Associations in a “Post Media World”
Peggy Hoffman is president of Mariner Management & Marketing LLC, an association management company. She twitters at @peggyhoffman and blogs at the Idea Center.
I recently re-read a tagged item in my Delicious account as I was searching for another on association governance and it gave me a pause. Communication in a Post Media World, by Chris Brogan, was written in 2008 but could have been written easily today for the message grows in relevance and urgency. Okay, he’s talking about communications — but look he’s also talking about associations including association chapters and other components. How?
He writes: “When Google is the front door, the side door, the hidden key under the mat, the cash register, the finder of everything we ever lost, and everything we wished we’d lost, what comes next?” We have long acknowledged that the internet is an association’s toughest competitor. For chapters, this is even more difficult given the travel/time challenges.
He writes: “When everyone is a newspaper, a magazine, a TV station, a radio station, a conference, a curator, an educator, a business owner, a shopkeeper, what do we have?” Our members can start – and have – their own association with a couple of keystrokes.
He writes: “When you and I are the creators, the consumers, and the collaborators of this media, what does this mean to us?” Our members have always played this role in associations.
The response. Chris puts it simply: “We cast off the old models, and we assemble new forms.” This is a mantra being spoken in several association corners from folks like Jeff De Cagna, Jamie Notter and Ben Martin. It’s a mantra in action over at Oncology Nursing Society, American Society of Interior Designers, and Institute of Food Technologists, among others. We’re working with a couple of associations that on the journey including the Medical Group Management Association and the American Association of Diabetes Educators. And we’ve written about it before.
Perhaps the reason more associations aren’t joining in is because it’s not easy. If everything is modular, then we have to think hard about how to make them connectible. And in the absence of a single gatekeeper, we need to coordinate “control.” And we may need to figure out how to offer all member services both a la carte and bundled. Luckily for us, a swarm of digital natives are entering our “worlds” so the first step I suggest is that we watch, listen and respect those who are willing to change and willing to teach new ideas and new ways. Then let’s figure out exactly what success looks like. Lastly, let’s assemble new forms.
Read Chris’s piece … do you see a message for associations?
Tags: associations, communications, Peggy Hoffman
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Posted by jeffgnimble on November 18th, 2009 at 10:06 am
Associations in a “post media world” – http://ow.ly/DlOE
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
Posted by jeffgnimble on November 18th, 2009 at 10:06 am
Associations in a “post media world” – http://ow.ly/DlOE
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
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Posted by maddiegrant on November 20th, 2009 at 6:52 pm
Associations in a “Post Media World” http://j.mp/6I5Pb2
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Posted by Steve Drake on November 21st, 2009 at 8:09 am
Value your thinking on this Peggy! Thanks for sharing it Jeff.
My experience of the last week suggests that social media can be a powerful tool to benefit an association and its brand.
Sorry for what is a long comment but think the case helps demonstrate the power of social media for organizations … more details are posted at http://bit.ly/3dIHqO.
One of our clients — the Christmas SPIRIT Foundation — implements a Trees for Troops program … involves 750 members; FedEx and others in touching lives of 50,000+ military families by providing them a free, fresh, farm-grown Christmas Tree. This is a hugely meaningful program to families with someone deployed during the holidays. See this NBC Nightly News piece (http://bit.ly/3l9wP)
For 2009, the Founded implemented a TweetUp4Troop campaign around Veterans Day to honor veterans, support Trees for Troops and honor veterans.
Last week, we discovered that an artifical tree company had created a similar Web address (TweetUpforTroops) and linked it to their fake tree sales page. I couldn’t believe a company would really attempt to divert donations to our military families. Still stunned with the ethics of that … but a different issue.
Alarmed, we created a blog asking a number of key contacts (from our Twitter files) for advice. @maddiegrant labeled it “brandjacking,” a term we quickly adopted.
With the feedback, we launched a defensive campaign designed to raise awareness about the brandjacking and work to get the fakers to drop their attempts to divert donors.
This included a blog post (with details), a news release and a social media information effort.
Because we had invested more than a year in building social media contacts, we were able to quickly reach hundreds of thousands of people. We reached out to our Twitter network, asking them to Tweet the story. Some key social media friends shared our shock and quickly Tweeting to their contacats. People such as @mddiegrant, @deidrereid, @johnhaydon, @kanter, @davecause, @askdebra, @joewaters, @Michael_Hoffman and others.
As the week closed, I reflected on the situation. And couldn’t help but wonder how could we have reached this many people this fast in a pre-Social Media age. The answer is easily … not possible.
So, to those who question the ROI of social media … think about someone attacking your association or industry. Will you have a developed (over a long period) a trusted community that will help you defend yourself?
Thanks to the fake tree folks, the power is clear to me.
Posted by RSSirteubal on November 21st, 2009 at 10:14 am
SmartBlog Insights » Blog Archive » Associations in a “Post Media World” http://bit.ly/4z51Gd
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Posted by associationjam.org on November 25th, 2009 at 7:54 pm
Associations in a “Post Media World”…
Peggy Hoffman responds to an older but stilll relevant post by Chris Brogan: “We have long acknowledged that the internet is an association’s toughest competitor… Perhaps the reason more associations aren’t joining in is because it’s not easy….
Posted by MemberClicks on November 26th, 2009 at 6:50 am
Associations in a post-media world: http://ow.ly/FAqF #assnchat
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Posted by Maggie McGary on December 1st, 2009 at 5:18 am
LOVE this idea, and not just because you linked to my post. So many great posts out there; a recap is a great idea. I loved Jeremiah Owyang’s “digital comb-over” post!
This comment was originally posted on http://www.socialfish.org/)“>SocialFish
Posted by Maggie McGary on December 1st, 2009 at 5:18 am
LOVE this idea, and not just because you linked to my post. So many great posts out there; a recap is a great idea. I loved Jeremiah Owyang’s “digital comb-over” post!
This comment was originally posted on http://75.119.206.31/)“>SocialFish
Posted by uberVU - social comments on December 1st, 2009 at 6:42 am
Social comments and analytics for this post…
This post was mentioned on Twitter by maddiegrant: Link Love Monthly: November http://ff.im/-cgsUH…;
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Posted by uberVU - social comments on December 1st, 2009 at 6:42 am
Social comments and analytics for this post…
This post was mentioned on Twitter by maddiegrant: Link Love Monthly: November http://ff.im/-cgsUH…;
This comment was originally posted on http://75.119.206.31/)“>SocialFish
Posted by uberVU - social comments on December 1st, 2009 at 6:42 am
Social comments and analytics for this post…
This post was mentioned on Twitter by maddiegrant: Link Love Monthly: November http://ff.im/-cgsUH…;
This comment was originally posted on http://www.socialfish.org/)“>SocialFish
Posted by uberVU - social comments on December 1st, 2009 at 6:42 am
Social comments and analytics for this post…
This post was mentioned on Twitter by maddiegrant: Link Love Monthly: November http://ff.im/-cgsUH…;
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Posted by Eric Brown on December 4th, 2009 at 6:13 pm
Maddie – great idea even if you don’t include me in your next list
There’s some excellent stuff here.
This comment was originally posted on http://www.socialfish.org/)“>SocialFish
Posted by Eric Brown on December 4th, 2009 at 6:13 pm
Maddie – great idea even if you don’t include me in your next list
There’s some excellent stuff here.
This comment was originally posted on http://75.119.206.31/)“>SocialFish
Posted by Link Love Monthly: November — SocialFish on March 1st, 2010 at 5:04 am
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