Young Association Professional

Help Shape My Session on Gen Y

2009-08-16T11:30:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow I'm speaking at 3:15 on Managing and Leading the Next Generation of Workers and if you're planning to attend, let's start the conversation now.

What stereotypes do you want to discuss/break? Whether you're a manager or a millennial - let me know what you'd like to discuss, hoping to learn from the session, etc. I have some stuff already, but I hate just speaking to the crowd (though I'll do it.) I'd prefer interaction and what better way to leverage some of this year's opportunities to engage Annual attendees than this.

So comment, tweet #asae09 lw1, @youfoundbob or email me at rawolfejr@yahoo.com with your questions, the stereotypes you'd like to discuss and/or what you hope to get from the session. It's your session - I'm just along for the ride ;)

Comments received by 10:30pm tonight will definitely be reviewed, after that - well that's for Toronto to decide ;)

Thanks for reading and maybe I'll see you at the presentation.

bob

Young Professionals Represented @ Annual

2009-08-15T12:57:00.006-04:00

Young Professionals (in mind and body) - there are all kinds of events for Young Professionals to connect and hang with the cool kids. Check out all the events for YAPs.

Some things not on the site:

YAP Party Details
YP Flair (here's a sneak peek):

And don't forget to check out the videos from Lauren Wolfe, fellow YP:

Thanks for reading,
bob

Dusting This Thing Off For Annual

2009-08-15T08:30:00.003-04:00

Holy Crap! I can't believe it's been over 5 months since my last post....

And thanks to a couple blogging buddies who tagged me (sorry I never replied, great discussion though) and emailed me to try to get me going again, I figured I'd get back on the blog train for Annual.

So for my first annual post, here are the 5 things I'm excited about Annual09 (a simple exercise to shake some of the dust off):

5. Reconnecting with friends old and new.
The best part of blogging is it's allowed an introvert like me an opportunity to meet awesome new people. Mix that with a bit of speaking and hopefully I've found a cure for breaking the ice at Annual.
4. Educational Sessions
There's some great looking sessions this year. Haven't decided exactly what I'll be attending yet, but maybe that's for another blog post.
3. Getting re-energized with blogging, etc.
I've been a bit burned out with social media. I don't want to get exactly into why quite yet as I'm hoping Annual will help cure me of those demons ;)
2. Presenting with Elizabeth, Kevin and Frances.
Cool people, cool topic, enough said...
1. Meeting you.
Last year I had people sign my Daily Now interview (it's framed on my wall) and it was a lot of fun. While I won't be collecting autographs (though I'll never turn one down), if you see me, stop me and say hey.

I'll plan to follow up with this list after Annual and let you know how it went.

Thanks for reading,
bob

Are you Taking the Mundane and Turning It On Its Head?

2009-03-20T07:47:00.004-04:00

It's not just the message - but how it's delivered.

Enjoy your Friday and thanks for reading,
bob

P.S. - on a lighter note - notice at the very end the man with what appears to be a cigeratte in his mouth. Aren't all flights non-smoking?

Tag - I'm it

2009-02-19T20:21:00.005-05:00

Elizabeth tagged me with the Unsession Meme to share my five short term-term volunteer gigs.

I agree with Elizabeth, not as easy as it sounds but here goes:

1. Facilitating the marketing idea swap in the middle of DC in the crazy snow (those who braved the elements - I truly appreciate it). This was awesome because I learned way more than I provided - if you get the chance, definitely attend one of these.
2. Speaking in general. While I always regret it right before the session, it always turns out to be a great experience (even if I can't get to the event I'm suppose to speak at).
3. Working with Lisa Junker on the Associations Now case study of Mike in Shot Down. Lisa's a blast and I have to admit - it was pretty cool seeing my name in Associations Now.
4. Teaching Sunday school at my local church. Not only was it cool to make paper masks with local kids, but my co-instructor was my lovely wife (I'd like to say I'm earning brownie points - but she rarely reads this :).
5. When I tutored back in school. I had some that were forced to go, but it was always fulfilling to help those students that went because they wanted to grasp the concepts and succeed.

Now there's a lot of tags going around - and I'm not sure who's available, or do I?

Tag! You're it!

If you read this post, comment your top short term volunteer memory (I'll go easy on you)

Thanks for reading,
bob
P.S. A change may be coming - I'm seriously evaluating a revamp of my blog. And if I do nothing else, as someone once told me "You need to change that weird baby headed picture, it's just freaky." I'll leave it for now - because I'm not sure you want to see the grown up me.

Re-evaluating Twitter

2009-02-06T12:01:00.001-05:00

I'm not really a big fan of twitter - but there could be hope. I've tried it and while I know there is a ton of opportunity and even larger fan base, I couldn't quite wrap my mind around the value.

But it's a new year. We have a whole lot of things going on in SWANA, so maybe now is as good a time as any to give twitter another try. So I did.

Right now we're using twitter as an RSS of sorts. Basically our twitter feed captures all the conversations our association has on the social media realm. This provides a couple of benefits:

The groups themselves are organic, the marketing is controlled
Members can see the conversations first and then join the appropriate group (value before technology)
Those members on twitter can find us (2 so far)

We then set up a feed on feedburner pulling the twitter updates to our website automatically. And members who have RSS can then subscribe to one concise feed and listen to conversations across platforms.

It's a start and it's working well for what we're using it for. I'm not sure we're quite ready to unveil a twitter feed at one of our conferences but that's fine with me.

Thanks for reading,

bob
P.S. Two back to back - this blogging in bed is doing wonders (the joy of delayed posting).

Standing Out from the Crowd

2009-02-05T21:11:00.003-05:00

Aaron Wolowiec recently posted to Acronym about standing out from the crowd (which I somehow seemed to post the exact same thing twice - I wish it was a bit more insightful).

However when I read the post, I thought to over a year ago when I first started this blog. It was all about stepping out from the crowd. The first time I spoke at Great Ideas a couple years ago I wanted to step out from the crowd. So I gave it a shot - and was and still am nervous everytime I do. But now I'm a wee blip on the radar of the association world and have had some great opportunities and met some great people because of it. But none of that would have happened if I didn't break down my preconceived barriers (I'm too young to present to executives/nobody will read my blog) and go for it.

The worst thing that happens is nobody reads it - or it doesn't go very well. Failure is great in that it provides learning opportunities.

Thanks for reading,
bob

P.S. - I like Aaron's notion of "emerging" as opposed to "young" - maybe a rename is in order? I mean it is kinda ironic that I don't want people to focus on my age (and the lack of experience that comes with it) and yet my blog is called young association professional.

Making the Best of a Snowy Situation

2009-01-28T14:03:00.005-05:00

I was suppose to give a presentation at today's Tech Conference, but due to inclement weather I didn't feel comfortable driving an hour south on what may be a sheet of black ice. But alas, it's the technology conference so this is the perfect time to use some technology. Thanks to Skype and a little bit of last minute planning with my co-presenters, I'm able to present from my home office up in Baltimore.

Problem first - technological solution second. The way technological implementation should be.

Thanks for reading,
Bob
P.S. - hopefully the session goes ok - if you attended, I'd love to hear your comments.
P.P.S. Well it seemed to work - we just wrapped up the session

Ah Yes - the Pictures

2009-01-20T22:14:00.003-05:00

Well I didn't want to go all Daddy on ya - but it was requested and so I shall comply.

We are already amassing quite a collection of photos - and while I'm slowly putting them online (email me and I can send you the info on our entire album) - I thought I'd put the top 15 photos of baby girl.

Daddy’s Top 15 Pictures Of Victoria

View more presentations or upload your own.

Thanks for reading,
bob

What if that marketing you're using...

2009-01-16T12:21:00.006-05:00

Instead came from your favorite association/event/training?

Would there be enough information in that piece for you to walk into your management and justify attending/joining? Is there enough of a value proposition for you to use your tight training dollars on it? Because if your marketing doesn't convince you, it probably won't convince your members/prospects.

