One of my last group projects in college was to develop a PR strategy for a new major on digital communications. Naturally, one tactic discussed by each group was to develop an online presence. During my group’s discussion, I mentioned that creating Facebook accounts and online forums was one thing…getting people to come and participate was another. One classmate said that getting people to the sites wasn’t our problem. After all, we can only put it out there; we can’t force them to come. My response was…then what’s the point?

I am one of this people who love to get holiday messages. I hang up all the cards I get. I play all the e-cards I get. From this year’s picks here a few stand-outs:

So a recent poster on an ASAE listserv ended his request for feedback with the directive “You are allowed 15 minutes to deliberate and respond to this test question.  Please do not tweet your answers.”

I chuckled at first and of course had the immediate need to tweet. But then I paused – you mean you’re going to tell me how to answer? Not to mention when to answer?

It surely seems odd that a public relations professional chapter wouldn’t be an early adopter of the new media. But we weren’t. Our members were – and are – curious though. It’s that curiosity that gave us the platform for entering into social media sphere.

I just ran across an older posting - a challenge sort of - on Acronym where Lisa Junker, one of the bloggers behind Acronym asked us  to take 5 minutes to spread the word about our association. She was prompted by a very cool conversation with Andy Sernovitz of GasPedal who’s a word-of-mouth expert (and three-time association CEO) in which he offered up a few idea starters.

It all started with the Lindy Dreyer’s feature in January issue of Associations Now “Get your members talking! Word-of-mouth expert Andy Sernovitz tells you how.” Catch more of Andy's WOM insights in his book Word of Mouth Marketing: How Smart Companies Get People Talking. The idea goes that in a down economy, word of mouth can make all the difference.

• We needed a new newsletter editor. The call was answered by an innovative, exciting member … who also happened to be a blogger. Our cumbersome e-letter morphed into a blog.
• A Facebook fan started up an ISES DC group.
• She was on Twitter but didn’t see the chapter so offered to be the ISES DC Twitter voice.
• Driven to organize the planning and execution of the chapter’s major expo, the chair opened a Google Group, loaded up the documents and ran the first meeting using those shared items.

Here are two posts worth the time to read (and it won't take long) that will help chapters and associations address member communications ...

@peggyhoffman What did you say? Sort of like how many SN friends to screw in a light bulb before you light the town?

Ha ha! We were talking about community vs. social network on Twitter. That tweet from Cynthia D’Amour made the point.

Something else Cynthia said generated a RT from @maggielmcg Community is the what; social networking the how. (via @CynthiaDAmour)<Awesome--love this!>

Actually the conversation started at the ASAE Components Section Council Meeting this week and morphed into a Twitter conversation.

Lisa Junker posted an interesting piece as a lead-in to a series on learning and the future of learning in associations in which she shared an evocative story from her son’s school. It’s about a whiteboard in the teachers’ lounge in which a question is asked and teachers and apparently other passersby write in their ideas. The question – and obviously the answers – change.

Jakob Nielsen’s Alert Box made a straight forward jab at national/chapter branding relationships in his March 30 Alert on Donation Usability. Lisa Junker pointed this out and thrust the challenge directly to associations: are your chapters mirroring your association?

Ask yourself, are your chapter websites ...

1. Completely different than the national site?
2. Violating elementary brand guidelines such as using a consistent color scheme and proper logo use?
3. State different mission or goals, emphasize different issues or state different facts about the profession/trade?