If you don't know a college student...

Watch this video. A ton of great (and surprising) insights from college students about facebook, texting (4000 per month???), iPods, online gaming, RSS, wikis and so on. These are our associations' future members. Or aren't they?

Hat tip: Daniel Rothamel

Tagged: Association Management; Associations; CAE; Certified Association Executive

Interesting? Twitter adds search alerts.

I've been losing interest in Twitter. Seems it has turned into a place for people to re-notify me that they've updated their blogs. Hmm. What's the point of subbing to their RSS feeds then?

Though, somehow this sounds promising...

We just got word from Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey that the company will be launching a real time search feature “very soon.” Type in a keyword or keywords and any time a Twitter [tweet] is created that includes those keywords, you’ll be notified via IM or SMS. They’ll add the the ability to access this via their API in the near future, Dorsey says.

Via Techcrunch.

Tagged: Association Management; Associations; CAE; Certified Association Executive

HELP WANTED

I need some help at VAR. Specifically I need a marketing manager. I want to hire for this position by word of mouth. Please forward this to anyone you think might be interested.

The Virginia Association of REALTORS (VAR), a 39,000-member association headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, seeks a talented and ambitious marketing manager:

The Marketing Manager coordinates the production details and flow of marketing projects, including proactively communicating across all staff departments to keep marketing production calendars up to date, gathering cost estimates as directed, informing staff and vendors of deadlines, and monitoring compliance to assure timely delivery of marketing projects. Manages day-to-day functions of marketing division, including but not limited to member recognition, graphics library, clipping services, and member response/fulfillment.

Responsibilities:
Maintain and administer communications calendar to ensure timely production and release of marketing materials/projects, including developing and implementing project specific production schedules and deadlines.

Manage production process for all print and electronic communication including maintaining deadlines, list acquisition, postage, and follow-through with graphic designers and printers to ensure timely delivery of materials.

Generate specifications and cost estimates for marketing projects.

Administer targeted member outreach systems to identified member constituencies, under direction of Director of Communications & New Media.

Collaborate with Information Manager and provide input on e-newsletters and magazine and preparing event scripts.

Write and edit copy for marketing materials.

Produce annual print and web-based VAR Leadership Directory.

Assist VP/Communications in administration and promotion of member recognition/awards programs. Maintain records of award recipients. Distribute forms to local associations and ensure placement on website.

Manage member response, fulfillment (member services, member inquires, etc.) as requested.

Design and implement communications and marketing plans for real estate specialties groups and RPAC.

Maintain news clip and photo archives.

Perform other such duties as assigned by the CEO, VP/Communications, and Director of Communications & New Media.

Desired traits and competencies:

• Demonstrates initiative
• Effective in online, print and interpersonal communication
• Proficient in Microsoft Office suite
• Well organized
• Analytical
• Curious
• Attentive to detail

Salary in the $30K's, commensurate with qualifications and experience. To be considered for this position, send a cover letter, writing sample, and resume to Ben at VArealtor dot com by October 5, 2007. No phone calls, please (our convention is next week)!

Tagged: Association Management; Associations; CAE; Certified Association Executive

A friend in need

UPDATE: Thanks to your generosity, we have surpassed $600. If you want to make a donation by credit card, you will have to create an account at PayPal if you don't already have one. But once you set up an account, making a donation to the Sabol Fund by credit card is a snap. Please make a donation by 9 a.m. (EDT) Tuesday, September 25, so we can put this money to good use for Dave and Laura.

A few days ago I learned that my friend, fellow blogger, association executive, and possibly-separated-at-birth-because-we-have-way-too-much-in-common brother Dave Sabol, author of the blog, Associated Knowledge, had his life turned upside-down. His wife Laura was in a terrible car accident and while she is expected to recover, she will be laid up for several months. Dave has a young son, a demanding day job, and a ton of other responsibilities, so you know this will be a hard time for him and his family. Several of the association bloggers have already banded together to raise over $400 for Dave's family. If you like Dave's blog, or even if you have never read it, please consider making a donation to a fund to help him out. You can use this donation form at PayPal to send whatever amount you'd like.

Tagged: Association Management; Associations; CAE; Certified Association Executive

McKinley's Blog Watchdog Tackles DTJ

Proudly releasing the web version of my monthly blog roundup for my friends at McKinley Marketing. You can receive this column, and columns written by McKinley's top-notch consulting staff, by email when you sign up for their newsletter. The Full-Disclosure Barbershop Quartet is ready to sing. And here they go... "Ben is a paid freelance writer for McKinley Marketing."