Thanks for reading,

bob

P.S. - Anonymous users can now comment. Thanks for the feedback.

If you are going to embed youtube videos...

2009-01-14T12:20:00.001-05:00

Make sure to select the customize button to the right of the embedded code and uncheck the "include related videos" options. The last thing your members want to see are stupid, crazy or even perverse videos that happen to share a tag with you. (I just checked out a conference video and after it stopped I had a slew of crazy videos - including a shot of a bikini - scrolling across the bottom.)

Here's a snapshot to avoid any confusion:

IT'S A...

2008-11-11T10:49:00.000-05:00

What a crazy couple months - but it was all worth it. Yesterday, Nov. 10 @ 2:32pm I was blessed with a baby girl. Victoria Rosalyne Wolfe was welcomed with open arms and instantly stole my heart. Mom and baby are both in great shape. I'll post pics soon.

Thanks for reading,
bob
P.S. Thank you Heather for a perfect gift and thanks to everyones thoughts, wishes and congratulations both in person and online
P.P.S. I'll probably take Nov off from blogging but Tori is so peaceful, maybe I'll be able to get in some posts and finally get this site back on track. But first things first.

I'm Still Around - Just Have No Time

2008-10-21T18:00:00.001-04:00

It's been over 3 weeks since I last posted and that's bad - even for me. I just wanted to let everyone know I'm still around and fine and I'd like to personally thank David M. Patt for checking up on me.

I certainly have a ton I am ready to blog on - and plan to make a full return next week. I am at my annual meeting (thank god I have an awesome crew that allows me to sneak away for a moment) and the last month I've had little to no time for personal stuff much less blogging.

Be patient with me - I'm suffering from the white rabbit syndrome. No time to say hello, good-bye - I'm late, I'm late, I'm late...

Thanks for reading,
Bob
P.S. - This again just makes me appreciate the time and dedication of my own volunteers. Put yourself in their shoes - I dare you. See you next week.

Just another reason to use an online feed reader

2008-09-30T19:17:00.003-04:00

Well I just got my brand new computer - faster processor, larger hard drive, more memory - good day! That was until I went to check my feeds for the day - that unfortunately went out with my old computer's hard drive. This is the second time such travesty's happened. I use google reader a bit - maybe it's time to refresh it.

Oh well, I found two sources to help keep me up-to-date today:

Alistbloggers - a new aggregate of the latest association bloggers

And lots o links from Lindy
(If I missed anyone else I apologize - I'll work on restoring my feeds shortly.)

Thanks for reading,
bob
P.S. Now if only I can find the time to read everything...

Greening Your Office

2008-09-29T08:47:00.002-04:00

For those associations looking to green their office, I found these 8 great steps to help get you on the right path:

8 Ways to Green Your Office Supplies

Anyone have any other ideas/ways they're making their offices green?

Thanks for reading,
bob

P.S. - starting a green initiative could be a good morale boost as well...

Wikis to Capture Employee Knowledge

2008-09-25T12:30:00.001-04:00

Wiki's are a great tool for collaboration. I've talked about them before here and here, but focusing on using them with my membership and how it's worked out.

But maybe you shouldn't use wikis for your membership or you just haven't nailed down Why you should use it. Great - don't rush in without a plan.

But you can use them with your staff. Here's why:

Capture employee knowledge - when I into the marketing dept. I found that many of the resources I needed went out the door with the individual I replaced. A resource document would have been great.
Update status of a project - ever been in a meeting just to check on the status of a project or have the boss come down for an update? Why not have a wiki posted with the tasks and deadlines as well as the progress of each? It'll take a bit more time initially, but could save on update meetings. (don't make it about micromanagement - only track the critical tasks).
Edits - not only does a wiki help compile edits (and reduce the number of comments about the obvious mispeling), but it also saves on trees (and if you're a CFO - printing expenses). This may be more difficult once a piece is designed, but the better the initial text is - the easier the rest of the project.

These are just some of the ways to internally use a wiki. The result is increased communication.

A new staff can quickly get all the information they need to do their job
Management knows where a project is as well as areas that may need assistance
Incorrect edits can be reviewed by the team and caught before they go to print

And with the wiki, the information is editable, available online, and depending on the service, secure.

Thanks for reading,
bob

When Generational Issues Shouldn't Be Used

2008-09-23T12:15:00.000-04:00

It's been over a month and I'm finally ready to go over some of my thoughts from Annual.

The first that I've been thinking of for a while was the response to the Generation Y sessions, particularly to Nadira Hira's thought leader session. I was amazed at the reaction of non-Yers, mainly the comments I heard that sounded something like "I have such a better understanding of my young staff's expectations."

This got me thinking, but I just listened in the halls. I didn't want to seem to emotionally attached as a Gen Y myself, but my simple thought is this: Did you sit down with your staff and go over their expectations?

As an association, staff's tend to be smaller and direct reports are easily in the single digits. Instead of taking a sample of millions and millions and applying these commonalities to a few staff, why not just sit down with the 1-10 folks who fit this group and have an open dialog . Maybe they'll fit the "typical gen y," but why miss the opportunity to discuss individual expectations and goals? Don't wait for a Gen Y speech, just have the conversation and discuss those areas you can't quite grasp.

It's not that hard and you never know, the conversation you have with your Gen Y staff could shine a whole new light on Gen Y that hasn't been covered (because your staff's individuality was lost when they were lumped with the other millions of Yers).

Thanks for reading,
bob
P.S. Generational information is great, I'm not arguing against that, but it should be used with large numbers. The larger the population, the better it will match the Generational reports (in theory).

Where on the fork are you (or your staff?)

2008-09-18T21:23:00.001-04:00

As association professionals, we have a unique fork in the road when it comes to career development. We can select to walk down one of three paths:

Association Professional

Industry Professional

Position Professional (i.e. marketing, training, sales, etc)

Yet I'd be interested to hear how many managers sit down with their staff or (vice versa) and go over this fork to make sure the road you think your staffer is walking down is the same they want to be walking down. If you haven't had this conversation, you should.

For example, for me to truly begin to excel in training, I'd have to either become an industry professional or a training professional. My goal was to become an association professional. This meant I was being prepared to take over roles that I didn't see myself taking over.

So I sat down with my manager and CEO and clearly laid out my career goals. I told them I wanted to be an association leader and in order to do that I'd need to work in different areas of the association. I was lucky enough to have leadership that listened, thus my move into marketing.

See there are 3 reasons I can see as to why staff and managers need to be on the same fork:

Morale - the more engaged staff are the higher the morale which can infect other staff

Career Development - developing staff in the areas they are engaged in further increases morale and also increases productivity stimulates point three

Innovation - I'm more likely to innovate and go beyond the call of duty in an area I find engaging than an area I cornered myself into (or was cornered in)

It's worth the time. And remember, the question itself isn't the answer. It's how you, as the leader, respond.

Thanks for reading,
bob

P.S. Fellow Yappers, don't wait until management approaches you to have the conversation, if you seem fine on the fork you're on, management may have no reason to think otherwise.

Forget the Technology

2008-09-08T12:45:00.001-04:00

Lindy captured the conversation regarding SM burnout which included yours truly. I agree with Lindy (and commented on her post) that as association professionals, we should experiment non-stop internally. The problem comes when we jump on the bandwagon of the newest piece of tech and burnout our members who are not in the top 1-10% of innovators. The long tail of some of these technologies doesn't provide any significant additional value.

So totally forget the technology! Don't ever pitch a wiki with the word wiki in it. Don't pitch it by showing the website - pitch the value first and get rid of all the social media talk - members don't care about social media - they care about value.

They care about:

Open collaboration
Continued conversations
Automatic updates

Not:

Wiki
Social Networks
RSS Feed

In a recent article on ASAE, Maddie and Lindy put it best: Words like subscribe, trackback, and permalink are standard fare on most blog templates, but meaningless to a new user.

