Redemption
It's official...the IBNMA has relaunched and I am its president.
Several months ago I was approached by Rick Calvert and Jim Turner who asked me to consider becoming president of the International Blogging and New Media Association. After taking time to "count the cost" and after consulting with several trusted friends, I accepted the position.
But, there's more to this than meets the eye and I'd like to share the story if you're of a mind to read it.
Some of you know that, back in 2004, sensing that blogging would become a profession and that people would make their living in some blog-related field, I attempted to start an organization called the Professional Bloggers Association. Even though we gathered an A-list of founding members and had over 200 individuals express interest in joining, the association never got off the ground...and I never forgave myself for allowing it to die.
When Rick and Jim approached me, I felt as if I was being given a second chance...that this was a form of redemption. (I know, a bit melodramatic, but it's how I felt.)
While that was one reason I accepted, it was not the only one. Blogging and other forms of new media are becoming have become a profession and an industry is forming around blogs, podcasting and social media. Think of the number of people who are blogging for a living now. Add to that the blog, podcast and social network software providers, designers, developers and on and on. All these and more comprise this fledgling industry. And I, for one, believe associational representation is warranted.
I'm not the only one either.
This organization has much more potential for success than the PBA. First, it has a committed board consisting of Rick Calvert, Jim Tuner, Miles Durfee and myself. We're in the process of bringing on a fifth member as well.
Secondly, we're also in the process of recruiting an advisory board of 12-15 people. While I can't disclose any information about that at this point, I can tell you most of them are names you'd recognize.
The IBNMA is broader in its reach than was the PBA. Not only is it reaching out to more forms of media than just blogging (podcasters and social media folks are included), it's also reaching across the entire spectrum of the blogosphere from marketing and business bloggers to political and media bloggers, sports and mommy bloggers, Godbloggers, milbloggers and everyone in-between.
The goals of the organization are four-fold: Research, education, information and advocacy. The benefits, over time, will be many and, at $25 for annual dues, we don't charge an arm and a leg to join.
I hope you'll visit the IBNMA and consider joining us. (You can also follow updates on Twitter, . We'll be starting a Facebook group soon too.)
If you differ with my opinion that such an association is needed, please feel free to leave a comment. I'd like to know your reasoning and will be happy to share more about mine.
