1) The MyRagan vs Melcrum vs IABC debate reminds me of VHS vs. Betamax in the 1970s video recorder market. Despite Betamax’s technical superiority and compact case, VHS obliterated Betamax because it was an open platform with the lowest cost to use–and ultimately access to the highest number of customers.

In this case, MyRagan is clearly and rightly pursuing the most open approach, with Melcrum focusing more on ‘proprietary’ groups and content. As for IABC, to be honest, San Francisco is trying to get the license number of the truck that ran over it.

2) IABC headquarters would be well-served to stay the hell out of this area, as I have found a deep-seated antipathy to lateral communication to be at the core of how IABC organizes itself, and to be deeply hard-wired into the MemberSpace platform that has recently been exposed as woefully obsolete. I’ve attempted on a number of occasions to organize groups and networks that cross chapter lines over the last few years–and was rebuffed consistently over the years. These groups are now being organized in nanoseconds over MyRagan and to an extent on Melcrum’s network.

3) At a local, chapter, level, IABC still engenders a lot of goodwill, and IABC chapters are still in a good position to be seen as a local convenor of off-line conversations. To be sure, MyRagan offers the ability to offer local groups on its platform to organize off-line meetings as well, so this is an area where IABC chapters need to be agile.

4) For off-line engagement beyond the simple meeting, there is everything to play for–but the most underserved part of the communicators education/membership/training market is also becoming connected at an unprecedented rate–a group I would call “CWBs”–Communicators Without Budgets. While this is a group unlikely to attend hotel conventions, or spend $1000+ on supscriptions/webcasts/research reports, whomever is able to come up with a model that delivers price-conscious and value added materials and services could win big.

IABC is well positioned to do so–but it will need to rethink its whole outlook, and give up defending its pricing structure, impenetrable governance framework, and its sense of entitlement to act as the voice of this industry.

5) IABC can, however, recapture its ability to position itself as the voice of the industry by taking on the role of advocating the value (economic, cultural and civic) business communicators provide for their organizations, and by empowering business communicators to act as advocates within their communities on a variety of commercial and civic concerns. Again, IABC is positioned exceedingly well to make this happen–if it can make the cultural changes needed to do this effectively.

I agree with Kirsten that having IABC groups set up on different platforms makes for a fragmented and dissatisfying overall experience for members. There is no substitute for IABC having its own, branded social networking site, integrated with other member services. No question. Camping out on other platforms is a good starting point and will allow you to choose features you like, but is unlikely to meet the association’s needs in the long term.

Providing IABC can choose an inexpensive platform, of which there are many, and bring together volunteer members with experience of setting up and running such networks, then the risk is relatively low.

Amy – I believe there is a difference between blogs and social networks. IABC relies on the contributions of its volunteers, rather than dedicated staff writers to maintain the conversation on its blogs. But social networks rely almost entirely on user-generated content. And the evidence suggests that IABC members are very active and supportive in this context, so you would have to say that chances of success are high.

I also agree with Brad that competition and choice in the marketplace are necessary and welcome. Social networks are likely to proliferate over the coming months and years from other associations and service providers to this industry. And each successive launch will look to differentiate and refine the offering and service further. Anyone remember Friendster?

It’s human nature to follow the crowd. And we’re a fickle bunch. As we’ve seen with this conversation about IABC’s value proposition started on Shel Holtz’s blog, it simply moved here and gathered pace. But that’s the nature of blogs, social networks and other social media, there’s free movement of ideas across borders, digital or geographical.

So I believe IABC would do well to create a natural home for these conversations and connections between members on its own site, but at the same time encourage and participate in conversations that occur elsewhere.

And please note my extreme restraint in writing a whole post without mentioning my own online community. I think there have been enough plugs all round for one discussion. It’s rather like a weird social network equivalent of Tourettes!

A few weeks ago I got an out of the blue invite to the myragan website from the head of a company whose niche is in the area of measurement of pr efforts. I clicked on the invite and was captivated - again by the intelligence, the amount of useful knowledge being freely shared, the humor, the interactivity of it, and its relative newness. Myragan provided me with a well-conceived platform, an opportunity to lead a group, a place to retreat to for collegial contacts, input or feedback from those with expertise in other areas, including a number of academic types who frequently wow me with their insights. And, there is mind candy there too, because sometimes the lighter fare - the escape - the humor is just what is needed at that moment in time.

So my comment is this:

With the posted commitments coming right from Mark Ragan - that the intent is for myragan to not become cluttered with ads, or designed to “go commercial” in the future - then what is the motivation for IABC or any other, in our field to consider an effort that would fragment what Ragan Communications is doing for our profession for free?

