FM Links - Blogs & Social Networking

When i-FM launched in 1999 we were pioneers of the dot-com revolution. It was only the beginning, but the advantages of the internet – namely its speed, range and accessibility – encouraged people to turn away from traditional forms of print media and instead look to the world wide web as the primary source of all their information.

Today, when we step into the office, sit down and switch on, we inevitably log in too. Journalism is adapting to the birth of the blogosphere, while meetings rooms and conferences have had to make space for social networking sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, Instagram and Pinterest.

There are plenty of great blogs to read and internet groups to join if you’re interested in facilities management, where you can find all the latest news, views and ideas in the built environment and support services sector.

As well as our regular updates on this site, you can find the i-FM newsdesk and the rest of our team on Twitter and Linkedin, too.


The i-FM Team
 

i-FM Newsdesk
@ifmnet 

David Emanuel, Managing Director, i-FM
@davidifm 

Best of the Tweeters & Bloggers
(Listed by main theme, but there is frequently cross-over in interests)

FM
Andrew Brown @frankandbrown

Paul Carder @paulcarder

Cathy Hayward @cathy_magenta

Lucy Jeynes @larchlucy

Martin Pickard @thefmguru

Guy Stallard @guy_stallard

Dave Wilson @davewilsonfm 

Workplace 
Mark Catchlove @markcatchlove

Ian Ellison @ianellison

Mark Eltringham @markeltro

Simon Heath @simonheath1

Andrew Mawson @amawson

Tim Oldman @leesmanceo

Nigel Oseland @oseland

Neil Usher @workessence

HR
David D’Souza @dds180

Doug Shaw @dougshaw1

Perry Timms @perrytimms

Linkedin Groups

Linkedin is the leading global networking platform for professionals. There’s a whole series of groups you can join to stay in touch with the FM community – but it’s worth noting that groups vary substantially in size and focus: some show little activity, in some there is limited participation in discussions, in some recruitment consultants are the most active users (which may or may not be useful to you), and some are happy being used as a vehicle for commercial promotion.

We strongly recommend (of course) the i-FM group (4600 members in round figures when this page was last updated). This group exists for the discussion and sharing of information around news, issues and trends in the industry. It is actively policed to minimise irrelevant content. And remember, you can also follow i-FM on Twitter - @ifmnet.

Other groups worth having a look at are:

British Institute of Facilities Management (35,000 members), the BIFM group is open to anyone

The Young Managers Forum (1700), which represents up-and-coming FMs in the UK

Women in FM (6500), to promote women within the sector, to encourage them to join the industry, to develop their careers

The FM Network (8000), a mix of FM discussion and debate in an independent portal

FM in the Middle East (1600), does what it says on the tin

Corporate Real Estate & Facilities Management Professionals (36,000), adds in CRE and brings a strong North American flavour

International Facilities Management Association (58,000), the IFMA group – which also tends to have a North American flavour to it

Some groups mix a practice orientation with a lot of participation by recruiters, for example:

Facilities Management Group (19,000)

Facilities Management Professionals International (49,000)

Groups and their content change pretty consistently, so it is worth looking around and following links from time to time so you can stay in touch with anything that might be relevant to you.