Snap 09

Conference Photos & More Photos

2009-06-06T04:14:15Z

There are two ways to view lots of photos taken at the conference. You can visit the "conference sets" page on Flickr and view photos the SNAP squad took on Wednesday and Thursday. Or, you can visit the Conference Flickr "Group" and see over one hundred conference-related photos that several of the attendees have shared. If haven't done so already, add your photos by uploading them to Flickr and sending them to the group page.

Visit the Conference Group Page on Flickr

View sets of photos from conference sessions and events

Celebrating the Best in Association Publishing

2009-06-05T00:43:18Z

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"Our new name catches up with where our members are going while continuing to honor print publications."

Earlier today, SNAP announced that going forward, the organization will be known as Association and Media Publishing. The new name more accurately describes their membership, as association publishers are creating video and Web media in addition to print media.

The Gala was an opportunity to honor the 181 winners of the 2009 Excel Awards. Tonight's winners were chosen from more than 1,000 entries in editorial, design, advertising and marketing, online publishing and electronic newsletter categories. Awards were presented over dinner, drinks and lots of networking between attendees. More information about tonight's winners can be found here. Congratulations to tonight's winners of the "best and the brightest" Excel awards!

Don Ranly: Making Your Publications Useful

2009-06-04T21:59:44Z

Don Ranly Ph.D., professor emeritus, Missouri School of Journalism, said that his challenge today would be squeezing a whole semester of information into one hour. Here he talks about the importance of writing content that users will find useful, as once they find information useless, "it's all over."

Dr. Don Ranly Gets Rave Reviews

2009-06-04T21:22:27Z

Instantly loved by everyone in the room, Don Ranly Ph.D., professor emeritus, Missouri School of Journalism, said that his challenge today would be squeezing a whole semester of information into one hour. His first lesson of the day: "Refrigerator journalism."

"We want to make our publications useful," Dr. Ranly said. "The opposite of useful is useless. Once readers find your publication useless, why would they pick it up again?"

He said that for publication success, we need to present information in a usable way, a way that makes readers want to clip it out, keep it in their pockets, post it to their bulletin board or to the front of their refrigerator.

Quickly changing gears, he made a request of the room.

"Never begin a headline with a word ending in -ing," Dr. Ranly insisted. "It's too lazy and too simple and very seldom exciting."

Writing for the web
People have no time. People are surfers. People seek information that is quick and easy to get. People are both verbal and visual. People like short copy. People like lists and bullets. People choose chunks of information they need or want. People want to be heard.

Dr. Ranly encourage attendees in the room to write specifically for those people.

"Write for the skimmers and surfers," he said. "You want to stop them, you want them to stop and dive into the content."

A quick review
Several attendees to the Association Media & Publishing conference this week submitted magazines for critique and review during Dr. Ranly's presentation. Dr. Ranly spent several minutes offering his input on various covers, tables of content and feature leads. But within his entertaining critique, he offered several sounds words of advice.

Put the cover blurbs at the left or the top. That's where they'll get the most attention.
If you're going to have pictures and text within your table of contents, place the corresponding text with the image. Don't make readers work to match them up.
Allow people to be heard. Publish the editors' and writers' contact information in the magazine. Your members and readers want to be heard. Invite them in.

Notetaking on the Back of a Napkin

2009-06-04T20:46:07Z

When best-selling author of the book "Back of the Napkin" Dan Roam encouraged SNAP attendees to think visually, Rex Hammock (a member of the SNAP Squad) took him at his word as filled up the front (and back) of his napkin with oodles of doodles. We've posted them on Flickr and have embedded a slide-show below.

The Next Publishing Generation

2009-06-04T20:41:02Z

In one of the last concurrent sessions, Tiffani Alexander and Janelle Harris from ACC Docket and Marilynn Jacobs of Quebecor World explained how Gens X and Y can change the face of association publishing.

Jacobs kicked off the session by explaining the potential she sees in Generations X and Y These are the three areas in which she believes the next generation can impact the industry:

Acceleration--With growing numbers of Facebook and Twitter users, print publications now require acceleration. "Gen X and Gen Y understand real-time content and have the energy and knowledge to post it," she said.
Personalization--Readers now have the desire to select content slices rather than read the entire product. This overwhelming amount of information creates a higher need for customization print to readers' needs.
Visualization--A generation raised on electronic media favors moving images. Multi-tasking media consumption patterns indicate that they favor images over long text, and these generations understand the need for visual publications.

"Young professionals also help us understand how to put the reader at the center of our process," Jacobs said. "Make your publication personal and urgent."

Alexander and Harris represented Generation Y with their portion of the presentation. "Gen Y has been called a group of coddled slackers, but that's simply untrue," Harris said. "We are connected and we demand the best of ourselves."
They explained the best ways to win over quality Gen Y employees:

Build a reputation as a company that welcomes young people, their ideas and their ambitions.
Get connected through social networks to find young professionals that can help your association.
Visit career placement offices at Universities and find out about job fairs and other opportunities to find young journalism students on campus.

