--- title: "The Best of 2015: The Stories You Read and Shared Most" id: "31543" type: "post" slug: "the-best-of-2015-the-stories-you-read-and-shared-most" published_at: "2015-12-23T21:24:57+00:00" modified_at: "2026-11-09T17:50:22+00:00" url: "https://associationsnow.com/2015/12/23/the-best-of-2015-the-stories-you-read-and-shared-most/" markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2015/12/23/the-best-of-2015-the-stories-you-read-and-shared-most.md" excerpt: "It’s been a busy year for associations, as their work has continued to shape the news every day. We dug into our readership numbers to give you a look at the most popular Associations Now stories of 2015." taxonomy_category: - "Membership" taxonomy_post_tag: - "AssociationsNow" - "Business" - "Member Engagement" - "Membership" taxonomy_content_format: - "Article" taxonomy_persona: - "Association Professionals" --- [Home](https://associationsnow.com/) » [Articles](https://associationsnow.com/format/article/) » The Best of 2015: The Stories You Read and Shared Most Is 2015 really almost over already? Time flies when you’re watching associations do their work. Before we go on a short break for the end of the year, we took a look at our web-traffic data to find out what you found most interesting, compelling, and buzz-worthy this year at *Associations Now*. You, dear audience, are an eclectic bunch, as the most popular stories cover a wide variety of topics—though technology seems to be a subtle theme. Read on to remember another year in associations. ### Most-Viewed Stories [http://associationsnow.com/2015/07/sim-card-become-thing-past/](http://associationsnow.com/2015/07/sim-card-become-thing-past/) **1. [Could the SIM Card Become a Thing of the Past?](http://associationsnow.com/2015/07/sim-card-become-thing-past/)** *By Ernie Smith, July 20* The little card that ties a single phone to a single network could be on the chopping block as the GSM Association works with Apple and Samsung on an update that could have broad support from mobile providers. [http://associationsnow.com/2015/01/cuff-tips-improving-impromptu-speaking-skills//](http://associationsnow.com/2015/01/cuff-tips-improving-impromptu-speaking-skills//) **2. [Off-the-Cuff: Tips for Improving Impromptu Speaking Skills](http://associationsnow.com/2015/01/cuff-tips-improving-impromptu-speaking-skills//)** *By Katie Bascuas, January 29* Should you ever find yourself in a situation that calls for unscripted speaking, take some tips from executive speaking coach Anett Grant, who shared some secrets of the trade to help master the art of impromptu speech. [http://associationsnow.com/2015/03/member-data-collection-neverending-story/](http://associationsnow.com/2015/03/member-data-collection-neverending-story/) **3. [Member-Data Collection: The Never-Ending Story](http://associationsnow.com/2015/03/member-data-collection-neverending-story/)** *By Joe Rominiecki, March 18* Associations have long wondered how to get more members to update their profile info. One association says the key is realizing data management is a multi-channel, every-day job. [http://associationsnow.com/2015/01/blast-past-2015-year-chat-room/](http://associationsnow.com/2015/01/blast-past-2015-year-chat-room/) **4. [Blast From the Past: Is 2015 the Year of the Chat Room?](http://associationsnow.com/2015/01/blast-past-2015-year-chat-room/)** *By Ernie Smith, January 6* It’s been about two decades since the chat room was truly in vogue, but would 2015 prove a turning point for chat in the private community sector? Our tech blogger took some insights from the success of Slack. [http://associationsnow.com/2015/11/state-email-design-stinks/](http://associationsnow.com/2015/11/state-email-design-stinks/) **5. [The State of Email Design Stinks](http://associationsnow.com/2015/11/state-email-design-stinks/)** *By Ernie Smith, November 17* If you’d like to push the envelope with an email message, you might be in for a world of pain. Like web design in general a decade ago, email design remains mired in a set of inconsistent standards and poor rendering support by popular clients. The result is that email marketers are often stuck playing it safe. ### Most-Shared Stories 1. [Member-Data Collection: The Never-Ending Story](http://associationsnow.com/2015/03/member-data-collection-neverending-story/) , by Joe Rominiecki, March 18 2. [Nonprofit Boards Are Largely Ineffective, Stanford Study Finds](http://associationsnow.com/2015/04/nonprofit-boards-largely-ineffective-stanford-study-finds/) , by Katie Bascuas, April 27 3. [What Would Your Former Members Say You’re Worth?](http://associationsnow.com/2015/03/former-members-say-youre-worth/) , by Joe Rominiecki, March 25 4. [The State of Email Design Stinks](http://associationsnow.com/2015/11/state-email-design-stinks/) , by Ernie Smith, November 17 5. [Without Membership Metrics, You’re Working Blindfolded](http://associationsnow.com/2015/01/without-membership-metrics-working-blindfolded/) , by Joe Rominiecki, January 14 ### Readership Highlights Despite the ubiquity of mobile devices, desktop reading still dominates among association readers, though smartphone traffic gained some ground in 2015. (If you haven’t checked out *Associations Now* on your phone, give it a try. The responsive design looks great, in