Monday Buzz: Expand Your Aid to Millennials

We’ve covered the shifting demographic landscape before, with associations increasingly having to adjust to the preferences of younger members and audiences.

Shelly Alcorn, CAE, at Alcorn Associates, urges associations to go a step further. Don’t just include younger generations in your associations; make sure that, if possible, you’re aiding their well-being  (opens in a new tab).

Alcorn lists six areas, taken from the Global Youth WellBeing Index, where associations can begin to focus their efforts, including citizen participation, economic opportunity, and even technology.

“Digital natives, blah blah … we’ve heard this one a thousand times,” Alcorn writes. “Well, yes you have but what about our responsibility to collectively fight to ensure open access to the Internet for younger members and the generations coming after them?”

For those areas and beyond, Alcorn imparts: “It’s not enough to talk about making a difference, eventually we will need to set about putting programs in place to ensure we do.”

Tweet of the Day

3 Ways @Pinterest  (opens in a new tab) Can Help You Plan Your Next Exhibit http://t.co/hZObk1j17U  (opens in a new tab) by @Nimlok  (opens in a new tab) on @TSNN_com_US  (opens in a new tab) #assnchat  (opens in a new tab) #expochat  (opens in a new tab)

— Launch.it (@Launch_it) April 21, 2014  (opens in a new tab)

Looking for a bit of visual flair at your next event? Justine Savage at the Trade Show News Network suggests checking out Pinterest’s massive array of design tips and tricks  (opens in a new tab) to provide just the inspiration you need to stand out from the crowd.

While her tips largely focus on vendors or booth-runners, they translate to the folks putting on the tradeshow itself, too.

Other Links of Note

Why settle for one-and-done donations? Laura Tubesing from Network for Good breaks down how you can retain donors by getting them to be recurring contributors  (opens in a new tab).

Microsoft’s changing gears, ending Windows XP support, opening up access to Office, and introducing a whole new batch of lingo your association may need to know, via CMS Wire  (opens in a new tab).

Conferences aren’t just great networking opportunities. They can also provide multiple chances for top-notch crowdsourcing, as Trace Cohen points out over at MultiBriefs  (opens in a new tab).

With massive open online courses growing in popularity, Steve Drake at the SCD Group wonders about the implication for association educational efforts  (opens in a new tab).

Robert Churchill