If you’re an association pro who’s active on the Twitters, odds are you’ve spent a lot of time on the #eventprofs hashtag, one of the most popular spots online.

Less known about the hashtag is its origin, which is particularly notable because it was one of the earliest hashtag communities on Twitter.

In an interview with the Event Manager Blog, #eventprofs founder Lara McCulloch explains her role in the hashtag (which she claims is the second-oldest on Twitter) and why she and other event professionals launched it.

“The ultimate goal was to use this forum to allow event professionals to connect, ask questions, provide advice and, ultimately, help our industry and our businesses grow,” she explained.

At first, the hashtag took the form of an organized online chat, one that frequently trended on Twitter. But, over time, it’s become more informal. McCulloch says that she hopes to reinvigorate that sense of community in the coming months.

“It is very important to reinforce the value of this amazing community on social media,” she explained. “#eventprofs is the way we define ourselves online.”

Thinking Through Member Dues

A few tips for collecting membership dues: https://t.co/KImB16iHEP #assnchat

— MemberClicks (@MemberClicks) August 31, 2016

Collecting member dues is constant when running an association—and for some, the ask that comes with that yearly membership fee isn’t always easy. MemberClicks writer Callie Walker gets that, but she also has a few ideas on how to deal with the issue. Read her latest blog post for some useful approaches.

Other Links of Note

Traveling abroad soon? Find out ahead of time what you’ll be dealing with by using the online tool Basetrip.

“We’ll break out as much orange as we can without annoying people too much.” — the Content Marketing Institute’s Joe Pulizzi, speaking to CMSWire about next week’s Content Marketing World.

How do IT staffers really track employees’ computer habits? According to New York Magazine‘s Select All vertical, employees have to do something out of the ordinary to get IT’s attention.

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