Forget the millenium... the future is www.now.If you think your association Web site is stalled stall 1 n. 1. A compartment for one domestic animal in a barn or shed. 2. a. A booth, cubicle, or stand used by a vendor, as at a market. b. in cyberspace Coined by William Gibson in his 1984 novel "Neuromancer," it is a futuristic computer network that people use by plugging their minds into it! The term now refers to the Internet or to the online or digital world in general. See Internet and virtual reality. Contrast with meatspace. , insights from a near study may provide a needed jump-start. You've read it here before that in an expanding world economy, riven rive v. rived, riv·en also rived, riv·ing, rives v.tr. 1. To rend or tear apart. 2. To break into pieces, as by a blow; cleave or split asunder. 3. by the convergence of technology, information management, d communication, not changing can be deadly. But surely, you may be saying to yourself, "there must be some time before I make the jump to the next curve with my group. They're just not ready. Push, video streaming See streaming video and video stream. , frames - my members don't need that stuff. That's more for the technology-based trade and professional associations." Or you may think, "We're online at least. Isn't that enough for now? Who has the time or money to be consistently updating the association Web site? Is it really necessary?" The bad news If your association ever needed a reality check, here it is. In the 1995 Association Technology Trends survey conducted for ASAE ASAE American Society of Association Executives ASAE American Society of Agricultural Engineers (Society for Engineering in Agricultural, Food, and Biological Systems) ASAE Alkali-Sulfite-Anthraquinone-Ethanol , we noted that while only 11 percent of associations had Web sites, you could expect that presence to grow to 61 percent within one year to 18 months. In fact, as Table 1 shows, we underestimated what was thought to be an optimistic op·ti·mist n. 1. One who usually expects a favorable outcome. 2. A believer in philosophical optimism. op growth rate. As of 1997, the number of association Web sites has increased to an impressive 67 percent, six points beyond our prediction. The most recent survey, 1997 Association Technology Trends, also points out that the use of Web sites is surprisingly equally split among international, national, and state, and trade and individual-member associations. The message to associations seems clear: You are either on the World Wide Web curve already, or you are behind. The good news The ASAE Foundation, through a grant to Fusion Productions (the same team previously known as AVN AVN Aviation AVN Avenue AVN Adult Video News AVN Avascular Necrosis AVN Atrioventricular Node AVN Aviation Model (weather forecast model, now Global Forecast System) AVN Air Vanuatu (ICAO code) COD), has undertaken a "World-Class Web Sites" study to identify associations' best Web practices. As part of the project, Fusion Productions analyzed an·a·lyze tr.v. an·a·lyzed, an·a·lyz·ing, an·a·lyz·es 1. To examine methodically by separating into parts and studying their interrelations. 2. Chemistry To make a chemical analysis of. 3. almost 1,200 responses to the 1997 Association Technology Trends study (see sidebar (1) A Windows Vista desktop panel that holds mini applications (gadgets) such as a calendar, calculator, stock ticker and Vonage phone dialer. It is the Windows counterpart to the Dashboard in the Mac. See Windows Vista and gadget. , "For the Full Report"), which was sent to more than 6,700 associations. Both the results of the foundation study and the technology trends study are designed to help you identify ways to jump onto the curve at as high a point as possible. Following are excerpts from a roundtable discussion in which senior research and technology consultants who conducted the Web site research discussed the initial survey results with association executive panel members (see sidebar, "The Association Executive Panel"), whose associations also participated in the survey. Hugh K. Lee, Fusion Productions: We wanted to know the level of acceptance the Web has had in associations, as well as to gain some insight into the primary mission of association Web sites. As you can see from Table 2, the survey indicated that the two most common missions of sites were "information dissemination dissemination Medtalk The spread of a pernicious process–eg, CA, acute infection Oncology Metastasis, see there " (40.7 percent) and "a service to their members" (37.7 percent). What is your experience regarding the fast growth and application of the Web? Robin Kriegel, CAE (1) (Computer-Aided Engineering) Software that analyzes designs which have been created in the computer or that have been created elsewhere and entered into the computer. , American Association American Association refers to one of the following professional baseball leagues:
Internet user Internet n → internaute m/f . In addition, 65 percent of members had their own Web pages, with an additional 62 percent of the remaining planning to do so within 12 months. Answers to other survey questions indicated that they were now ready to receive a wide range of benefits from us over the Internet. During the 18 months between the communication audit and the survey, some members of the board of directors, like those in other organizations, felt we had to develop a Web presence immediately. However, they could not articulate how we would use a Web site. Instead of jumping onto the Web, we formed an online task force to develop a strategic direction and implementation timetable. The board approved the task force's plan in December, and the site was launched in July. By waiting, we not only determined members' acceptance, but we also generated hard data regarding their capabilities and what they wanted. Consequently, we were able to design a site that is truly a member service. Lee: Given the key role information dissemination plays today, where are most associations now in terms of their level of technology sophistication so·phis·ti·cate v. so·phis·ti·cat·ed, so·phis·ti·cat·ing, so·phis·ti·cates v.tr. 1. To cause to become less natural, especially to make less naive and more worldly. 2. ? How do we see that changing in the near future? Donald Dea, Fusion Productions: After reviewing several hundred association Web sites, I compare the current environment favorably fa·vor·a·ble adj. 1. Advantageous; helpful: favorable winds. 2. Encouraging; propitious: a favorable diagnosis. 3. to the personal computer industry of the '70s and early '80s. Having been a founder of a start-up computer manufacturer, I can tell you that most people were basically using the PC in those days for automating tasks they were currently doing manually, such as creating basic spreadsheets The following is a list of spreadsheets. Freeware/open source software Online spreadsheets
As always, a few innovators innovators people who will try new things. early innovators important figures in the farming or client community because they are the leaders in the introduction of new techniques and management systems. were breaking new ground, making many errors, and spending a great deal of money trying to identify that elusive competitive edge. Today's association Web site activity is similar to that. We have found most associations are simply digitizing "Digitizer" redirects here. For the computer device, see Digitizing tablet. For the digitizer in Tablet PC's, see Tablet PC. Digitizing or digitization content or products that already exist in print and then putting them up on the Web. Where are we going in the next 18 months? We already see some of the more innovative associations testing a higher level of customization of content, creating unique value-added data, and using the Web for greater one-to-one communication and marketing. For example, some larger associations are now incorporating databases into their sites - knowledge bases to provide customized information either on demand or by push technology whereby information is delivered to desktops without members having to search for it. Lee: Interestingly, the respondents In the context of marketing research, a representative sample drawn from a larger population of people from whom information is collected and used to develop or confirm marketing strategy. seem to agree with you, Don. When asked to rate their Web sites with regard to home page, content, navigation/organization, access/performance, and innovation, it was innovation to which they gave the lowest rating. While other Web site components were rated much stronger (17 percent of respondents gave "exceptional" ratings to their home pages, 19 percent to content, 14 percent to navigation/ organization, and 13 percent to access/performance), only 8 percent of associations in the survey rated their Web sites' innovation as "exceptional." Don, you point out several factors that could lead to big spending. One of the concerns we heard from association executives is the difficulty in knowing how much you should pay or how "robust" a site you really need. As a result, to provide an initial feel for what exists today, we asked respondents * how many times they had redesigned their sites (Table 3); * how much they had spend on designing and maintaining their sites (Table 4); and * how frequently they update content (Table 5). Table 2: Primary Missions Information dissemination 40.7% Service to members 37.7% Information clearinghouse 5.4% Marketing other association events/products 4.1% Provide online education 2.2% Need to be on the Web 1.6% Other 6.1% Note: Percentages do not total 100 because of rounding. Table 3: Redesigning - The Next Generation Have never redesigned the original site 40% Redesigned the site only once 37% Redesigned the site twice or more 23% We found a range of answers, with almost 60 percent having redesigned their sites at least once if not twice or more; 50 percent of the sites costing $2,500 or less and 12 percent costing more than $20,000; and content changes being made daily (14 percent) and monthly (31 percent). What does this mean to all of you? Jeffry W. Raynes, CAE, APICS APICS Association for Operations Management APICS Educational Society for Resource Management (formerly American Production and Inventory Control Society) APICS American Production & Inventory Control Society - The Educational Society for Resource Management: I think a comparison could be made to the Wild West. There were no firm rules in the frontier days. Towns could go from boom to bust and back overnight. Similarly, there doesn't seem to be a consistent set of rules governing gov·ern v. gov·erned, gov·ern·ing, gov·erns v.tr. 1. To make and administer the public policy and affairs of; exercise sovereign authority in. 2. Web site success. And while you may have a great site today, one innovation by your competitor can wipe out wipe tr.v. wiped, wip·ing, wipes 1. a. To subject to light rubbing or friction, as with a cloth or paper, in order to clean or dry. b. any gains you made by being on the Web early. You also need to be worried about your suppliers, as just in the past several months several major ones went bust. I can tell you from our experience, "You get what you pay for." When looking at a new supplier, we consider the following: * Can the supplier bring association experience? * What is the supplier's ability to support us strategically? * How long has the supplier been in the business? * Does the supplier have professionals or college students doing the actual work? Table 4: The Cost of Progress Design and development expenditures $2,500 or under 50% $2,501-$5,000 17% $5,001-$10,000 12% $10,001-$20,000 9% $20,001-$30,000 4% $30,001 or more 8% Monthly maintenance expenditures $500 or under 70% $501-$1,000 8% $1,001-$2,500 11% $2,501-$5,000 5% $5,001 or more 6% Table 5: Updating Content Daily 14% Weekly 34% Monthly 31% Other 21% These are all questions we ask in addition to evaluating technology skills. This is not a time to select a supplier based on price alone. Kriegel: Since we are a small association, a decision was made quickly that we would outsource the design and maintenance of the Web site. We sent a request for proposal to more than 15 companies, and the range of bids returned varied widely. Bids were also difficult to compare, since services included by one firm were priced as extras by another. I discovered that the low bids on design contained a lot of extras that would raise the costs, such as hourly charges for consulting and additional charges for each hyperlink A predefined linkage between one object and another. See hypertext. hyperlink - anchor . Instead I chose a firm in the midrange midrange Epidemiology The halfway point or midpoint in a set of observations; for most data, MR is calculated as the sum of the smallest observation and the largest observation, divided by 2; for age data, one is added to the numerator; a midrange is usually of price, but whose contract was based on product delivered. Many of my colleagues had reported how their costs escalated once they started the project. By choosing wisely and structuring an agreement based on end product to be delivered, we avoided that black hole. Dea: Our experience in Web design and strategy indicates that most associations are still trying to find a way to make money on the Internet. This survey appeared to verify that. Most respondents (67.6 percent) indicated that their Web sites operated at an acceptable loss; only 17.3 percent indicated they break even; and fewer than 1 percent considered their sites major profit-making centers. This seemed to fall far below the initial results we found during the ASAE Technology Conference survey in which 5-10 percent of the audience stated they were making money. As we delved into that more deeply, however, we discovered that when we defined actual profits versus cost savings, far fewer were making money - tying back more closely to the 1 percent figure. Don k. Riggin, CAE, Arthritis Foundation This article or section needs sources or references that appear in reliable, third-party publications. Alone, primary sources and sources affiliated with the subject of this article are not sufficient for an accurate encyclopedia article. National Office: Profitability and results can be understated, as your conference survey experience indicated. Take, for example, our organization, the Arthritis Foundation. There is no way I could reach through traditional snail mail Mail sent via a country's government-regulated postal system. (messaging) snail mail - (Or "snailmail", "smail" from "US Mail" via "USnail"; "paper mail"). Bits of dead tree sent via the postal service as opposed to electronic mail. or fax all 40 million Americans who have arthritis arthritis, painful inflammation of a joint or joints of the body, usually producing heat and redness. There are many kinds of arthritis. In its various forms, arthritis disables more people than any other chronic disorder. . The postage POSTAGE. The money charged by law for carrying letters, packets and documents by mail. By act of congress of March 3, 1851, Minot's Statute at Large, U. S. 587, it is enacted as follows: 2.-Sec. 1. and handling cost alone is a basis for justifying our Web site. But we did not look at it that way. We approached it as part of an overall business strategy in fulfilling our mission for the Arthritis Foundation. Lee: One of the key objectives of this initial effort on behalf of the ASAE Foundation was to identify any best practices that appear to influence the effectiveness and/or ability of the association Web site to incur a profit. Here, while the data are not yet conclusive Determinative; beyond dispute or question. That which is conclusive is manifest, clear, or obvious. It is a legal inference made so peremptorily that it cannot be overthrown or contradicted. , we identified some very interesting factors. For example, in addition to asking who was making money, we asked how effective their sites were in creating value for their associations and in achieving their associations' goals. As you can tell by Table 6, in both cases, 25 percent or more felt the sites were only slightly effective or not effective at all. So what, if anything, did the successful sites tend to do? Cross tabs indicated the following successful trends: * Seventy percent of those who stated their sites were very effective in creating value had redesigned their sites, with 30 percent of those having redesigned twice or more. * Thirty-five percent of those who selected their sites as "highly effective in achieving goals," compared to 4 percent who selected "not effective at all in achieving their goals," had redesigned their sites more than twice. Dea: The Web is not.just a tactical strategy or program. It represents a strategic initiative that requires an understanding of goals, resources, and outcomes. Its implications to staff and membership, while still evolving, will be significant. Therefore, a disciplined process in defining objectives, strategies, feedback, and recycling recycling, the process of recovering and reusing waste products—from household use, manufacturing, agriculture, and business—and thereby reducing their burden on the environment. needs to be in place. It is not a statistical anomaly Abnormality or deviation. Pronounced "uh-nom-uh-lee," it is a favorite word among computer people when complex systems produce output that is inexplicable. See software conflict and anomaly detection. that those organizations rating their sites as "very effective" also had a business plan. In fact, 42 percent of those who rated their sites "very, effective" did have a business plan, while 89 percent of those who indicated their sites were "not effective at all" did not have such a plan. While the number of those making money was too small to be statistically significant, 67 percent of those reporting their sites were making a major profit had redesigned their sites more than twice. Similarly, 75 percent of those losing money did not have a business plan, while 46 percent of those making marginal profits did.
