Leadership

Lunchtime Links: Tina Brown Makes Her Next Big Move

The Daily Beast editor leaves the company to focus on live events. Also: Engaging event attendees in creative ways.

Here’s a question: Could the future of journalism be live events? Tina Brown certainly thinks so. The legendary editor’s big bet, and more, in today’s Lunchtime Links.

Brown out: After five years at The Daily Beast, famed news and magazine editor Tina Brown announced she will leave the online news outfit to build her own company focused on “theatrical journalism,” writes David Freedlander for The Beast. “The great thing about change is that you get influxes of new energy and you get different ideas,” Brown, who spoke at ASAE 2011, told staff. Her departure marks another in a long line of big steps for Brown, who also has held the top job at Vanity Fair and The New Yorker. She teamed up with media executive Barry Diller to build The Beast in 2008, in what was then considered a risky move, even for her. Brown’s new venture will reportedly produce live events, panel discussions, and debates, including the popular Women in the World conference, which she has run since 2010, according to The Beast. Has your organization ever dreamed of hosting an event sponsored by one of the world’s foremost media personalities? Brown’s latest venture might be the chance you’ve been waiting for.

Creative engagement: If your association has spent more than a couple of years hosting the same annual event, it can feel like you’ve exhausted every tactic under the sun to engage members in your program and drive attendance. But give yourself a little credit. There’s always something new worth trying. Writing for Event Manager Blog, Editor Julius Solaris combines four months of research into his latest roundup, “10 Events Engaging Attendees in Creative Ways.” Consider The Moth. The nonprofit storytelling organization requires speakers at its events to present using the art of storytelling. “Since each story is true and every voice authentic, the shows dance between documentary and theater, creating a unique, intimate, and often enlightening experience for the audience,” explains The Moth on its website. Meanwhile, the Circles Conference, a program for creative thinkers, asks attendees to sponsor presenters and others to participate in the event. Check out Solaris’ full list.

Online strategy: We’re all too familiar with the breakneck pace at which technology moves—from the internet, to social media, to live video streaming, to virtual reality. But technology doesn’t just change our delivery channels; it also changes the needs and wants of the people who use it. Writing for Know Your Own Bone, nonprofit leadership consultant Colleen Dilenschneider offers three ways the role of association websites has changed in light of evolving member needs. Here’s an example: If you think your members are visiting your association website to determine whether your annual meeting will offer a valuable experience, think again: Social media and independent third parties have taken over that space. Most web users rely on social media and other channels to form opinions, engage with their peers, and learn about events. But homepages are still viewed as “repositories for unassailable facts.” Dilenschneider suggests nonprofits should can all the “bells and whistles” and focus on the single, most important action a user can take when they visit their website. Otherwise, it just becomes another in a long list of distractions.

What are you reading today? Tell us in the comments.

(photo by SFS Communications/Flickr)

Corey Murray

By Corey Murray

Corey Murray is a contributor to Associations Now. MORE

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