our humble opinion.) Twitter has a relatively strong following in the association community. In a wider world where Facebook dominates social traffic and sharing (even now [outpacing Google (opens in a new tab)](http://fortune.com/2015/08/18/facebook-google/) ), *Associations Now* continued to see more traffic and sharing activity via Twitter than any other social network in 2015—though Facebook did make a significant gain in traffic compared to last year. Will that trend continue in 2016? ### Big Days As was the case last year, *Associations Now*‘s biggest day for traffic was the day of its most-viewed single article for the year: Tuesday, July 20, when we published Ernie Smith’s “[Could the SIM Card Become a Thing of the Past?](http://associationsnow.com/2015/07/sim-card-become-thing-past/) ” on the Technology Blog. The most-opened edition of *Associations Now Daily News* was delivered on a Wednesday—in particular, the Wednesday immediately following the close of the 2015 ASAE Annual Meeting & Exposition in Detroit, with the subject line “#ASAE15: Motor City Memories.” We hope it made good reading for attendees waiting to board flights home on August 12. [http://associationsnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/motorcitymemoriesscreenshot.png](http://associationsnow.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/motorcitymemoriesscreenshot.png) ### Staying Power Some stories were so compelling that they held your attention both in the moment and over the long term. **Longest average time spent on page:** “[Embrace the (March) Madness and Other Productivity Tips](http://associationsnow.com/2015/03/embrace-march-madness-productivity-tips/) ,” by Katie Bascuas, March 26. Readers spent 7 minutes, 41 seconds, on average, learning about productivity by reading this post on the Money & Business Blog—always a highly productive activity. **Most “evergreen” story:** “[Take It From the Top: How Leaders Foster an Ethical Culture (or Not)](http://associationsnow.com/2014/01/take-it-from-the-top-how-leaders-foster-an-ethical-culture-or-not/) ,” by Lori Porter, MBA, IOM, CAE, January 16, 2014. Porter’s guest blog post was part of a [weeklong series](http://associationsnow.com/blogs/ethics-2014/) about the ASAE Standards of Conduct and focused on organizational ethics and the actions of leaders. It lived on as the pre-2015 article most read this year at *Associations Now*. ### Top Stories by Topic #### Leadership [Anthropological Association Takes a Stand in Native American Mascot Debate](http://associationsnow.com/2015/03/anthropological-association-takes-stand-native-american-mascot-debate/) , by Rob Stott, March 30 #### Technology [Could the SIM Card Become a Thing of the Past?](http://associationsnow.com/2015/07/sim-card-become-thing-past/) , by Ernie Smith, July 20 #### Membership [Member-Data Collection: The Never-Ending Story](http://associationsnow.com/2015/03/member-data-collection-neverending-story/) , by Joe Rominiecki, March 18 #### Money & Business [Off-the-Cuff: Tips for Improving Impromptu Speaking Skills](http://associationsnow.com/2015/01/cuff-tips-improving-impromptu-speaking-skills//) , by Katie Bascuas, January 29 #### Meetings [Early Meeting Predictions for 2016](http://associationsnow.com/2015/10/meeting-2016-predictions/) , by Samantha Whitehorne, October 2 What other *Associations Now* stories stood out to you in 2015? Share your favorites in the comments. (iStock/Thinkstock) [Joe Rominiecki](https://associationsnow.com/author/joe-rominiecki/) Joe Rominiecki is a contributing editor to Associations Now. [More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/joe-rominiecki/) Tags: [#Business](https://associationsnow.com/tag/business/) [#Member Engagement](https://associationsnow.com/tag/member-engagement/) [#Membership](https://associationsnow.com/tag/membership/) **Stay Informed** [Subscribe to our free newsletter](https://associationsnow.com/newsletter/) , *Associations Now Daily News*, to find out what’s happening in the association world every business day. ## You Might Like - [PodcastAssociations Now Presents: Beyond the Tech Stack: How AI Is Changing the Association PlaybookOctober 29, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/10/29/associations-now-presents-beyond-the-tech-stack-how-ai-is-changing-the-association-playbook/) - [TemplateMembers onlyMember Onboarding ToolkitNovember 5, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/11/05/member-onboarding-toolkit/) - [VideoThe Career Moves Every Association Leader Needs Right NowSeptember 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/24/the-career-moves-every-association-leader-needs-right-now/) - [VideoNCRA: Safeguarding Cancer Surveillance: An Advocacy Response to FY26 Budget ThreatsSeptember 24, 2026](https://associationsnow.com/2026/09/24/ncra-safeguarding-cancer-surveillance-an-advocacy-response-to-fy26-budget-threats/) ## Comments **Comments are for ASAE members.** [Learn more about comments on this site.](https://associationsnow.com/comments/) [Log in](https://associationsnow.com/login?redirect_to=https%3A%2F%2Fassociationsnow.com%2F2015%2F12%2F23%2Fthe-best-of-2015-the-stories-you-read-and-shared-most%2F%23comments) to your member account or [join ASAE](https://my.asaecenter.org/select-a-membership-type/) !