Associations as Meritocracies

17 Apr 2009

by Rebecca Rolfes

Speaking at Digital Now, Peter Hirshberg, chairman at Technorati, said: “When the smoke clears, associations will be more meritocracies with the best ideas from the edges.”

“The edges” are the online conversations among your members and potential members. Today, associations are trying to reinvent themselves and meet competition from within and without. But those conversations (in the association’s own online community, in Facebook or LinkedIn groups, on Twitter, Orkut, etc.) are what will reinvent associations.

Associations have figured out how to enable, listen, monitor, participate, seed, manage; but many still believe they’re in control of the conversation.

“If we’re the place they come to have the conversation (the thinking goes …) we still control the dialogue. It’s good intelligence for us; we are more responsive; everyone’s happy.”

No.

The association is the medium.

Your people (and their conversations) are the ideas.

The conversation IS the association.

Tags: digital now, peter hirshberg, technorati
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