Welcome to the end of the workweek! It was an exciting week for tech geeks everywhere, but the iPad wasn’t the only thing going on this week. There have been some awesome discussions going on in the association community, and I’m thrilled to highlight a few of my favorite posts.

1. Wes Trochlil has been a technology consultant for 10 years now, and I really enjoyed his post about changes he’s seen during that time. Technology certainly has come a long way since 1999, and I expect 2019 to hold even more surprises! What tech change do you think has most affected the association community?

2. Since she’s been crowdsourcing an “action list” for 2010, Peggy Hoffman also turned to author David Nour. Nour came up with a great list focused on building relationships. My favorite? When it comes to social networking, consistency is a lot more valuable than creativity.

3. This post at Erik’s Experts in Membership Marketing surprised me a little: Students and Young Professionals are Influenced by Direct Mail. I’m a big believer in using the right channels to contact people (and they can differ from person to person), and Erik Schonher summed up a 2008 study so well in this great post.

4. I really loved Cindy Butts’ post comparing association executives to student athletes. There are a lot of similarities to be had, and participating in sports can teach us all invaluable lessons for later in life. One of my favorite lessons Cindy highlights is to take pride in your school or team, and by extension, your association.

5. Mark Alcorn, an association lawyer and management consultant, has a fantastic new blog and this week’s post was superb: Top Ten Signs of a Dysfunctional Board. From power struggles and lack of respect to micromanagement and overly powerful executives, Mark tackles many board issues with a unique perspective and clear voice. Can’t wait to read his future posts!

From everyone at MemberClicks, have a wonderful weekend!

(Image via Flickr.)

Happy New Year’s Eve! Instead of reflecting on the past year, I thought I’d share a few predictions for associations in 2010. I could be way off base, but that’s OK! Feel free to share what your association is excited about going into 2010, too!

- Virtual attendance gains traction. Maggie McGary tweeted a link the other day about how the American Society for Parental and Enteral Nutrition is offering virtual attendance for its 2010 conference. I think this is a fantastic idea – today’s technology absolutely supports this kind of thing, and in a still-unstable economy, people may not want to travel as much.

- Crowdsourcing becomes the norm for associations. ASAE and The Center experimented with this for Associations Now, but I think the concept will grow for associations in 2010. Use it among your staff, or give your members a say in some of the association’s decisions.

- Organizations will stop adopting social media just for the sake of it. This is more of a wish than a prediction, but I hope it comes to fruition. Obviously “social media” was the trend of 2009. But what does it mean? To me, social media is just another level of communication with your members and staffers. Perhaps you can ask your members how they prefer to receive information (get your “crowdsourcing” on) and create different options. You don’t have to be everywhere, all the time, online.

- Young professionals become even more active. From ASAE and The Center’s Young Professionals resources and committee to YAPStars, Gen-Xers and Gen-Yers are making their presences known. These groups allow for great networking opportunities and professional development, and I love the enthusiasm YPs are displaying.

- Associations embrace mobile technology. Who isn’t attached to their phone these days? (Seriously though, if you aren’t, I envy you.) Maybe 2010 won’t bring an iPhone app for your association, but it’s definitely time to embrace the real-time access our smartphones provide. Twitter has accomplished this in a way, but 2010 can take it a step further.

Have a wonderful and happy (and safe!) New Year’s Eve. So long, 2009!

(Image via Optical illusion on Flickr.)

Lately, I’ve dropped the ball when it comes to reading. (This is very upsetting to me.) Joe Rominiecki recently wrote about crowd-sourcing over at Acronym, and it reminded me to step up my game. I’ve been staring at “The Wisdom of Crowds” by James Suroweicki for the past month or so, and I’m only about 100 pages into it so far. I’m a voracious reader, but I’ve found myself reading novels lately rather than nonfiction.

Black Friday unofficially kicked off the holiday shopping season, and it’s also never too early to start thinking about New Year’s resolutions. Somehow, I’m practically done with my Christmas shopping but have barely started on my own wish list. And since one of my goals for the upcoming year is to read more nonfiction, I’ve compiled a list of books I want to tackle in the coming months. I think they’d be great for association and nonprofit staffers, too!

1. “The Wisdom of Crowds” by James Suroweicki. I’ll finish this one eventually, and can’t wait to review it. Although the book was originally published in 2004 and then revised in 2005, the concept — crowd-sourcing — still applies today. So far, the book has been chock full of real-world examples, ranging in subjects such as pop culture, sports, business, biology and psychology.
2. “The Milkshake Moment: Overcoming Stupid Systems, Pointless Policies and Muddled Management to Realize Real Growth” by Steven S. Little. Associations are famous (notorious?) for their many policies and procedures. Although this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, they can be stifling to an organization’s growth and prosperity.
3. “Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home and School” by John Medina. Despite the research out there, I remain a consummate multitasker. I’m hoping this book will finally convince me of the error of my ways and show me why focusing on one thing at a time will make me more productive. (Of course, I realize in theory this is true but I can’t help flitting from task to task.)
4. “Crowdsourcing: Why the Power of the Crowd is Driving the Future of Business” by Jeff Howe. Yup, more crowdsourcing. I think it’s important to read more than one book on a topic to get as many perspectives as possible.
5. “Outliers: The Story of Success” by Malcolm Gladwell. Why do some people succeed while others don’t? Gladwell argues that superstars don’t come out of nowhere – there are common factors to their success. And if you haven’t read Gladwell’s famous book, “The Tipping Point,” I would highly suggest that one, as well.
6. “Six Pixels of Separation: Everyone Is Connected. Connect Your Business to Everyone” by Mitch Joel. This is another one I’m embarrassed to have not finished yet. It’s been sitting on my bookshelf for a few months, but I’m excited to delve into it. Clearly the Internet is changing how organizations can get their messages out, and from the reviews I’ve read, I think association staffers would enjoy this one.
7. Finally Charlene Li’s “Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies” should definitely be on your wish list this year if you haven’t taken a look yet. Li was a keynote speaker at ASAE and the Center’s 2009 Annual Meeting, and she’s an expert in social media analysis. I read a review that said this book has “staying power,” which, when it comes to social media books, is rare.

Have you read any of these books? Would you recommend them? What would you add to the list?

(Image via roland on Flickr.)