Are you trusted?

Forgive me. I do not have much good to say about the online ticket sales industry. (Company to remain anonymous.) Every time I use them I get mad. Expensive. I get kicked off if I don't act fast enough. Concert is sold out. Service fees - what service? Anyway, this morning they did follow up with me for my comments on how I liked the concert. I thought it was an excellent example of how social media can be used in our associations. See what other people thought, share your experience, post a photo, make a connection. I was okay with it all until they started to ask about my personal preferences. No way am I going to share any of that with some unknown and untrusted entity. Is that the real value of associations? We can be the TRUSTED collectors of and distributors of dynamic, useful, can't get anywhere else information - because our members trust us and are willing to tell us about themselves - what they know, what they need, what they want, and who they are. Something to think about....

Short and Sweet

One thing about linked in groups and twitter - you really have to keep it short and sweet. It does force one to stay focused on what you are trying to say, what you want to know, and how you are going to say it. No room for un-necessary verbiage. I see the good and bad of it. And I have certainly learned how to eliminate, eliminate, eliminate. The thing is - sometimes I look at what I've written and it could have been done by a 5th grader. So I guess the moral is ...it doesn't matter if I'm smarter than a 5th grader. I just hope we don't totally lose the beauty of the written word... It would be a sad thing.

Creating Your Future

"Someone is enjoying shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago." Warren Buffett. The thought made me stop to think for a moment; What trees are we planting right now at MSAE that will provide the shade for our future members? We are working on some scenario planning that will allow us to be prepared and create the future we want. We are supporting and developing our young professionals. We are being good stewards of the resources that we use. We are working to provide our members with new ideas, education, and connections. Have you asked yourself about the future shade in your own organization?

Is it the information...or is it the filter?

One of the most common reactions I receive when I'm out and evangelizing the power of social media is the phrase "I already have information overload". As I was researching for this blog entry, I found this video by Clay Shirkey. It's well worth the watch, as it talks about information overload not being a "new" phenomenon, but instead something that has been around since the invention of the printing press.

He argues, and I would say convincingly, that the problem isn't in the information, instead it is in the failure of the filter...watch it and see what you think!