The great thing about social media is that it really is applicable across nearly every industry. As a result, the Cerado team gets exposed to a lot of interesting things along the way in domains that we normally wouldn’t experience in our day-to-day lives.
For example, did you know that the mechanics who work on aircraft do not need to be certified in order to do so? I bet you didn’t, and I wouldn’t be surprised if your opinion surrounding this area has now changed due to this revelation. Now, whilst they may not need to have a certification to work on the maintenance of such aircraft, they will almost definitely need a maintenance stand, that can be found at places like Platforms and Ladders – https://www.platformsandladders.com/aircraft-maintenance-products/model-15f1900-b1-maintenance-stand/ – to help them reach all areas of this mode of transportation to complete the job at hand. This will also maintain their safety at all times too which is very important in this industry. Whilst the mechanics don’t need a certification, it’s important to note that aircraft mechanics who are not certified must work under the supervision of a certified mechanic who can sign approval of the work before the aircraft or its equipment is considered airworthy. But still. I didn’t know that either until we started working with the Professional Aviation Maintenance Association (PAMA) last year, in helping them bring a new aviation maintenance certification to market. This certification will enable employers in the aviation industry to have a baseline from which to know which of their technicians actually have “the right stuff” and will also enable those in the industry to have a verifiable way to show their skills and separate themselves from the pack.
Although the PAMA certification journey is just starting, there’s already a ton of great stuff going on. PAMA is already:
- Blogging over at JetBlog! Interactive
- Engaging directly with its community with the JetBlast! Network (a white-label social network created with Cerado Haystack, naturally)
- Communicating the vision of the program with this video over on YouTube
Brian Finnegan, who is the Director of Certification Programs for the SAE Institute (PAMA’s sister organization) and the former President of PAMA itself, completely “gets it” with respect to what “conversation” means. The blog accepts unmoderated comments, and the JetBlast! Network accepts unmoderated postings. Of course, in an industry that is sometimes resistant to change (and where the “new” planes are sometimes 20 years old), Brian takes a David Sifry -esque approach to dealing with the issues that are raised in those areas of the community. (For example, here’s a good case study of how to handle criticism from a community member.)
So, the next time someone scoffs and says that this whole blogging / social media / community thing is just for geeks, point them over toward the PAMA site and show ’em how it’s being done in the real world.