Besides who has the time to even consider building and maintaining an alternative platform to the one that Ragan Communications has invested in, and striving to make as useful to all as is possible?

While I think there are some useful tools at IABC.com, I echo the concerns voiced by other posters as to the time, money and sheer marketing effort required to make some of these tools take flight.

As we all know, “If you build it, they will come” does not apply to websites. It takes a constant stream of marketing, updating, upgrading and word-of-mouth to stay relevant and top-of-mind. Take, for example, “MemberSpeak” or the MyComm strategic planning tool. The ideas behind these resources were great, but the execution and ongoing marketing efforts fell short in making them truly valuable and effective tools for members. My perception of these “near-hits” has been that IABC has perhaps spread itself a bit thin and needs to step back and look at how it can be most relevant to its consumers.

To complicate the issue a bit, I’d like to point out that MySpace — once the groundbreaking leader in social networking sites — has lost both credibility and membership due to the large amounts of spam that made its way through to members, as well as the onslaught of newer sites like FaceBook, etc. In any market space, survival of the fittest inevitably occurs, so time will tell if there is truly room for MyRagan, The Communicators Network and any other professional communicators network that may crop up in the future. The question for IABC is: can we afford to invest the resources on something that is not our core competency and that may ultimately fade into oblivion?

If communicators want online social networking through IABC, let’s start by making MemberSpeak more interesting than it is today. Frankly, it’s a yawn most of the time. We could post real thoughts about the profession in there. There is no rule that says our posts have to be about finding a photographer in Punkydoodles Corners or how WebEx compares to RainDance.

I love IABC. Speaking from long experience as a member, observer, chapter and regional leader, I would say IABC and its leaders should get right what they/we already do before launching anything more.

IABC already has on its plate: rebrand, promote accreditation, expand into new geographic regions, heighten awareness of the profession and grow membership. (Issues Jane Greer mentioned.) It must do this with a small staff and overwhelmed volunteers. It has also recently (and happily) recovered from a severe financial crisis. And, for some, there’s an unhappy memory of a foray into a web-based program that was ahead of its time and beyond the capacity of the organization to support - or whatever the problem was.

Unless it can be done with minimal expense and no effort, why on Earth would IABC want to add a feature that mimics two commercial sites that already exist and that are so new we don’t know if they’re sustainable? Ragan and Melcrum are for-profit organizations run by smart business people who, presumably, know the risks and can afford the investment of both money and energy. The latter is important. As sponsors, Ragan and Melcrum employees and writers are very active in creating threads and responding actively in their communities. Can IABC staff and volunteers invest the same time and energy?

I would urge IABC leaders and members to take advantage of the fact that Ragan and Melcrum have gathered and are supporting communities of communicators. Partner with them. Be active in the forums. Share ideas. Start, as Barbara Gibson has, IABC groups.

In this day and age, we market through relationships and by modelling attractive behaviours. Ragan and Melcrum may be about making money, but we cannot forget that they are also about communication. I say they have provided IABC with a lovely platform to exploit to expand its membership base and enrich the perception of its brand value. And it doesn’t cost us a penny. How cool is that?

Cheers - Sue

Sue Johnston
Head Coach
It’s Understood Communication
Waterloo, Ontario
and on the web at http://www.itsunderstood.com
____
Real conversation - the most powerful tool you will ever use

MyRagan.com cannot do that, obviously.

If that is the goal, then a custom program is probably needed (as opposed to MyRagan’s so-called white label software where one size fits all).

I’m an IABC member. I was very excited when I found the IABC employee comms commons, but my excitement waned quickly. It’s hardly EVER updated. The lapses between postings are huge. Literally months have gone between postings. It’s not the example I’d expect a professional communications association to set, and if it were my client or project, I’d have started on a remediation plan at that point.

When the energy on employee comms commons seemed to drop off, I emailed Julie Freeman to offer blog ideas or even blog entries, if it would help keep the discussion going. We desperately NEED support and discussion in the internal comms community, which can feel like a poor second cousin compared to the more glamorous comms fields of PR, IR, AR, or marcom. Guess what? I got NO response. NOTHING.

My experience on myragan was very different. I sent Mark Ragan a question about a basic point of myragan functionality, and I got back a response within minutes. In the short time I’ve been on myragan, I’ve found lively discussion and content that’s more useful and relevant to my practice than what’s being offered by IABC.