In this edition we tackle two of the hottest topics in association managment: Decision to Join and Social Networking. Like the rest of the McKinley Marketing staff, I've had a handful of revelations regarding ASAE & The Center's latest study. Here's a sampling of what folks in the association community are saying about DTJ, as well as some key insight on the ever-growing applications of social networking.

Evaluating DTJ
In many ways, the DTJ study confirms what we already knew. Maddie Grant, one of the newest voices in the association blogosphere, is the first to offer up a substantive review of DTJ. For her, reading DTJ was a "duh" moment. An admitted doubter of the significance of retrospective data, Ms. Grant calls into question DTJ's novelty and applicability. Like Maddie, I feel that many of the conclusions in DTJ simply confirm what we already assumed, however, I think it's important to validate the assumptions under which we operate. From this perspective, the study is extraordinarily worthwhile. Furthermore, DTJ is far more useful for what it disproves than for what it proves. I recorded this 26 minute podcast to discuss how DTJ obliterated my past assumptions, such as "people join associations primarily for the personal benefits" and
"word-of-mouth is not the number one way in which potential members learn about associations." Listen to the podcast for the full story.

A speaker at ASAE & The Center's 2007 Annual Meeting & Exposition, Jackie Huba, spoke about the intersection of DTJ and word-of-mouth marketing. Jackie's partner, Ben McConnell recently posted about the new holy grail of marketing: online video on the Church of the Customer blog. Video has the potential to be remarkably viral, and so, says Ben, in the future, marketers will be increasingly focused on creating and spreading online video. Think viral video doesn't work in an association context? Think again. Although it's not currently available on their site, the Association Forum got a huge viral effect when they released Association Professionals Throughout History. McKinley's own Sheri Jacobs has intimate knowledge of this initiative, of course, having spent nearly 5 years at The Forum.

Looking for more opinions on DTJ? ASAE & The Center for Association Leadership's Membership Section newsletter features four articles about DTJ this quarter.

Associations and Social Networking
From adolescent to professional, there are three darlings of social networking sites: MySpace, Facebook and LinkedIn. Adding users at an enviable rate, Facebook is so hot, it's on fire. Associations and corporations are just beginning to understand the business uses of Facebook, including member engagement, marketing, disaster planning, and communications. Lee Aase works in communications at the Mayo Clinic, and constantly churns out some of the best advice on how to use Facebook productively in a business setting. Check out his blog and search "facebook" or just click this link.

R U txting yet?
Dave Sabol asserts that texting has reached the tipping point. As with social networking sites, associations and companies alike are trying to determine how to leverage text messaging services like Twitter, Jaiku and others for productive business uses. A consensus seems to be building that low hanging fruits in this area are emergency communications and legislative alerts. This wiki will help you uncover more creative business uses for text alerts.

To continue the discussion on any of these topics, visit my blog and post your comments.

Tagged: Association Management; Associations; CAE; Certified Association Executive

25th Anniversary of the Emoticon

While everyone else is celebrating International Talk Like a Pirate Day, I'm here to spread the magnificent news that today is the 25th anniversary of the emoticon. You know, this guy :-)

This entry is being posted to my blog at the precise moment that the emoticon was born 25 years ago. Often referred to as a smiley, the ASCII emoticon's "creation" is attributed to Scott Fahlman, who made this post to the Carnegie Mellon computer science discussion board:

19-Sep-82 11:44 Scott E Fahlman :-)
From: Scott E Fahlman
I propose that the following character sequence for joke markers:

:-)

Read it sideways. Actually, it is probably more economical to mark things that are NOT jokes, given current trends. For this, use

:-(

And so the emoticon was born. Check out the Emoticon entry on Wikipedia for more fascinating facts on the emoticon.

In the early days of my career I felt that using emoticons in any work-related email was unequivocally unprofessional. However, over the past few years I've started using them extensively, especially in communicating with fellow staff. I find that it takes the edge off of emails that might be interpreted in a way other than what I intended. Digital communication is notorious for stripping the context and nuance out of conversation, and a smiley can give the reader at least a small indicator of your mood or the demeanor of your email.

