A messsage from J. Clarke Price

For the past nine years, I’ve attended the DigitalNow conference, which is co-produced by Fusion Productions and Disney Institute. It’s always been a phenomenal program. The information, education and support from the community of my peers at DigitalNow have been instrumental in helping me meet the diverse challenges of effective association leadership.


This year more than ever, I am going to be relying on DigitalNow to put me in touch with the people I need to know and the tools I need to put into practice now if I’m to survive this tumultuous economy. We all know that it’s a tough business today, and only getting tougher. Figuring out what’s needed for my association to compete and succeed in the future is more difficult than it’s ever been.


At DigitalNow 2009, I’m looking forward to seeing how others are successfully incorporating new media tools such as YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, etc. into their strategies to effectively reach out to the next generation of members. I will also be connecting with the community in order to see how solutions and strategies are already creating results for survival today, while still positioning associations for growth tomorrow.


I know you're grappling with these same issues, and I urge you to be part of the community and the conversation at DigitalNow as a means to learn about the solutions you need.


I also know that things are tough and you're in the position of making difficult decisions about expenditures – especially when it comes to travel. But DigitalNow is not a professional development activity – this year, it's about getting access to the critical information you need so that you'll still be left standing when the smoke clears.


Don't let knee-jerk, short-term decisions hinder both your short-term and long-term success. Join me at DigitalNow. When these tough times pass (and they will pass) the steps we take now will result in new skills and capabilities so we can face the future with renewed hope and confidence.


DigitalNow is being held April 15 – 18, 2009 at Disney's Yacht & Beach Clubs. To learn more and register, visit http://www.digitalnowconference.com.


Let's connect on site at DigitalNow and share ideas – our community is our greatest asset now.


Sincerely,
J. Clarke Price, CAE
President and Chief Executive Officer
Ohio Society of CPAs
DigitalNow Advisory Group Member

View the preliminary list of workshops at the official DigitalNow web site.

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DigitalNow 2009: The premier conference for association leaders Early Bird Registration Still Available!

Follow DigitalNow on Twitter.

Contribute to the DigitalNow blog. Suggest a blog topic, or reference an article or other item you think would be of interest to the DigitalNow community. Drop us a line at DigitalNow@fusionproductions.com

Untangling Twine

If you attended DigitalNow 2008, then you had the rare opportunity to get in on the ground floor of Twine, a tool that uses Semantic Web technology to support search, research, networking, and collaboration.

Often, when we embark on experimenting with a new tool such as Twine, we become tripped up in trying to understand the technology behind it, even though such understanding doesn't actually enhance the value of the tool. According to Nova Spivack, Founder of Twine, it's less important for the end user to understand how Twine works than it is to understand what it can be used for.

"The Semantic Web is a technology that's useful. It's a means to an end, not an end in itself," says Spivack. "What we're doing... is talking about what you can use Twine for, and the fact that it's powered by the Semantic Web is a detail for geeks."

But even understanding what Twine can do for us is a challenge because it takes us beyond our traditional understanding of how web search works. For an overview of Twine and the semantic web technology that enables it, read this article from Technology Review.

It's not too late to hear the DigitalNow 2008 keynote by Twine Founder Nova Spivack. Watch the first of four clips of Nova's presentation below, or visit http://www.FusionProductionsNetwork.com.

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DigitalNow 2008 was a sold out event; did you miss it?

Save the dates for 2009: April 15 - 18 at Disney's Yacht and Beach Club Resorts. Mark it on your calendar!

Follow DigitalNow on Twitter.

Fusion Productions is your unique E-Learning partner. Watch the overview.

Contribute to the DigitalNow blog. Suggest a blog topic, or reference an article or other item you think would be of interest to the DigitalNow community. Drop us a line at DigitalNow@fusionproductions.com

Four things you should do after this conference

1) Hunt beyond your industry (Jeremy Gutsche) http://www.trendhunter.com/
2) Listen to your members, staff team members, customers, and colleagues (Julie Evans of Project Tomorrow)

3) Play - don't be afraid to fail - these last two are mine!

4) Try some of the advice from the Digital Now network and sepakers..

Don Taspscott had it right eight (8) years ago, when he warned us about the tsunami of changes coming at us from technology and the generation that was "bathed in bits" (in his book, Growing Up Digital).

He said that if you want to keep up with technology, hire a 16-18 year-old in your tech team. That was how we got started in Second Life and produced a video we showed our our panel at today's session on Tomorrow's Members, Listening to the Voices of our Future. Don't be afraid to let these digital natives help you figure out this technology thing...

What have been your takeaways?

How to manage your projects using a blog?