"Allow your young staffers to be front and center," Alexander said. "They will be in charge of the publications you've spent your career building, so you want to find new talent to take over when you're ready to move on."

SNAP Changes Name to Association Media & Publishing

2009-06-04T20:26:11Z

New name better captures and reflects changing industry and profession

Before the keynote presentation at today's conference, SNAP's Kathleen Rakestraw, outgoing president, announced during the course of the next year, the association will change its name to Association Media and Publishing.

More information from press release announcing the name change follows:

The name change was approved by the board of directors in May 2009, after a nearly two year process of evaluation, survey and discussion.

Rakestraw, who is the director of communications at the American School Counselor Association, noted that the association's leadership began the discussion around a name change nearly two years ago, and stated, "Our association's core focus will continue to be to serve association professionals who edit, manage or contribute to member or industry-focused media, ranging from traditional print publications to websites and blogs to social media, streaming video and virtual community management."

Association Media and Publishing believes the new name will:

Focus on emerging markets, both geographically and discipline based;
Focus on professionals who connect with association members both in and outside of print publications; and,
Retain and honor our essential connection to publishing, which we view as both an art and a trade.

Incoming president Jim Vick, the publisher of IEEE Spectrum, stated that a 12-month roll-out of the new name and brand is planned, and noted that the name will serve as "a new lens through which to view our member communications, including our publications, internet presence and community - both in-person and virtual."

Amy Lestition, CAE, who has served as the executive director for the association since 2006, stated, "I am excited not only by the opportunity to launch an updated brand, but the opportunity this allows us to reassess our membership structure, services and benefits so that we can continue to deliver the learning, knowledge and community resources that associations and their media professionals need in order to keep up and thrive during these dynamic times."

Over the past year, SNAP has explored many of these new elements first hand, launching an innovative conference community site, leveraging social media and offering digital publishing benefits and opportunities to its membership. SNAP engaged in a multi-year process and assessment prior to the board voting on the name change in May 2009.

Association Media and Publishing will not use an acronym and will use the full association name in all communications.

A new graphic identity, membership information and updated publications will launch over the next year, with the name change becoming final by June 2010.

Association Media & Publishing/SNAP serves the needs of association publishers, communications professionals and the media they create. From blogs to magazines to wikis, Association Media & Publishing:

Leads innovative approaches in community building, as shown by our use of social media, webinars and in-person learning opportunities serving 10-1000 at a time;
Hosts the preeminent recognition of industry and individual best practices via our Excel Awards and publications review program; and, Kli>Provides career advancement via an online career center, networking opportunities and lifelong learning experiences.

Audit Clinic: 25 Ways to Assess Publication Effectiveness

2009-06-04T20:13:23Z

What can a publication audit do for me?

Debra Stratton, president, Stratton Publishing & Marketing Inc./Stratton Research; and Robert Ranier, senior consultant, Stratton Publishing & Marketing, Inc./Stratton Research, welcome attendees to the Audit Clinic session hoping to answer that exact question.

A publication audit allows you to recognize challenges and identify opportunities, including financial, design and competition challenges.

According to Debra, it's a 360-degree review, "warts and all." This includes:

Reader inside and feedback
Editorial content and design review
Advertiser perception feedback
Competitive market analysis
Operations review
Financial review

From design to advertising to finances to editorial, Debra and Robert covered all areas from cover to cover to consider in your audit.

"Too often publications do a really good job but don't publicize their audit success," Debra said. If you do an audit, broadcast it to your board and your team. Don't keep your strengths and your success a secret.

An Interview With Bob Kelly: Repurposing Content

2009-06-04T19:58:09Z

Bob Kelly, director, Journal Information Systems, American Physical Society, presented Write Once, Read Many with Brian O'Leary at the Association Media & Publishing Conference regarding how to write something once and be able to take that content and repurpose it.

Alone at the Helm

2009-06-04T19:43:30Z

How to manage a magazine when you have to go it alone

When managing a magazine, you have to wear more than one hat. You're the editor, content creator, fact-checker, producer and extinguisher of any fires that come up. This afternoon, Kirsten Ferguson of American Farmland from, James Lewis of Forest History Society, Kelly Sexton of Paralyzed Veterans of America and Chris Soto of Saving Land explained how they manage a magazine on their own. Here's a quick run-down of what they had to say:

If your writing staff has trouble meeting deadlines, spur them along by taking away writing assignments from them, as harsh as that sounds. If you don't get an article in time to print the magazine, give your designers more room to design other stories. They'll usually be thrilled with the extra space to work with.
Plan ahead as much as possible. Have freelancers and writers work months ahead to ensure you'll get your copy on time. If they can't meet those deadlines, don't hire them again.
Help the design process by asking freelancers for photography that goes with their story. Also, check public domain sites like the National Archives and the Library of Congress to save money on images.
Be loyal to your printing vendor, but if a new printer offers you a deal, don't be afraid to negotiate your price.
Be flexible. Give yourself plenty of room in your deadlines so you'll have time to take care of any emergencies that come up --and they will come up.

