I feel like the whole community-is-on-Twitter-you-must-be-on-Twitter conversation consumed much of 2009 and 2010. However you feel about Twitter, I think it’d be difficult to deny that there is a whole community of association professionals out there ready to swap and share information.

KiKi L’Italien re-posted the below video this morning, and it reminded me that I haven’t really discussed Association Chat much lately. Every Tuesday at 2 p.m. ET, association professionals across Twitter join in a conversation by using the hashtag #assnchat. (Pronounce it how you will, although the official name of the chat is Association Chat.)

I think small staff professionals in particular could benefit from this community. You probably often get caught up in the day-to-day activities of association management, without stopping to think if things could be done a different way. It may be difficult to find a spare hour on Tuesdays to participate, but you can always read the transcripts later at What The Hashtag.

Have you participated in Association Chat? Do you have a Twitter account? Why or why not?

I had the pleasure of participating in Tuesday’s Association Chat on Twitter (click here for the full transcript), and there was a great discussion about association leadership in the 21st century. It was a great discussion about creativity, the importance of recognizing your own weaknesses and being unafraid to fail (in minor ways) and reevaluate things.

The group threw out some great ideas and insights as to what it takes to lead in the 21st century. (Credit is given to the Twitter user in the parentheses.)

- Association leadership is unique because there are so many ways people can associate now due to technology. (MemberClicks)

- Leadership is more closely observed; leaders are expected to be dynamic and responsive with less time and resources (yourmembership)

- Leaders aren’t just the ones who are appointed, so there are more than you think (tammytilley)

- Everyone makes makes mistakes. Admit yours, reevaluate where you could have been better and move on. (MemberClicks)

- Have passion. Have tenacity. Be willing to try new things. (tammytilley)

- Embrace the possibilities of change without losing site of your goals (yourmembership)

- A good entrepreneur [or leader] surrounds him or herself with great people – people who can out-think them. (dcoriale)

- Be a hard-working person without the desire for immediate, major, monetary compensation (betsyschro)

- The 21st century is all about creativity. We’re in the creative economy. Mass industrialization is dead. We need creative skills to compete. (suzannecarawan)

- Sport creativity by creating space and letting failure be an option. (elizabeth627)

Looks like one of the biggest themes is not being afraid to fail. But failing — or making mistakes — often isn’t something that can happen in small staff associations. When you have so few people working hard to manage the association, it can be extremely difficult to start a project over or make big changes to something you’ve been working on. That’s why we often advocate taking small, calculated (but still innovative!) risks, to avoid those big failures that can be difficult to recover from.

What’s one small change your organization can make to start being more innovative?

What are the top three questions associations should ask before choosing an association management software provider?

How should assns and vendors work together to ensure a solid ongoing relationship?

How often should execs review their systems?

This week’s Association Chat on Twitter discussed these questions and more, and was quite a lively conversation. (Read the transcript here.)

If you’re unfamiliar with Association Chat, it’s hosted by Delcor‘s KiKi L’Italien every Tuesday at 2 p.m. ET. Association professionals discuss hot topics via Twitter using the hashtag #assnchat. This week’s chat discussed AMS and CRM solutions for organizations, and the issues organizations face when choosing one.

Every organization has different needs, and I think it’s important to remember that the reason there are so many different options on the market is to fit a variety of needs. If there was just one solution for every organization, it would likely be full of bugs and there’s no way it would be able to comprehensively meet everyone’s needs. Additionally, some organizations want more features from their AMS than others, every organization is a different size … the list goes on and on.

Suffice it to say that, although it can be overwhelming for your organization to choose an AMS, it’s definitely a good thing to have a few different options. Here are a few guidelines to consider when choosing an AMS.

1. Who’s involved? Who in your organization is going to be involved in the shopping process? If your organization is very small (fewer than five or 10 staffers), perhaps everyone should be involved. But who will be regularly using or be affected by the product?

2. How long will it take? Define a timeline for evaluating, implementing and launching the new system. Take things into account such as your upcoming events, membership drive and renewal period – the AMS may be able to streamline those processes. Set date ranges for discovery, demonstrations, questions, decision-making and going live.

3. What do you need? Put together and prioritize a list of all requirements, wish list items and goals that you hope the new AMS will address. Be sure to consult with your organization’s administrators to see what pain points they’re experiencing, and clearly differentiate between the wish-list and must-have items.

4. What can you afford? Factor in the time and human resources the new AMS may save, or even the new revenue streams, such as sponsorship or job board revenue, the new AMS may generate.

5. Who’s out there? Learn abut the different AMS vendors that are in the market. Create a short list. Reach out to similar organizations to see what vendor they are using. Contact ASAE for a list of AMS vendors or use its Buyers’ Guide to search for vendors that meet your needs.

6. Talk to the vendors. Of course, reach out to a list of vendors to get more information. Schedule a time to review your needs, requirements and business challenges.

7. See it in action. Schedule an online demo to see the solution in action. If possible, get your organization’s evaluating committee to participate in the demo, which will help streamline the process.

8. Ask the right question. In addition to exploring the software’s features during the evaluation process, there are so many additional questions you should ask the vendor.

