…the more they stay the same.

This well traveled epigram has taken on new meaning for all of us at Affiniscape, as we move headfirst into the New Year. Change in itself is a good thing. It is the force that moves and guides us through our lives – both personally and professionally. Without change we grow complacent, stagnant, and ultimately become irrelevant. Those who truly embrace change are always ready for the game changing opportunities that might come their way.

As you may know, on December 4, 2012, Affiniscape merged with YourMembership.com. Together, we have become the largest and fastest-growing provider of web-based association management software (AMS). Today, we are announcing that moving forward our company will operate under the name YourMembership.com. That is a big change.

As a co-founder of Affiniscape, for me, the merger does not signify an ending, but rather a transformation that will lead to the fulfillment of many of the goals we set in 2000 when we began our company. As we leverage the combined strengths and resources of both entities we will be able to better serve our Association Partners through our current product and service offerings; and we will have the ability to bring to market new offerings that will help you increase your value, grow your membership, and advance your mission.

With that said, what remains the same are the values we’ve established and built upon during the journey with our Association Partners over the years. YourMembership.Com, like Affiniscape, is a values-based company. This was critically important to us as we worked through the merger.

For those of you who attended Connections 2012, you had the opportunity to hear from and meet with Bill Stover and Hutch Craig, the YourMembership.Com founders, about their vision and goals for the combined companies. I know they came away from conference with a real sense of excitement that was a direct result of being able to spend time and experience the passion and commitment of Affiniscape’s Association Partners.

We are still dedicated to the market we have served for over 12 years – state and local associations. We still want you to look at us as an extension of your staff. That won’t change.

One change that will touch every Affiniscape AMS Partner is the migration and upgrade to the YourMembership.Com platform. That in itself is a significant change. Please know that we are committed to making that transition as painless as possible, as we adhere to a set of guiding principles for the migration of Affiniscape Partners to the YourMembership.Com platform. Our goal is to ultimately bring together the best features from both platforms into a truly integrated system that will deliver greater levels of member engagement, excitement – and ultimately – recruitment and retention.

I’m sure these announced changes bring about many questions you would like answered. We understand, and have created the website listed below to help answer your questions, and provide links to resources for additional information:

http://merger.ym-afn.com

Please take a moment and visit the site so that you can learn more about the merger and what it means to you and your association. The site provides FAQs along with the ability to ask a question via email, or contact info to talk to someone.

I’ve had a number of people ask me what my plans are following the merger. My answer is simple – continue! I have enjoyed the privilege of working with so many talented and dedicated association professionals over the years, and I look forward to the continuation of that journey. There is still much to be done as together we continue the important work of strengthening and expanding the role of associations in today’s marketplace.

As Benjamin Franklin wrote more than 200 years ago, “When you’re finished changing, you’re finished. ”

We are just beginning!

Rick

This post was written by Jeff Hurt and was originally published on his blog Velvet Chainsaw

It’s that time of year again.

Time to think of what trends might have an impact on conferences and meetings in 2013.

So what can we expect to see as far as demands from our participants this year?

Five Trends To Watch

Here are five trends to watch during 2013

1. The Participation Economy

From passive information consumption to actively contributing, discussing, creating and participating.

Conference attendees don’t want to spend $1,500 – $2,000 to attend your event and then sit passively for four to six hours a day. It goes against what they normally do. Instead, they want to participate. They want to engage with others about the content that is being shared or about the needs they face. Conferences have to move away from being just an information channel providing data, facts and figures to consume. Instead they should move to becoming a social channel engaging the audience in discussion about that application of that content.

Check out your current conference schedule. How much of it is passive, consumption of information presented from a stage? If you want attendee loyalty, you’ll want to ensure that a large portion of the conference schedule allows for networking and participation.

2. Social Sharing

Social sharing is the broadcasting of our thoughts and activities. Regardless of what you think, it is not a fad. It is a sociological phenomenon that continues to occur at a rapid pace. This macro trend is affecting conferences and events.

