Happy Friday and Happy New Year! It’s been quite a year and we’re excited to see what 2011 has in store for us and everyone in the association community. There are a few fun New Years-themed posts in today’s Friday Top Five, so let’s get to it!

1. Elizabeth Engel discussed resolutions and fresh starts, which is a common theme around this time of year.  How can we be sure we keep our resolutions? Either do something fun, as Elizabeth does, or make someone hold you accountable. Making a change become a permanent fixture in your life isn’t easy. Good luck!

2. In a short and sweet post to close out 2010, Shelly Alcorn reminds us all that life is “just a ride” and that we have nothing to fear. A great post (with a video clip!) to close out 2010.

3. Tony Rossell took a look at three membership marketing resolutions associations should consider for 2011. A great tip: “investing in membership pays dividends for years to come.” He also reminds association professionals to be sure to track their efforts so you know what works and what doesn’t.

4. A great reminder this week came from Rich Millington: when it comes to online communities, slow and steady growth is more important. Fast adoption usually leads to a lot of inactive members, so don’t be discouraged if things take awhile to get rolling.

5. As more and more people from Generation Y (hopefully) start joining your organizations, keep this post in mind, which shares three tips for working with different generations. Finding new opportunities to include the younger generations while still making Baby Boomers feel included can be difficult, but it’s going to be a necessary skill going forward.

Whatever your New Year’s Eve plans entail, we hope everyone has a very happy new year. Thanks for reading the Splash blog in 2010, and we’ll see you in 2011!

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Normally, at the end of every calendar year, I’m surprised at how quickly the time has gone by, but this year is different. It’s been a crazy year and we were fortunate enough to attend several awesome events and meet amazing association professionals that really make us passionate about what we do here at MemberClicks. So, since tomorrow is the traditional “Friday Top Five,” I thought I’d take a look at a few of my favorite posts from the past year here at Splash. Whether you’re a new reader or seasoned reader, I always think it’s fun to take a quick look back before starting a new year. There have been almost 400 posts here in just 17 months!

We kicked off 2010 by offering a nifty PDF download of our “Beyond the Big Three” series. It’s been updated since then, so be sure to check out the newest edition if you’re looking for information about social media beyond Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn!

We wrote about having a member-centric website and what that means and discussed how young professionals can shape an association’s future.

As soon as they hit the market, we gave away four iPads! Our winners chronicled their journeys for us, too, and it was amazing to see how they used them at the conferences and meetings.

We attended the Georgia Society of Association Executives’ Annual Meeting and not only did we take photos, we learned a lot too!

Mark Sedgley, our vice president of business development, attended a one-day Hackaction conference in Washington, D.C. and then chronicled the lessons in two posts.

I recapped all of the cool technologies that had been profiled in the past year. There’s some good (free!) stuff for small staff association professionals here!

After an exciting ASAE Annual Meeting, I discussed the importance of mobile technology for small staff associations. How has your association adopted mobile technology?

We pioneered the inaugural Small Staff Appreciation Month – check out the recap post here. We gave away tons of free stuff, including books, T-shirts, a MacBook and gift certificates.

Notable posts from the fall included one on efficiency and time management – important topics for small staff association professionals!

Finally, with the holidays upon us, we discussed how associations can have their own in-office traditions during December.

It’s been quite a year here at MemberClicks, and we’re excited about 2011. What are you most looking forward to in the upcoming new year?

I’m psyched to share the screencaps and features of the brand new MemberClicks iPhone app! Now, MemberClicks users can manage their databases straight from their iPhones. We’re excited to offer this to our customers and hope that it saves them even more time and makes technology easy.

The app allows users to easily access their information across all functions of the MemberClicks solution. Users can view their directory, view and edit their profile, view events, read articles or browse the directory manually.

The events screen shows all events for your association, organized monthly. You can press an event’s name to view details about it, and scroll through other events as well.

Additionally, the My Profile screen allows users to both view and edit their profiles. Users will be able to edit any fields according to their permissions.

The Directory allows viewers to browse all the users that he or she has permission to view. It also used to show the results of a directory search. Quickly scroll through names by dragging your finger along the right side of the screen – just like you would through your iPhone contacts. Pressing a name in the directory will show you all the information about that person that you have permission to view.

Like I said before, we’re excited about this foray into mobile technology and hope it’s the first of many new things to come. We’re excited to provide this app for small staff association professionals, and we’re psyched to hear how they like it.

Greetings! I’m writing this post from concourse C at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, on my iPhone. For some reason, my laptop has decided it doesn’t want to connect to the Internet, so, here I am.

This leads me to an interesting point, though, and one I’ve discussed a few times before. It doesn’t matter how prepared you are, Mother Nature will have her way in the end. What does matter, though, is how you react to it.

Airports are, of course, fantastic places for people-watching. Peoples’ true colors come out when they find out their flight is delayed or that they’re still stuck on the standby list. Weary parents try to hustle their families through the epic security lines and frustrated businessmen attempt to ignore everything around them.

Just like everyone reacts differently when dealing with frustrating travel scenarios, peoples’ sincere emotions arise when dealing with unexpected situations in the workplace. You can throw a tantrum, yell and scream, try to use money to get what you want, but I’m the end, it’s the people who are the most relaxed and laid-back that are happiest. (Of course, you shouldn’t always go with the flow. Pick your battles.) When a tough situation takes you by surprise, take a few minutes to size up your choices and the outcomes. If the outcome is the same no matter what you do, there’s probably no sense in getting worked up.

How do you react when dealing with frustrated, unexpected situations? Do you go with the flow or try to get your way no matter what?

(By the way, safe travels to all traveling during this holiday season – especially those on the snowy East Coast.)

I was skeptical. I didn’t want to want one.

As much as I like and appreciate technology, I like books more. Real books, with front and back covers, pages that have worn with time and a slightly musky scent. I like dog-earing pages with quotes that resonate with me. I like(d) highlighting passages for reference back in college.

Amazon announced today that the Kindle 3 is the biggest selling product in the website’s history. It surpassed the seventh and final installment in the Harry Potter series. Although Amazon is famously mum about the exact number sold, I think it’s safe to assume it’s quite high.

Why was I skeptical? Maybe I’m old-school when it comes to books. Maybe I didn’t realize how convenience would trump traditional books.

So how did Amazon do it?

I alluded to it before, but the convenience factor played a big part in it. Sure enough, every time I packed for a trip this fall (and there were a lot of them), I found myself wishing I didn’t have to lug heavy books and magazines in my carry-on.

The Kindle 3 had the lowest price of any e-reader, starting at just $139. Its affordability couldn’t be beat, and people realized that by paying a one-time price, they’d be able to have thousands of books at their fingertips.

By focusing specifically on e-reading and making the Kindle the best possible electronic reader (i.e. its screen that can be used in sunlight), Amazon took the Kindle above its competition. By having just one focus, customers knew exactly why they needed a Kindle and they knew it would be the best in its category.

Your organization can take these same principles – convenience, affordability, and a narrow focus – when offering products, goods or services to your members. Be the best in your category and your members will stay for the value and convenience you provide.

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