ASME Officially Declares Professional Networking a Big Issue

Even an old organization like ASME can look to the future. The ASME Strategic Issues, Opportunities, and Knowledge Committee has turned its sites to Professional Networking. The following article was posted in the September issue of Strategic Issues and Trends.

I have been posted it here with permission from Allian Pratt.

Professional Social Networking

Social networking may have started with friends gossiping in high
school and college on MySpace, but users are now turning to a more
personal type of business networking. Facebook and other general-purpose
social networking sites are creating business offshoots that enable

Social Web Articles

I just discovered a great blog called Internet Duct Tape. Anyway, the reason I am telling you this is because of two great posts about social web application recently posted.

The first “The Problem With Social Web Applications” highlights two fundamental problems, both related to the fact that there are so many social web applications out there. The second article is “9 Techniques to Promoting Your Social Web Application.” This one has so much great stuff in it I can’t believe its free. I wish ASME would have considered many of the techniques and gotchas when the created the COP site. Oh well. We’ll try to get it right when COP 2.0 comes out later this year.

I Joined Facebook Today

I was reading an ASME briefing today that pointed out that there is a large group of ASME members using Facebook. Yeah, that Facebook. That social networking darling of the college crowd and latest straight from the garage Internet success story. Just in case you have no idea what I am talking about, check out the Facebook Wikipedia entry.

OK, so signing up was easy. Once I validated my email address and logged in an applet

Early Career Events at ASME’s 2007 Congress

Several big Early Career focused events are happening at ASME’s Congress this year in Seattle, WA.

The first one is the Innovation Showcase (I-Show) on Friday, November 10th.  At this event 10 collegiate teams will present their innovative ideas to a panel of industry experts, venture capitalists, and intellectual property specialists.  The prize is venture capital to bring their inventions to market.  The Entrepreneurs Network Affinity Group is also participating.

The Invention to Venture Workshop, I2V, being held Saturday November 10th is a partnership between the ASME Center for Engineering Entrepreneurship & Innovation and the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA).  This

AFFINITY COMMUNITIES TELECON SCHEDULED

The Affinity Communities Board will be holding a teleconference on Wednesday, July 18 from 11:30 – 12:30 PDT. If you are interested in attending, please email youngj921@asme.org.

The Agenda:

11:30 Call To Order

• Introductions
• Approval of Minutes, SAM 2007
• Review Current Action Items

ASME COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE

Have you checked out the ASME Communities of Practice website? We call it COP for short. Goto: cop.asme.org. You will find communities and discussion threads in topics ranging from ethanol and the internal combustion engine to entrepreneurship…from the ASME Human Powered Vehicle Challenge to the Latin American and Caribbean Student Operating Board. Or what about the International System of Units, or Product Testing and Reliability. And don’t forget several of our Affinity Groups include Women in Engineering, International Students and Young Engineers, the Student Section Committee, and the Young Engineer Correspondents. If you checked it out once a few years ago you might be surprised by what you find. Today there are 173 Public COP’s and a bunch more private ones. Have an area of practice not covered in the current list. Well you can start one too.

I heard a rumor the other day that an upgrade referred to as COP 2.0 is coming. Don’t tell anyone I told you.

WOMEN IN ENGINEERING AFFINITY GROUP

In March, the Affinity Communities Board approved the newest Affinity Group – Women in Engineering (WIE). WIE started as a Community of Practice  in January 2006 and now has over 60 members. The COP is used to discuss current articles in the media, volunteer opportunities, and future WIE events.  All ASME members are invited to join the WIE COP in order to