What's your take?

Anyway, happy 25th birthday, ASCII emoticon! Now you can rent a car.

And just for talk like a pirate day, here's a pirate joke...

What's a pirate's favorite letter? Arrrr!
What's a pirate's golf score? Parrrr!
What's a pirate's favorite place to drink? A barrrrr!
What does a pirate drive? No! Not a carrrr, a boat!

:-D

Tagged: Association Management Associations CAE Certified Association Executive emoticon smiley talk like a pirate day

Best session title of my career

IMG_7541.JPG
Originally uploaded by decaturshooter

I'm presenting a session at our Convention & Expo next month called, "Blogging is Not a Traditional Appalachian Folk Dance." I wonder if anyone will attend.

Google Docs in Plain English

Oh, how I love to be the association blogger to break news of Lee & Sachi LeFever's latest "Plain English" video releases. This one is on Google Docs & Spreadsheets (& Presentations), one of my favorite Web 2.0 tools, and this new video's a winner. Google Docs Rocks!

RSS subscribers may need to click through to watch the embedded video below:


Tagged: Association Management; Associations; CAE; Certified Association Executive

Determine Your Online ID Quotient

This is a pretty interesting find. Answer a few questions, and William Arruda's Online Identity Calculator gives you a virtual identity score, on a scale of one to ten. I score a perfect 10 out of 10:

"You are digitally distinct. This is the nirvana of online identity. Keep up the good work, and remember that your Google results can change as fast as the weather in New England. So, regularly monitor your online identity."

This is good to know. I've been locked in a search engine battle with a highly-recruited football player from Ohio who decided to play at the University of Tennessee for the number one Ben Martin Google search result. Right now, I'm winning, but it's tough to get yourself into that top position when you don't have a distinct name like De Cagna, Rops, or Gammel.

One criticism of the calculator: It does not ask if you appear at all in the first page of Google results, or in the top five results, etc. In my opinion, being on that first page of Google results is essential to having a strong personal online identity. Even better to be above the fold.

Just a quick tip on improving your results. Hyperlink your name with the URL where you want Google users to find you, and ask people who blog or maintain websites to do the same. Like this: Ben Martin.

Tagged: Association Management; Associations; CAE; Certified Association Executive

Remember: To exceed, meet the need

Scott "Carnivore" Briscoe's posts on measurement in the association biz (post #1; post #2) have created quite a ripple effect in the clump. I wonder if Dennis could map it for us?

It must have moved him, because Kevin Holland returned from the abyss to blog it, and JNott picked up the meme on the We Have Always Done It That Way blog, citing Kevin:

Kevin says associations should provide stuff that the people actually want, as opposed to what it’s always done, etc. I just want to point out that those two things aren’t mutually exclusive. Sometimes what a certain volunteer wants is perfect. Sometimes a certain department is right. And sometimes what you have always done is PRECISELY what you need to keep doing. What we point to in our book is the EXCUSE of “we have always done it that way. As a rationale, that is very dangerous. But if you can show that your customers actually want something(through—gasp—measurement?) then it’s okay to keep doing it that way (as long as you stay disciplined about continually showing that customers want it).

Emphasis mine.

Association executives: There's a profound difference between what members want and what members need! This is not just splitting hairs.

Remember this: Being a remarkable organization requires exceeding, not simply meeting, the expectations of members or customers. Giving members what they want is a really nice way to meet expectations. Giving members what they need, perhaps before they've even realized they need it, is the catalyst of exceptional association performance.

In short: To exceed, meet the need.

How you get at the need is another post entirely.

Tagged: Association Management; Associations; CAE; Certified Association Executive

This is where the magic happens

Dualing monitors
Originally uploaded by bkmcae

My desk is getting its dual monitors on. I felt my productivity shoot up upon getting the dual monitor setup back. Studies show a second monitor raises productivity 10-50%. A $200-$300 investment for up to 50% improvement in output, even on an employee making just $20K per year, makes a ton of sense.

Why are most blog navigation bars on the right?

It seems to be a best practice in web design to put a navigation bar on the left, so why do so many blogs have their navigation bars on the right? My educated guess is that it's to enhance readability on a mobile device. On most mobile devices, when you pull up a page, the browser reads left to right and top to bottom. And since the real content of a blog is in the posts, not the nav bar, it only makes sense to relegate navigation to the right.