Many of you will recognize this blogger, Tim Sanders he was a keynoter at the 2005 Digital Now conference. Tim has come up with a great idea - using blogs and Web 2.0 tools to manage projects. His latest post on his blog is titled Build a Project Blog. He features a welcome video hosted on Youtube and background for his "dotted line" team members.

The project is his newest book (which I can't wait to get), Saving the World at Work. He will establish a project rhythm by posting once a week and more frequently as the launch date approaches. Check out Tim's project blog here.

The really cool thing is that it is "free" and collaborative. Another reason to strt blogging and understand Web 2.0...

Top Tips for Harnessing Web 2.0

This post on Melcrum's blog is a recap of a post from the Community Playbook and both are worth a read. While they are geared to P/R Professionals, this may help CEO's think about the advantages of Web 2.0.







Here are my favorites of the 9 top tips:

1. Take a little time to play everyday - we did the "fifteen minutes a day" project when we started our staff self-guided learning project (that we got from the Digital Now last year).



2. Learn the tools - there are no "user guides", just dive-in ad start using them. Hint: make sure you are using RSS feeds, etc.



3. Drive traffic with the tagging and folksonomy that Web 2.0 tools provide



4. Welcome a different pace - blogging is about now, not the normal, think, study, edit, revise processes we were used to. It is also about starting a conversation

Melcrum released a report last year that found less than a thrid of communicators felt confident about using social media as part of their communictaion strategy. Yet despite that gap, the report stated that 60% of organizations would have some form of social media in place during 2007.

Which one are you - Social media in place? or still thinking about it?

Joining the DigitalNow crew - Tom Hood

Hi, I am Tom Hood, CPA, the CEO of the Maryland Association of CPAs. That is my alter ego, Rocky Maddaloni (from Second Life) of the Second Life Association of CPAs. I have been a DigitalNow attendee since the very beginning, 200o when Jim Collins was the headliner and Y2K was on our minds.


Remember when we were all scared to death of the new "Internet" thing? I still remember vividly an article in Red Herring magazine titled, "Associations - Roadkill on the Information Super-highway" (Red Herring magazine was ultimately roadkill itself). The Digital Now community gave me hope, a network, and resources to deal with the threats and opportunities of the web.

Just a few things I learned from Digital Now:

• Why we as Associations need to embrace Web 2.0 to stay relevant to the next generation of members


• The themes of Value, Strategy & Structure continue as a great framework for dealing with the rapid changes in Technology and the evolution of the Association world.


• Don Tapscott, Jim Collins, Pat Lencioni, Tim Sanders gave us great leadership and strategy tips & tools for managing in a rapidly changing environment.
  
• How cool the library associations did their Learning 2.0 project and allowed us to build off their idea for CPAs - see our project at CPA Learning 2.0
  
  DigitalNow has become my "must-attend" conference every year since...
  
  Ok and now a bit about me, I am a CPA with a bit of a "techie" background. I am enjoying my role as CEO of the Maryland Association of CPAs and the Business Learning Institute. Maybe that is why I love this conference - it is about technology as an accelerator of business strategy., both areas that I believe are critical to our future success.
  
  I live in Maryland with my wife and three sons. Having raised this little herd of "digital natives", I am curious and amazed at how they use and think about technology. Some of you may have met my oldest son, who were here last year and this year, him and his brother, Andrew, will be at the conference to help demonstrate Second Life to any of you "newbies". The point is, how will this upcoming generation of digital natives affect the way we all do business? What about the Long Tail and the Wisdom of Crowds and social media? These are just a few of the reasons I love this conference.
  
  Hope to see you at the conference!

Reason # 436 to start blogging and use other forms of "Social Media"

Ok, I am not really sure if it is reason #436 or not but Debbie Weil's latest post on ROI of Social Media is worth a read. And ROI is not Return on Investment... It is Return on Influence.

The article goes on to talk about how the new forms of social media (which includes blogging) can boost marketing and more importantly your relationship with your customers and members. This has been our experience since 'taking the plunge' into blogging and Web 2.0 over a year ago. And yes were were totally inspired coming from the DigitalNow conference.

Let me give you two examples of how this works...


1. Our blog (http://www.cpaisland.com/) caught the attention of Linden Lab's CFO, John Zdanowski. We then connected to John when he was visiting our "island" in Second Life. One thing leads to another and then we end up hosting him in Second Life doing a "mixed reality" session with him "live" from the real world conference in Orlando and a live "virtual" session in our BLI conference Center on CPA Island. Then CFO magazine's blog picks up our work on Second Life and the amazing viral connections of the Web 2.o world are unleashed...


Next is Youtube and what I like to call the Long Tail effect...

