Here’s the latest post in our “INDUSTRY INSIDERS” column. Every Monday, we’ll be bringing you the inside scoop from several awesome association technology vendors and consultants who will share the insights they have gleaned from years of working in our association industry. All of them are  smart and savvy bloggers, and we know you’ll enjoy what they have to say! —————– The topic of gamification has moved away from the category of “newfangled craziness” to the subject agendas are made of. What is that frequency? MORE >>

Today’s guest post is written by  Jim Dougherty. When I was a young Lieutenant in the Army there was a crusty Sergeant who enjoyed making my life difficult by telling me why I couldn’t do things. He would always preface his thwarts with the phrase “by regulation.” ” One day my boss asked me about a project I was working on and I informed him that “by regulation” there were some restrictions to what I could do. His response was simply, “What regulation?” recruiter may associate the term with LinkedIn. Probably not much. The caveat? MORE >>

This is a guest post by Ryan Hanley. The Internet is a canvas for Creativity… Using the Online tools of today’s age, thought-leaders the World may never have otherwise known are given the opportunity to  paint their picture of success. It’s amazing really… But for as much as I love the Internet and the possibility for greatness it presents, there is a dark pattern forming that troubles me deeply. The black plague of idea… The rape of creativity… The death of original thought… The Commoditization of Expertise! Everyone’s an Expert. How? . MORE >>

Where is the BIG money in mobile? Why the disconnect between the time we spend on mobile and the amount of money brands spend to reach us on our personal devices? Questions around mobile monetization come fast and hard — and the answers are never easy. Facebook — the leader in the combined power of mobile and social ­— has seen its stock price plunge, a development that has brought even more urgency to the discussion. The timing couldn’t be better for industry authority and analyst Mary Meeker to weigh in — and she did at D10 this week. Among the new data points we need to know: Of the 6.1 MORE >>

I’ve explored the similarities between building community and risk management before on this blog. First, I penned Community, Social  Media and Risk Perceptions and then Risk Management and Open Community: More Similar than You Think. My basic premise is that both social media and risk management are association-wide activities. While speaking at the Maryland Governor’s Office on Service and Volunteerism and Maryland Council of Directors of Volunteer Services’ Power Up! Conference for Volunteer Management Professionals , a participant raised the question of who owns social media. MORE >>