- What is included in the setup?
- What does the implementation process entail, and how long does it take?
- Are product updates included or must you upgrade the software to receive updated features?
- How often is the product updated?
- What technical support and training is included and what are those charges?
- How secure and reliable is the software?
- What additional hardware or software is needed for installation?
- How many admin licenses are included?
- Who hosts the software?
- Who owns the data and website – the client or the vendor?
- What are the vendor’s terms of cancellation?
- If you’re looking at web design as part of the AMS solution, does the vendor use stock templates or is the website custom-designed?
- How does the vendor handle payment processing? Is the vendor PCI Compliant?

There are a great deal of factors to consider when choosing a new AMS. The good new is, with so many options on the market, there’s bound to be a vendor that best fits your organization’s needs.

Happy Friday! Who’s ready for baseball season (not just the spring training games) to begin?! I actually scored some tickets to the Atlanta Braves’ home opener on Monday evening, and I’m psyched to see them play the Chicago Cubs. Any other baseball fans out there?

Anywayyyy … as a lot of people know, there was lots of excitement (err, controversy?) this week in the association world, which was spurred by the removal of a blog post from ASAE’s Acronym blog. I chimed in on Wednesday, and there was certainly a thoughtful discussion going on elsewhere, too. So, without further adieu, here are a few of my favorite blog posts from this week.

1. Gotta start with the post that prompted so much discussion. The Acronym post informing everyone that a previous post on consultants was removed has 18 comments at the time of writing this, and they’re all worth reading. And I’m curious to know: How would your organization handle a similar incident?

2. After moderating a lively Association Chat (#assnchat on Twitter – transcript here), KiKi L’Italien posted her thoughts on the removal of the Acronym post. She thoughtfully considered each side of the issue and filled everyone in on the facts in case they weren’t caught up. Be sure to read the comments on this post, too!

3. Deirdre Reid wrote a great post for SmartBlog Insights about her thoughts as a new CAE. There’s lots of great info for anyone thinking about taking the exam, and Deirdre has a great attitude and perspective about the whole thing. She asks, How many times have you scribbled great ideas down on a notepad in the dark? A must-read!

4. At the aLearning blog, Ellen Behrens wrote a great post called Life Support Can Be Expensive. With all the talk about how conferences have to change for anyone to get any value from them, Ellen pointed out that overhauling them can be expensive, and wonders if conferences are even the ideal places to engage members.

5. Jamie Notter wrote this week about three new leadership models for association professionals to consider. He succinctly discusses “Ecosystems, not machines,” “Innovation as a staple, not a luxury” and “Clarity over control” and asks leaders to consider each one in their own organizations. How could you adapt these for a small-staff organization?

If you’re curious about the original post about consultants that was removed from Acronym, feel free to contact me and I can e-mail you a PDF, along with the original comments.

Have a fantastic weekend, everyone!

Confession: I’m a consistent lurker of Association Chat, the chat that takes place on Twitter each week at 2 p.m. ET. Something often catches my eye so I go back later and check out the transcript.

This week was no different. The first half of this week’s chat focused on podcasts, specifically, whether they garner enough attention to continue producing.

Jeff De Cagna, the moderator of #assnchat, hosts podcasts that include discussions with thought leaders and pertain to innovation and associations. To gauge interest, he asked #assnchat participants how they felt about podcasts in general.

The responses were pretty varied.

Some people prefer to receive information visually and like to read. Others like podcasts, but often don’t have the time to listen to them. And some were avid podcast listeners.

I think, in many cases, podcasts can be extremely useful.

I recently moved within 3 miles of the office, so needless to say, my commute isn’t too long. But for awhile, I was driving 25 miles one-way to work five days a week. And in Atlanta traffic, that meant I spent at least 10 hours each week in my car.

Podcasts saved my sanity. I listened to all kinds – NPR, This American Life, sports-focused ones, marketing-centric ones, media-centered ones. For some reason, I found them easier to digest than audiobooks.

I did a little digging and found a few podcasts association and nonprofit professionals might be interested in.

Idealist.org produces podcasts about people making connections in their communities, along with interviews with nonprofit professionals.

Of course, Jeff De Cagna’s podcasts are geared specifically toward association professionals. He’s featured Charlene Li, Clay Shirky and Dan Pink, among numerous other thought leaders.

And Jeff Cobb’s podcasts aren’t specifically aimed at association professionals, but I think they’re valuable regardless. The author of the Mission to Learn blog, Jeff talked to thought leaders and authors about all kinds of topics that any professional can benefit from.

Perhaps your commute isn’t as long as mine was. Consider listening to them while you cook dinner or work. What about while you get ready in the mornings? Maybe they’re not your style. That’s OK. Podcasts can benefit lots of people; some prefer the more conversational style over blog posts.

If there were interest among your association’s members, would you ever consider producing your own podcast? The APTA’s podcast showed up in the iTunes store when I searched for “association” and narrowed it down to podcasts. They’re not very long in length; the ones I saw were all less than 20 minutes, and most were around 10 or 12. Just another way to share news and information with your members!

Of course, I’m not suggesting podcasts be your only source of communication. I think Shelly Alcorn said it best during #assnchat: “Capitalizing on learning styles could mean podcasting needs to be integrated with other pieces to be truly successful.”

Check out Audacity, a free tool that helps you edit audio files, if you’re interested in producing a podcast.

Do you listen to podcasts? Which ones?