Skip to main content

The Open Source Association Experiment

Over at PITV, I just posted a video blog entry about the lowered barriers to entry for new associations. With the sprouting of open source everything, anyone can start an "association" or community, and have the tools to run it effectively.

So, over the next few months, I am going to try it. I am going to get an old laptop, and load Linux with OpenOffice. I am going to use a Linux hosting package through a cheap web hosting service and upload a CMS, CRM and other various social networking tools in order to create the back-end or staff side of an association.

The questions I hope to answer:
1. Can I do it by myself (or with little tech help)?
2. How much money will I have to really spend?
3. Once it is setup, can I get people to jump on board?

I wish I could take a month sabatical and really tackle this, but alas I cannot. However, I will detail my thoughts here. Wish me luck as I try to create the Association for Non-Profit Membership Professionals.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Where do you draw the line on social media?

I try to keep up. I have a feed reader . I blog . I comment on other people's blogs. I tweet . I have multiple websites . I have accounts on Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn and others. But you have to draw the line somewhere. I wrote earlier about being app'd out . I still feel that way. But each day I feel farther behind. Maybe not behind, but not necessarily maximizing potential. I don't Digg. I don't StumbleUpon. OK, maybe I do like once a month if I have some spare time. But I know I am missing out on a lot of cool things. I usually check out other people's links to cool tools or the next new thing. But right now, I feel like I am in the Dip . Any suggestions on how to get out?
6 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