Got this great comment from my social media buddy Lynn Morton of SNAP fame. This was to do with our recent conversation about the death (or not) of ASAE.
"I love how ASAE has the Knowledge Center, I use it all the time for articles and reference materials. Then as I am searching for something today, I notice in the Models & Samples category their big selling point is "Why reinvent the wheel?"
I immediately thought of your blog post and I wonder why shouldn't ASAE reinvent the wheel? Isn't that why we belong to them? So we can learn from the people that are supposed to do it the best?"
Exact-a-mundo. Why reinvent the wheel? Because maybe there are better, faster, more efficient, greener, more relevant, [insert lots more adjectives here] ways to do things, and because part of an association's value is to be the best of the best.
I'm not saying you should duplicate effort in an unnecessary, time-wasting fashion. I am sure there are lots of reference materials, and yes, models and samples that are still valid and relevant. But I can't be the only one who wonders how I would know, when I look through the Knowledge Center, whether this stuff is outdated or not. And the way I would currently find out, probably, is by googling whatever it is I am looking for, and looking for stuff that is recent and current to compare it with. Which begs the question, if I am doing this, then why bother even going into the Knowledge Center, unless I can't find anything outside.... Semantic Web here we come... Whoa, sorry. Got ahead of myself there. Waaay not ready for that yet!
Anyway. The reason I might still go to the Knowledge Center is not only the one-stop-shop factor for association industry resources, but far more importantly, if I knew beyond all shadow of a doubt that "not reinventing the wheel" was NOT its primary purpose. If I knew FOR A FACT that the latest and greatest content was in there.
Food for thought?
9.19.2008
To reinvent the wheel...or not?
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I will defend ASAE on this one. Stuff is out of date because we as members don't step up and give them more recent things.
ReplyDeleteAnd, I don't think the general association world is ready for/wants a new wheel. They like their old wheel. They feel it works. Yes, there are a few of us out there that want a new wheel, but it isn't the majority - as we talked about in the Idea Swap discussion.
I go to the Knowledge Center expecting creditable, accurate information.
ReplyDeleteI do hope that it is up to date, but when choosing between two sources, one I don't know, the other ASAE, I will lean toward ASAE, expecting the information to have been properly vetted.
1. Thanks for mentioning me Maddie!
ReplyDelete2. Now to respond:
I think ASAE should put their own models they use up, especially since they are supposed to be the leader in the industry. I think some of their stuff is really great!
Also, some of the models there aren't as useful as I would like. I appreciate that people are willing to submit their stuff, but sometimes I just can't find what I'm looking for. Though I swear it exists! ;)
I do appreciate having access to librarians that can do research on topics for me, it saves a lot of time and manpower for me. Though I wish ASAE would seek out the best samples and models instead of just accepting what is sent in. What is they take the example letters from those associations that have the highest retention rates or recruitment rates, etc.? What about incentives for submitting? I know I'm mainly talking about membership stuff, but that is what I use the most.
I will say that ASAE has an excellent library of articles that I do access on a regular basis.
Just posting this from Scott Oser, commenting on this post via A-list Bloggers.
ReplyDelete"Hi Maddie,
A number of people on the ASAE Marketing Section Council agree with you and we are trying to “fix” this issue. The idea behind models and samples is that they are just that models, examples that are to be looked up to and strived for, and samples, examples of things that other folks have tried. The idea is to give members enough food for thought that they can then use as the basis for their own activities. What we are talking to ASAE about doing is providing some sort of review process for the models and samples that other members submit. What we would hope to do is use our combined knowledge to be able to label certain items as “Council Picks” or Council Recommendations. Again this is not designed to say that they are the best or that they should be copied identically but that they are items that show best practices or new concepts or whatever.
Even though the Council agrees this is a step in the right direction the bigger problem is getting the best of the best and the latest in the archives. If members do not submit strong or state of the art items there will be nothing for us to review."