The Association Renewal Blog

RSS in Plain English

A while ago there was an interesting discussion in the blogoclump about the distressing lack of readership among association executives. One of the issues was clearly lack of basic knowledge of how blogs work, how you read them, how you subscribe, etc. I can say personally that I have had a few conversations with execs about that topic (promising not to reveal any names, of course).

Now we have a new resource! Nancy White referred me to a great little video that a group called commoncraft has developed that does a super job at explaining the basics (it is literally called RSS in Plain English). I think it's critical to have the visual to go along with the words. Thank goodness for YouTube!

Why The Long Tail Matters to Associations (LONG POST)

IMPORTANT NOTE: Let me reiterate that this is a long post.  I apologize in advance for causing any undue eye strain.

In his recent Acronym post about the Long Tail, Ben Martin moves me with his very kind compliment and words of support for my argument that association leaders should not dismiss new but untested ideas, such as the Long Tail, out of hand. He also offers a very thoughtful explanation of his view that the Long Tail theory will not work for most associations. It is entirely possible Ben is right, but then again, Jamie and I also may be right. In truth, we don’t know, and won’t know, until a handful of strategically-aware and highly capable associations begin to put some of these ideas into practice. We hope that will happen in the near future, but until we have some learning laboratories willing to experiment, let me offer a few comments on the specifics of Ben’s excellent post.

It's not about buckets...

Jamie and I are a bit frustrated with how the generational shift conversation is unfolding in association community.  Ben writes about this in a recent post on his blog:

Jeff De Cagna and Jamie Notter have both expressed disappointment about Cam Marston's session on generational differences at ASAE & The Center's Membership & Marketing Conference. I've been somewhat biased against generational research for some time now. I can draw as many conclusions about someone's disposition from their generation as I can draw from their astrological sign. And after hearing Cam's speech, I've now decided that knowledge about generational differences is overrated. Grouping people into buckets with tens of millions of others and calling it "segmentation" is sounding pretty ridiculous to me right now. (Bold emphasis added)

I both agree and disagree with Ben's post.  On the one hand, there is actually considerable value in understanding how different generations make sense of the world in different ways.  There can be no doubt that Silents/Matures, Boomers, Xers and Millennials hold vastly divergent perspectives on a wide variety of issues.  What's more, this full spectrum of ideas and opinions influences our society in ways that go far beyond the deeper meaning of the Zodiac.  (Except perhaps when Reagan was president...;>)  Getting inside the story of how and where generations disagree--as well as agree--must be a central theme of our national and organizational discourse in the coming years if we are to identify solutions to the profound problems we face.

On the other hand, Ben's last sentence shines a light on a big problem:  we are trying feverishly to put people into "buckets" for marketing and messaging purposes and it won't work.  While some brands may occasionally crack the code of generational understanding and enjoy spectacular, if short-lived, financial success as a result, the overwhelming majority of organizations will experience the same kind of frustration and disappointment we're describing in our posts.

If I may propose a different metaphor, true generational understanding isn't about buckets, but shot glasses.  Everyone is an individual and has his or her own shot glass, but because we can more easily move the glasses around, we can see the relevant patterns more clearly.  Achieving this depth of understanding, however, depends on our ability to think and talk differently about generational shift.

Which brings me to three guides I'd like to propose to shape a new generational conversation in associations:

• Use broad generalizations to ask better questions--Big and broad assumptions, even those based on survey data, can be dangerous, so test their meaning and validity by asking probing questions that help you get inside the story of individual members and stakeholders. 
  
• Use the answers to frame better conversations--Listen carefully to the nuances and textures of the responses to build your capacity for shaping conversations that move beyond the level of assumption, generalization and stereotype.
• Use your learning to craft better ways of connecting and connecting with your members--Developing an organizational strategy for generational renewal isn't about mass production or even mass customization.  It's about honoring the uniqueness of individuals by supporting their efforts to build new relationships and create new opportunities.
  

Tracking association social media usage

As you may know, Jamie and I are totally jazzed about the value of social media for associations.  I have certainly not shown much restraint on the subject, and I think it is useful for us to get a better handle on how many associations are using blogging, podcasting and other social media tools.

To facilitate this effort, I've created the Association Community Blogs and Podcasts Wiki as a master list of associations that are working with social media.  If your association is doing something in this arena, or if you're aware of an association that is, please visit the wiki and add a link! 

NOTE:  Please keep in mind that we are looking to include association-sponsored blogs on this list, not blogs such as this one, that discuss association-related issues.

What are they thinking at NATO?

I don't normally use the blogs to which I contribute as vehicles for singling out specific organizations for criticism, but I have been quite struck by the remarkable shortsightedness exhibited by the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) in recent weeks.  First, NATO's CEO argues for the status quo in an article on Mark Cuban that appeared in last month's Fast Company. Then, the other night, local news in DC reported that NATO is considering making a petition to the FCC for the right to either ban cell phones from theatres or perhaps jam cell phone signals.

I have only one question for NATO's staff and volunteer leaders:  what the heck are you thinking?

