Today the internet allows you to connect to other people along many dimensions; that’s the source of its power. But to connect, communicate and collaborate effectively across the web requires some new tools and new approaches. The challenge of an association to deliver on this key component for member value is critical in their success to build, foster and sustain relationships between their members and their partners.  

 What is the importance of professional and personal networks for achieving goals? Business increases, or as the case may be – membership grows – when relationships are built on trust and integrity. Word – of mouth communication is a critical purchasing decision input for both business-to-business and business – to – consumer markets.    Individuals trust “people like you” for credible information – more than they trust business or anyone else for that matter, except doctors.

 Regular people with opinions and judgments are gravitating to regular meeting places online. Where do your important stakeholders gather to discuss your industry and products?

 In an office setting, informal communications and other brief, informal exchanges take place in the hall, at the water cooler, in the kitchen, and wherever you run into co-workers. Today, communication must move to other channels like instant messaging or social networking platforms. Informal communication in a physical workplace includes brief, unplanned, and frequent interactions without openings and closings. Virtual replacements need to provide ways of reproducing this interaction when you’re not geographically collocated.