Watch this commercial by mobile device manufacturer HTC that crystallizes the role mobile devices are now playing in our lives:

There is no question in my mind that mobile is the future of associating, and I hope association leaders will begin thinking creatively about how they can deconstruct their existing macro-level volunteer opportunities to create a full spectrum of micro-level opportunities for voluntary engagement.  If associations can broaden and deepen engagement by making it simpler, more attractive and more meaningful for their stakeholders, it will open the door to many more compelling strategic opportunities for radical value creation in the years ahead.

Download PDF of IPhone Volunteer Slides (CSAE 09)

For a little over three hours yesterday morning, about 70 leaders in the Canadian association community participated in a series of small and large group conversations around the many, many questions I posed to them.  (Download Associations Next (CSAE09) slides).  As I've already written, it was an experiment that I was motivated to try because I wanted to do something creative that would help me advance my effort to nurture new ways of seeing and thinking within association leaders.

Based on the reaction I've heard around the conference, this different approach worked.  I was pleased with how the session went, and it was a valuable learning experience for me as well.  Many thanks to the terrific participants who stayed with it even if they were a little bit uncertain about what we were doing at times!

Jeff De Cagna is chief strategist and founder of Principled Innovation LLC, located in Reston, Virginia.  He can be reached at jeff@principledinnovation.com.

I hope you’re geared up for what looks to be a great conference and tradeshow!  If the conversations taking place in response to Bud Crouch's article are any indication, this promises to be an event full of some pretty rich discussion on the future of the association sector and what not-for-profits can do to position themselves to succeed in the face of the opportunities and challenges coming down the pipe in the months and years to come.

For my part, I am looking forward to taking part in the conversation, seeing some colleagues and clients and meeting up with some new people.  If you are cruising the tradeshow floor on Thursday, swing by booth #618 to say hello!  Whether you’re looking for information on ARC’s consulting services, our blog, want some free stuff, or maybe just a suggestion on a good place to get something decent to eat in town, I’d love to meet you!

Hope you all have a great show!  See you in Toronto!

There are a lot people trying to prognosticate what the future of associations will look like 60 – 72 months out.  What will be the major challenges and what will successful association look like?

Below is the link to ‘The Association Future Scape’.  Please share your views on the subject.  Bud would like to compile the results and use them at the Governance Summit in November and when working with other organizations in the future.  You can post your comments here, on this CSAE conference blog or if you prefer through Twitter.  If you post on Twitter please use the hashtag - #csae09 so we may track the replies. Thank you for feedback and your help to put out a finger on the pulse of what is ahead for associations.

Article - http://www.csae.com/public.asp?WCE=C=56|K=228377|CAL=220579

I’ve been avidly reading a number of not-for-profit blogs over the past several months and have finally taken the jump and launched my own blog, The ARC, last week. 

While there are many great blog resources targeted at the not-for-profit sector, I thought that given the focus on social media at the upcoming CSAE Conference that I would share with you a few of my favourite not-for-profit social media blogs. 

So, in no particular order, here they are (drumroll please....)

Beth’s Blog – How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media:  Beth Kanter really knows her stuff when it comes to social media and not-for-profits.  I like this blog because it has a strategic focus and shares a lot of very usable and timely thoughts, learnings and resources.  

Case Foundation :  This blog made my list because of the live-streamed tutorial series they did last month called Gear Up For Giving.  These sessions were fantastic and showcased a number of experts in the thick of developing, consulting, and implementing social media strategies taking common and not-so-common questions from not-for-profit professionals.

Community Organizer 2.0:  I love this blog by Debra Askanase.  Debra is a big picture thinker and is extremely astute at taking the minutae of social media and putting it into a strategic context.  Lots of thought-provoking posts here with some great ideas and tips-of-the-trade. 

Wild Apricot:  This blog has a lot in the way of really good lists and links to different resources, tips and ‘how-to’s’ that range from basic to complex.  There are also some great posts that look at some of the bigger questions as well, in addition to some well-researched reviews of the new tools and technologies out there.

Mashable: This resource isn’t specific to not-for-profits but is a powerhouse resource for all things social media.  This blog is powered by a large team of writers, so there are always new posts available on just about everything that is coming down the wire.

It’s a pretty safe bet that social media is something that’s been on your radar recently.   Certainly, you have probably experienced some of the apprehension out there about the impact this technology is having on the association sector. 

As members are now able to gain free online access to a lot of the information, resources and networking opportunities they have been paying membership dues for, the “value proposition” many associations have relied on for so long to attract and retain members is on shaky ground, to say the least.

Earlier this fall, there was a great deal of debate among association bloggers around the use, misuse and overuse of terms like 'relevance' and ‘value’ (Acronym, Jeff De Cagna and Jamie Notter's blogs have some good posts on this). 

I would argue that in today’s changing environment, engaging and providing a deeper and more meaningful kind of value to members will be critical success factors for associations in the months and years to come. 