So if you plan a 30 second pitch of a new tool, forget the tool. Focus on what it does. Members don't care what its called - and if the pitch is in the generic name itself, then you're not providing the significant unique value that only your association can provide.

This can also be true if you're planning to change or add a new tool. Take the tools out and list only the value each adds (for your members experience - not yours). Then you need to evaluate whether or not there is enough new value to justify the change.

Thanks for reading,
bob

P.S. - in the next day or so I'm going to finally update my blog template - well that's the hope anyways

Too Much Social Technology?

2008-09-03T17:44:00.004-04:00

Matt Baehr put an awesome post up asking where we draw the line on social media.

I've been thinking about this a lot lately as well. I've been trying to stay up-to-date on everything social media yet I'm slowly sinking in it all and from Matt's post, he seems to be experiencing the same dip. And we're both really into the stuff - Matt blogs and I speak (and occasionally blog) on social media - we live and breathe this stuff and we're falling in the dip.

The question then becomes how does a casual user feel about the amounts of social media available (i.e. your members). They'd be overwhelmed with it all. Your members don't care about the tool(s), they care about how it engages them and the value it provides. Yet it seems we are moving incrementally on improving the technologies by adding a new bell and/or whistle which provide little to no real value. Instead we need to focus on revolutionizing the experiences that the original tools provide.

I think the problem is there are just too many hammers that claim to be different but do a lot of the same thing, but they look really neat.

Thanks for reading,
bob

The Irony of Attending Conferences

2008-08-28T12:30:00.001-04:00

I attend events, like ASAE's Annual, in the hopes of getting new information so I can continue to innovate within our association and provide new and increased value to our membership. Yet, before I can impliment I must first catch up. I returned Tuesday to 2 weeks of back log - in my case over 500 emails and quickly closing deadlines. Hopefully my notes from Annual are good and the event had enough of a wow factor to last past the lag between catching up and implementing this new knowledge. (more on this once I'm past that lag)

It can be difficult to innovate when there are items that must be done - some of us must be incremental. But just because you move incrementally doesn't mean you can't make significant changes in your organizations. (remember this is coming from a YAP's perspective on innovation).

Thanks for reading,
bob

Social Media is my Dance Floor

2008-08-26T18:49:00.000-04:00

Before social media I was the kid against the wall. Bet no one remembers me at Great Ideas two years ago (unless you were in my session). Why would you? I didn’t dance much at GI – I gave my speech, sat through some sessions and tried to network (which consisted of a smile and nod). I think it’s the curse of introversion.

After Social Media, though, I’m the YAP making strides. At this year’s Annual, I networked with top minds in the field, got great feedback at the unblogger con, made new contacts, participated in great conversations and overall had a better time and learning experience.

Why? This time I had the opportunity to dance in an arena I’m comfortable with. Personally, interacting with my peers online through blogging, social networks, etc, is much easier than your typical social interaction. Having established a network prior to the event, I was able to spend my time learning and building from that network as opposed to succumbing to the anxiety of typical social interactions.

I think ASAE’s own Megan Denhardt put it best when it comes down to social media – social media provides interactions that are valuable to those who need/want those types of interactions.

Social Media may be not be right for you, it may not be right for your active members, but there are great opportunities to level the social playing field with social outlets beyond your typical opening reception/networking events.

Social Media isn’t about the technology – it’s about leveling the playing field for all your members and meeting them where they dance best.

Thanks for reading,

bob

P.S. Special thanks to the blog uncon fogdirog for sharing your insights and adding what's quickly becoming one of the most versatile words in the English language to my vocab
P.S.S. – thanks to Lauren for trying to get me to dance on an actual dance floor – maybe next year…

Last minute preparations

2008-08-17T10:58:00.002-04:00

I'm so glad my session is early on in the conference, it allows me to get it over with and enjoy and relax for the rest of the event.

As I always seem to, I'm skipping the morning events to calm my nerves and do my final preparations. Though a recent posting from Maddie on Speaking certainly calmed my nerves.

Here are some of things that I've found from my last couple of presentations:

Get the audience involved - it not only gets you out from under the spotlight, but it also gets the audience involved.
Don't memorize, just talk - I tried a script one time and the first 30 seconds was terrible. I totally threw out my script and just talked - the rest worked out fine.
End short - I can only guess what individuals really want to hear about a given topic. If I cover what I think is important the whole time, then I probably will miss something they wanted covered.
Get the audience answering - this worked great at my tech conference session - the idea is to harness the experience and knowledge in the room. I've found that I'm only a small piece of the pie
Give them something they can walk away with - whether its a technique, new way of thinking or a homework assignment - don't end the session with complete closure. Because the session is really just the beginning of the participants journey.

Well I'm running out of time. I'd appreciate any feedback if I'm totally off base and in the next 4 hours would be awesome :).

Wish me luck and thanks for reading,
bob

5 things I'm looking forward to at Annual

2008-08-13T17:17:00.004-04:00

To be honest, I'm usually incredibly nervous and generally get a feeling of awkwardness before attending an ASAE and the Center event. It's probably because I'm not much of a networker. Odds are you may have seen me at a recent event sitting against the wall reading or typing away like a fly on wall.

However, I have a good feeling Annual will be different. Why?

Five reasons this ASAE and Center conference will be different than others I've attended:

I know people. Thanks to blogging (even the minimal amount I do) and participation in ASAE and the Center, I have a solid social network of folks to connect and reconnect with.
Unblogger Con - I was a bit bummed that I'm going to miss the blogger con, but no worries now thanks to Ben and the Uncon
YAP -There's a new group in town and its getting bigger. Spreading the good word should be fun. And how could I forget the crazy 80s party?
YP Committee - I'm hoping to meet/catch up with fellow commitee members to help pad my network on Sat.
The ASAE back channel via twitter. Not a big twitter user but I have about 2 days to get up to par, I'm interested to see it works.

That may be all for now. I'm not sure if I'll blog at the event or not - it depends if something catches my attention - which I'm sure it will.

thanks for reading,
bob

Redefining Young Association Professional

2008-08-06T17:50:00.004-04:00

Now that I'm in marketing, I have to say that I'm pretty disappointed that I never clearly defined my niche within the blogoclump. I wrote on everything and anything - which some can pull it off - me I have trouble just keeping up with this blog. So I'm going to focus my attention on the following areas:

1. YAP Perspective - this isn't about age, it's about position. Somethings are significantly more difficult to do when you're not a CEO/exec - its also much easier to do others.
2. Marketing - Now that I'm in marketing - I feel its only right that I focus more on my craft (I was never passionate enough in training I guess) - and this is both new age (social media) and traditional - because to be honest, I have a larger knowledge gap when it comes to traditional marketing
3. Moving Beyond YAP, i.e. moving up the career latter. I'm hoping this stirs up some good discussion as I'm told I'm totally on par with my ideas or way off.
4. Nothing to do with associations (I'm more than just a young association professional, so I may let my outside life slip in when relevant).
5. Blogging - this is where I'll comment on blogging and other posts - I'm really behind but I'm ready to get back in it

That's it - 5 tags - and if it doesn't fit in one of these, then I'll edit this post to make sure I'm being accurate (after all - if I set this is stone - I'd be doomed to sink in the ocean of change)

Thanks for reading,
bob

P.S. - thanks Jeff for the challenge of 10 posts a month (wish me luck)
P.S.S. - and don't forget - if you want to blog but don't want to take the full leap, let me know. You can blog here for free (I need the content). I'm actually trying to work up a system where anyone can post a full blog post on here - now how's that for giving up control.

It's catching on...

2008-07-28T16:56:00.008-04:00

For a while SWANA's been dabbling in youtube and overall the response has been pretty good (at some point I'll update the Social Media Wiki), but last week I knew it was starting to catch on. Our president, who shot one of our first youtube videos a year or so ago, sent a video for me to edit (it had a bit of formatting issues.) And wouldn't you know it, it was a message to a chapter event, similar to the messages we've been putting together.

