Skip to main content

Why Are We Here - Part 2

I got some good comments on my last post asking why associations are here? (Since that post, I did pick up Clay Shirky's book and am starting to plow through it. Good stuff so far.) Ellen made a good point about professionalism. Many employers want their employees to get professional development and will budget for conferences, training or trade shows. Associations are a key piece of that. I am not sure employers would pay for a person to go to an event created by a Facebook group. (You might get better content from the Facebook group meeting.)

Maddie says content is key and that associations need to be at the forefront. I think the main issue is that associations need to provide a place, the proper tools, and the recognition so that people will give their content to associations rather than other places.

Lindy wants us to be enablers of groups and be the ultimate resource in our industries and not just producers of events.

Ben started this conversation last month and got a number of comments as well.

Here is my take. I agree with Ellen about the professionalism piece. When you hire a plumber, you tend to go for the guy with the nice truck/website/uniform/advertisment or whatever else that makes him/her look more professional than the guy with the beat up pickup truck and cutoff denim shorts. You don't know who the better plumber is, but you are going to go with the more professional one. However, professionalism is only the start. An association must provide value, plain and simple. Each industry will be different, but there must be something worth spending my money on. And I better not be able to get it somewhere else for free.

When it comes to these Web 2.0, self-formed groups, 99.9% will reach a point where they will have a project which will be too big for them to handle without a true management/organizational structure. Or the funds won't be there. Or their employers won't give them the time to work on it. Or the members of the group won't commit because it is just too much. That's where the associations will thrive. And that's where I agree with Lindy in that associations need to embrace these self-formed groups and be there to take the reigns when need be.

Comments

Lindy Dreyer said…
Your take was worth the wait, Matt. My comment "enablers of groups" was based on my experience starting YAP. We have a great group going and a lot of momentum. We're getting calls and e-mails from big name authors, speakers and potential sponsors. But we don't want to do this stuff in a vacuum. We want the professional arm of our industry to step up and help us out and make the big stuff happen.

You're added insight is right on.
July 1, 2008 at 9:49 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Apathy vs. Lack of Proper Training

I, like many, worked at a grocery store in high school. First a bagger, then a cashier, then the produce department. Each job required training on how to do it. I usually spent several shifts shadowing someone, then several on my own but with supervision. This method seemed to work just fine. I see it employed places other than the grocery store. Lately, I have been amazed at how poorly grocery bags are packed by store employees. I know that you have to adjust to the bag type, cloth or plastic these days, but I can't tell if the employees are lazy or just didn't get proper training. I even go as far as emptying my cart strategically to try to help - put all the cold stuff together, bread and eggs last so they can go on top, etc. But it doesn't seem to matter. I think there is a fine line between apathy and lack of training, at least trying to identify which situation it is. Anyone have any great ideas for identifing and then fixing either situation?
2 comments
Read more

10 Thoughts on #ASAE10

Ok, so I could have spelled out the title, but chose the hashtag - #asae10. Supposedly there were over 8,000 tweets with the hashtag, but probably countless more direct messages of messages that left out the hashtag but were conference related. Two years ago, we were using twitter as a backchannel to talk about speakers. Now, over 800 people sent conference related tweets. If you aren't on Twitter, you are already late to the party. Anyway, on with the post... In no particular order, my thoughts on this years ASAE Annual Conference: 1. LA was a good venue. Lots to do. Hotels close by. Only downside was the rooms were a bit of a hike. 2. I missed Sunday because of family obligations. That really put me behind the 8 ball. Since I led a session, that meant I only got to go to 3 true sessions. Sorry, I don't count Joy Behar and the closing session. Although Marshall Goldsmith was good, I probably wouldn't have gone to see that speech as a Learning Lab. 3. Based on #
11 comments
Read more

I have a new job

I am so very excited to announce that as of Oct. 13, I will be the new Executive Director of the Arlington Soccer Association . This is the perfect opportunity for my to combine my work experience and my education (I have a Masters in Sports Administration) with one of my true passions, soccer. I played in college and still play several times a week (which may change since I will most likely be a touch busier.) I still plan on writing this blog. My guess is that you will see the topics change slightly to focus less on membership and more on overall association management areas. Thank you to all who have helped me along the way. I don't want to list names for fear of leaving anyone out, because Lord knows there are a lot. Wish me luck!
7 comments
Read more