{"id":5326,"date":"2026-09-28T23:41:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T03:41:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/duniyastudio.com\/?p=5326"},"modified":"2026-09-29T00:15:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T04:15:10","slug":"a-plea-to-event-organizers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/duniyastudio.com\/?p=5326","title":{"rendered":"A Plea to Event Organizers"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Please Stop Making Your Customers Live in Your Group Chat!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I recently made a Facebook post about something that has been driving me a little crazy: the growing tendency for workshop and event organizers to use Facebook Messenger or WhatsApp group chats as the primary channel for official event communication. I expected a few chuckles, maybe some people would agree with me, and maybe others would jump in to correct me, tell me I was some kind of soon-to-be-extinct GenX dinosaur and that chat is where it\u2019s at<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I did not expect quite so many people to say, essentially, \u201cTHANK YOU. I couldn’t agree more.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And the more I thought about the responses, the more I realized that this isn’t really about whether someone likes WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, or email.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is about communication! More specifically, it is about using the right communication channel for the right purpose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is a difference between community and communication<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I love social interaction. I love chatting with people at workshops. I love the community aspect of dance events. I also love reading people\u2019s posts online and engaging in a good chat thread. I have no objection whatsoever to people having a WhatsApp group where they can socialize, arrange rides, share photos, get excited about an upcoming event or continue conversations after the workshop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That’s not the problem. The problem is when a group chat becomes the official communication system for an event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because suddenly, everyone who has registered for a workshop is expected to monitor a constantly moving conversation in order to find the information that actually matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And buried somewhere between:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCan’t wait!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMe too!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI’ll be there!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDoes anyone want to carpool?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI’m bringing snacks!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhere are we parking?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDoes anyone know if there’s a coffee shop nearby?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI sent in my music.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOMG I’m so excited!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

…there might be an important announcement from the organizer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Good luck finding it! Needle; meet haystack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One thoughtful person pointed out that this works in reverse, too. Imagine an organizer has 50 people in a workshop chat. One participant needs to confirm where they sent their music.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PING.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHey! I sent my music!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PING<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhere did you send it? I don’t see it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PING.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo the studio address.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PING.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAh, okay! I see it now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PING.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGreat!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PING.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThank you!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PING.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou’re welcome.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

PING.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSee you soon!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That entire conversation could have been a private text or email exchange between two people, but instead, fifty people received the notifications for an exchange that had nothing to do with them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And nobody ever opted into being part of that conversation in the first place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It feels like the digital equivalent of yelling across a crowded room to have a private conversation with someone.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your customers’ attention is a resource<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is the part I think organizers sometimes overlook. When someone gives you their email address or phone number as part of registering for your event, they have given you a means of communicating with them. They have not necessarily given you unlimited access to their attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is a difference. Every notification interrupts something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe they’re working…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe they’re teaching…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe they’re driving…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe they\u2019re napping…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe they’re spending time with their family…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe they’re trying to concentrate…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe they’re simply trying to have an evening without their phone buzzing at them every 30 seconds!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And yes, yes, I know that people can mute chats. It\u2019s the first thing I do to one of those annoying chats that I am obligated to be part of. But \u201cjust mute it\u201d isn’t really the answer when the same channel is also being used for important announcements. Now the participant has to choose between being bombarded by irrelevant conversation or potentially missing some important details. I have to dedicate part of my day wading through the 90+ messages to determine if there’s actually something of substance I need to be aware of. I have better ways to waste my time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That’s just poor communication design!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And what about privacy?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is another issue here that I don’t think organizers always consider: my phone number is my personal information. If I give it to you because I registered for your workshop, that does not necessarily mean I have agreed to have it shared with 30, 40 or 50 other people I may or may not know. When did we collectively decide that our personal contact information was just community property? If you create a WhatsApp group using participants’ phone numbers, you’ve potentially made everyone’s number visible to everyone else in the group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe I’m perfectly comfortable with that, or maybe I’m not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe I know everyone in the group, or maybe I know three people and have absolutely no interest in giving my personal phone number to the other 47 who I’ve never met and may never see again once the event is done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe I use that number for my business. Maybe I’m a secret agent by day and need to stay clandestine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe I deliberately keep my personal and professional contacts separate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Or, maybe I simply don’t want strangers having direct access to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The point is: it should be my choice.