While I give her all the credit in the world for a great video (it's better than our inhouse ones), something tells me our youtube experience last year may have put the seed in her mind. And the best part, after it premieres at the chapter event, with a little editing on the front and back, we have a video we can use that is exactly what we've been trying to get the whole time. Not forced, but empowered.

Just like our wiki's, my goal is to be in the middle as little as I possibly can - the more member2member interactions the better.

Thanks for reading,
bob

P.S. - I'm slowly getting myself together - crazy summer - and the fun's just beginning.

Are you part of Andy's Secret yet?

2008-07-28T07:47:00.004-04:00

Want to build anticipation for an event, utilize FB to its fullest and get word of mouth going (it already has blog posts from two of the biggest bloggers in associations) - then follow Andy Steggles.

Andy Steggles is a genius tech, as I'm sure you all know, and he just broke into that category for marketing. Not sure what I'm talking about? You should - ecspecially if you're going to annual. Find out here!

What constitutes a Meaningful Group?

2008-07-03T12:09:00.004-04:00

Ben and Matt both recently posted on the idea of groups, both of which are great reads, which got me thinking about the topic.

With all the discussion about the ease of groups, thanks to web2.0, I simply ask - what constitutes a meaningful group? This builds off of my last post about social networks enabling, not creating conversations.

Because a group forms, does that make it meaningful to its users or its respective industry/movement?

I, for one, have joined many online groups and then forgot about them. Usually these groups are the brainchild of one - 5 leaders that can only grow the group so large before volunteer time isn't enough. Once it attempts to get into mid-level items or higher such as website development, etc it catches a snag. From what I've seen, these natural web2.0 groups haven't yet cracked into the macro level yet.

Associations, however, live at this macro-level - they go behind just networking into larger areas of the industry such as education and advocacy. Associations have impacts larger than just the group of members itself. And I think as long as associations are providing value to its members as well as making significant postive impacts in the larger field its involved in, I believe associations will always have a place. They will need to evolve, but as I've said before, the type and speed at which it evolves has a lot more to do with the industry and upcoming members than with the technologies available.

A group is incredibly easy to form, but making that group produce the results of an association is a whole other story.

Thanks for reading and have a nice holiday weekend,
Bob

Social Networks Enable (But Don't Create) Strong Conversations

2008-06-25T18:25:00.002-04:00

I was lucky enough to have an opportunity to write an article for the ASAE & the Center Professional Development Forum Online - Ironically I made my PD debut right as I made my switch to marketing.

You have to be a member of ASAE to read the full article. However, I will be giving a presentation at annual on the need for a solid conversation as the basis of any social network. I hope if you're there, you'll join me. I'd be interested in feedback prior to the session on the idea that Social Networks Enable (But Don't Create) Strong Conversations. Maybe I'm way off? If so please let me know as I'm starting to write my formal presentation.

I've seen many facebook groups pop up centered around an idea, but not much of a conversation. Thus the group quickly becomes a shell - it attracts members, but that's about it. Where's the social in that?

Are social networks so easy to implement that we rush into creating them for the sake of creating them - instead of taking the time to fully develop a conversation and purpose - critical steps that would most certainly be taken if social networks and other new media were a laborous and/or a costly task?

A good example - to call out someone (hopefully they won't mind) - the author of the blog youngassociationprofessional.blogspot.com, Bob Wolfe, has only posted 2 posts in June (can I get a boo?). Let's be honest - if there was some form of commitment - odds are this blogger wouldn't be quite the slacker they currently are - that or they wouldn't have joined the game in the first place. This is also a reason they won't be contributing anytime in the near future to more professional blogs (sorry Alyssa).

As social media continues to be all the rage, its important not to forget about the due dilgence needed to impliment any sustainable group or conversation:

Purpose
Value
Content

The three bullets above are the pipe that keeps the lines of communication flowing. (get it - PVC - pipe - flowing) Worth a shot

Thanks for reading,
bob
P.S. - Thanks to Lindy for posting my article on the yap group - an excellent example of a group harnessing the power of conversations
P.S.S. - Life's still crazy, but I have some new ideas I'm almost ready to impliment - someday

Future of Associations Programming Modeled off of a T-Shirt Company?

2008-06-16T17:28:00.005-04:00

First, thanks to Maddie and Alyssa for the comments to the last post.

What a past couple weeks - I'm terribly behind in my blog reading, but I'm doing ok on magazines.

The current issue of Inc. Magazine headlined with a company where the customer quite literally is the company, i.e the customer supplies the product. Sound like an association? It should - but it's not. It's a T-shirt company by the name of Threadless.

Here's the down and dirty on threadless: Customers design t-shirts for money and prizes. The designs are then judged by the customers and the most popular shirts become part of the catalog. Your shirt gets selected - you win the money and prizes you hoped for. The company is incredibly lean with high margins, but more importantly it's never sold a dud - why would it though? If the customer is actively choosing what they want and the company produces it - then instant harmony.

Ever think about doing that at your association - giving the members the choice? And I don't just mean the elite few on the programming committee - I mean the entire membership? Engage all members and let them decide what training and sessions to offer.

How would this look? Here's my suggestion (I'll let you know the feedback i get) - Have potential speakers submit abstracts for an online webseries. Members can then vote on the sessions they want to attend. If an abstract recieves enough votes - than viola - that's the session(s) to be presented. The creme rises to the top.

Post the latest "u-pick" sessions on your members only website to increase site traffic. And if a particular session gets really really high votes, depending on the timeliness of the message - make a spot for it at the annual conference.

It's not news that customers (in our case members) want it their way. So why not involve them (all of them) in the selection process and give it to them?

Thanks for reading,
bob

P.S. I'm hoping to get back in the blogging mode, but life is busy. Mom and baby to be are doing well and I've kept the ship afloat in my new position, now it's time to push it forward.
P.S.S. - I'm actually thinking about posting a design - but that's another story

2 out of 3 - time for a bit of a break

2008-05-28T18:19:00.004-04:00

There are 3 life altering events that every young professional will undergo:

New job
New house/apartment, etc.
New Baby

I got two out of the three - and, well I'm not planning to move - which means the next couple weeks/months are going to be crazy. I just recently found out my wife is pregnant (she's due at the end of November) and I've recently branched out from training into marketing, adding a new skill set for my association journey.

With that in mind, I'm taking another short spring break from blogging to pick up my new duties in marketing as well as to assist Heather and be there for her. I plan to get back to blogging around the second week of June. Thanks for reading and wish me luck, I'm going to need it,

Until the next post, stay young,
bob

P.S. You could take my old job. Here's the description: http://asi.careerhq.org/jobdetail.cfm?job=2890355 and you never know, we could be coworkers

A slight tangent - more than age

2008-05-08T20:49:00.009-04:00

First and foremost - thanks to Lindy, carterv and rees for great comments from my last post - I definitely plan to build off of those comments - however I saw an interesting post by Maddie that stirred up some controversy that I wanted to weigh in on.

The way I see it - there's only 3 ages that matter:

16 - you can drive
18 -you can vote
21 - you can drink
(feel free to let me know if I missed any)

Every other age is just a mindset. Other than social security (I didn't mention this because you could retire earlier with proper investments) - there is no other age that changes anything about life. What affects life is the choices we make and the actions we take. So why would anyone really try to put a number on young? I don't recall any magic transition.

Good example - my grandfather who is 65 still kicks the crap out of me (I'm 25) when we play tennis on Saturday mornings. As far as I'm concerned, he's still young. On the other end, the creator of facebook is 23 and a billionaire - does that make him old?

Maybe it's the mindset of associations - in vs. out, member vs. non-member, membership A vs. Membership B vs. Membership C - that causes us to have a tendency to formally group everyone into exclusive groups.