Table 6: Effectiveness of Site
Creating value Achieving
for association its goals
Very effective 27% 22%
Moderately effective 47% 49%
Slightly effective 23% 25%
Not at all effective 2% 4%
Note: Percentages do not total 100 because of rounding.
Finally, as Jeff stated, "You get what you pay for." Those spending $10,000 or more had twice the indications of a very effective site in terms of adding value and meeting goals. Lee: Much of these research results can probably be associated with the complexity of the Web sites themselves. Many services require in-depth planning and interaction to be successful. Certainly a large part of the final guide that Fusion Productions develops for the ASAE Foundation will highlight placement of convention and registration information, in addition to interactive communication, online education, and association databases on the Web. Spending a lot of money and having a business plan neither guarantee that you will have a successful association nor guarantee that you will have a successful association Web site. What can be said is that leadership and management are necessary ingredients in establishing a vision, defining a strategy, and executing it. Taken together, these tools will facilitate an ongoing business process for improving and sustaining value to the organization. Editor's note Editor's Note (foaled in 1993 in Kentucky) is an American thoroughbred Stallion racehorse. He was sired by 1992 U.S. Champion 2 YO Colt Forty Niner, who in turn was a son of Champion sire Mr. Prospector and out of the mare, Beware Of The Cat. Trained by D. : Research for this article was funded through an "Endowing the Future" grant from the ASAE Foundation. RELATED ARTICLE: For the Full Report Technology trends. Coming soon in Association Management will be a report on the results of ASAE's 1997 Association Technology Trends study. The complete publication - which explores not only Web site trends but associations' use of computer systems, software, hardware, and member-communication technologies such as broadcast fax and voice mail - is available now at $95 for ASAE members or $115 for non-members, plus $6.25 shipping. Add 5.75 percent sales tax sales tax, levy on the sale of goods or services, generally calculated as a percentage of the selling price, and sometimes called a purchase tax. It is usually collected in the form of an extra charge by the retailer, who remits the tax to the government. for shipments to Washington, D.C., addresses. To order, request product AMR (1) (Adaptive Multi-Rate) A variable rate speech codec selected by the 3GPP for the 3G evolution of the GSM cellphone system (WCDMA). Using the Algebraic CELP (ACELP) compression technology, AMR provides toll quality sound at transmission rates from 4.75 to 12. 213572 from ASAE's Member Service Center by phone, (202) 371-0940; fax, (202) 408-9634; or e-mail, books@asaenet.org. Web sites. In a future issue of Association Management, a case study approach to further exploring results from the ASAE Foundation's "World-Class Web Sites" project will offer insights into best association Web practices. In addition to the Association Management coverage of the study, the ASAE Foundation will publish a handbook cataloging 250 world-class sites and providing in-depth case studies of how associations are using the Web in such areas as education, conventions, and nondues revenue. In the meantime Adv. 1. in the meantime - during the intervening time; "meanwhile I will not think about the problem"; "meantime he was attentive to his other interests"; "in the meantime the police were notified" meantime, meanwhile , to stay abreast of study results and link to the "Web Site of the Week," visit the ASAE Web site (www.asaenet.org) and click on the "World-Class Webs Update" hyperlink, or visit the Fusion Productions site (www.fusionproductions.com) and click on the icon for "ASAE Foundation World-Class Web Sites." RELATED ARTICLE: The Association Executive Panel * Robin Kriegel, CAE, Executive Director, American Association of Medical Society Executives, Chicago * Jeffrey D. Morgan, CAE, Senior Vice President, National Association of Professional Insurance Agents, Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 128,284. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately 6 miles (9.6 kilometers) south of downtown Washington, DC. * Jeffry W. Raynes, CAE, Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer Chief Operating Officer (COO) The officer of a firm responsible for day-to-day management, usually the president or an executive vice-president. , APICS - The Educational Society for Resource Management, Falls Church, Virginia Falls Church is an independent city in Virginia, United States. The population was 10,377 at the 2000 census. This city is a part of the Washington Metropolitan Area. A much larger number of people reside in Greater Falls Church * Don L. Riggin, CAE, Executive Director, Arthritis Foundation National Office, Atlanta * Douglas G. Viehland, CAE, Executive Director, American Hotel Foundation, Washington, D.C. * Paulette G. Vinette, CAE, President, Canadian Soft Drink Association, Toronto, Ontario Hugh K. Lee is president and Donald Dea is co-founder and partner, Fusion Productions, Webster Webster, town (1990 pop. 16,196), Worcester co., S Mass., near the Conn. line; settled c.1713, set off from Dudley and Oxford and inc. 1832. The chief manufactures are footwear, fabrics, and textiles. , New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of , which focuses on the integration of learning techniques, meeting production, and technology. |
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