Associations Now is offering an opportunity and a case study with its latest crowdsourcing option. By logging in you can submit content ideas, vote on others, add comments and throw your name in as a contributor. At least check it out as a sample of how you can engage members even if you don't allow yourself to be drawn in and engage.

PRSA Maryland launched their blog More Than PR Basics! It isn't their first foray into social media; they have a LinkedIn Group, Facebook Page and Twitter handle. It is however a big step for a small chapter. And it is an experiment. 

This past week’s #assnchat focused on social media and chapters. Well actually much of the conversation was social media in the general sense. But two posts stood out for me:

Well it’s the biggest thing since sliced bread (okay that’s maybe just a pithy quote that needs to be retired – love the ones Jamie Notter noted but that’s another topic)!

Buzz2009 is a full-day conference on Thursday, July 9 in Washington DC for associations who think incorporating social media and word of mouth tactics into their overall strategy in the way to go.

A familiar refrain in the song about embracing social media goes like this “it’s about listening.” David Alston of Radian6 gives us another verse in his presentation on "I Love Stories" captured over at the Conversation Agent blog.  It’s 45 slides but skip to #30 to learn the ten conversations you need to listen for in social media. The one to focus in on is #1: The point of need. How can we as associations remain relevant if we don’t know the changing needs of our customer base? And, how can we grow if we don’t anticipate future needs?

David is obviously talking about social media conversations. I would suggest that these conversations are happening in many places around our associations in addition to the social media sphere. Take your components (you know chapters, communities of practice, councils, sections, SIGs) for example. These are natural places for your customers to gather and they do talk about their needs and about you. Are you listening?

In A View of Social Media from the Inside: The Cat Just Hasn’t Meowed Yet, Terry Starbucker shares his company’s thinking about embracing social media and in doing so hits upon some on-target questions for all of us. But he zeroes in on a key point which relates directly to the value of chapters in our world of associations: