Editor's Abstract (Click to Hide)

The Arizona Opera Orchestra Musicians Association (AZOOMA) had a bit of an identity problem.

We regularly perform in a semi-closed pit under the stage and are heard but not seen by the public. When asked, our audience members presumed that we were either the Phoenix or Tucson symphony orchestras. Because we perform operas in both cities and are mostly out-of-sight in the pit, we heard this a lot.

For years this issue was just a small nuisance and only a minor concern. We would roll our eyes, sigh and shrug our shoulders – that is, until our collective bargaining agreement expired and negotiations lingered on for months under new management.

What was at first only a minor annoyance was now a huge concern. We really needed public support to secure our jobs but our public didn't really know who we were.

When a committee chair contacted me for help, I jumped at the chance. Besides being a horn player in the opera orchestra, I am also an experienced web developer. In this capacity I am accustomed to aggressively selling things online and, when asked to help AZOOMA, I wanted to follow the same methods used with any other commercial website. AZOOMA needed to be sold like a product to our community.

Since then, our musician website has evolved into a rather large-scale project involving a main website, a blog, social networking and even YouTube videos. I devote myself to it because I love playing opera, strongly support my fellow musicians and my negotiation committee, and hope that it will contribute to a positive outcome for the entire company.

Perhaps it will even set an example for our entire industry.

At the time of this writing our negotiations are still ongoing. While it cannot be said that our efforts were a complete success, it is my hope that our example might inspire and motivate other musician organizations to use the web in a similar manner to empower themselves and gain success where we may have failed.

At the very least, in spite of how our contract negotiations end, I believe AZOOMA has succeeded in one aspect – we have made a big wave. In a very short time the Arizona Opera Orchestra Musicians Association – a small, part-time regional orchestra – has managed to rise from being nearly anonymous to being a more widely-known, branded organization.

We are "the little engine that could."

Chain of Command

The technical process of constructing a website is way too detailed to get into in a short article. Besides, there are countless books and online resources that can guide you better than I can. What I do hope to relate is a broad overview of how our small, regional opera orchestra coordinated itself to produce its strong online presence.

On the Internet, it only takes a few determined people grouped into a coordinated effort to make a big wave. In AZOOMA's case, this began with a very clear chain-of-command. Because AZOOMA is in contract negotiations, our Negotiations Chair became the de facto "Editor-in-Chief."

As the web developer – the "Publisher" and content developer – I purposely stay away from any official committee positions. So I rely heavily on guidance from the "Chief." I do get some insider information (that I keep confidential of course) in order to effectively plan our online strategy, but otherwise I stay out of it.

This approach has worked well for us. Unburdened by the details of negotiations, I am in a better position to focus on making a strong website. It helps me to focus on producing creative content and not worry about accidentally revealing any negotiation strategies.

My experience in the commercial realm has shown that involving too many "cooks" in designinga website can "spoil the stew," and our simple, two-person method assured a quicker online presence unburdened with debate and doubt. Our negotiation committee had its hands full dealing with management, and we wisely avoided the trap of making our website a full committee affair.

Besides, because a website is a flexible medium, it can be easily edited and updated later if any objections arise to something we published.

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