We produced a video with our friends at the AICPA, promoting the CPA profession in Maryland. We loaded the video to Youtube and have since had 2,271 views without any marketing at all! Check it out here: Defining America's CPA - Maryland. Then in an interview with a local business paper, they love the Youtube idea and we get some great press. Another one of the trails that results from playing around with the Web 2.0 stuff...

How about you? what has been your experience with Social Media?

Flickr photos posted

Another great conference! Thanks Don & Hugh and the entire Fusion Productions team. This continues to be a must attend conference for me and our senior management team. I have tried to practice the art of Web 2.o and have posted some photos of the Digital Now experience you can check out at this link. Of course one of the best things about this conference is the chance to hang out with old friends and make some new ones. Hope you enjoy the photos...

Of course one of my favorites was the Reality 2.0 Session (even if it did include my son), I still learned an incredible amount about just how diffrent those millenials will be!

A lot of people also were asking about Second Life and I have also included a link to my blog where I talked about this and one to my post on the Virtual Worlds Conference I attended a few weeks ago in NYC. If you take the leap and create an avatar in Second Life, look me up on CPA Island or IM my SL persona, Rocky Maddaloni. Would love to get your comments on both the pictures and blog post - isn't that what we are supposed to do, take advantage of Web2.0 - publish and participate!

More CoP Resources: Books

Books

Net Gain: Expanding Markets Through Virtual Communities: by John Hagel III (Author), Arthur G. Armstrong (Author) "The rise of virtual communities in on-line networks has set in motion an unprecedented shift in power from vendors of goods and services to the..."

The Virtual Community: Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier (revised edition)

Written by the man known as the First Citizen of the Internet, this book covers Rheingold's experiences with virtual communities. It starts off with his home community, The Well, out of Sausilito, CA, and makes its way through MUDs and beyond. No one understands the compelling strength of online community like Rheingold.

Building Virtual Communities: Learning and Change in Cyberspace (Learning in Doing: Social, Cognitive and Computational Perspectives): This study examines how learning and cognitive change are fostered by online communities. The chapters provide a basis for thinking about the dynamics of Internet community building. They consider the role of the self or individual as a participant in virtual community, and the design and refinement of technology as the conduit for extending and enhancing the possibilities of community building in cyberspace. The volume will interest educators, psychologists, sociologists, and researchers in human-computer interaction.

Community Building on the Web : Secret Strategies for Successful Online Communities; There's been a marked shift in the philosophy of developing successful Web sites. The technologies (HTML, JavaScript, JavaServer Pages) no longer occupy center stage. Rather, functional objectives and the communities that grow up around them seem to be the main ingredient in Web site success. In her carefully reasoned and well-written Community Building on the Web, Amy Jo Kim explains why communities form and grow. More importantly, she shows (with references to many examples) how you can make your site a catalyst for community growth--and profit in the process. From marketing schemes like Amazon.com's Associates program to The Motley Fool's system of rating members' bulletin-board postings, this book covers all the popular strategies for bringing people in and retaining them.

Nine core strategies form the foundation of Kim's recommendations for site builders, serving as the organizational backbone of this book. The strategies generally make sense, and they seem to apply to all kinds of communities, cyber and otherwise. (One advocates the establishment of regular events around which community life can organize itself.) Some parts of Kim's message may seem like common sense, but such a coherent discussion of what defines a community and how it can be made to thrive is still helpful.

Read this book to help crystallize your thinking about community building, and to review strategies that work for real sites already. --David Wall

How Communities Add Value to the Member Experience: If communities are rich networking environments created to enable communication and interaction, why do we use listsrvs and discussion boards that limit our ability to provide context, personalize or harvest knowledge shared? This is largely in part due to the lack of understanding of a community's charter, it's reason for existing and the characteristics of its members. Fusion Productions and APQC recently presented together at ASAE on what a winning combination of community processes plus technology would look like.

COPs in Progress: APQC and the Texas Medical Association: APQC was enlisted by The Texas Medical Association (TMA) to help build new and better ways to work and succeed in a competitive marketplace through the implementation of Communities of Practice (CoPs). With over 40,000 physician and medical student members, TMA wanted to create a portal that would allow everyone in the organization to share solutions to the challenges of practicing medicine. Find out how APQC and TMA developed and piloted a CoP designed around one of the key issues for doctors and their staff.

~DigitalNow 2007: April 11- 14 at Disney's Yacht and Beach Club Resorts~

SOLD OUT! DigitalNow- the proven leadership conference for associations - has officially sold out - again! Conference materials, workshop notes, survey result information, and up-to-the-minute on-site news will continue to be available before, during, and after the conference. Visit the conference web site at http://www.fusionproductions.com/digitalnow