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August 2019

There’s no doubt technology has transformed the way associations – and everyone else – conduct business. For the most part, that’s a good thing.

Email allows us to connect instantly with members and supporters while saving postage and trees. Research can be completed with the click of a mouse instead of a trip to the library.

With video and phone conferencing, boards and committees can conduct business without the expense of time and money to meet in person. When face-to-face events do happen, conference apps enable attendees to find one another and organizers to make last-minute program changes.

Connectivity makes it possible for employees to work from anywhere. Social media present a wealth of opportunities for marketing, member engagement, event promotion and more. Online analytics give us feedback at our fingertips on how well our messaging is working – or isn’t.

As with all good things, however, too much digital has its downside.

July 2019
Association boards are made up of volunteers who are donating their time to the organization, so dealing with a problematic president, churlish chair or disagreeable director can be tricky. Unlike employees, they can’t just be taken off the payroll – they aren’t on it.

One place to start is by focusing on the positive aspects of our relationship with these disruptive folks – the way they have forced us to develop the skills that make us more effective association executives. Here are a few disruptors you’ve most certainly met. We’ve assigned each prototype a gender, but they come in all sizes, shapes and sexes.

June 2019

Ten years after “There’s an app for that” became a household phrase, there really is an app for just about everything, including things the folks at Apple probably hadn’t thought of when they coined the slogan.

Not only are apps everywhere, they’ve become more versatile – and so have their users.

This is especially true of event and conference apps. Once considered an expensive extra, they’ve become as essential to many associations’ event plans as name badges and sponsorship packages.

If you’ve used a conference app, you know what’s in them: the schedule, presenter bios, venue map, attendee list, sponsor and exhibitor information, and the all-important post-conference survey. Depending on the event and the budget, the app might also have functions for rating presenters, voting on “people’s choice” awards, and earning points in a scavenger hunt or similar game.

May 2019

The rules of member engagement are changing. “Everybody does it” is no longer a strong enough reason to compel people to join your association. That’s why membership incentives are more popular than ever.

In today’s world of social media and the tools that surround it, anyone can form a group or a following. If so, should people have to pay to belong?

A recent, bold incentive that some professional and trade associations have tried is free membership – who doesn’t love a freebie? While it sounds cutting edge, ADG went on a mission to find out who is doing it and how they make it work.

The end result of our search? We have yet to find an association that charges no dues at all. Even those with mostly free memberships have one or more premium options.

April 2019

Even if you’ve never heard one, you probably know about podcasts – downloadable audio files on a variety of topics, from crime to comedy, politics to pop culture. A recent New York magazine cover story on the podcast phenomenon estimated there are now about 660,000 podcasts in production, reaching more than 60 million listeners.

Podcasting was born in the mid-2000s, shortly after the first portable mp3 players hit the market. The word “podcast” is a portmanteau of “broadcast” and “iPod,” making it a somewhat archaic term, as nowadays most of us listen to them on smartphones, not iPods.

Associations have begun discovering the power of podcasts as a tool to reach members, other stakeholders and the public. We don’t expect them to replace other communications media, but they can go places where others can’t – literally.

Unlike videos and webinars that are best watched, and newsletters that must be read, podcasts don’t require eyeballs – just ears. They can be consumed in the car, on the job, at the gym and anywhere else a smartphone can go.

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Literary Life Hacks

- Literary Life Hack #13: The Comma Conundrum Part 2: Compound Interest
  
  In a compound sentence (one with two or more verbs, each with its own subject), the sentences-within-the-sentence should be separated by commas.
  
  The meeting runs from 9 am to 5 pm, and lunch is included.
  
  I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and people like me!
  
  Commas are not necessary if it isn’t a true compound sentence:
  
  The meeting runs from 9 am to 5 pm and includes lunch.
  
  There is no rule against using commas in a non-compound sentence, however. Especially if the sentence is long, it might call for a comma or two as a “breather” for the reader.
- Literary Life Hack #12: The Comma Conundrum Part 1: Super Serial
  
  The serial comma, aka Oxford comma, comes before the conjunction in a series. In “red, white, and blue,” it’s the comma after “white.” Whether to use it is one of the most hotly debated issues among editors and writers.
  
  Associated Press style (used by most U.S. newspapers) advises against using it unless it’s needed for clarity – generally because one of the items in the series has a conjunction of its own:
  
  His favorite bands are the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Journey.
  
  His favorite bands are the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Sonny and Cher, and Journey.
  
  We’re pro-AP style – therefore, anti-Oxford comma unless it’s absolutely necessary – but you may run into someone who insists on them. Give them what they want; it’s the proper, right, and correct thing to do. (See what we did there?)
- Literary Life Hack #11: Squirrelly Plurals, Part 2: Nothin’ but Nouns
  
  English is easy when it comes to plurals. Only the noun changes when we form the plural – adjectives and other modifiers stay the same: Red rose, red roses. Stone house, stone houses.
  
  That rule doesn’t change when the modifier comes after the noun – as in court-martial, notary public, attorney general or mother-in-law. Pluralize only the noun: courts-martial, notaries public, attorneys general, mothers-in-law.
  
  When in doubt, ask yourself which word in the phrase does not make sense as a noun, and pluralize the other one. (Yes, “general” can be a noun, but an attorney general is not an officer in the Army. “In-law” can be a noun, but it’s usually plural when used alone – “I love my in-laws.”)
- Literary Life Hack #10: Squirrelly Plurals, Part 1: Names
  
  Most of us have mastered the rules for making common nouns plural (books, foxes, babies, valleys) and the many exceptions to those rules (men, women, children, people). Names, however, trip a lot of people up, despite having a simpler set of rules with no exceptions.
  
