Happy Friday and merry Christmas Eve (Eve). (And for those who “celebrate,” Happy Festivus.)

Things are winding down here at MemberClicks. With fewer than 2 days to go until Christmas, the office is festive and there are treats everywhere. It’s become our Friday tradition, though, to share five of our fave association blog posts from the community. If you have time during your busy holiday weekend, be sure to check these out.

1. Do you clearly establish expectations of your association’s officers? Cindy Butts recommends not requiring officers to do certain tasks “just because.” Rather, find the right volunteer for certain tasks. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses; use them appropriately.

2. Jeff Hurt reminds association leaders of one simple truth: you have too much to do because your association does too much! He examines the complexity and structure of organizations and encourages associations to embrace simplicity. Removing the excess is hard. Focusing on what you do best isn’t always hard. In a nutshell, identify your organization’s core purpose and then do it.

3. David M. Patt shares words of wisdom with association professionals – marketing is not something you should flip on and off. It doesn’t matter if you have an event coming up or not, you should be connecting with your members and potential members. Wise words, and a great reminder.

4. Shelly Alcorn shares how she’ll use the time between Christmas and New Year’s to focus on reflecting on the coming year and determine her “five terms” to focus on in 2012. Share your own in the comments and help inspire others!

5. If your association isn’t thinking about mobile yet … well, why aren’t you?! Jamie Notter reflects on the ASAE Technology Conference and its major theme: mobile. Smartphone use is only increasing, and, although the desktop won’t become obsolete, people are accessing the Internet from more devices than ever before.

That’s all from us this week! No matter what you choose to celebrate, Happy Holidays!

The association community has lost a dear friend in Mark Bledsoe. Our hearts go out to his family and friends.

Happy Friday! I hope everyone has a productive week. We’ve been staying busy here and are starting to gear up for the holidays! Are you dressing up for Halloween?

It wouldn’t be Friday if we didn’t share a few of our favorite blog posts with our readers. Be sure to chime in with your own in the comments!

1. How does your organization think about volunteers? Jeffrey Cufaude advocates “thinking of volunteering as something everyone should do because it is one of the most significant ways to build a strong professional network, to connect more to the professional community in general.”

2. Joe Rominiecki links to a great Seth Godin post about the difference between stupid and lazy. Not doing something isn’t the same as not wanting to do something, and association execs should be careful to not make excuses with the word, “can’t” when they really mean “won’t.”

3. Has your association delved into the world of virtual presentations? How successful have you been? Jeff Hurt shares a few things to keep in mind, and how to best plan your presentation. After all, he reminds us: “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”

4. Everyone has a different way of coping with conflict. Some people straight-up avoid it, but David M. Patt doesn’t recommend that. Putting off decisions to avoid conflict is not the sign of a good leader. Don’t be afraid to compromise.

5. Shelly Alcorn shares a Dilbert cartoon from last Sunday and challenges association professionals to avoid the common pitfalls of thinking creatively. Don’t insinuate that anyone’s ideas are awful. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you’ll sound ignorant. Don’t be afraid to suggest risky ideas.

From everyone at MemberClicks, have a great weekend!

Happy Friday! I don’t know about you, but it is HOT where I live! It felt like 100 degrees Fahrenheit at 9:30 this morning! It’s one of those days where I just want to sit in the air-conditioning all day, ya know?

So, without further adieu, and in the spirit of AC and iced coffee, here is today’s Friday Top Five.

1. Maddie Grant shared a few great tools for supercharging your association’s content: Scoop.it and Twylah. She gave some great uses for each and I think they’re worth taking a look at for small staff associations.

2. This week, Jeff Hurt challenged the traditional notion that we interact face-to-face first and online second. He points out that we register for conferences online, buy movie tickets online, make appointments and reservations online… Heck, I even order food online! Definitely worth a read.

3. Tom Morrison shared a new concept he adopted at his association called Staff Meeting 24/7. It’s a online repository for ideas, concepts and directions that only staff members can see. Tom shared how it has streamlined internal communications for his association and encourages every organization to use its technology to the fullest – something we wholeheartedly support!

