Communities
February 20, 2005
The GMAIL Concept
Posted by Kevin | Comments Off | Print This Article
In case you don’t know offhand how this works, Gmail is Google’s email service. They offer a huge storage amount, and offer it for free. (There was some controversy when the service was first announced based on the fact that Google serves up text ads based on words within the mail received at your gmail account.)
Since the product is officially in "beta," you can’t just go up to the Google site and sign up. The only way to sign up for an account is to be "invited" by someone who already has an account.
This is viral marketing at its best. By artificially limiting the number of account holders (I say artificial because nobody believes that this system is actually a "beta" program), and requiring you to finagle an invitation from an account-holder, Google has created a sense of exclusivity around its email offering that far exceeds the actual value. (Okay, maybe it’s a really really good email account … but it’s still just an email account. To say that email is a commodity is to understate by a wide margin … it’s a commodity that’s free.)
Now it’s not uncommon to see bloggers announcing that they have X number of Gmail invites to give away. (It’s becoming more common now as you can tell that Google is releasing more and more invites.) At the end of the day, Google will have far more Gmail account holders than they might otherwise have had — because, after all, it’s just another email service, right? (In fact, he said facetiously, it’s an email service that reads your email and offers contextual ads based on what people are writing you about).
Brilliant, just brilliant.
Makes me wonder: what lesson is there for an association in this type of marketing campaign? Could you imagine limiting membership (if not membership in your actual association, then membership in a sub-group of some sort, or a subscription) just to people who are able to get an invitation from someone who’s already a member/subscriber? Giving member/subscribers a limited number of invitations they can offer to others?
Hmm … yes, it does make me wonder …/div>
(EDIT, 07/06/2005: Well, what do you know. I have a gmail account now.)
December 29, 2004
What Makes an “Association”?
Posted by Kevin | Comments Off | Print This Article
Subscription Website Publishers Association (SWEPA)
Now, ask yourself: Is this an "association" as most association executives might define the term?
At first blush, the answer is no, right? This doesn’t appear to really be an "organization." As far as I can tell, it’s just a for-profit website owned by an individual.
Take a closer look. They charge dues. Members get access to information and knowledge resources that are otherwise closed. There’s a very active discussion forum where members interact with each other, ask questions, get answers. SWEPA sponsors training, which members get discounts on. There are products members can buy at a discount.
How is this any different from associations as we know them?
Well, they don’t do "advocacy" — but there’s no reason why they couldn’t if they felt there was a reason to get involved. (And lots of old-school associations don’t really do advocacy, either.) There’s no "governance" structure — no board, no committees. (For this site’s purposes of efficiently providing information its members want to pay for, do you think that’s a hindrance?)
Of course, what really caught my eye about this site is its whole reason for being — and the people who join. People who run "subscription websites" (including self-styled "associations") for niche industries and professions.
SWEPA even offers a couple sample business plans for "membership association websites."
Set aside SWEPA and its resources. The fact is it’s incredibly easy for just about anyone to form a dues-based website that costs next to nothing — and if that individual happens to know a lot about whatever industry or profession niche he/she’s targeting, it’s just as easy to create useful and interesting content.
(Just out of curiosity, I spent about half-a-day researching this, and realized that if I wanted to I could create a fully-integrated paid membership website, using some low-cost software and my own basic html design skills, for less than $500 and some sweat equity.)
While many of these subscription sites remain "pie-in-the-sky" ideas for their owners, there are many successful ones — dues-based for-profit sites that have figured out how to provide engaging content, interactive communities, and useful resources that members want to pay for.
Anybody can do it.
Including your association.
Or people who want to compete with you.
Are you providing the same kinds of resources on your organization’s website? Making it easy for members to join and get the information they want? Providing the "virtual" experience that more and more of your customers/members want today? (Is "networking" as it used to be defined by associations dying or dead? I think it is.)
I’m really curious about other people’s thoughts on this topic.