  Most names can be made plural simply by adding an S:
  The Smiths live next door. Their son, John, is one of three Johns in his class.
  
  For names ending in CH, SH, S, X or Z, use “-es,” same as with common nouns:
  The Bushes and the Cruzes are trying to keep up with the Joneses.
  There are three Maxes and two Riches in our office.
  
  Names ending in Y get an S, never an “-ies”:
  The Kirbys, the Murphys and the Dickeys all named their daughters Becky. That’s a lot of Beckys!
  
  Never, ever use an apostrophe – alone or with an S – to pluralize any noun that is more than one letter long.
- Literary Life Hack #9: Almost Persuaded
  
  Don’t use “convince” when you mean “persuade.” Convincing is for thoughts; persuading is for actions.
  
  Incorrect: “I convinced the board to book Arnold Schwarzenegger as a speaker.”
  Correct: “I persuaded the board to book Arnold Schwarzenegger as a speaker.”
  Also correct: “I convinced the board that booking Arnold as a speaker would attract more people to the conference.”
  
  Rule of thumb: If the word “to” is in the sentence, persuade yourself to use “persuade.” If there’s a “that,” convince yourself that “convince” is the right choice.
- Literary Life Hack #8: Love of "Like," Part 2
  
  The word “like,” when being used as a preposition, should never be followed by a verb. Use “as” instead.
  
  Incorrect: “Like Shakespeare said, ‘All’s well that ends well.’”
  Correct: “As Shakespeare said, ‘All’s well that ends well.’”
- Literary Life Hack #7: Love of "Like," Part 1
  
  Don’t use “like” (similar to) when you mean “such as” (the real deal):
  
  Incorrect: "This conference always features well-known speakers like Oprah Winfrey, Tony Robbins and Arnold Schwarzenegger.” (Well, which is it? The actual Oprah, Tony and Ah-nuld, or a trio of impersonators?)
  
  Correct: “This conference always features well-known speakers such as Oprah Winfrey, Tony Robbins and Arnold Schwarzenegger.”
  
  Also correct, if a bit outdated: “Be like Mike.”
- Literary Life Hack #6: Signs and Symbols
  
  A few reminders about when to use them:
  - % — Don’t use it except in tables and infographics. In text, spell out “percent.” (That’s one word, not “per cent” — unless you’re in Britain.)
  - $ — Use the dollar sign or the D word (200 dollars, $200) but not both together ($200 dollars). The sign is preferable, except in very informal usage (“I feel like a million dollars!”).
  - & — Use only when it’s part of a proper name (e.g., Johnson & Johnson). Otherwise spell out “and.”
  Incorrect: Thanks to our members & supporters.
  
  Correct: Thanks to our members and supporters.
- Literary Life Hack #5: Myriad Pyramids
  
  Contrary to popular belief, the word “myriad” is not a noun. It’s an adjective.
  
  Incorrect: ADG staff facilitated a myriad of events this fall.
  
  Correct: ADG staff facilitated myriad events this fall.
  
  If you really need a noun, “plethora” is acceptable (“a plethora of events”). It means a lot.
- Literary Life Hack #4: Compose – Don’t Comprise Yourself
  
  Many people use “compose” and “comprise” interchangeably.
  
  The pizza comprises 8 slices – CORRECT
  The pizza is composed of 8 slices – CORRECT
  The pizza is comprised of 8 slices – INCORRECT
  
  “Make up” is an acceptable alternative and can be used in the active or passive voice. The pizza is made up of 8 slices. Eight slices make up the pizza.
  
  We are not making up this rule.
- Literary Life Hack #3: The F Word (no, not that one)
  
  I feel frustrated when people use the word “feel” incorrectly.
  I feel they don’t know how to write well.
  
  The first sentence uses the word “feel” correctly. The second does not.
  
  Simple rule of thumb: If what you’re “feeling” is more than a single adjective’s worth, it’s not a feeling. Use “think,” “believe,” “surmise,” “expect” or some other verb that describes brain activity, not emotion. Check out http://www.thesaurus.com/browse/think for some ideas.
  
  If it just, well, feels right to use “feel” instead, plug in that single adjective after it:
  
  We feel the conference will be a success.
  We expect the conference will be a success.
  We feel confident the conference will be a success.
- Literary Life Hack #2: Hyphen Nation
  
  To hyphenate or not to hyphenate — that is the question. A general rule is that if the words in question go with (usually before) a noun, hyphenate. If they go with (usually after) a verb, do not.
  
  They had a face-to-face meeting. They met face to face.
  He has a full-time job. He works full time.
  
  Adjective-noun combinations that modify other nouns should also be hyphenated to avoid confusion: Small-business owner, criminal-court judge. We don’t want to call the business owner’s stature or the judge’s morals into question!
- Literary Life Hack #1: The Dating Game
  
  Dates should not have a suffix on the number (10th, 23rd, etc.) if the month is present. (July 4, 1776, not July 4th, 1776). Only use the -th, -st, -nd, -rd suffixes if there is no month (“See you on the 23rd!”).
  
  In everyday usage it is not necessary to append this year to a date (May 1 is sufficient; you don’t need to say May 1, 2019). You may not even need next year if it’s clear from the context what year it is (“Join us for our 2020 Conference on February 1 and 2”). Exception: legal language (contracts, disclaimers, official rules).