Principled Innovation LLC

Association 5.0

November 5th, 2007

Blogger bud Maddie Grant has a couple of recent posts on the notion of Association 2.0 that I found quite interesting. Of course, Maddie is not the first association blogger to write on this topic. My WHADITW co-author David Gammel wrote an article on Association 2.0 that appeared in Associations Now magazine in January 2006. With all of the blogospheric hype around Web 2.0 and Enterprise 2.0, it makes intuitive sense that we should be talking about Association 2.0 and, frankly, I’m a little surprised there hasn’t been more conversation about the idea in the two years since David’s article was published.

The fundamental concern I have always had with the concept of Association 2.0, however, is that we’re already way beyond version 2.0. In fact, I would argue that we are now on Association 5.0, just based on the following simplified timeline of how associations have emerged in America over the last 250+ years:

Association 1.0–The original formation of many national associations begins in the late 18th century through the late 19th century.

Association 2.0–Local associations and chapters begin to emerge in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Association 3.0–ASAE was founded in 1920, the first membership organization for association managers.

Association 4.0–ASAE first offers the Certified Association Executive designation in 1960, making the professionalization of association management a top priority.

Association 5.0–ASAE & The Center for Association Leadership merge in 2004.

Now, we could quibble about the specifics of this timeline, but it doesn’t change the larger point: our community is further along in its historic evolution than the second generation. The problem we must confront, then, is that the pace of shift in the external environment continues to outstrip the pace of innovation inside our organizations. Perhaps this is why Association 2.0 feels like a more accurate descriptor for where we are today.

The good news is that W2.0/E2.0 technologies provide us with some powerful collaborative tools that can accelerate our efforts to become whatever is next.  So whether it’s Association 2.0 or Association 5.0, I agree with Maddie: it’s time to move on.

Entry Filed under: Principled Innovation Blog