Apps and Web Site Recommendations for Association Executives
Apps and Web Site Recommendations for Association Executives
Applications
Would you rather stay at a Bed and Breakfast during 2013 Midyear? You’ll be surprised at the potential cost savings. AirBNB is an app that lets you exclusively search Bed and Breakfast establishments for trip planning. Price: FREE
This app has all the basics: highlighting, add signatures, initial, underline, copy, add notes, strikethrough, search, send via e-mail, save in other apps, pass-key lock each document, and add signatures. Network the app with Google Drive, DropBox, SugarSync, Box, Office 365 Sharepoint, SkyDrive, Huddle, as well as FTP or SFTP servers. When sending files via e-mail you have the choice of allowing the recipient to continue with your changes or flatten the document. Price: $10
All three apps will deliver magazines right to your iPad. Google Currents will deliver Forbes, Tech Crunch, Saveur, Popular Science, Fast Company, and Scientific American just to name a few. Zite and Flipboard will build your personalized magazine based on data in your Twitter, Google Reader, Delicious, and Pocket profiles. Or customize the apps based on topics you choose. Price: FREE
These are applications for brainstorming, outlining, and organizing your thoughts and ideas as mind maps. What are mind maps? A mind map is often created around a single word or text, placed in the center, to which associated ideas, words, and concepts are added. Major categories radiate from a central node, and lesser categories are sub-branches of larger branches. Price: $8 - $10
SalesForce has created the Do.com app, an easy way to get collaborative projects done. If you’re working with others who don’t have an iPhone or iPad, no problem, they can access the site and still be part of the project. Price: FREE
This app provides the latest updates on corporate governance issues and trends to enable association board members to more effectively meet the challenges of their role. Includes insights on strategy and growth, executive compensation, financial reporting developments, and risk management with the corporate director in mind. Price: FREE
Each 10Minutes topic distills a big issue into straightforward, actionable insights for your business. Features include: Videos if top business leaders and PwC professionals share their thoughts on today's most pressing challenges, streaming audio of 10Minutes discussions, and 10Slides, instant slide presentations that captures the "must remember" facts and insights to share with your colleagues and network. Price: FREE
Transform meetings with the Director app. Upload and share minutes and agendas, access, and board materials anywhere, anytime. Every document is at the fingertips of your association directors. Also get a birds-eye view of prior, current, and future meetings, board books, attendees, and arrangements, as well as hassle-free note taking. Price: FREE
This BoardVantage Nextgen app combines rich social media with enterprising business tools to go paperless in your board room. E-sign and share board documents, and send secure messages. Requires a subscription: www.boardvantage.com
Web Sites
If your association doesn’t have a communications staff person, or you just want to learn more about effective communication, www.ragan.com provides the professional communicator and association executives with timely, practical, and relevant information. The site now offers more than 16 targeted e-newsletters in the areas of employee communication, organizational writing and editing, sales and marketing, media relations, and motivational management. Examples: “20 redundant phrases to eliminate from your writing” or “12 big social media challenges and solutions”
This site lets you visualize the Internet. The map includes 350,000 websites and 2 million links from 196 countries. Go ahead and type in a site in the search field and this map will show you clusters uniting websites of the same field or similar purpose. This is not the entire Internet, but it is a fun way to type in a site you like and maybe find another site with more or better information.
www.openculture.com, www.khanacademy.org, www.edudemic.com, or www.coursera.org
Are you looking for online education or a way to share your knowledge and teach others? Check out any of the sites above. When you take a course through Coursera, you will watch lectures taught by world-class professors, learn at your own pace, test your knowledge, and reinforce concepts through real interactive exercises. Thanks to Margery Shinners from Mainstreet Organization of REALTORS® for that recommendation.
Want to create an online magazine? Give it a try! From Beth Ziesenis at The Center for Association Leadership.
Embed your logo or image into other images? Try this for fun. From Beth Ziesenis at The Center for Association Leadership.
Need a missing font? You might find it here. From Beth Ziesenis at The Center for Association Leadership.
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