As far as I'm concerned, your as young as you let your self be (I don't know the age of the other YAP admins - its useless info - I have too much else taking up my gray matter).

Thanks for reading,
bob

Innovation from a Yap's Perspective

2008-05-05T18:52:00.003-04:00

In a recent post, Lindy gives an incredible piece of insight – “we all need to foster innovation in our own ways...but for those of us who are not CEOs or top executives, that means working within the cultural boundaries the leaders of our organizations have set.” This is an excellent point and really helps define the level of innovation to be expected by different levels within the organization.

As a non-executive, the only way for me to encourage innovation is through incremental steps. Hypothetically, if I were to go into the executive office or into a board meeting speaking of a revolution and declaring that the way we’ve operated for the past 40 years is wrong in today’s environment – odds are I’d be fired. Because at my level, disruptive innovation, regardless of how well based it is, can be seen as insubordination.

At my level in the organization, my job is to continue pushing the organization forward in the direction that was set before it by the board and the execs. However, that doesn’t mean that I can’t help us get their more efficiently – it just means working on small improvements on the train as opposed to completely shifting the track.

And I’ve done this - I introduced my execs to the concept of social networks and the added value they can add to the association and they’ve started to come around to the idea. I began to use wikis as a tool for collaboration so the execs and volunteers can see how they work – and now it’s been our web2.0 success story for the time being.

And I will continue to introduce new ideas and technologies, but the way I introduce them is by building off of our plan, because for me as a YAP and non-exec, I have to make it fit into our current strategy. I don’t have the ability to totally redefine the organization’s operations and goals; I can only help us achieve them more efficiently while adding some new value. It will take time, but it’s coming.

Innovation has to come from somewhere though, whether it’s an innovative exec or a board member, a third party to the organization, or a mid-level staffer or lower, someone has to serve as the agent of change, and depending where on the org chart they sit determines the level and intensity of the change inital change and the level of buy-in needed.

Be patient though, it will be worth it.

Thanks for reading,
bob

Up Close and Personal

2008-04-30T16:00:00.004-04:00

My FaceBook page serves as my personal and professional page - so there will be times my professional peers and even managers will see a side of me that I normally wouldn't share. A good example was a recent wall post by my sister. While the post itself is fine, it refers to a rather crude - though humorous - video.

Now for me - I don't care that you see that side of me. However members may not be willing to share their personal life (you yourself may not even be able to share that side with your professional peers). This was brought up at the Tech Conference during the Young Professional Facebook session. One panelist mentioned she had two facebook pages - one personal and one professional. And I totally see the point in having two pages - obviously some things probably shouldn't be shared with professional peers.

This is something to consider though as your organization makes its way on facebook and other recreational social sites. Perhaps your members don't want to become social butterflies, they just want to make some new contacts and participate in informal learning. They may not want to put themself out there for all to see. I personally do not keep a personal twitter page because I don't want to be that connected - for me it blurs personal and professional too much (not to mention my personal life is boring).

Now this may be a trival point for some, but members may like the exclusivity your organization offers. Being "out there" may not be appealing to them - though the experience of social networking would be beneficial. I've recieved some feedback along these lines from members who do not feel that facebook or any of the personal social networking sites are appropriate for business use and would not be interested in joining a professional network through any of them.

Don't fret though - this could be an opportunity to examine a closed group such as ning or collectiveX or percieved professional services such as linkedin. You just need to talk and listen to your members to find out how up close and personal they are comfortable getting.

Thanks for reading,
bob

When it comes to Social Networks - Age Ain't a Thing

2008-04-29T16:46:00.013-04:00

Think your members are too old to get online? Think all this web2.0 is just for millenials and generation X?

If you think that - I have just two words for you:

You're Wrong

Remember - Age is just a number! (To be honest I'll probably continue to post under young association professional well into my 70s.)

Thanks for reading,
bob

P.S. If you do feel age is just a number - become a YapStar! (must have facebook profile - though we are on linkedin and twitter)

What I am reading

2008-04-23T19:28:00.004-04:00

Jamie tagged me with what I'm reading so here goes.

I tend to alternate between leisure and professional development books - I'm current reading for leisure.

The book is American Gods written by Neil Gaiman.

It's interesting though, and with a bit of stretching, the book relates to associations (bear with me). This is because the book primarily revolves around the battle that is about to errupt between tradition (in this case old gods such as Odin) and innovation (in this case represented by the technologies that are worshipped by people today.)

Before I dive into this in more detail, the tag states I am suppose to type sentences 6 -8 of page 123. Well here it is (sorry Jamie, not sure if this is what you were looking for.)

"Then the church door opened, a priest came out, and the ghosts, haunts, and corpses vanished, and only the priest and drunk were left alone in the graveyard. The priest looked down at the drunk distainfully, and backed through the open door, which closed behind him, leaving the drunk on his own. The clockwork story was deeply unsettling."

Like my book, it appears there could be a war coming - or more appropriatley a revolution - in the association sphere.

I've been thinking of what to post about this, but I'll save us both time - check out Maddie's killer post.

The only thing I'd add is that we assume all associations are equal (and maybe they are), but I would think the membership base would determine whether you roll with fire or cocktails. Some members may demand a trail of fire, others may totally be alienated by it. And the last thing I would imagine you'd want to do is alienate key/founding members who have given days of their time just to be told "...[they're] history. [they're] forgotten. [they're] old. Tell [them] that we are the future and we don't..." care about them.

This was the closing statement from one of the new American Gods (which I assume is some sort of technology - the book hasn't revealed which one yet). We can't abadon tradition, we need to reshape and build off of it. A revolution is coming, I think we all agree with that, but how much ill-will must be spilled?

Thanks for reading,
Bob

P.S. I have to say I'm pretty happy with the way I brought this post full circle.

It's about empowerment baby!

2008-04-22T21:24:00.004-04:00

That's the great thing about web2.0 - it's empowering! Anyone can blog, post photos, comment and anyone can and does have an opportunity to participate.

It breaks down any percieved barriers - it's open to all. And as a yap, this presents a great opportunity to me and other professionals. There is no more waiting to get your time in - waiting until you enter the in crowd - or make your way up the social ladder.

If you have an opinion - social media let's you share it - and if it's good - it'll get around.

This also presents an outstanding opportunity for your organization, social media and the impromtu conversations it encourages allow you to get a true sense of what members want. If they are talking about a particular topic, encourage the conversation.

Members are the experts in their industry and as association professionals we're the experts in bringing groups together. Empower participation, don't regulate it.

Not to mention social media can help you find the next generation of leaders. Empower them because leaders of tomorrow aren't going to be passive. There are too many active forms of participation molding us. Enable our growth, enrich our experience, and we'll help you reshape your organization.

I'll develop some of these thought in more detail in future posts.

Thanks for reading.
bob

P.S. Life is back to normal so I hope to post more frequently.
P.S.S - YAP has a twitter feed. Follow at www.twitter.com/yapstar

I'm Back - Youtube Video "do you know 2.0"

2008-04-21T11:19:00.003-04:00

Well it's been another crazy two weeks or so. I caught a stomach virus the week before a conference, my conference hotel room had no internet connection (I had to sit outside my room and try to get in on the neighboring hotel's wi-fi.

But alas, I think life has settled a bit. So to get me back on track, a great little vid (well 8 minutes worth) for all you futurists:

It'll be amazing to see what the world looks like when my unborn children run amuck.

Thanks for reading,
Bob

P.S. The video is 10 months old so the myspace stats may be a bit different.

YAP Group on Facebook

2008-04-04T15:04:00.003-04:00

I've been sick this week and I'm out next week at a conference so this may be the last post for a week or so.

However, a Young Association Professionals Facebook group launced! Headed by Maddie, the group feels that... age is a state of mind. So anyone is welcome who thinks young, no matter what your real age might be ;) Oh, and I happen to be lucky enough to be an officer (though I don't know that means much - but I appreciate the thought).

