monitor and promote profession-related policy, and continue
their professional development.
Social networks focus on building online communities of
people with similar interests, and there are benefits for both
your organization and its members for participating. Social
networks allow an association to leverage existing networks, to
build and maintain relationships, and to reach out to your
audience in a familiar environment — beyond the conferences
and occasional in-person opportunities. In return, your members get to create a profile and share information and ideas
with each other all the time, deepening connections.
Facebook and MySpace are the two biggest and well-known
social networking sites, but these may not be relevant to the
needs of your association. A good place to start is to create a
group on LinkedIn, a professional networking site with 19
million users representing 140 industries around the world
[See FORUM, June 2008, pg. 28]. Your association can stay
in touch with its members through the group, members can
communicate and ask each other questions, and people interested in joining can browse the current members of the
LinkedIn group.
Niche social networks have gained popularity as well, and
they exist for everything from automobile lovers to shopaholics
to entrepreneurs in global business. Sites such as Ning.com
make it easy for you to create your own social network with
almost no programming. You can create a site devoted entirely
to “Chicago Orthopedic Assistants” or “Chicago Steelworkers.”
The cost of technology has moved close to zero.
Legislation and Lobbying
Associations with a strong advocacy agenda also have their
place on the Web. One of the most basic things you can do
is monitor the Web-based reaction to the issues that concern
your organization. Start by use Google Alerts
( www.google.com/alerts). Type in the terms you want to track
and you’ll receive e-mail updates of the latest relevant
Google results.
Locate the people writing about these issues and develop
relationships with them. Comment on blogs and online editorials that relate to your association, and empower your membership to do the same. Just like in the real world, identifying the
influencers is crucial to success.
Your association also can take its advocacy online and create a microsite where members gather information and can
sign a petition. That’s what the Connecticut Education Association did when it built www.mentor5871.org as a means to
support new legislation for quality teacher-to-teacher mentoring. As a result, more than 2,200 letters were sent to the