Blogs, forums, tweetups, Facebook...whatever the tool, social media should be seen as less of a threat and more of an opportunity to help organizations to achieve these key objectives.  Here are just a few reasons why:

1. Keeping a Finger on the Pulse of your Members

Social media tools allow organizations to keep a near-to-real-time pulse on the evolving needs, priorities, trends and issues facing current and potential members.   It also allows them to actively seek out, track and respond to feedback, input and ideas from members, staff, volunteers and other key stakeholders.  Harnessing this capability can be a powerful asset, particularly if an association can also adapt its structure to be responsiveness to these changing needs and priorities.

2. Improving Transparency and Trust

Social media by its nature encourages transparency...an uncomfortable prospect for many associations.  Certainly if you’ve had your eye on the kiva.com debate lately (Sean Stannard-Stockton has posted some thoughts on this), you know that transparency can be a risky business.  While “opening up the trench coat” may expose an association to criticism and negative word of mouth, it also sends a strong message to its stakeholders:  It give them a direct line of communication to the association as well as a forum inside which they can speak their minds, not only about what they think the association is doing right, but what needs to be improved and how this can be achieved. 

3. Getting Members to Roll Up Their Sleeves

Actively seeking out, responding to and implementing ideas and feedback shows members that their input truly makes a difference to the association.  Because they have played a role in charting its course, they will have a vested interest in seeing the organization succeed.  They are also more likely to be excited about what is going on and willing to roll up their sleeves to help the organization achieve its goals. 

All of this is not to say that social media isn’t without more than its share of issues and challenges.  In addition to making sure you are using it for the right reasons and targeting it to the right audience, it can be very difficult to draw the line between letting go of control and keeping your organization focused on its vision, mission, resources and capabilities. 

When properly targeted, however, social media can help associations stand apart from the crowd in an environment where more associations are competing for fewer members than ever before – and in times like these, this is a hot commodity.

Glenn Tecker, the Keynote Speaker at the Opening Ceremonies taking place November 25th, 2009, is President and CEO of Tecker Consultants, an international consulting practice. He has served as an association executive and as a board member for both not-for-profit and for-profit organizations. Glenn has authored several books and articles on association leadership and excellence, including two books by the ASAE Foundation (Successful Association Leadership: Dimensions of 21st Century Competency for the CEO and  Building a Knowledge-based Culture: Using 21st Century Work and Decision-Making Systems in Associations).

Glenn does considerable work with CSAE. His leadership of CSAE’s CEO Symposium for the past 12 years has consistently received outstanding evaluations.

My name is Leon Mills and I'm a newbie blogger. I decided to respond to the invitation to be a blogger for the upcoming CSAE conference in November and here I am.

I decided to do this to help promote all things CSAE which is very important to me as anyone who knows me and my level of involvement with CSAE.

I joined CSAE about seven years ago in response to one of those promotional brochures that landed on my desk. I'm still wondering what mailing list they used to find me, but I'm glad they did. Up to that point in time, I had been working in the association sector for my association (which provides supports for hard of hearing persons like myself) for about seven years and was floundering a bit (if you would like to know about hearing loss and my association, the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association-Newfoundland and Labrador or CHHA-NL as we call ourselves in the short version, visit our website at www.chha-nl.nl.ca).

Like many of you, I wasn't specifically trained to work in the association sector and, after reading the CSAE brochure about the CAE program, I realized that I had some skills gaps that needed to be resolved and this program seemed to be a good one to do just that. I especially liked the structure of self-directed online learning, so I jumped in with both hands to the keyboard and began clicking away. Two years later, I completed the program, wrote the comprehensive exam, passed and said to myself - what next?

Well, as the saying goes, timing is everything, so I did three things that cemented me to CSAE, where I've gladly been ever since. I contacted Jim Pealow, the CAE program leader to inquire if he was looking for a facilitator. I had been a teacher and loved the online learning process so I thought, hey, why not try to become one of the course facilitators. So, in short order, I accepted Jim's offer to facilitate CAE 200 which I've been doing now for five years and I've loved every bit of it (check it out and I'm sure you'll love the program too). I've also facilitated CAE 100 and 300 several times too. The second thing I did was to notice that CSAE was looking for an Atlantic Canada board member, so I said, hey, nothing ventured, nothing gained, so I applied. A short time later, I received a call from President and CEO, Michael Anderson wanting to know if I could attend my first board meeting at the CSAE Confernce in Victoria. The third thing I did was to apply to Starwood Hotels for their first timer's scholarship which I obtained and which paid for all my expenses.

Since then, my involvement has increased so that I'm now a member of the Government and Public Relations committee and I'm Chair of the Honours and Awards Committee. As you can see, I'm quite involved with CSAE and a big supporter. I truly believe CSAE has helped me to become a better association executive and I do what I can to promote it and it can help you too.

This concludes my first blog! Next time, well, who knows, I'll try to share some of my other experiences with CSAE and the fun and good times to be had at CSAE Conferences.

Hopefully, I'll see you in Toronto in November. Bye for now!