I'm hoping to spend a bit of time helping this get off the ground. I've placed the badge to the right on my groups to watch! Feel free to join if you haven't found it yet.

Well, I've still got some things to wrap up before I leave but I'll be back on April 14 (if not sooner) and I hope to run across you on YAP.

Thanks for reading,
Bob

Podcasting on the way home

2008-03-27T22:35:00.003-04:00

I spend about an hour each way to and from work. So I got to thinking, why not use this time a bit more constructively.

Thus the first carpod (I meant to say carcast in my speal but future efforts to rerecord didn't turn out so well.)

I tried to keep it short (under 3 minutes) and it's a lot of nothing right now. I was more interested in how it sounded and how well I could speak while also driving - kids don't try this at home - though it is hands free.

I'll keep playing around, but any feedback is appreciated,

Thanks for reading (and listening),
Bob

P.S. - It needs some work but it's time hopefully better spent than listening to the same 5 songs on the radio.

Bob on Acronym

2008-03-27T08:28:00.003-04:00

I try to be social but not too markety, but I've been on a good role this week so why not for this post.

Last week I was recognized and posted on the Acronym Blog as a relatively new blogger (sorry I didn't comment Lisa, though I appreciate the link love). Just the fact I was linked on acronym is a great honor.

But outside of simply patting myself on the back, this is just shows what great opportunities there are for young association professionals, or any professional in that matter, to use web2.0 to become a part of the conversation.

As I've mentioned before, and will continue to do so, if you are a yap and want to try your hand at blogging, I'd welcome you to post on this blog. Not only can you join the conversation and become a blip on a screen, but you can see exactly what goes into blogging, just incase you're trying to get your members to blog. Email me at rawolfejr@yahoo.com if you're interested in joining.

Thanks for reading,
Bob

Members on Facebook

2008-03-26T17:24:00.003-04:00

To continue on yesterday's post, I've been reaching out to some of my own members on facebook as I have time now that I've had Sr. Staff buy into Web2.0 thanks to Wikis and other experimental social groups. I've recieved a good response so far, some only signed up and used it once, some feel that linkedin or other more professional group is appropriate and there are people who "believe this would be a new and exciting tool for networking"

So far I've reached out to about 20 members and so far I've made 9 new friends and recieved a better idea of how our members are using it and how we can play off of this.

And if you're a young association professional, this could be a good time to introduce your board and executives to the concept of social networking and get them onboard - that is if they aren't already online.

Thanks for reading,
Bob

P.S. Thanks to the posts by Maddie on twitter, I've joined the next great phase of web2.0. I'll give my feedback in future posts.

Finding Members on Facebook

2008-03-19T17:14:00.004-04:00

Intitially I believe there are 3 people who can benefit from social networking:

Those already online
Those who are participating in a conversation
Those who need technology to participate

Today, I'm going to help you find members online because it's much easier to empower members who are already participating then trying to get newby's online.

So here are the quick tricks that I've learned for finding members online using facebook:

Export a member list into a CSV file (no larger than about 1000).
Use facebook's friend finder (must sign into to facebook to use).

Some tips for using friend finder:

Once you select your list and upload into the friend finder it will begin searching - there is no activate button
Members on facebook will appear from the email list automatically checked off. You can't send a note to them from this page nor can you track who a friend request was sent to, so it'd be a good idea to save this list and send out an email before or directly after you invite members to be friends
After you select friends it will bring up emails not in facebook. I would seriously consider not inviting them to join facebook for two reasons: it will look like Spam which means they'll delete it, and second - think organic.

Upon successful uploading, you may have found more members online than you thought. Ask them to be your friend and reach out and see why they're online. If they're already talking, let them continue the conversation, maybe even help it continue to flow. Members already using the technologies may just be the WOM you need to get the later adopters online.

You can also search facebook groups, you never know, your organization or event could already have a group. What you do with the group is completely up to you - but it might at least be worth checking out to see what's being said. Organic growth will happen in one form or another.

Thanks for reading,

Bob

Wikis to the Rescue

2008-03-18T16:43:00.000-04:00

Typically I've found that any projects with a committee have had the following chain of events:

Committee reviews document
Committee submits comments to me
I format comments and send to contractor
Contractor makes appropriate changes
Changes are sent back to me
I sent revised document to committee
Committee reviews document

And so goes the circle of colloboration. Now this process typically takes a couple of days (with one day lost from the time I compile comments to send to the contractor to the time they are actually reviewed.)

But I shouldn't be such a major player in the process - I hate middlemen - yet here I am working as one (notice how many of the steps I'm directly involved with). Well in an attempt to allow members to work with each other as opposed to through me, I've been using a wiki on my most recent project for the past couple months.

I've found the following 3 benefits of the wiki so far:

Members can build off of each others comments
Contractors can view comments as they're submitted
I'm a smaller part of the equation

Members can build off of each others comments
No more repeat comments. Wikis allow members of the committee to see what has already been reviewed as well as the feedback on those sections. This allow members to build off of the comments and/or focus their time on areas that may not have been as thoroughly reviewed.

Contractors can view comments as they're submitted
Long story short, I recieved a revised lesson from a contractor with the following comment:
"I pulled the comments from the Wiki, so it is good to go."

I'm a smaller part of the equation
Outstanding! Now some people may freak about this, but not me! I'm not a Subject Matter Expert when it comes to Solid Waste, my area of expertise is helping groups work together and thanks to the wiki I've done that. Because in the end it's not my association, it's the members, I just happen to be lucky enough to be along for the ride!

Thanks for reading,
Bob

P.S. If anyone from my organization stumbles on this - just because I'm a smaller part of this equation doesn't mean I'm not busy :)

Link Love - All 4 Blog Favs Respond

2008-03-14T16:22:00.001-04:00

Thanks Ben, Lisa, Tony and Maddie - not only have you helped me in developing my skillz, but all posted comments to my post about them! Special thanks to Ben for posting my comment on his blog - this is the equivalent of having an essay in a national magazine. I can rarely get a return call from friends and family within 24 hours - imagine how cool it was to have my four fave bloggers read and post in that time span! Amazing.

This is just an excellent example of great bloggers doing what they do. And it shows that participating in social media as a young professional is a great opportunity to network and get on the radar of the industry. I may be just a blip (is there something smaller than a blip?) on the screen, but hey, I'm ahead of where I'd be if I didn't join the conversation.

So if you want to start blogging - I encourage it - and if you don't think you can support your own and are a young professional, I welcome you to join this one! Email me and maybe you t0o could be a blogger on young association professional! (Actually don't open your own blog, I like having the young association professional blog market cornered - just kidding - I guess :)

And special Shouts to my fellow YAP Garen and Brynn for writing for Acroynm.

What a great way to end the week and with that I'm out. Enjoy and I'll see you on Monday,

Thanks for reading,
Bob

Setting Up Your Online Daily Paper Using RSS - Part 3

2008-03-13T17:10:00.001-04:00

So hopefully you've had a chance to download a feed reader. Well now that you have, let's get you some articles for your online daily paper.

The first blog I mentioned in my previous post was Seth Godin. Not only is he a marketing wiz, but you need a feed reader to keep up with him on most days. The posts are incredibly short, but incredibly insightful.

Now here are the following blogs I'd highly recommend:

Ben Martin - Ben is the main page. He posts very frequently and odds are if it's of interest to association professionals Ben's a part of the conversation or has at least heard of it and put it on his blog. Ben in and of himself is the RSS of Associations.

ASAE and The Center's Acronym - The best part about this blog is there are many contributors and if one post comes off as insincere or wrong or ill-informed the commenters are sure to jump in. This is a great industry page and has a lot of great views.

Diary of a Reluctant Blogger - Maddie is a new blogger, but I think she's one to keep an eye on. She covers a variety of topics and does a great job of covering the variety of conversations on the blogoclump, giving meaningful perspectives to the conversation.

