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LinkedIn's groups provide the potential for informal communities that can pose a challenge to membership organisations.

What is the best way to respond to this challenge and how can membership organisations give their members the experience they expect?

In a previous post I looked at the pros and cons of having your own forum vs LinkedIn. Forums are only part of the story. The wider picture is that LinkedIn and other social networks and online communities run by media companies are a challenge to the future of membership organisations. A number of the issues are those highlighted in the NCVO future of membership report including the availability of the social web, free information and changing expectations on participation. I'll focus on LinkedIn below, but the points are equally relevant across other competing organisations.

LinkedIn's advantages are:

• Reach - the sheer number of (potential) participants, including its international reach
• Free - or at least freemium
• Facilities - links between profiles, discussions, jobs and events

Membership organisations' advantages are in different areas:

• Knowledge and learning - membership organisations are able to offer much more than a discussion forum; they are able to support knowledge and career learning
• Recognised authority - a membership organisation has more gravitas than an open forum (interestingly LinkedIn strength of being open is a weakness here - participants aren't necessarily knowledgeable and it can be difficult to judge forum contributions)
• Chartered status - where chartered status is offered, this can be a significant benefit, demonstrating a level of achievement and expertise
• Events, publications and books
• Education and qualifications
• Add-ons such as CPD
• Service - the personal touch not available on LinkedIn

My conclusion is that membership organisations need to clearly delineate themselves from LinkedIn (and others) by offering knowledge, learning and service. Part of this is likely to be offering discussion forums which compete on quality rather than quantity. It is important to understand what members and potential members want and will be willing to pay for through membership fees. Many will be willing to pay if they see value.