I don’t mean to take a personal shot at Julie; I’m sure leading IABC is a big job, and she doesn’t have time to look into every whinge sent her way. I also know what the difference between a for-profit and not-for-profit budget means. And despite my general disappointment with IABC, I don’t intend to leave at this point. But looking at it as a responsible communicator, what other recommendation could I give? Best intentions aside, if IABC can’t keep a simple blog conversation going, there is no way it can do something on the scale of myragan or communicatorsnetwork.

I’m truly sorry if my assessment sounds harsh - I’m even hesitating on the “submit comment” button - but sometimes we give the best counsel when we tell it like it is.

Kristen

Are you talking about between Ragan and Melcrum?
No, there are no business connections.

Robin and I have explored working together, but those discussions have come about only recently and have taken no specific course.

Brad, thanks for your wonderfully intelligent and balanced post on this topic.

If one were to go to the IABC group on MyRagan.com, one would wonder why we are having this discussion?

It’s a lovefest over there, with members and many non-members introducing themselves to one another and talking about how much they love the association. If I were IABC, I would view http://www.myragan.com as a great recruiting tool.

But so far, unless I am mistaken, there are no staff on the site taking advantage of that great conversation and potential.

Julie Freeman, consider this an open invitation to join MyRagan and the IABC group. If nothing else, you might learn more about whether IABC should start a network of its own. We would welcome your participation greatly. And I am sure Robin Crumby would say the same thing.

Mark Ragan
CEO
http://www.myragan.com

Let’s step back for a second and take the discussion out of the social networking arena. Time has proven that there’s room for IABC and Melcrum and Ragan to be successful in the communication marketplace … collaborating at times and competing head-to-head at times … with workshops, conferences, publications and services. And they’re not alone on the planet … don’t forget that PRSA, CPRS, IPRA, NIRI and hundreds of national, state, provincial and local communication organizations have also built successful business models. Some are not-for-profit, some are for-profit. Face it, there are a lot of communication professionals who need the training, the networking, the services, the best practices and the friendships that these organizations are providing.

We seem to be concerned that no one has time to spend at the “competing” Ragan, Melcrum and potential IABC sites. Yet you probably haven’t had the time or the budget to attend all of the professional development seminars/conferences/workshops that are being offered either. That doesn’t mean that anyone - Ragan, Melcrum or IABC - needs to roll over and play dead and cede their spot in the marketplace to someone else.

As a former chairman of IABC, I’d selfishly love to see the association have its own vibrant place to play in cyberspace … and to see it take off with the wild growth that both Ragan and Melcrum have enjoyed (kudos to Mark and Robin for bringing these communities to life!). I also know that it will take resources - staff time, volunteer time and dues dollars - to make it happen for IABC. IABC did suffer a financial blow when it tried to launch an overly ambitious electronic presence a few years ago, so a cautious approach is logical. In general, associations are usually not as nimble as for-profit organizations. We’ll let the board and the staff determine if this is a great idea. It’s great to know that they’re listening, they’re asking the right questions, and they’re a part of this conversation (here and on Ragan).

Social networking does allow IABC to meet a goal with which it has been struggling for years - being truly international. In these new communities, physical location is not an issue. There is no “local” chapter, you don’t have to elect a chapter president or worry about whether to hold lunch meetings or dinner meetings on the second Thursday or the fourth Wednesday of every month. Would we have more time for social networking on a global scale if we spent less time building and running local and regional governance structures? (This is not an either-or question … it’s a matter of balance.)

In the short run, I encourage everyone in IABC (and in the profession) to explore what’s there. Hats off to Barb Gibson for launching the IABC group within Ragan. There are also IABC chapter gathering spots forming at Melcrum, too. These forums “belong” to all of us. They will thrive if we find value and contribute. If we don’t, they will disappear.

If IABC decides to launch its own hosted community, I’ll be there, too. In the meantime, I’m enjoying the opportunity to connect (and reconnect) with communicators from around the world. Thanks, Mark. Thanks, Robin. You’ve helped us all.

Brad

Brad Whitworth, ABC, Fellow

“No,” he quietly replied. “Not at all.” Then he smiled kindly and said, “I just work my side of the street and you work yours.”

The same thing can apply here if we’re kind enough to let it.There are so many personalities in communications, and I happen to look for a reprieve from my daily grind, and have found myragan.com to be just the ticket. I want to laugh, see the absurdity of taking life and work too seriously, and they are a great place to do that. Yet, I appreciate Melcrum and IABC just as much, when I’m in a different mood.

Is it possible to just work your side of the street and not worry what the neighbors are doing?

I’ll be testing that drinks at the bar theory at the IABC conference in New Orleans in 2 weeks. Hope to see you all there for an “in person” discussion of these topics. New Orleans is open to naked conversations 24/7. Robert Scoble has nothing new on us.

