There’s a long list of presentations happening today at the ASAE Technology Conference & Expo, but one that has to do with arguably the most underused platform on social media, Google+, is something to write home about. Should your association be on it? If you’re on it, are you maximizing its potential?

That and more in today’s Lunchtime Links:

Plus one: You know Facebook. You know Twitter. You are learning Pinterest and have a few favorite Tumblr pages. But is your association on Google+? The social media platform from the company that revolutionized the internet is gaining its sea legs, and organizations are starting to notice. SocialFish’s Maddie Grant gives a preview of her presentation in this blog post about her “Best Tips to Maximize Google+.” Are you using Google+? How creative have you been with it?

All bets are off: Providing an incentive for members is nothing new, but it packs a powerful punch when combined with a social media initiative and a charitable act. VolunteerMatch recently gave its time to San Francisco’s Public Library main branch after the results of a reader challenge, in which the organization bet its own readers they couldn’t guess when the organization would hit 6 million volunteers. The reader who guessed closest to the time it happened received a special prize – controlling where the team volunteered next. It only took two weeks and changed the organization’s thinking toward more skills-oriented sessions. Has a special project changed the way your association thinks?

Changing times: At the end of the year, ’tis the season for 2013 trend predictions, like the ones found in the National Restaurant Association–American Culinary Federation survey “What’s Hot in 2013,” which forecasts the top food and drink crazes. What do you think will develop for associations in 2013?

Casting your net: True networkers are always “on,” whether in the local Starbucks, standing in line at the movie theater, or yes, at the upcoming holiday party. Miriam Salpeter writes at U.S. News about her tips to turn holiday parties into networking gold mines.  Learn how to make the proper introduction (ditch the two-minute elevator speech) and how to do a little reconnaissance with the guest list to create the best opportunities. How have you used social gatherings to your advantage? What’s your best networking strategy?

What are you reading over lunch? Let us know in the comments.

(Google+)