BlogClump - Blogging About Associations From a Gen Xer

I was proud to present at the 2011 ASAE Marketing, Membership and Communications Conference this week in DC. Over 800 attendees was a record for ASAE - Congrats! Our (@kikilitalien, @MissLynn13, @sterlingraphael ) was standing room only. We hope everyone enjoyed it. I can't wait to see our survey feedback. I am just sad I missed day 2. I love my fellow association peeps!

When I was in college, I hated Economics. Then, several years later, I found myself teaching undergrad Econ and learned an appreciation for it. Now today, I have an even bigger appreciation for it. I have also noticed that not enough people have a solid grasp of some basic econ concepts that can be applied to everyday life. Two of these are cost related. Here are some basic definitions from The Economist website : Sunk Costs - When what is done cannot be undone. Sunk costs are costs that have been incurred and cannot be reversed, for example, spending on ADVERTISING or researching a product idea. They can be a barrier to entry. If potential entrants would have to incur similar costs, which would not be recoverable if the entry failed, they may be scared off. Marginal Costs - The difference made by one extra unit of something. Marginal revenue is the extra revenue earned by selling one more unit of something. The marginal cost (or whatever) can be very different from the AVERAGE c...

Just a quick example of how small the world gets when social media comes into play, and why you should cast a wider net. In the DC area, there is a fantastic store called Total Wine ( @totalwine ). As I am a frequent customer, I follow them on Twitter. I saw an intriguing tweet from them the other day complete with a link to a picture. Turns out the picture was of one of my members hauling something in Toronto. The member had started a Twitter account 10 days earlier specifically for that particular move and was sending Twitpics several times a day. I was then able to find press coverage about the move and connect to a member who is using Twitter as a business tool, something our membership isn't sure is possible. You just never know what you'll find on Twitter, but sometimes it is something useful you didn't know was there.

I read a tremendous article in Fast Company about gaming . Some stats I thought were key: 97% of 12-17 year old play computer games 70% of heads of American households do to Does your association offer any games? Should they? Mobile apps are the big thing everyone likes to talk about now. But what about games? They could be learning games, fun games, or games to draw in potential members. The article talks about what the Army has done on that front. Good article .

Pretty cool, but I was featured with my part-time web design firm on the Lead411 Blog . Thanks again Susan!

We are starting to do webinars at my association. Some will be paid, some will be free. If you haven't seen it, Associations Now has a great article on webinar pricing and whether or not to make them free. (Sorry, I couldn't find the link. Maybe Lisa Junker can help out.) [Edit - Thanks to Mark from ASAE for finding the link] I am of the mindset that if the webinar is about the core of your member's being, why you exist, then it should be free to members. But, if it is a value add or extremely specialized, then charge. A good mix will be appreciated by all. My two cents.

Maggie McGary had a great question to my earlier post about Mobile Apps: Now--what's your call on this: a member contacts your association saying they've developed an app that includes content created by your association (say a Twitter or blog feed). They intend to charge for the app. Do you grant permission or not? Hypothetically-speaking only, of course ;) My two cents, and I am not a lawyer, don't play one on TV and didn't stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night... That is your content. It isn't public domain. No one should be able to profit from something that your association created (albeit it was most likely volunteers donating the time and knowledge). You wouldn't let your competing association do it, so why a member? Now, if they had extra content or some new technology to offer that piggybacks off what your association created, I would try to license it or purchase it from the member and launch it under the association's umbrella. That way t...