Acronym

OR: "A Blogger Extrapolates a Hazy Lesson for Associations from a Mid-Afternoon Earthquake"

OK, so there was an earthquake in Virginia today, which was felt by much of the Eastern United States. You know that much.

After the initial bewilderment and after the checking in with family and friends and colleagues, the rest of the afternoon was filled with trading stories about who was where when it happened and what it felt like. This happened in person and online.

Throughout the afternoon, I was struck by the energy in those conversations. It was something everyone could talk about. We have these sorts of moments of common shared experiences increasingly rarely. (On a national scale, the last two I can think of were the announcement of Osama bin Laden's death and the Super Bowl, but again, the quake was only on a regional scale.)

Seth Godin pointed this out less than an hour after the quake, and it also reminded me of the discussion about the value of commiseration here on Acronym a few weeks ago. If you're on the East Coast, pay attention to the energy in people's voices as they talk about the quake today. It's proof positive of that deeply human desire for shared experience.

The lesson for an association? Next time you're planning an event or meeting or even just a group project for volunteer members, think about today's earthquake buzz and think about how you can spark that kind of shared experience. When your members get together, give them an experience that shakes them up a bit (in a good way, of course). If you can give them something they can all talk about, they'll be building positive bonds that they associate with your community.