Ok, not literally… perhaps another title might be “The re-assignment of the webmaster” but that doesn’t sound as dramatic. In any case, I still see a particular trend on this subject that bothers me. SpinWeb works with a lot of associations which are typically led by a board of directors and sometimes assisted by a staff. What I still see in many cases is the old-fashioned concept of the traditional “webmaster”. The webmaster is typically a single person within the association, either a volunteer or a staff member, who is in charge of updating the association web site. This person may have special technical knowledge that makes him or her qualified to write the code necessary to make changes on the site. All changes go through this webmaster and only he or she holds the keys to web content.

This structure is antiquated and problematic because it creates a bottleneck that delays content updates. If all updates are channeled through one person, then the association’s web site is in a very precarious position. The association’s web site should be the most current and most active communication tool in use and key leaders in the organization should be able to post content in real time without having to channel it through a webmaster.

The more enlightened model that I like to recommend is that associations manage their web sites via a mature Application Suite (also sometimes called a Content Management System) that allows multiple board and/or staff members to update the association web site in real time. News, events, and other information can then be managed by those people who actually create the content. For example, SpinWeb creates sites that allow association boards and staff members to give “keys” to specific people throughout the association that allows those people to update content within their areas. No special technical knowledge is required… only basic computer skills. We have created sites in which the entire board of directors has control over website content and can make up-to-the-minute changes 24/7, which allows them to react very quickly and communicate to members in a timely fashion.

If your organization is still in the world of channeling website updates through a “webmaster”, please talk to me. There is a better way