If you think that having your Web site up-to-date has you ready to meet the communication needs of the next generation of members, think again. According to an expert on associations, Web sites will be only one technology your future members will expect your bar to provide, if you want to stay relevant.

"The next generation of technology for connection is wireless and telecom oriented, rather than plug in the wall and computer based. These are kids who IM, and don’t e-mail. Even on their cell phones they’re IMing, not making voice calls. Their method of communication is shorthand, it’s quick, it’s instantaneous and it’s always on,” said Bruce Butterfield, president of the Forbes Group.

The communications habits of what Butterfield called the Millennial Generation—those born between 1982-2002—may run smack into the model used by most associations today, Butterfield said.

“ Associations tend to be communications oriented toward provider-driven rather than recipient-driven information. It’s time driven—we put out the monthly newsletter, the quarterly report, the annual roundup. This next generation of kids is always on. I don’t know that associations have figured that out yet.

“They are in a position where they are going to find themselves in a bit of a cropper, trying to appeal to that next generation of potential members who expect instantaneous communication, the availability of information and knowledge around the clock, and the ability to be heard and recognized regardless of experience, just because they’ve always been heard and recognized.”

The news is not all bad, according to Butterfield. Millennial children “have always worked in groups. The good news is they’re used to the concept of being in a group, and associations are people banding together for a common purpose. The downside is that they tend to self-organize. So the question becomes, is this a group of people who are going to want the traditional association model, where you have an organization to which you belong, which provides certain opportunities? Or are you going to find those opportunities by grouping with others of your choice?

So what can associations do to steer this next generation to becoming and remaining members? “In the future, associations are going to have to be more the facilitators of collaboration, conversation and knowledge generation, than they are the providers.

“There’s some good news there. One of the things that I think associations do very poorly is intelligence gathering. They are great at sending out information. But they are not particularly good at synthesizing intelligence.”

Butterfield says that listservs, for example, are a great source of learning what is important to members, and which issues are emerging “which are harbingers of product and service creation. If you don’t have someone monitoring the conversations, you’re missing out on an enormous amount of free, member-produced knowledge, that can be repackaged and sold.

“ Managing the conversation is a product opportunity for associations, and it’s going to get greater as these younger generations of people come into the profession and move into bar association positions.”