Executive Foresight Conversation on Unbundling

You can listen in to the conversation several of us had earlier this evening about unbundling and other issues that are fundamentally challenging the association business model.  Reflecting on the conversation, here are a few questions for you to consider:

1.  How well does your association understand the fundamental changes created by the emergence of Web 2.0, i.e., the Web as a platform for participation rather than publishing?

2.  What will it take for you and other leaders in your organization to shift their mindsets from the association as the locus of value creation to the context in which value is created by others?

3.  How will you challenge your association's leaders (as well as yourself) to embrace the paradox of taking greater responsibility for driving  more work from the edges of the organization that is beyond the leaders' control?

Obviously, these broader strategic questions only scratch the surface, but they are starting point for the kinds of conversations we must have in the association community.  Our session this evening was stimulating and a great step forward in building our understanding of where our organizations must go.  We look forward to hearing your thoughts!


MP3 File (approximately 1 hour, 10 minutes in length)

Cool, and proud of it...

Our friend and fellow blogger Kevin Holland informed us recently that he included The Association Renewal Blog on his Ten Cool Blogs list for ASAE & The Center for Association Leadership. Jamie and I are quite proud to be among these many fine blogs and bloggers, and we want to thank Kevin for thinking of us.  Of course, we're big fans of his blog as well.

Going into 2006, we intend to enhance the value of The Association Renewal Blog by driving the conversation about renewal in the association community.  We don't need to remind anyone that our organizations face complex and unrelenting challenges in the years ahead.  The commitment Jamie and I share to delivering next-generation leadership to associations today, however, inspires us to pose the difficult questions that association leaders must be able to answer if their organizations are to survive and thrive in the years ahead.  We want to raise the level of discourse around these issues and, with your help, hopefully achieve some breakthroughs in thinking that will benefit all organizations in the association world.

I don't expect we'll pull any punches in this conversation and we may ruffle a few feathers in the process.  We hope you will join us and be an active contributor to the dialogue.  Your insights and perspectives definitely have a home here.  And thanks again to Kevin for the kudo.  We really appreciate it!

The generational opportunity #1

Jamie has been doing the heavy lifting on posting to this blog for the last couple of months, and I salute him for his efforts.  He certainly has done a great job, and I did a great job in picking a business partner!  ;>)  Seriously though, thanks Jamie for all of your work.

Today, I was moved to post something to our blog after I read an article in the Business section of The New York Times about how the hotel industry is trying to serve both the needs of Baby Boomer and Gen X travelers.  What's clear is that several hotel companies are trying to find the right combination of design, technology, amenities and cool factor to make their hotels attractive to a younger clientele while not completely alienating the very large cadre of Boomers who will continue to stay with them for the foreseeable future. 

One interesting point from the article:  a Marriott executive anticipates that Gen Xers are going to be the "majority of the business travel segment" by 2007. (BTW, this article puts the brackets around Gen X as 1965-1980, making our generation 58 million strong, but still 20 million fewer than the Boomers.)  What I found interesting on a personal level is that it is the first time I've ever seen Gen Xers presented as the dominant contributor to a given business segment.  I realize, of course, that this isn't the first time it's ever happened.  Still, articles such as this one typically focus on either the Boomers or Gen Y, and lightly gloss over those pesky and irrelevant Gen Xers.  I'm pleased to see that we have some economic power in the marketplace!

So here's a question for your association:  what are you doing to refurbish your organization for demographic shift?  If your answer is "we've created a young professionals (or emerging leaders) group," then you need a better answer.  You'll notice that the hotels didn't create a "Gen X club" for their younger travelers.  Instead they are trying to cater directly to the tastes of our generation, while remaining mindful of their long-time customers.  It's not easy for them strike the right balance and it won't be easy for you, but it is a huge opportunity, not to mention a necessary element of your association's evolution.  So, if I were you, I'd get started on it today.  We'll keep talking about it on the blog and we hope you'll join us in the conversation.

Exploring The Blogoclump

Our friend and colleague, David Gammel of High Context Consulting recently referred to the handful of blogs in the association community as "the blogoclump," a pithy and highly descriptive alternative to "blogosphere."  Well, thanks to a very cool technology called TagCloud, we can see the hot keywords that are showing up in postings made by the inhabitants of The Blogoclump.  Click on any of the keywords and you can see all of the relevant postings from the various blogs.  I have included a cloud of 40 terms below.   

PLEASE NOTE:  If the TagCloud unexpectedly "jumps" to the left side of your screen, just hit the Refresh button on your browser and it should return to its proper position.  I'm not sure why it does that, but it doesn't appear to be a major problem.

Use Bitty Browser

I recently discovered a new and useful "hack" that I thought would be cool to experiment with on our blog here.  It is called Bitty Browser and it launches a small browser window within a site's existing window so you can quickly take a look at links.  I have placed a button to launch Bitty Browser on the left side of the blog.  Use it anytime and you don't have to leave our site to view the links we post!  We'll also embed some Bitty Browsers into postings, as I did above.