Acronym

Rather than give you my highlights from the first full day of the Technology Conference, I decided to ask three different people to give me three thoughts off the top of their head.

Reggie Henry, CTO, ASAE & The Center for Association Leadership

-I think the general session was an ear-opener for folks. I could feel people get nervous in the room because the old-school business models, especially ours, is to sell information. What does that mean when others just give it away. I could just feel the fear in the room.

-The association community is full of troopers--the weather was bad, but they still showed up in great numbers.

-It always amazes me, though it shouldn't anymore, that the wisdom of the crowd carries these conferences. The questions spark at least as good a debate as the things the presenters prepare.

Elena Gerstmann, Staff Director - IEEE Corporate Strategy and Communications

-The sessions this year, and the attendees, are at a higher level than previous years. You can see it in the types of questions that people are asking, presenters aren't having to explain fundamentals as much. I'll be making revisions to the presentation I give tomorrow as a result.

- There was a question at the general session about user-generated content taking away business from the association, and I liked Jeff Howe's answer: We need to step up. We have to add value to our members. LinkedIn communities, Meetup.com groups -- these are our competitors.

- It's all about networking, who you sit next to in sessions, what exhibitors you talk to. That's the great thing about these conferences in the association sector, nobody's a competitor and people are nice and are eager to share their knowledge and tips and tricks so that everybody benefits.

David Gammel, President of High Context Consulting

- Be clear about the outcomes you want to create at the beginning of any process.

- Understand what measures will let you know if you are creating your desired outcomes.

- Experiment and test the hell out of it until you get it right. I think these things are coming through across multiple sessions here.