Still not convinced? During the election of 2012, we couldn’t get away from Facebook posts and tweets from friends and colleagues sharing their political views. It was ubiquitous and sometimes frustrating.

Conference attendees will continue to share what they are doing at your event and who they are doing it with. Some will share content. Some will challenge what they hear from the stage. If your event is bland, little social sharing will occur and this actually reflects a poor conference experience.

How can you help your conference attendees share their experiences with their social networks?

3. The Content Economy

Content could become your conference’s most valuable asset. You can no longer afford to only have your compelling content released during your conference. You need to be creating useful, fresh content to attract people to attend your event and to keep them coming back to your site after your event.

Just putting up a conference website is no longer enough. Search engine algorithms are good enough now that the most compelling content dominates search results. If you want to dominate search results for your conference, your conference website must have a continual stream of fresh, new influential content. And you have to figure out how to repurpose content from the conference to use after the event.

4. The Smobile Web

Social + Mobile = Smobile. Social and mobile are becoming more dependent upon each other. A smobile web means that your attendees expect the conference experience to be digitized for mobile and sharing. Instagram and NFC (near field communication technology) are two examples of experiences prepared for the smobile web.

5. Last Generation Sponsorship

Sponsorship maven Kim Skildum-Reid describes how sponsorships have matured. First generation sponsorship was about gaining exposure and awareness. This is where many of our conference sponsorships still exist. The thought is that flashing a logo in the midst of dozens of other logos in front of potential cynical consumers equals marketing return. Second generation sponsorship was focused on sales promotions and vending rights. The third generation was based on brand’s needs and what the brand can offer potential customers. Last generation sponsorship is about nurturing a brand’s connection with a target market. It’s about putting the target market’s needs first. This is very different than seeing how many escalator, elevator and hanging banner ads a company can secure. Savvy sponsors are demanding a new kind of experience with their markets during conferences. The question is can you transition from the standard sponsorship menu of choices to a customized sponsorship package.

Which of these trends do you see affecting your conferences now? What other trends would you add to this list?

Like Jeff’s Post?

Then you’ll probably like his other resources! Check out his A-Team page on the Association Resource Center!

Happy Friday and Welcome to the Weekly Wrap Up! The weekly wrap-ups are a great resource for associations to find interesting articles, blog posts, upcoming events, fun facts, and provide up-to-date news and tips found throughout the association space each week. We will also pull quotes and topics from the #assnchat and other relevant chats during the week on Twitter and other social media sites, to provide our members and industry thought leaders with content they can use today or save for later!

Favorite Articles of the Week:

1) Coffee is for Closers: An Old Rule that Won’t Change in the New Year by Eric Chester

The phrase “Coffee is for Closers” resonates with anyone who’s seen the classic film, Glengarry Glen Ross. This 1992 movie stars six Hollywood A-list leading men as salesman who work for an unethical real estate outfit. The actors portray fast-talking hucksters who lie, exaggerate, and use a series of con games to goad unwitting prospects into signing on the dotted line for overpriced real estate.  (If you haven’t seen the movie, and you have a high tolerance for foul language, here’s the scene that made the “Coffee is for Closers” catchphrase famous and earned Alec Baldwin an Oscar nomination.)

2) It’s Better to be Clear than to be Right by Jamie Notter

I searched on my blog for the post I wrote about the “hard work of clarity.” I thought it would be on the first page or two of results because it must have been recently.

Turns out it was from 2009, after the session that Maddie, Lindy, and I did on how social media changes the way we work (which can be considered the earliest starting point of Humanize). Maddie had suggested that clarity isn’t so hard, and I was pushing back. People are often good at the very high level clarity stuff (boring mission statements), but the real areas that distinguish you as a leader or as an organization remain comfortably fuzzy for us.

