This isn't meant to be an "I told you so" type of blog post, but it might come off that way. I guess it can't really be helped.
About two months ago, I made a private appeal to Tony to work on clearly defining the path that will take the association from the planning stages to completion. Here's what I said:
I started a discussion on this a while back, trying to figure out how we get from where we are today to a complete association. I think we've seen and felt the effects of not having a clear roadmap over the past two months. Tony, I'm appealing to you here. If we have a strategy for launching the association with clear steps, deadlines and expectations of what must be done in order for a step to be complete, then we'll have a clear vision of the end result and how we get there. I'm sure you can see it clearly in your head, but until we agree on the road we're taking, we're all going to see it differently, and we're not really sure how we fit into the grand scheme of things. PLEASE look at that thread, give consideration to exactly what needs to take place, the order in which everything must happen, how much time you anticipate will be necessary to complete each tasks and what resources are available or must be found in order for each task to be completed.
Right now, we're a handful of guys floating around in this limboistic idea of an association. I lost sight of it for a while, because I really didn't know where to go with it next. I don't see any clear direction, and frankly, if we don't clearly see how specific efforts on our parts are going to make a difference, we're wasting our time. Use that roadmap discussion as a basis, show us how to get from right here right now to the finished product, and then tell us what you need along the way to complete each step.
I wish I could say I know the road from A to Z here, but my predictions to Tony have come true. No strategy and no vision threaten to entirely bury this latest effort, if it's not dead already.
This is a shame, because I planned on using the occasional blog post to chronicle the progress being made by the International Hosting Association. Unfortunately, there's no progress to be chronicled.
So, assuming this effort is dead (which may or may not be the case, but let's assume so), what will it take for such an organization to be formed and to have longevity? Here's a better question - how much does the industry really need/want an association of its own?
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What are your objectives for starting/belong to an association? Some of the benefits I've heard different people mention include jointly commissioned market research, industry-wide training/certification programs, networking, PR outreach, consumer education, etc. But is forming an association absolutely essential for accomplishing these goals?
Associations typically have mission statements, boards of directors, committees, bylaws, budgets... It takes a lot of time and effort to set up such an "official" infrastructure, even when there's already a consensus among participants. Since the web hosting industry consists of many different types of businesses whose priorities may not always be in alignment, it will take a while before we reach this point.
So, rather than focusing on building an association, might it make sense to start from the grassroots? For instance, let's say you're interested in training/certification. Why not recruit a handful of people to work on an outline for this program, solicit feedback once a rough draft has been put together, and implement a beta within interested companies?
Meanwhile, companies that are interested in similar types of market research can get together and commission a study. Once enough of these initiatives are up and running, we might end up with an association before we know it.
All of this being said, many of the items you've mentioned have been set up by Tony and are <em>roughly</em> flushed out (mission, board, bylaws, etc.). I wish he would open up <em>all</em> of the discussions taking place to the public, instead of keeping them behind closed doors as they are now.
What's missing, in my opinion, is a clear path from start to finish and clear responsibilities for those who are trying to help and are now sitting around frustrated. I think you may be onto something with individual, <em>managable</em> initiatives that could come together to form a cohesive association, but without direction and a sense of responsibility, recruiting even a handful of people based on a very murky vision is going to be nearly impossible.
Specific projects are an easier sell as well. If you asked me to help plan a networking event or take part in a certification discussion, I'm in! But if the question is whether I want to join an association, I don't know if I'd say yes.
Tony may already have sketched out board memberships/bylaws/mission statements/etc, but would 100% of the industry agree with 100% of his vision? If the answer is no, a huge part of getting the association started will be to negotiate these issues. And that sounds less fun than identifying interesting projects and getting interested people to pitch in.
It's been almost a year and a half since this association discussion got started. I really think more progress would have been made if the focus had been on completing smaller tasks rather than building an all encompassing organization.