Acronym

In case you missed it, November started this week, and a new month means a new themed series of posts here on Acronym. (No, we didn't do a theme in October. We know.)

This month's theme: social media.

I can hear you all groaning now. But wait! Before you stop reading, let me assure you: we here at Acronym are well aware that social media has been blogged about to infinity and back in the past 2-3 years, and we know that the last thing you need from us is just more "rah-rah social media" banter.

So, we have planned the month's posts with one goal in mind: to go beyond what's already been said about social media as it relates to associations. That's it. If we've already read it somewhere else, we won't be simply rehashing it here. It's a lofty goal, but we're going for it. If we miss, then please say so in the comments.

Here's a preview of some of what's in store:

• A look at how associations have progressed with social media in the last two years. (Why two years? Because November 2007 was our first social media month.)
• Why social media staffing at associations could be a big mess for several years.
• Why part of our collective trouble with social media is because associations aren't funny.
• How social media is changing governance at associations.
• A better definition of crowdsourcing, because it means a lot of different things to different people.

We'll also work in some thoughts, perspectives, and wisdom shared today and tomorrow at ASAE & The Center's Social Media Workshop. If you're not there, you can follow discussion on Twitter via the hashtag: #smw09.

So, please stay tuned (or browsed? or clicked?) to Acronym this month. We hope you'll find the series thought provoking and discussion worthy (share your ideas in the comments, of course!). For now, I leave you with this, "The Stupidest Article About Social Media Ever." We'll do our best to not sound too much like that.

[Also, on a semi-related note, remember that December will be our "big ideas" month, and we're still taking suggestions for potential "What if?" topics to cover. For more info, read the "Think big" post and add more ideas in the comments there. The ones that other readers have posted so far are a fun read in and of themselves, too.]