We hope all of you had a wonderful holiday season and rang in the New Year with loved ones who surround each of you with positivity, encouragement and best wishes for new experiences in 2013! A lot of us find ourselves going back to the office, pouring coffee into our coffee mugs and sitting at our desks doing the same ole routines we were doing not only a week ago. What if we started 2013 with a fresh perspective on our jobs? By taking a look at what we do as individuals within associations, and as association as a whole, we can make some new and inspiring changes to boost employee energy, culture and maybe even profits throughout the year. Test out one or all of the suggestions below and see if they bring any positive change to your association this year. Good luck and Happy 2013!

1) Socialize! Do you know how many of your association members are on social sites such as Twitter, LinkedIn Groups, or Facebook? Take some time to research who is where and help them get social. Offer tips such as a Twitter hashtag for each association, or an industry specific LinkedIn Group where all members within a specific industry can chat and ask each other questions. Networking really does go a long way!

2) Get Personal! Instead of sending email after email to your association members, try picking up the phone instead. When you are sending millions of emails to people, it can present itself as more meaningful if you call him or her to get a simple answer or relay a message to the person. Customer service is key when communicating. Plus, members will love hearing from you!

3) Think Forward! Advance yourself at work and personally by doing a few of the following: Subscribe to blogs relevant to the association world. Read books – on any subject that may nourish your brain and pass the books along to others around you. Have monthly book chats to explore what everyone learned from their readings. Chat more with co-workers – get to know those around you, and those you may not have had the chance to talk to yet. You may find there are other areas within your association you want to dig deeper in, but never knew about! Form clubs at work – there may be people who want to workout together, discuss books, exchange recipes, learn about DIY projects – you never know until you ask!

I hope some of these tips will help boost some new experiences for associations out there this year! Have a great start to 2013!

We’ve had a great year, thanks to all of you! We’re excited for what lies ahead in 2013. Instead of doing the usual Top Ten articles of the week on the Weekly Wrap-Up, I’ve decided to do a a fun list! Check out Forbes list of the Top Ten Christmas Songs Your Should NOT Be Tired of Hearing below.

The whole team at Affiniscape appreciates everyone who has taken the time to read our content, share it with friends and colleagues, attend our annual conference and provide us with valuable feedback to help us continue to better the experiences we bring to all of you year after year.

Happy Holidays from our team to yours. We wish you all a happy and safe holiday season! – Holly

Top Ten Christmas Songs You Should Not be Tired of Hearing:

1) Beach Boys – Little Saint Nick

2) Bobby Helms – Jingle Bell Rock

3) Darleen Love –  Christmas Baby Please Come Home

4) Band Aid – Do They Know It’s Christmas

5) The Kinks – Father Christmas

6) The Drifters – White Christmas

7) Elvis  Presley – Blue Christmas

8 ) Heat Miser

9) Vince Guaraldi Trio –  Linus and Lucy

10) The Pogues – Fairytale of New York

*source – Forbes

This post was written by Holly Duckworth and was originally published on her own blog Leadership Solutions International 

You can’t open a blog, magazine or web page now and not see RO something.  For meeting professionals that RO might be ROI, return on involvement, or ROE return on engagement, maybe even ROS return on session?

As an association thought leader and expert on volunteerism leadership I ask you to consider something called ROV?  Yes, return on volunteerism.  As a meeting industry professional I know what you are saying, Holly, I simply don’t have time to volunteer I’m running countless meetings here.   When you say “No” so quickly to volunteering here is what you are saying “No” to.

No: to meeting new people with like interests

No: to learning about a new organization

No: to potentially sharing your expertise

No: to learning a new skill

No: to making a difference in your community

I know the pace of life today.  Most of us are working just to keep our heads above water with our work life and family commitments.  I also know 90% of us have received something from a volunteer based organization in the past six months.  In your MPI community did you know every monthly meeting is planned by a 100% volunteer team?  When you read a post on a web page, meet a new member or attend a social or tradeshow all of the efforts come from meeting professional volunteers just like you.

