If you read this blog, you already know I’m kind of obsessed with the topic of online community, particularly where associations and online communities intersect. I’ve written before about how online communities present a real threat to associations because they allow people to connect around a common industry or interest without all the governance stuff, overhead and general “we’ve always done it this way” mentality and operations of many associations.
I will say, though, that despite my enthusiasm for online communities and, um, lack of enthusiasm for some aspects of association management, even I admit that one area in which associations excel and have an edge over online communities is live events. Behold the recent “shitshow” that was the recent Tumblr blogger’s convention. If you don’t feel like clicking through and reading the article, this quote pretty much sums it up: “planning a major convention that involves gathering thousands of people from all over the country requires a lot more skill and finesse than reblogging a couple of gifs of Tom Hiddleston.”
Indeed, it does. Just goes to show that I guess online communities can’t replace everything, and also what I already knew: that meeting planning is no joke and enthusiasm around a topic is great, but planning a conference is a lot more complicated than it may seem. Associations may be backwards about a lot of things, but, generally speaking, meeting planning isn’t one of them.
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