Membership Marketing - Tony has a lot of great insights into membership and marketing - and we are in the membership business, whether you're in the membership department.

I think for the most part these blogs are a great starting point for any daily paper. There are a variety of other blogs that focus on a variety of other things, and I think the four blogs above list them all out very well. I've read alot of the blogs in the association sphere and there are definitely some to keep an eye out for, but most tend to be more focused. And if I gave you all the links, what fun would that be?

But remember, whether you use my recommendations or find your own, using RSS helps you to efficiently learn about a variety of topics. And while initially you may need to spend a bit of time finding the initial blogs, once you've set it up, you can allocate some time in the morning or evening and just flip through the feeds of your online daily paper. I've had many ideas, insights and conversations within my own organziation thanks to reading my daily feeds.

So enjoy your feeds and if you find any blogs that are worth focusing in on, by all means let me know,

Thanks for reading,
Bob

Setting Up Your Online Daily Paper Using RSS - Part 2

2008-03-11T20:12:00.001-04:00

I could explain what RSS is, but I don't think I can do any better than this video put together by CommonCraft Show:

I think this is one of the most simplistic explanations of RSS. Next step - pick your feedreader.

I'm playing with google reader right now, but there are a ton of different readers including yahoo and others. If you want to set up your feedreader using google go to http://www.google.com/reader and sign up. The great part about this (in my 24 hours of review) is that you can access it anytime you're online. This means:

*No worries if you're harddrive crashes/get a new computer (which I learned the hardway)
*No worries if you set up all your feeds at work but only have time to read them at home

Windows Vista also has a feedreader built in, but again it's on your hard drive so there's limited flexibility.

So set up your google or yahoo or Vista feed. And if you want to start subscribing and more importantly seeing how it works, subscribe to Seth Godin's blog. Not only is he a marketing genius (and everyone markets), but he also posts 2-4 times a day on a typical day. His feed is feeds.feedburner.com/typepad/sethsmainblog

In the next day or so I'll give you the top association blogs you'll want to subscribe to to help you get your online daily paper started.

Thanks for reading,
Bob

P.S. Need more help? Email me at rawolfejr@yahoo.com

Setting Up Your Online Daily Paper Using RSS - Part 1

2008-03-10T21:45:00.000-04:00

If you don't have a feed reader yet, you should. Why - because it allows you to subscribe to blogs. And the best thing I've done for my professional development is quite simply setting up my Online Daily Paper (ODP) comprised of various blog feeds.

My ODP is my RSS feed filled with the best of the blogoclump's blog posts (and those outside of the association world). And because it's not in email, you can quickly skim your blogs like you would the daily paper. Read the tips and opinions that interest you, pass on those that don't.

Unfortunately though, I learned the hard way that you do not want to use a feed reader that is saved on your computer. The reason - if you're harddrive crashes or you get a new computer, all your feeds are lost.

Well over this week I am going to set up my ODP again, so join along. I'll walk you through setting up your own ODP (made up of what I think are the Must Read Blogs for Young Associaiton Professionals, or any Association Professional for that matter) as I rebuild my own online daily paper.

So don't worry if you don't know what a feed reader really is or what RSS means, I'm going to walk you through the various steps to set up your daily papers over the next few days and introduce you to the world of RSS.

Thanks for reading,
Bob

It's Not Usable If You can Use It

2008-03-03T18:01:00.000-05:00

I read a great article by elearnmag titled "What Do You Mean When You Say 'Usability'?"

While this article focuses on the usability of elearning courses, I think this topic of usability can really translate into how associations should view social media. One header of the article really stuck out: The User Validates Usability

Now this is an interesting notion that may sometimes be lost in the conversation. It doesn't matter that the IT manager, consultant, designer, or even you as an association manager can use the technology. Of course it helps that you can use the technology, but one group HAS TO be able to use the technology: the members you're targeting.

And not only that they can use it, but how long does it take them to reach the experience? Do they complete one step or a series of steps? Does it take a moment or a day to get started or is there a multi-day approval process? Because if it takes a mile to get to that experience or connection, it better be damn good. If its easy to get to on the other hand, than it doesn't have to be so good to start. (Just think McDonald's or other mediocre franchise restaurant that are everywhere vs. that great, one of a kind steak house an hour away).

I think the same thing can be said of value - it's not the consultant, staff, designer, or contractor that determines value - it's the members. More on this tomorrow (I don't want to burn out).

Thanks for reading,
Bob

Nothing to Do with Associations - Vol. 1

2008-02-29T17:17:00.000-05:00

Two posts back to back - alright!

One of the great things about a blog is the fact that there is a real opportunity to meet new individuals and really put yourself out there. Well today is the first of many Nothing to Do With Associations Post - where I put up randomness that may not necessarily continue any particular conversation. Hey - it may make the blog too goofy, or it could make it more approachable - only time will tell.

Anyways - with all the talk of social media and web2.0 and using new technologies to form new connections, I simply invite anyone with an XBOX360 and either Halo 3 or Madden Football to say hey next time your on the world of XBOX live. My screen name is Scary as Hell (though I am terrible).

And when we do meet face to face at an association event, instead of saying to me - "Hey I saw you on facebook or read your blog or saw you speak at the last event," (Which all I can really say is Thanks) you can say - "Man I kicked the crap out of you in Madden." Then I can guess which of the hundreds of online players you could be. I mean that instantly breaks down the barrier to communication, I'll laugh and we'll have a conversation started. Because in the end that's what Web2.0 is really about - it's about making connections online to help spur interactions face to face. (Maybe someday they'll be a Madden tournament before an association event. Attendees play online before the event with the final show down at the conference. It's fun, it connects - but it doesn't really have much to do with associations :)

enjoy the weekend and I hope to continue this momentum on Monday.

Thanks for reading and have a nice weekend,
Bob

I'm Back! - For Now

2008-02-28T21:33:00.000-05:00

Holy Crap - What a month from Hell.

But alas, I've crawled down the beast's back and now I'm out (bad Dante reference. Just finished Inferno so I literally was in hell!)

Well - way back on Feb. 1, I did what I feel is one of the most nerve racking things a young professional can do (or any professional for that matter) - speak at an ASAE event. See, while many of the other speakers are speaking to their peers, I'm speaking to individuals at my boss's level, or boss's boss's level. Not to mention I have the stigma of being a youngin'. (Great comment from my Great Ideas Session a year or so ago: I was a bit leery of Bob at first, but he pulled it off...)

Well thankfully I prevailed and I think my Tech Conference session went well. I did get some nice mentions, so I'd like to thank Frank, Shaun, and Kristi for mentioning the session and continuing the conversation. Also thanks to everyone else who sat through and commented and helped make the discussion great!

So I'm learning one thing if nothing else - age isn't anything but a number. (I am 25 and was 24 when I gave the Great Ideas Session). Especially in today's internet world - where technology is changing everyday - making experience a thing of the past. (All of my sessions I have and will speak on deal with technology). So young professionals, if you want to increase your learning curve, learn about these new technologies, how to use them, and then have fun convincing your Sr. Staff to implement them. (You'd be surprised how many of these technologies you may already be using, i.e. theFacebook.) And open your own blog (or better yet join this one. Just email me at rawolfejr@yahoo.com) - we need more millennials in the blogoclump. Because as a young professional you really have an opportunity to grow in the association community. No need to wait, start commenting or blogging now!

Also congratulations to Lauren, and Robert (I apologize but I can't remember the third speaker) for a great Young Professional Session. Special kudos to Alyssa Thomas for running the session and keeping it on track!

P.S. I have more experiences to blog on - some hopefully good, most ok, and a few just for fun.

Thanks for reading,
Bob

MySpace or Facebook?

2008-01-15T20:29:00.001-05:00

Ben Martin posted a note that Facebook actually passed MySpace in users. I don't think this is a huge shock if you've ever been on the two sites. Facebook is much more toned down than MySpace, this may be due to its roots.