So what? If you have a blog with navigation on the left, it's time for a redesign. I'd be curious to hear from the web geeks on why left nav bars are still the norm for traditional websites.

Caveat: If proliferation of the iPhone becomes widespread, these guidelines may change substantially.

Tagged: Association Management; Associations; CAE; Certified Association Executive

The new gathering places

Lee responds to this article, which is just the latest lame effort in the MSM's tired meme on what a drain Social Networking Sites (SNSs) like facebook are for corporations.

You know I must agree with Lee. But here's another way of looking at it. For example, assume I decide to exhibit for my company at a trade show. I fly 3 people 1000 miles, ship 300 lbs. worth of junk to the convention center (and back), spend $2000 on the booth space, pay 3 hotel nights for each of the 3 people, and drop a grand on incidentals. Oh, and they're out of the office for a total of 72 man hours. Why would I expend these kinds of resources? Because a ton of my current and potential customers are gathering there!

Guess where else your customers are gathering? Suddenly, facebook and other SNSs are looking pretty cost effective! But SNSs are far more than just cost effective. In some ways, they're flat-out more effective PERIOD than showing up at the traditional conferences, trade shows and so on.

What we all need to learn is that the social web is the world's new gathering place. These new gathering places are simultaneously:

• global in scope,
  
• operating both in real time and asynchronously depending on your preference,
  
• increasingly accessories to (or even replacements for) face-to-face communities, and
• an unprecedented way to discover and communicate with micro-niches.
  

There are real relationships forming through the social web. There is real business getting done through the social web. There is real money being made through the social web.

And there are real opportunity costs if you fail to get engaged.

The social web is not a replacement for face-to-face community, but it is a powerful complement to community.

Tagged: Association Management Associations CAE Certified Association Executive facebook SNS social networking sites

And you are???

Like Church of the Customer and the five independent thinkers, I'm celebrating a milestone, too: I recently passed two hundred RSS subscribers, and have actually vaulted to 230 over the past few weeks when you combine subscribers from my regular and combo feeds. Yay!

So, inspired by Church of the Customer's Go Around the Room post, here's my request: You know a lot about me, but you're mostly an enigma to me. Please, if you are so inclined, leave a comment with your name, organization, location and what brought you to the Certified Association Executive blog. I'd like to get to know you a little better.

Tagged: Association Management; Associations; CAE; Certified Association Executive

1000 x WHADITW

Mad props to the five independent thinkers on selling one thousand copies of We Have Always Done it That Way. Nice job!

Tagged: Association Management; Associations; CAE; Certified Association Executive

You think I am a CAE nut?

Despite my best efforts, Bob Harris has me beat hands-down for the world's most fanatic CAE. Not only is he responsible for the CAEs Rock hat, he has also customized his Nike running shoes as shown in this picture.

"We're not worthy!"

Tagged: Association Management; Associations; CAE; Certified Association Executive

My name is Ben, and I am a blogaholic

84%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?
Tagged: Association Management; Associations; CAE; Certified Association Executive

DTJ research associate responds to podcast

Clare Inzeo gets it.

She is an industry & market research associate at ASAE & The Center who emailed me to correct me and elaborate on a couple of points in my podcast. Here's the substance of her message:

I wanted to respond to several of the questions/comments you posed during the podcast.

The first is about the employer payment of dues concerning those who are self employed. If you refer to page 84 of the text, in exhibit B.14, you will see that there was a choice for the respondent to identify as self-employed. For the "current members," only .4% selected that answer choice. For the non-member survey, 5.6% of respondents identified themselves as self-employed when asked if they would join the association if their employer would pay (See exhibit B.20 on page 86). These people were eliminated from the analysis you see in the end of chapter 7 about employer payment of dues because they are really separate from the question we are considering. I hope this sheds some light on this issue.

Your other comment about Exhibit B-11 how people heard of the cosponsoring association is not exactly correct. This question was only about ‘first hearing’ which does not necessarily translate into ‘why I joined’. It really points out the importance of word of mouth in getting people to know about the association at all.

Finally, your comment about board vs. committee volunteers as promoters (exhibit 4.13) the difference between the 12.5% of governance volunteers being ‘detractors” and the 12.1% of committee volunteers as detractors is really not significantly different. That is, if we did the study again, it might come out the opposite way. In contrast the ‘promoter’ aspect IS significantly different with governance volunteers a lot more likely to be promoters (65.8%) than committee volunteers at 60.7% -- although both of these are much higher than either the ad hoc or non-volunteers.

