A few weeks back I wondered about the future of professional associations. My point was pretty simple:

• In their marketing efforts, most professional associations have touted networking and professional development as their core benefits
• Networking and professional development are increasingly available for free online
• Associations, therefore, should consider shifting the spotlight to some of their benefits that are not available through online social channels

My post drew a lot of comments, many from inside the association world, and has spawned several other discussions, including a pretty vibrant one over at the IABC Cafe. Two posts—one by Tom Keefe and one from current Chair Glenda Holmes—have drawn a lot of comments, most constructive (and a few that are, unfortunately, destructive).

It’s interesting to see how the conversation has shifted from my original premise to a new one: Should professional associations launch social networks?

I referenced IABC in my post because it’s the association to which I’ve belonged for (sigh) 30 years. Make no mistake: I believe firmly that IABC provides a host of benefits that make membership worthwhile—even vital—for professional communicators. But since the question of an IABC social network has drawn so much comment, both in favor and opposed, I figure I’ll add my $.02.

I share some of the opinions of others who have commented on the subject over at the Cafe:

• There’s a significant resource commitment—both cost and time—in creating, growing, and maintaining a social network.
• There already are two networks dedicated to communications; IABC would just be competing.
• Successful social networks are run by strong entrepreneurs (think MySpace and Facebook). I can’t see a successful social network managed by the kind of consensus model that characterizes most associations.

But none of these concerns reflect the primary reasons I would advise against IABC getting into the social network game. In addition to the rationale so well articulated by those who have posted comments at the Cafe, I have two thoughts that are more focused on what IABC should do instead of what and why it shouldn’t.

IABC can leverage its existing social media properties

IABC is no stranger to social media. The association has maintained a message board, “Memberspeak,” for years. Contrary to assertions by Brian Kilgore in a comment left to Glenda’s post at the Cafe, solid discussions take place in Memberspeak, and when I drop by I routinely see names I’ve never seen before (along with the usual suspects).

(It’s a mistake to dismiss MemberSpeak based on volume of posts. In any online social exchange, it’s reasonable to expect that most of those visiting the site are passive consumers of the content. If one person posts a question and two people provide answers, figure that another 50 or 100 have read the exchange and learned from it. It’s all just content, although in this case, members instead of IABC editors created that content.)

There’s also the IABC Commons, a community of group blogs focused on various dimensions of organizational communication. These haven’t taken off the way I had hoped, and I have to accept some of the responsibility for that, since I was involved in the development and launch of the Commons. We envisioned a place where real-world communicators, those who work every day down in the trenches, would write about their experiences and observations. We had no trouble recruiting volunteers to populate the blogs, but we encountered a lot of trouble getting them to maintain their efforts. I’ve met with staff about this recently, and we’re devising some ways to reinvigorate the Commons. (Your ideas are, of course, welcome.)

IABC also podcasts, but there’s a lot more the association could do here. In addition to the existing Cafe2Go, IABC could offer a regular series of very brief snippets of audio from professional development activities from throughout the association. These clips could be submitted by chapters, regions, international, even individual member contributions. Highlights of speakers at meetings, clips of presentations from conferences, and observations from professionals about various aspects of business communication. And that’s just one idea for another IABC podcast.

(Disclosure: Along with my podcasting co-host and fellow IABC member Neville Hobson, I lend assistance to the production of Cafe2Go, and handle some of the show’s interviews.)

IABC should get out on the edge

Beyond expanding its current properties, IABC has the opportunity not only to avoid the pitfalls of launching a social network, but also to leapfrog current practices and get out in front of social media.

Next week at the association’s annual international conference in New Orleans, I’m presenting a session on “edge content.” Due to the ease with which anyone can publish, content that was once centralized (on sites like IABC’s) is now moving out to the edge. Companies that want consumers to experience their brands can no longer count on visits to their websites. (Need an example? I’m writing this on my blog instead of simply posting a comment to the existing discussion on the centralized IABC site.) Instead, they have to get their content onto the blogs, wikis, social networks, podcasts, and other properties where individuals are publishing. How could IABC do this? A few ideas to kick-start the discussion:

• Introduce widgets members can add to their blogs, wikis, and other content. There’s no question, if IABC had a widget that ran association headlines, I’d include it on this blog.
• Videos of presentations and other interesting material should be on YouTube in an IABC channel. Anybody blogging about, say, communicating bad news to employees should be able to find a five-minute clip of someone like Roger D’Aprix presenting a salient point on the topic and embed the code in their blog to include it in their post. What better way to get the IABC brand out into the world?
• Ditto the bullet above for presentations on presentation sharing sites, like SlideShare.
• IABC should open a Twitter account and send tweets about everything IABC, from salient observations about aspects of communication to upcoming events to breaking news (for example, the announcement of the signing of a keynote speaker for the conference).
• The association should publish manifestos to sites like Change This; these could be written by thought leaders from within the association, the likes of Lou Williams, Wilma Matthews, Roger D’Aprix, along with current board members and staff leaders.
• Wherever possible, content on the IABC website should be tagged with microformats, making it discoverable by anyone publishing calendars, contact lists, reviews and the like.
• The IABC newsroom should adopt the social media format introduced by Todd Defren at SHIFT Communications; similarly, IABC news releases should be duplicated in the social media news release format.
• IABC can produce brief (two-to-three minutes) audio clips on communication and make them available to the many communication-focused podcasters for inclusion in their shows.

Again, I’d love to hear more ideas about how IABC could push its content out to the edge.

So what about social networks?

Does this mean that IABC should ignore social networks? Not at all. I have two thoughts.

For IABC-wide social networking, IABC can establish a group (or more than one) at the existing communication networks (MyRagan and The Communicator’s Network). This notion is not without precedent. IABC Hyperspace thrived as a section within CompuServe’s PR & Marketing Forum (PRSIG) for years (along with PRSA). That’s right, a non-profit organization co-existed with a for-profit venture (CompuServe) very nicely, thank you. It can happen again. Communicators should encounter IABC wherever they are looking for communication networking. In fact, an IABC group on Facebook isn’t a bad idea, assuming one doesn’t already exist.

But IABC could create a unique social network, restricted to the association’s leadership. Over at Ning, where anyone can start a social network, there are lots of private networks, including several that are restricted to members of specific high school faculties (like this one). If IABC wants to experiment with social networks, the association should consider opening a private Ning network for leaders and see if it enhances leader networking and collaboration. Such a network wouldn’t compete with existing communication networks and would provide genuine value to participants.

The discussion is ongoing

I’m gratified that the IABC executive board is focused on this issue. Clearly, there is a diversity of opinion, and a lot of discussion and research lies ahead for IABC’s board and staff. At the same time, opportunities for engagement in social media will evolve and new ones appear.

I have every confidence that IABC—and many other professional associations—will find their way through the maze.