It's catching on...

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.

What constitutes a Meaningful Group?

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

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?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!

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"

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

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

Bob on Acronym

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

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.

Link Love - All 4 Blog Favs Respond

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 1

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

I'm Back! - For Now

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