So why do they do it?  What is their ROV? As a member of MPI for more than 10 years having served in every volunteer role including 2006-2007 Oregon Chapter president I know the ROV of volunteering.  It is experienced in call I just got to speak to a group in Ohio, it is the facilitation in New Jersey, and the lavish dinner I shared with someone special in Denver.  It is the book proposal connection that would not have happened if not for a person I met volunteering for MPI.  Return on volunteerism is having a larger community of supporters to help you plan your meetings, its ability to call a college in another organization and ask them if they can assist you with pricing or availability of meeting space.  Volunteerism is the ability to share your expertise back to an organization you benefit from.  Volunteerism is also the place to say yes to learning new skill.  As a meeting professional if you are looking to try a new piece of technology MPI is the place to volunteer.  Want to work on your skills in public speaking that is where I learned mine.  I personally have taught many meeting professionals twitter, Facebook, or LinkedIn who have volunteered to help.  MPI value is magnified when you volunteer.

As a meeting professional now might be the time to add a volunteer event to that meeting you are planning.  Don’t know where to start reach out to me I have articles and classes on the topic.

What is your ROV, return on volunteerism?  Now is the time finding a way to add volunteerism into your meetings and events, or your own life.  I know you will see a measurable reward for years to come.

Like Holly’s Post?

Then you’ll probably like her other resources! Check out her contributor page on the Affiniscape Resource Center! 

Holly Duckworth, CAE, CMP Holly is an association and meeting industry thought leader.  She is a leadership consultant and speaker to the meetings/events and travel industry. Holly teaches and facilitates at meetings on the future of effective board leadership and volunteerism. Look for her book CTRL+ALT+Delete How to Reboot for Success in 2012.  Her web page is ww.leadsolintl.com  Follow her on Twitter @hduckworth

This post was written by Christina Smith and was originally published on the YourMembership.com blog

On December 14, 2012 an extreme tragedy struck Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. When a tragedy of this type hits it’s more than just the community that’s affected; the entire country feels the pain and loss of those innocent lives cut short. The shooting has left us deeply saddened and while we ponder the senselessness of it and find a deeper appreciation for our loved ones, we must also use this time to help make a difference.

The families of Newtown will never be the same, yet we hope that they are able to find comfort — no matter how small — in the support of the larger community. We’re donating (as both a company and as individual members of the St. Pete and Austin teams) to the United Way in support of the Sandy Hook Elementary School fund. We invite you and your organization to join us as we help to raise funds for the victims’ families.  We can’t bring their loved ones back but we can show them that they are not alone. Please help.

A letter from our new COO, JP Guilbault:

I arrive this Monday morning with a heavy heart.  I’m sure by now all of us have heard of the tragic event and details of the shooting in Newtown, CT that has left 26 people dead and hundreds of family members experiencing the deepest pain and sadness one can feel—the loss of their child or loved-one.

There is no sense or understanding to be found, but there is opportunity to express condolences and offer words of comfort.  We have launched an initiative to raise money for those impacted by Friday’s tragedy. You can help by donating to the United Way’s Sandy Hook School Support fund.

While there is no amount of giving or words to say that can replace that which was lost, we can act and signal to those affected that they are in our thoughts and we share their pain.

At times like these we reflect on what is most important to us.  Like you, this time of year and the holidays offer me the opportunity to be close with those that matter most – my family and friends.  I look forward to this Friday when I travel home to see my children.  I’m one of the lucky parents in the world this coming holiday – I will arrive home to  hear the voices and laughter of my three children, and to unwrap gifts and create memories that will last on forever.  There are many parents in Connecticut this holiday that won’t have that opportunity.  My heart goes out to them.

To all of you, leverage your friends, family, and the many available resources to express your feelings, alleviate your grief, and release the stress this may bring.  Thank you for all you do, take care of one another, and find the time to see the bright spots the days ahead will bring.

“Look at everything always as though you were seeing it either for the first time or the last time:  Thus is your time on earth filled with glory.”

Happy Friday and Welcome to the Weekly Wrap Up! The weekly wrap-ups are a great resource for associations to find interesting articles, blog posts, upcoming events, fun facts, and provide up-to-date news and tips found throughout the association space each week. We will also pull quotes and topics from the #assnchat and other relevant chats during the week on Twitter and other social media sites, to provide our members and industry thought leaders with content they can use today or save for later!