My blog, my rebuttal. :-)

On the word of mouth thing, yes, at one point early in the podcast I did say that word of mouth leads to a decision to join. However, later in the podcast I attempted to correct myself to state that personal referrals are more directly tied to someone initially learning about an association. Regarding exhibit 4.13, I find it simultaneously curious, sad and understandable that upwards of 12% of committee and board members are association detractors. DTJ proves that engagement is the key to retention and member evangelism. Yet, when a member reaches the quote-unquote pinnacle of engagement, s/he is just as likely to be a detractor as someone a level below them on the volunteer food chain. Ideally the detractors should be a much lower portion of the board population.

Thanks a million for contacting me, Clare. I'm happy you made the decision to join this conversation!

Tagged: Association Management; Associations; CAE; Certified Association Executive

Review of The Decision to Join

This is a 26 minute review of ASAE & The Center's new research study, The Decision to Join. In this podcast I provide a little background on some prior research released by ASAE & The Center, discuss the study's major findings, talk about some results that do not mesh with my experience, mention a few surprising things in the study, and discuss a few findings that will make you say, "Duh!"

MP3 File

Finding yourself in the strangest places

rollercoaster
Originally uploaded by bkmcae

I recently subscribed to a Technorati search for my Internet handle (bkmcae), and was a bit surprised to see that this photo of me and my friend Nate sharing a special moment turned up on a blog post about branding.

For a long time, people like me have been telling people like you that you need to subscribe to a Google alert for your association's name and URL. I'm afraid it's not so simple anymore.

I've recently come to discover some other Google (or Technorati) alerts that we all should be subscribed to if we aspire to be full participants in the online conversation:

1. Websites of sister organizations and programs with their own web presences (Political Action Committees, Foundations, Public Relations campaigns, etc.). You might even go as far as to subscribe to alerts for your chapters' websites or blogs.
   
2. Blogs of particular importance in your industry. I have subbed to alerts for a few of my members' blogs. I may eventually decide to subscribe to alerts of friendly or not-so-friendly organizations.
   
3. Anywhere you have a bio or public profile (official ones, like on your association's website, should show up in your regular URL search, but unofficial ones, like on LinkedIn, for example, wouldn't).
4. Web profiles of your CEO and elected leaders (official or unofficial).
5. Your internet handle.

What do you think? It might be overkill, but simply citing your association's name or URL in a blog post is NOT the only way that people will talk about you online. When you're involved in a conversation, you don't just listen to what people say about you. You listen to what they say about others. And in some cases, it's good to know what others are saying about certain others.

I've just started doing this, so if you're interested, I can report back on how long it's taking to monitor this stuff and if anything useful has come of it.

Tagged: Association Management; Associations; CAE; Certified Association Executive

Three things EVERY blog should have "above the fold"

above the fold
Originally uploaded by irina slutsky

I've been adding a lot of new blogs to my news reader these past two weeks. I've also been contacting (or trying to contact) a lot of bloggers recently. Interestingly, I've found it quite difficult to either subscribe via RSS or contact some bloggers, and unnecessarily so.

If you're writing a blog under your real name, I have to assume that part of the reason you're doing so is to get attention for some reason: Perhaps to be viewed as a subject matter expert, to generate sales leads, to show off how funny you think you are, or whatever. So, if you're eager for attention, why would you make it difficult to contact you or subscribe?

Here are three things I think every blog site should have "above the fold" -- that is, visible on screen when I first navigate to your blog without forcing me to scroll down:

1. Your primary RSS feed, clearly marked with the standard RSS icon.
2. Your email address, even if it's not hyperlinked with a valid mailto.
3. A link to your bio or profile.

And I'm drinking my own kool aid here. I just put my email address on right under my picture, although it's just a link away if you click on my big head at the top of the screen.

Here is the one thing I believe should NEVER be above the fold: RSS feeds for anything other than the main feed or comments (i.e. separate podcast feed, vlog feed, etc.). Having extra feeds up there is uber confusing. Put those feeds below the fold or on another page, please!

What do you want to see above the fold? What do you wish bloggers would push down the page?

Tagged: Association Management Associations blogging blogs CAE Certified Association Executive