4. Cynthia D’Amour wrote this week about the importance of setting up for success. I think this is something we all know deep down, but can be difficult to put into practice. Do you help your members lean into the learning process so they’ll be as successful as possible?

5. Just in time for ASAE’s Annual Meeting and Expo, Engage 365 posted a great article by Jody Urquhart: Seven ways to get the most out of attending a conference. The number one rule? Network, network, network! Where else will thousands of association professionals be under one roof?!

Good morning and happy Friday! I’m not sure how we’re halfway through July, though – doesn’t it seem like 2011 is just flying by? It’s just about time for ASAE’s Annual Meeting again! (Didn’t I just get over my jet lag from LA?!) Seriously, though, it’s been a great year so far here at MemberClicks and we’re excited to meet as many small staff association professionals as possible.

Obviously, it’s time for me to share some of my favorite posts from the association blogosphere to help kick of the weekend. Ready? Set? Go!

1. Valeria Maltoni’s The 5 E’s of Content Marketing is definitely worth a read for association professionals. My personal favorite E? Enthusiasm! I think it’s really obvious when someone’s just not that into what they’re writing about, and being enthusiastic in your writing absolutely makes a difference.

2. Erik Schonher posted some early results from the 2011 Membership Benchmarking Survey and good news! -membership is on the rise compared to 2009 and 2010! New member recruitment also seems to be on the rise, which, according to Erik, accounts for the increase in membership.

3. Elizabeth Engel has been posting insights and learnings from Clay Shirky’s “Here Comes Everybody” for quite awhile now, and this week’s post was examines the quote, “What are we going to do about the negative effects of freedom?”. Through technology, people now have the freedom to form all kinds of groups, which, obviously, can be tough for associations.

4. At the Acronym blog, Joe Rominiecki examines the life cycle of a board – namely, is a year too short? It’s difficult for some board members to get acclimated in that amount of time, and thus, your board could be less effective. What do you think? Do you lower your expectations of the board or train them more?

5. I have really been into Jeffrey Cufaude’s posts in recent months, and it’s likely showing with every Friday Top Five I write. This week, Jeffrey points out that today can be the perfect day to … share a big dream, ask a question to reframe a conversation, give encouraging feedback, clarify perspectives and more.

Good morning and happy Friday! I’m sure for most (if not all) of us in the U.S., it was a short workweek, which always means things are a bit crazy. But hopefully everything is winding down and you’ll be ready for the weekend soon. As usual, there were lots of great resources in the blogosphere for the association community, so here are five of my favorites:

1. Great advice from Keith Johnston: Create an editorial calendar for your conference or event blog. In addition to manning your conference or event blog 24/7, as Keith suggests, it’s crucial to map everything out so you don’t get stuck with a mean case of writer’s block (been there, had that it’s no fun). Keith even shares a great WordPress plugin (that I had no idea existed!) to help you plan your content.

2. Back this week with another great leadership limerick, Jeffrey Cufaude reminds us that traditions do matter in associations. We are constantly looking forward to the next big thing, but it’s important to remember where your association has been in the past and why its traditions are important.

3. We’re big fans of Seth Godin’s here at MemberClicks, and one of his posts this week really struck a chord with me: The overwhelming fear of being wrong. Often back in school, I wouldn’t raise my hand to answer a question because I was so afraid of being wrong. But, in both our work and personal lives, it’s important to not let the fear of failure from holding us back.

4. ASAE’s Acronym blog has started a series posing questions to Annual Meeting speakers, and this week, Michael Gardner, CAE and Lydia Middleton, CAE, weighed in on the building blocks of a small staff association’s staff. They have a great discussion about what’s more important: someone to handle financial services or someone to provide members with service.

5. Do you know what your staff members complain about? It’s important to know what your staffers, board members and members have gripes with. One thing to remember: you and your members are on the same team (although you may not always feel that way). Read more at the Hourglass Blog.