While myspace has been open to anyone with an email from the get-go, Facebook's roots started with Colleges (for a while you needed a college email to join). I think this, along with a cleaner layout helps facebook.

Personally, I would never use myspace for an association or any business proposition that caters to anyone out of high school. Three main reasons:

False Friends
Hacks
Too much noise

False Friends

False friends are spammers in the world of myspace. They are usually young girls, sometimes in inappropriate attire. And if for some reason you make the unfortunate mistake of friending one, you find that they have traits that a young professional, or any professional for that matter, should avoid. And depending on how often you sign into myspace, you may see friend requests with the ever prevalent X - which means there account has been deleted. Take a guess why.

Hacks

Some actions in myspace require you to sign back into myspace. Be careful! This could mean someone is taking your myspace info, which means your friends will receive countless comments on their pages about great deals, etc. Here is a classic example of a hack:

"whats up? i found this site and thought i'd tell everyone, it shows you if anyone at school likes you. i dont know how it works but its really cool, it told me a couple different people who have crushes on me. you gotta try it!"

This exact message was sent by two separate friends. Needless to say, they both know I'm married.

Too Much Noise

Whether it's customized backgrounds, music, or the lack of organization, MySpace is too big without maintaining it's small town feel. Indivduals accounts are too open (you could change the settings, but I just want to get on and network). Overall MySpace is a bit of a jungle, and if you're introducing members to social media, avoid myspace.

On the other hand, I'd use Facebook or even Ning.

The benefits of both are you don't get hacked, false friends and it is user friendly without the worry of the former two. I actually prefer both sites.

Facebook is good in the fact you can connect to other individuals. This could be good or bad, depending on if you want to mix friends with peers.

Ning on the other hand is group based. The group is the foundation of the network, unlike facebook which focuses on the connection.

My best advice is to try them out for a little while before looking to launch anything for your membership. You know your members better than anyone, so you can tell if facebook, ning, or some other social network is the right fit. Just remember one thing - don't force it. Wait until there's an opportunity to connect. Have them start the conversation first, then use social networks to facilitate the conversation. And on this note I am happy to say that my session on Capturing the Conversation - Implementing Social Networks was accepted by ASAE and the Center's Annual Conference. So I'll hint around at this now and again to peek your interest in the August session.

P.S. I know I’ve been a sporadic blogger at best, but I’ve been learning a lot about blogging (even though I’ve only posted 3 posts). More info on this soon.

Is your Association a Facilitator or a Director?

2007-12-26T22:11:00.000-05:00

The Young Association Professional blog was originally proposed as a committee blog, but that idea was rejected. The association that hosted the committee preferred to support their association blog and not support competing blogs – even niche blogs that could compliment the larger blog. That’s fine, I’m a big boy (don’t let the photo fool you), I’ll just blog on my own. But this begets the question, as association professionals, are we facilitating our members conversations/energies or are we directing them?

With the internet connecting like minded individuals easier than ever with blogs, social networking sites and other emerging technologies, it’s time to really take a hard look at the conversations our members are having.

Thanks to these Web 2.0 (or 3.0 or 2.1 or what ever version you consider it) technologies, members can now have conversations and interact with each other without having to come to an association event – or perhaps more terrifying – without having to join the organization.

We as association professionals need to transition ourselves (if we haven’t already) from middle-people to facilitators. And while Web 2.0 threatens associations, it also offers opportunities to strengthen them. We as a community of association professionals know the technologies that are out there and we know how to use them. Now we need to open our ears toward the conversations our members are having and empower them with these new social technologies to help them continue the dialogue with each other rather than through staff or committees.

Listening to these dialogues as they happen will allow us to:

Get a real time pulse on our members needs/wants/interests
Connect members who may not have connected otherwise
Make networking easier (imagine opening a social network before each conference to allow members to network before the event – taking out the time and anxiety that comes with networking with strangers)
Develop programming/white papers/ educational tools and products our members need
Give all members an opportunity to become active in the association

Let the conversations happen naturally. If members are talking, listen and facilitate that conversation, harness that energy. Because if you direct a member to a destination they don’t necessarily want to go to, they may go rogue. And if they go rogue on too many items, they may leave your association and open one on facebook, or ning, or use one of the other emerging technologies. And while it may not cause the organization to go under, there is an awful lot of value in free. And there are young professionals who have connected to individuals across the country without ever having paid a due.

So case in point – if no one member is the same, how can one blog serve all equally? (Is it so bad to branch into niches?) While it wasn’t accepted by the committee, I welcome any and all young professionals to join as a blogger on Young Association Professional as a full-time blogger, or simply as a guest blogger. Simply email me at rawolfejr@yahoo.com and I’ll add you.

P.S. (Do blogs have post scripts?)
I am happy to report that I was actually mentioned by Ben Martin, CAE Blogger, as one of the candidates for new blogger of the year (I was at the bottom of the list though, but on the list none the less). This was really a pleasant surprise because Ben has one of the most valuable blogs on association management. If you haven’t visited it, check it out on the side bar. His blog is a great mix of tech, links, and insight padded with some lighter moments (the caulking of the tub post is a classic example).

So it’s been almost two weeks since my last post – er… my first post, but I’m back, and hope to be mentioned by Ben again next year – maybe as up and coming blogger (hint, hint). Thanks Ben for the acknowledgement and for getting me started up again.

What is the minimum age for your membership?

2007-12-08T12:01:00.000-05:00

As a Young Association Professional, this question is quite near and dear to my heart. While I don’t deal specifically with membership in my association, I would recommend you ask the above question.

ASAE and the Center did and I thank them for it (Please note this has not been endorsed by ASAE and the Center – it’s simply an organization that I participate in as a young professional). The result was the rising star membership, a membership fee that is reduced to entice young professionals an opportunity to join for a significant discount.

Why is the discount important to me as a young professional?

The $100 annual fee is easier for me to pitch to my supervisor (a $265 membership fee as a new employee could be a hard sell)
It shows me that the association is at least acknowledging young professionals in the field
It breaks down the barriers for me, as a young professional, to join the American Society of Association Executives – a title I am at least 10 years away from
It allows me to attach myself to my industry as opposed to just my department/position (Over the last 3 year's I've transitioned from a training professional to an association professional)

What about the benefits for my organization/member’s company?

Effective way to invest in younger staff
Effective reward/incentive for younger staff
Increased insight into the industry, allowing for a better understanding of company's goals/procedures
Build network of industry peers earlier/different set of peers from executives in my association

What about the benefits to your association/host association?

You potentially get a 20-40 year member (even if I pay the $100 over 20 years, ASAE potentially recruited a $2000 member – if I pay $100 for 5 more years and the normal $265 over the following 15 that is a $4475 – assuming I only pay for membership)
Ability to implement programs proactively for future generations of membership
Keep up and coming stars in the industry (Isn’t the overall goal of the association to advance the industry?)
Referrals – whether I recommend a fellow young professional to join or sign up my new employee after their 90 day review (which I recently did) – providing services to young professionals naturally increases the reach of the association

Now, not every association may have a significant need for young members because there are a variety of professions where individuals start with experience, such as… well there’s…. wait, everybody at some point starts out as a young professional before they become an executive or manager. So why doesn’t every association have student/young professional memberships?

Time constraints/costs/lack of staff?

Associations can provide the following services right off the bat for younger members:

Mentoring programs with Sr. members – (good opportunity to use new web technologies
General information to break in/advance in the industry
Making information provided to regular members available to younger members for a discounted rate
Opportunities to participate in committees/volunteer opportunities (Web2.0 and social responsibility initiatives are both good opportunities to engage younger members)

Remember, in 10, 15, 20 years from now as the association leaders of today retire, it will be young professionals, such as myself, who will continue the legacy that’s been started today. Wouldn’t it benefit the industry you’re working in as well as your association to groom the future leaders of tomorrow today?