An Interview With Keynote Speaker Dan Roam

2009-06-04T19:39:41Z

Best-selling author of the book Back of the Napkin Dan Roam at the Association Media and Publishing 2009 Conference elaborates on the essence of visual thinking, how to encourage others to try visual thinking and how to make visual thinking work for your business team.

Write Once, Read Many: Creating Managing and Distributing Agile Content

2009-06-04T19:14:51Z

Bob Kelly, director, Journal Information Systems, American Physical Society; and Brian O'Leary, principal, Magellan Media Consulting Partners, met years ago in Germany. Brian was a panelist at a conference and Bob was an attendee. After striking up a conversation right then and there, they knew that they would make a great team for speaking on the topic of agile content.

With the concurrent session "Write Once, Read Many," they hoped to answer four questions for the audience:

What is agile content?
Why is agile content important for association publishers?
How is agile content used by association publishers?
How do we get started?

Brian and Bob pointed out that association publishers need to become more agile. Digital content will be reused (it already is), simpler processes help do more with less, standardized files support cost-effective future products and services, and it won't be just you deciding how your content is consumed.

During the session, much attention was paid to XML content and the agility that it provides across multiple platforms.

"What you have with XML content is the ability to repurpose it," Bob said. "That's really what it's all about."

"The whole environment is changing," Bob said. "What we're publishing today and how we deliver it today won't be the same tomorrow. It's up to us to bring it to our organizations and make it deliverable to our readers and members."

Thinking Visually

2009-06-04T18:10:48Z

Author Dan Roam identifies why a drawing on the back of a napkin can solve any problem.

Any problem can be solved with pictures. That's the mantra Dan Roam used to kick off his presentation about thinking visually today during lunch. It might sound crazy at first, but by the end of his session, Roam had convinced the room of SNAP attendees that no problem is too large to solve--even with a drawing on the back of a napkin.

Roam pointed out that whether we realize it or not, everyone is a visual person. Between 50 percent and 75 percent of our capacity to process the world is dedicated to the vision of what surrounds us. All you have to do to solve your problems is visualize them.

The first step to solving problems with pictures is recognizing that you're a visual person. "Whoever best describes the problem is the person most likely to solve it," Roam said. "Once a person can sketch out a problem on a piece of paper, they can solve the problem."

For example, Arthur Laffer's simple drawing of how much money the government earns from different levels of taxation found its way into the hands of Ronald Regan and became the basics of supply-side economics.

Roam also pointed out that the more "human" you make your picture, the more human your response will be. You need a clear image that represents an idea to reach your goals.
As simple as it sounds, the "napkin sketch" is the future of problem solving.

How do you do that? In the upper left hand corner of your napkin, draw a circle and give it a name. Whatever is at the top of your mind will be there automatically. You can get to work solving the problem once you've identified it.

An Interview With Tina Hay

2009-06-04T17:35:47Z

Tina Hay, editor, The Penn Stater, Penn State Alumni Association, presented Magazine On-Ramps: Engage Your Readers at the Association Media & Publishing 2009 Conference. Here she explains the importance of headlines and decks to draw your readers in.

Look Great As You Read

2009-06-04T16:24:15Z

How to create award-winning design on a budget

In this morning's Look Great As You Read session, Michelle Russell and Mitch Shostak, who respectively work as the editor and creative director of PCMA Convene magazine, talked about making design and editorial work together--on a budget. The result? Beautiful magazines, award-winning content and a bottom line you can live with.

One of the most important things to consider when designing your magazine is your typeface, Shostak said. "I suggest using two or three typefaces. Find a serif and a sans serif that works well for you," he added. "You can use those in various ways to save money through the publication."

Using type faces creatively is an inexpensive way to create innovative design that will draw readers in. Shostak also recommended using color palates that compliment the photographs you use. "Just make sure you use color, photography, typefaces and other items in a directional, fuctional way," he warns. "All components have to work together for the design to flow."

Conference attendees wanted to know how to choose fonts that will work hard for their publications. Shostak tips:

Choose an open font that will translate well at small and large sizes
Look for fonts that have various weights so you can add variety to your layouts
Try to find a unique selection. Helvetica is a great font, but it's used so often that you might want something new for your publication.
Don't forget to work with leading when using your fonts. They give your design white space that results in a cleaner look.

Russell talked about making the editorial work for the designers. "People don't have time to read through long narratives," she said. "They appreciate using blocks of text that can be designed in interesting ways. Shorten your copy and cull the most important information. This will save you money--and make your readers happy."

Both Russell and Shostak talked about the importance of using good photographers, who can aide the design and editorial with great photos. "Call photographers whose work you like," Shostak said. "With stock photography you have to pay a usage fee, so you will often have better luck hiring a photographer."