Signature January/February 2015 - 23

it's time to change the name again to the
Things Department."
When the Internet of Things really
takes hold, Hardesty points out that association publishers are going to have to
start working with equipment and software manufacturers to maximize how they
provide content. "That's new territory for
associations," she says.
Hardesty believes associations should start
looking at these connectivity opportunities
now. "Associations can prove their value by
analyzing information for their members
instead of just supplying a commodity of
content," she says. "Associations are better
at analysis than the quick and dirty stuff. In
the Internet of Things, data is their 'thing.'"
Hardesty says the Internet of Things
excites her because being in the information dissemination business is proving
more difficult by the day. "Associations
have to be performing tasks with information as opposed to just providing the
information. Moving forward, it's got to
be about responding to the member's need
in the moment, and we're going to win by
giving them better stuff."

EXCITED ABOUT THE PROSPECTS
Lauren Jonas, assistant executive director, marketing, for the National Science
Teachers Association, has also spent time
thinking about how the Internet of Things
can enhance the content experience that
NSTA delivers to members. Like Hardesty,
she is intrigued about the prospects.

PUBLISHING-RELATED TECHNOLOGIES GIVING LIFE
TO THE INTERNET OF THINGS
* If This Then That (IFTTT.com): a free web-based service integrator that allows
users to set triggers called "recipes" - such as when new tweets appear or
photos are uploaded to Instagram or Pinterest - and then match them to
actions, such as sending an email with that information.
IFTTT has now added "channels" that connect to physical devices, integrating the devices and virtual services across multiple providers for consumers with amazing simplicity. Example: If you forgot to turn off the lights
after you left the office, you can simply tweet it off.
* Sensordrone: a multi-sensor device for smartphones that boosts the phone's
capabilities, like being able to connect to any printer, anywhere.
* Raspberry Pi: a credit card-sized computer that integrates with TVs and
keyboards to give users the ability to do spreadsheets and word processing,
without a computer.

"Our association works with science
teachers, and they love to read about activities they can do in their classrooms," she
explains. "In the very near future, our
teachers will expect those articles to be
delivered to them based on their particular
circumstances on a given day."
Suppose, for instance, that a teacher
wants to do an activity with plants. Jonas
envisions that the member teacher would
expect NSTA's search engine to not only
search its database for appropriate activities, but also that it would be networked
with something like The Weather Channel
app. The association could recommend
and provide content for an outdoor gardening activity if the weather in their area
is appropriate, or an indoor activity if
they're in the middle of a bitter winter day.

"Our association's search engine might
be smart enough to identify a materials list
within an article and be networked with
Amazon and the teacher's GoFundMe
account, so that they could build a materials wish list - such as grow lights safe
for classroom use or seeds that grow well
in their particular climate - that they
could generate all at once and send to
their local PTA," Jonas says. "And then the
PTA would get the order delivered to the
school by drone by noon.
"Members won't just want our information - they will expect us to facilitate
their being able to act on the information," she says.
Another application Jonas has considered for the Internet of Things relates
to association conferences. "We have a
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http://www.IFTTT.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Signature January/February 2015