Actually, I’m not convinced that email is for old people. It is true, though, that there’s just as much noise in our email inboxes as in our mailboxes, television sets, radio stations, etc. While continuing to process the statement I heard last week and the associated anecdote from the conference that Scott Steen reported on, I have come to some conclusions. Some are well formed and others need some fleshing out:
- Members, especially the younger ones, are going to have diminishing tolerance for the way organizations hijack their attention with irrelevant advertising.
- The copy we write (including this blog post) is too long to be easily read on a cell phone. We write too many words.
- Filter, make sense, connect and synthesize. The successful associations in the future will master these competencies and implement processes to deliver on them.
- 8 mm film >> Beta >> VHS >> DVD >> BluRay >> ??? Just like the motion picture industry, we need to begin considering alternative futures for the day when email gets replaced by better technologies. Smart associations will begin considering instant messaging, SMS, MMS and currently unimagined communications vehicles now.
- How do we maximize our ability to earn our members’ discretionary time and attention? Can we provide value during their down time (commuting, long layover in Chicago, etc.)?
- Microsoft’s version of the iPod will be Wi-Fi enabled, meaning you could download a podcast virtually anywhere. Apple won’t be far behind (actually, they’ll probably beat them to the punch). What are you going to do about it?
Tagged: Association Management Associations CAE Certified Association Executive email
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Sorry to put words in your mouth Ben. No hard feelings?
First you put words in my mouth, now you put words in my blog! When will it end, Matt!?!? When!?!? 😉