I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the webinar, “Building a Member-Centric Web Site” during Friday’s virtual portion of UnTech10. I’m so glad such a highly virtual alternative was concocted so quickly, since I wouldn’t have been able to attend the sessions otherwise!

One statement in particular really struck out to me during the webinar’s duration. Members’ expectations for Web sites are set through the commercial sector. Think Google, Amazon, YouTube, etc…

What does this mean? It means your user experience has to be much more directed. What do you do when you go to google.com? You type something into the search engine and know you’ll get efficient, accurate results. At amazon.com, categories are easily broken down and identified. Users know what to expect, navigation is intuitive and it’s easy to understand.

What about your association’s Web site? How are content categories and navigation broken down?

Another key takeaway here: Think outside department silos. It’s not important to your members to know which department content came from. It’s more important for all similar content to be grouped together, regardless of where it originated.

Take advantage of tagging articles and content so related pieces can be automatically grouped together. As an association, it’s vital to connect the dots between different pieces of content so members can more easily browse and find valuable information.

Creating a directed user experience can help every member have a more unique and tailored visit to your Web site.

Image credit: Flickr

This is the first in an ongoing series called “Beyond The Big Three,” which will highlight social networking sites other than Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. There are tons of other social media outposts on the Web, and they’re great places for associations to curate content. Stay tuned.

Who doesn’t love taking photos, or at least looking through them, to relive memories? I remember when Facebook introduced the Photo feature (way back in 2005!). However, one great social networking site I haven’t discussed much here is Flickr.

Flickr allows you or your association’s staff upload photos to share with others. There are two types of accounts – free accounts can store 100 megabytes of images and two videos per month, while pro accounts (which cost about $25 per year) can upload unlimited photos and videos each month. Your complete collection of photos is referred to as your “photostream,” and Flickr also allows users to organize their photos into smaller “sets.” One photo can belong to multiple sets, or no sets at all. Sets can be grouped into “collections,” and those collections can also be organized into even higher-level collections.

One of the best features of Flickr is its “tagging” ability. When users add different identifying tags to their photos, others users can find them if they search for those specific terms.

Of course, you can choose if you want your photos to be viewable by the public or if they’re private, only able to be seen by you and your selected contacts. But if your association’s goal is to engage its members, create awareness and perhaps recruit new members, I would definitely recommend keeping at least a majority of your photos public.

Flickr allows for some amazing collaboration and sharing. Your association could create a “Group” for its annual meeting or event and allow members to join and upload their own photos. ASAE and The Center did this for the 2009 annual meeting and expo in August, and there are currently 573 items from its 26 members. After all, no two people will have the same experiences at your event, so allowing everyone to upload to a shared space will let others (even non-attendees!) participate.

Flickr can be a powerful storytelling mechanism. “A picture is worth a thousand words,” and your organization can tell its story using Flickr. I love this collection, titled “Disaster Relief,” from the American Red Cross’ Flickr stream. Regardless of how big your organization is, photos can help tell its story and show how it accomplishes its mission.

Is your organization already on Flickr? How are you using it? And don’t forget to add MemberClicks to your contacts!

I found this SlideShare presentation this morning and couldn’t resist reposting it. J.D. Lasica of socialbrite.org first posted his presentation at socialmedia.biz on Sept. 16. I shared the link on our Twitter stream but wanted to discuss my own key takeaways. The presentation is targeted toward journalism professionals in particular, but the ideas really apply to anyone — including association professionals.

Don’t start with the tools. Start with a plan. It’s so simple, but oftentimes so overlooked. Don’t dive into social media without listening to what’s being said about your organization. Your plan doesn’t have to be totally concrete, but you should have a strategy and destination in mind.

Dare to fail. I think it’s a good thing to know what works and what doesn’t, and you’ll never find out if you don’t try different things.

Steal good ideas. Build on what’s come before. This threw me off a bit at first (um … isn’t that called plagiarism?) but it’s actually a good thing. If someone posts a blog that you agree (or disagree) with, respond. Add your thoughts, and ideas will evolve. The Web has revolutionized how ideas develop and there’s more opportunity for growth and interaction than ever before.

It’s no secret Twitter is great for real-time conversations. How will your association take the available social media tools and use them to its best advantage? The possibilities are (practically) endless.