to be) an active EAB member, please e-mail me at s.g.hayes@mmu.ac.uk with the word “Netnotworking” in the subject line and we will join our forces to take the Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management forward. Let's get the net working.

Steve Hayes