My little contribution, is we should encourage communicators to join these types of networks, actively participate and make their own mind up about the value it adds. I have no doubt that the IABC will stand strong in the minds of members in providing best practice, expertise and face to face events that people will crave when they pop their head up from the keyboard chatter.

People will indeed make their minds up about the type of forum they feel comfortable with and the type of events they would attend to interact with other people. I have got profiles on both Melcrum and Ragan, as President of the Victoria Chapter in Australia I have a group under the Melcrum site and it has given my members a platform to talk to any board member or each-other and discuss the latest event or give feedback freely. It is something I have not had to fund at all.. I am advertising my local events and already tapping into speakers, and have picked up a member during a discussion who was not aware of the IABC. Most importantly I am now in touch with so many more IABC members just in general chat.

I will admit no offence Mark… My first MyRagan message was some bikini clad communicator in the states, telling me to read an article ‘it’s cool’ Just was not ringing my Professional Bells. But I know some of my members are hip and with it:)

I congratulate Robin and Mark on the launch of these sites and I support either IABC doing something similar or simply working closer with all these types of networks, that build a stronger Communications Community.

1) I clearly stated that the for-profit side of Melcrum and Ragan are valid. But they are different from what I am seeking in an online community. I don’t want to have to wonder that someone’s marketing department is studying my words or acts to pitch to me through another channel. I can accept that your platforms are non-commercial or advertising funded, but they’re not disinterested. Which is fine, but it’s not where I would prefer to have my online home.

When the association I work for has its annual conference, people exchange pictures of kids, grandkids, new houses, etc. The personal interactions are quite possibly more important than the formal programme. While there is networking at for-profit conferences, that same feeling of family is missing. They’re different. That’s ok, but I like the association culture. It’s a family. I want a family, not an enlightened or otherwise corporate patron. Which doesn’t mean that I don’t think IABC should never cooperate with Melcrum, Ragan or anyone else. But in this case, it would not be my preference.

2) Robin, I wasn’t trying to attack Melcrum, but I think we have an insider/outsider perception issue regarding where your base is. I’m a Melcrum subscriber and the voices I hear in your products and services are largely (not exclusively) “Anglo-Saxon” if you will (only someone else living in France can understand the treason I just committed by using that word in this context…). Which again is fine, because it clearly meets the needs of a corporate audience that subscribes.

Because IABC is member-driven, the diversity of the content it provides has been increasing exponentially in recent years. And that’s what I need, because the majority of my membership base is in developing countries, so hubs in the UK, US and Australia don’t meet my particular needs. But I’m just one person. Not all of us have an executive board composed of citizens from Belgium, China, India, Canada, Norway and Chile, but I do, so I really need to understand communications outside of the Anglo-Saxon world.

3) Finally, I am not a member, so I am not sure if it has all the functions of MyRagan et al, but the European Professional Women’s Network exists LARGELY through online social networking. I’ve recommended that IABC look at what they’re doing because it’s powerful. They can be found at http://www.europeanpwn.net.

1) I’ve been playing with MyRagan for the past week or so, and I love the funtionality. Still a relative newbie to the social networking world, I’m excited by the possibilities of such a tool for IABC. Our existing tools haven’t provided that for me.

2) I set up the IABC group in MyRagan specifically to experiment, to see if members would have more interest in social networking if setting and functionality were more powerful.

3) I don’t have any affinity to Ragan, I’ve never attended one of their events or bought their publications or worked for them. I do appreciate their long-time support of IABC, and I applaud what they’ve accomplished with the MyRagan site.

4) I have mixed feelings on whether or not IABC should have its own site. Although we can easily use the other sites for many of the functions, there’s one thing they can’t do that I think would be an amazing feature if we could do it — turn our entire online database into a dynamic, searchable directory, allowing members to post profiles and photos, and link to other members already in their networks. From all my IABC involvement over the years, I’ve got hundreds of IABC friends, but I don’t have any way in our current system to link with them.

5) I love it that this topic has sparked so much passionate discussion. I hate it that some people have become abusive here. I hate the bullying culture that is so pervasive on some social networking circles — it’s what keeps so many people lurking instead of joining in. Personal note to Robin and Mark: don’t take it personally, you’ve both done a great job of communicating your points of view here.

6) While this debate rages on, and IABC examines where it will go with all this, you’re all welcome to come on over and experiment with us in the MyRagan IABC Members group. If nothing else, it can help us see the possibilities. And in the meantime, IABC is getting great exposure to non-members there.

Barb