Andrew Sullivan: Create the New Business Model

Sometimes, disruption can catch you off-guard. Other times, you can create the disruption.

The former is hard to come back from. The latter is difficult to pull off. But if the opportunity presents itself, hold on tight.

Lessons from a blogging legend, and more, in today’s Social Media Roundup:

How Sully Got His Groove Back

Last I heard @sullydish  (opens in a new tab) pushing $100k in revenue today

— Ben Smith (@semaforben) January 2, 2013  (opens in a new tab)

In 2000, Andrew Sullivan gave the budding field of blogging a real kick in the pants by becoming one of its leading lights. While he went it alone for a while, his reputation in the media industry as a former editor of The New Republic led notable publications, such as The Atlantic and Time, to take a chance on him. Now, nearly two years after joining The Daily Beast, Sullivan is going it alone again … but inventing a new funding model along the way  (opens in a new tab). Sullivan is charging an “advance membership” fee of $19.99 a year to regular readers of his blog; readers who don’t sign up will be asked to pay the $19.99 yearly fee after accessing a limited amount of long-form content during a given month. Sullivan notes, however, that the front page of the site, which includes a large amount of short-form content, will remain free to access. Rumor is that he’s already having a ton of success  (opens in a new tab). If your association tried to flip the business model like Sullivan, would you be able to pull it off? (ht @BuzzFeedBen  (opens in a new tab))

A Good Year for Meeting Planners

Meeting planner ranked as No. 14 best business job of 2013 http://t.co/e9qHJ5qV  (opens in a new tab) #mpi  (opens in a new tab) #eventprofs  (opens in a new tab) #assnchat  (opens in a new tab) #pcma  (opens in a new tab)

— Jason Hensel (@pimplomat) January 2, 2013  (opens in a new tab)

Enjoy your ranking: Meeting planners (or potential meeting planners) have reason to cheer  (opens in a new tab) after U.S. News and World Report included the position on its 2013 best-jobs list. (It ranks 13th for business jobs and 66th overall.) They give the career path high marks for upward mobility and flexibility, but also cite its high stress levels. Why the high ranking? In a word, growth. “The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects meeting, convention, and event planner employment growth of 43.7 percent between 2010 and 2020, adding 31,300 more jobs. Favorable job prospects help this profession rank No. 66,” according to the publication  (opens in a new tab). (ht @pimplomat  (opens in a new tab))

Think the growth prospects for meeting planners match U.S. News and World Report‘s bullish rankings? Let us know in the comments.

(Stuck in Customs/Flickr)