Favorite Articles of the Week:

1) Hiring Wisdom: 2 Resolutions that will Improve Your Hiring Next Year by Mel Kleiman

If you can implement these two, simple hiring resolutions for 2013, at the end of the year, you’ll find the quality of your new hires is significantly higher and employee turnover is significantly lower than it was at the end of 2012…

2) Customer Experience Lessons from Elf on the Shelf by Annette Franz Gleneicki

Do you have an Elf on the Shelf? If not, do you know the story behind the Elf? You’ll be surprised to learn that the Elf can actually teach us a thing or two about customer experience.A quick summary of the purpose of the Elves before we begin: In a nutshell, Santa sends and Elf or two to your home to watch over your children, and the Elf/Elves report back to Santa every night about whether the children will make the Naughty or Nice List.

3) The Creative Secret Sting Uses to Write Songs by Bryan Mattimore

Semantic intuition is responsible for any number of creative works–including much of Sting’s repertoire, the movie “The Princess Bride,” and “The Odd Couple.” Use this brainstorming technique to improve your creativity and power innovation.

4) 13 Questions to Ask About Your Company’s Culture by Robert Brown

When the discussion turns to “organizational culture” or “corporate culture,” most people have some sense or recognition of what the concept means, at least to them. A fairly simply definition, or explanation, is “the way we do things around here.”

5) Survey Finds that Recognition Linked to Core Values Delivers Increased ROI by Derek Irvine

I like this bi-annual report because it focuses on the opinions of employees, uncovering trends over time. The “Fall 2012 Report: Revealing Key Practices for Effective Recognition” is no exception.

The details of this report are so interesting, I struggled to find a way to summarize it in a blog post shorter than the actual report itself. Then I realized a common trend throughout the findings – deeply incorporating your core values into your strategic, social recognition program matters.

6) Advocacy and Your Association: A Lost Cause? by XYZ University

With all the recent posts about associations and the struggle with advocacy, you might be wondering if it’s a lost cause for your association.

Associations expend a lot of time, energy and resources on advocacy efforts. There’s no reason to keep taking punches if the fight is over–don’t make the ref call it. Maybe it isn’t over, but if you want to stay in the fight, you’ll need a new strategy.

7) Five Energy Hungry Brain Functions We Use At Conferences by Jeff Hurt

Have you ever started your day by trying to read emails while listening to your voice mails?

If you’re like me you have. And it just doesn’t work.

At the slightest whim, you get distracted and before you know it, you’ve deleted an important voice mail. Or you’ve overlooked an urgent email.

While the brain is extremely powerful, it has severe limitations. It doesn’t take much to turn the brain of a top-of-their-class college graduate into a whimpering kid when you try to force it to do two things at once.

Our brain’s have biological limits that underlie mental performance success or failure!

8 ) Why Aren’t You a “Best Place to Work?” by Jamie Notter

I read in Forbes about a new list out of the best places to work, and this one is from Glassdoor. Unlike some of the other lists, where the companies actually apply to be on the list, this one is a big survey of employees across lots of companies (500,000 people participated). In other words, you’re hearing from employees who have NOT been asked by their bosses to say something so they can make the list. The best ones are the ones with the highest scores. Does this absolutely mean these are the best companies? No. I think a big part of the high scores can be traced to being huge companies that offer really awesome perks and benefits, and that’s not always generalizable. This simply isn’t an exact science. But it is, as we say in the business, data.

9) 15 Key Considerations for 2013 Conferences by Jeffrey Cufaude

We’re not particularly trendy here in the Midwest.  Instead we often observe what’s happening on both coasts and track how it slowly creeps its way into our culture.

In my involvement in about 40 different conferences this year, I’ve noticed what once were isolated ideas or innovations beginning to be echoed repeatedly in other meeting designs.  While the degree of replication varies, I think each of the following 15 considerations are worth every conference designer contemplating for their 2013 efforts.

10) Building Experience into your Annual Association Conference by Steve Drake