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When did any sense of privacy and protection of personal contact information go out the window?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And while we’re talking about privacy: if you’re sending an email to a large group of people who don’t all know one another, please use BCC. Don’t casually put 40 people’s email addresses in the \u201cTo\u201d or \u201cCC\u201d field and expose everyone’s contact information to everyone else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This isn’t difficult. It takes two seconds!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your participants shouldn’t have to wonder whether registering for your workshop has accidentally subscribed them to a new social network made up of strangers who now have their phone number.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Communication tools are convenient. That doesn’t mean privacy stopped mattering.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’m not a luddite. I do have WhatsApp chats set up for my classes, but I make sure these are optional. I might echo official announcements in there, or call people\u2019s attention to an email that has gone out, but they\u2019re not the backbone of my communication channels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Static information goes on a website. Email communicates official detail. Social media and chats point people to that information, and give people an opportunity to muse, gush, squeal, lament, plan, conspire, and revel in each other\u2019s thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And another thing\u2026 while I\u2019m on a rant about the chats, I might as well address it all – hang on to your hats, this might get a tad prickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not everything that happens behind the scenes needs to be shared!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is another part of the problem that I think organizers need to consider. There is a difference between information your participants need to know and information you are experiencing as an organizer. They are not<\/em> the same thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don’t need to know that you had an exchange with your insurance company. I don’t need a play-by-play of your conversations with the venue rental contact. I don’t need to know that you were thinking about starting at 4:00, changed your mind, and are now starting at 5:00, oh wait, maybe 4:30 is better\u2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don’t need to participate in your internal debate about whether you should wear the blue costume or the purple one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don’t need to know that you’re waiting for someone to get back to you, that you’re frustrated with a supplier, that ticket sales aren’t moving as quickly as you’d hoped, or that you’ve just discovered another problem that you now have to solve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those conversations might actually be fun in a social chat. They can give people a glimpse behind the scenes and create a sense of community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But they are not official event communications that everyone needs to be burdened with. And this is where I think we need to talk about something a little uncomfortable: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Are you communicating, or are you offloading your stress?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Organizing an event can be stressful. Believe me; oh I do know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you’re stressed, it can feel good to tell people about it. Someone reassures you. Someone offers a suggestion. Someone says, \u201cDon’t worry, it’ll be fine\u201d. And maybe that makes you feel better. But if broadcasting your stress makes you feel better while simultaneously making 30 other people stop what they’re doing to read, process, and respond to information that they didn’t need in the first place, is that really a fair trade-off?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At what point do you recognize that transferring your anxiety to everyone around you is selfish? Your participants registered for an event. They did not necessarily register to become your emotional support team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you want to share the behind-the-scenes chaos because you enjoy that kind of community interaction, great. Put it in an optional social channel where people can choose to participate. By all means, lean on your trusty band of volunteers and close friends. We all get by with a little help from our friends (I certainly do).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But don’t confuse your need to process the experience with your customers’ or participants’ need to receive information<\/span>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I know this because I’ve been on the other side of it<\/strong> (personal story time ahead)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’ve had some pretty significant personal things happen while organizing events. Let me share an example…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On June 17, 2024, my mother passed away after a very difficult journey with Alzheimer\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Five days later, on June 22, I was scheduled to host Duniya’s 10th anniversary party. Seventy-seven people had bought tickets. Classes and guest performers were scheduled to perform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My closest friends knew what had happened. I leaned on my family. The people closest to me were there for me, and I allowed myself to grieve with the people in my life who were actually there to support me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I did not, however, make my 77 ticket holders, including 20 performers, share in my grief.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I didn’t send out a stream of messages telling them how devastated I was, how conflicted I was about whether to go ahead or cancel, or how difficult it was to make decisions while grieving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They didn’t need to carry that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There was one moment when the boundary blurred. A student arrived early for a rehearsal the day after my mother’s passing and happened to catch me having a moment. In that moment of weakness, I told her what had happened. She hadn’t been deliberately drawn into my grief. She simply encountered me at a very vulnerable moment. But none of my other students needed to share that news, and certainly my audience didn’t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because there is a difference between being human and making everyone else responsible for what you’re experiencing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Could I have told everyone?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Would they probably have been sympathetic?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’m sure they would have been.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But that doesn’t mean I was entitled to make 77 people carry my emotional situation simply because I was struggling with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The event was something I had committed to providing for them. My personal grief was mine to manage, with the support of my family and close friends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that distinction matters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’m not saying organizers should pretend to be robots. We’re human beings (hopefully grown-up ones). Sometimes life happens, and sometimes circumstances absolutely do need to be communicated to participants. If a personal emergency means an event has to be cancelled or postponed, people obviously need to know. But there is a difference between communicating a necessary change and making your customers participants in your emotional process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That distinction is part of professionalism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Email isn’t dead! It’s actually very good at this.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I know, I know, I’m old-fashioned. I have daily reminders of this; my knees ache, my hair is grey, and I\u2019m occasionally ornery. But I still believe that a well-organized email is one of the best tools for event communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An email can contain:<\/p>\n\n\n\n