[IxDA Discuss] Professional Organization Memberships

[David (Heller) Malouf]

> So I'm new to the professional world, and I've been asked to
> figure out what
> membership I want (ala ACM, AIGA, etc).
>
> I'm not really sure what's best to join, so I was wondering
> what you all
> would recommend?

Do you only have to pick one? (of course money is a factor for sure)

What conference(s) do you plan on attending?
If CHI is still doing this thing where when you go as a non-member they make
you a defacto member, then well, go to the conference become a memember and
tell your boss you'd like to join another group that you feel you'd get
value out of.
Or conversely join the association for which conference you will attend in
order to get the discount.

What group speaks the most to your values as a practitioner, designer?

What group gives you the most value for the dollar?

All of these are ways of thinking about what organization to join and I'm
sure there are many more.

Are you doing this because your employer is willing to pay for such a
membership? Or are you doing this because you feel you need a community to
be a part of that you can't get without being a member of it?

If "membership" is not what you are looking for, but community, I'd suggest
(yes, I'm definitely biased) that you just donate money to IxDA
(www.ixda.org) and help this community grow (as per Robert Reimann's posting
last month). We sure could use the help, but because we are subscriber
supporter instead of membership-based there is not "I'm a member of ..."
type dealio. Just the satisfaction of knowing that you are enabling a
community of peers to grow and prosper.

Now, if I was to remove my bias and think outside the IxDA box, I would have
to say that the local SIGs for either UPA or SIGCHI are probably more
valuable than the global/national organizations that are out there. This is
just my experience of it, but I'm a true believer in think globally, act
locally. This is especially true for junior or entry level UX practitioners.
Having more immediate contact is a lot better than having a big agency in
your corner.

But that's me.

-- dave