CSI NewsBrief, R.I.P.?

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Author Message Nathan Woods, CSI, CCCA, LEED AP Senior Member Username: nwoods Post Number: 530 Registered: 08-2005 Posted on Wednesday, April 03, 2013 - 11:29 am:    I just got my regular periodical CSI NewsBrief in the email this morning, but was very sad to read this: ---------------------- Dear readers: Thursday will be our last issue of CSI NewsBrief. Thank you for giving us this opportunity to provide this resource to you. If you continue to be interested in construction news, you may subscribe to AGC SmartBrief, for free. This complimentary, daily publication focuses on the people, policies and information affecting the construction community. It has been our pleasure to provide CSI NewsBrief to you for the last nine years. Thank you, The CSI NewsBrief Team ----------------------------- I really enjoy this news summary service that CSI provided, and I often cut and pasted the quotes at the bottom of the articles to my own personal collection of notable quotes. Sorry to see this go! My membership just lost a little bit more of its value to me. Ronald L. Geren, AIA, CSI, CCS, CCCA, SCIP Senior Member Username: specman Post Number: 1100 Registered: 03-2003 Posted on Wednesday, April 03, 2013 - 03:28 pm:    It was too expensive to continue and the Institute is trying to reduce the number of emails it is sending out. Ron Geren, AIA, CSI, CCS, CCCA, SCIP www.specsandcodes.com Lynn Javoroski FCSI CCS LEED® AP SCIP Affiliate Senior Member Username: lynn_javoroski Post Number: 1625 Registered: 07-2002 Posted on Wednesday, April 03, 2013 - 05:24 pm:    I seem to remember a poll regarding the number of emails received from the Institute... And I received the same information from other sources almost all the time. (Durability & Design; PCI, etc.) Robin E. Snyder Senior Member Username: robin Post Number: 453 Registered: 08-2004 Posted on Wednesday, April 03, 2013 - 09:19 pm:    I actually really enjoyed Newsbrief as well. That is a shame. Ronald L. Geren, AIA, CSI, CCS, CCCA, SCIP Senior Member Username: specman Post Number: 1101 Registered: 03-2003 Posted on Thursday, April 04, 2013 - 11:23 am:    Let me know your thoughts about getting emails from CSI. Is CSI sending out too many, too few, or just the right amount? Are you getting the emails that you want to receive? Are you getting emails that have no relevance to your profession or position? The Finance Committee will be reviewing the FY14 budget at the end of this month, so this will likely become a topic for discussion (as chair of the committee, I'll see to it that it does). Also, with the new Customer Relations Management (CRM) software that will be coming online soon, you may be able to customize your profile by selecting the types of communication you want to receive from CSI. However, this too, is tied to funding, so I'll need to confirm that this is a feature that was included in CSI's requirements. Ron Geren, AIA, CSI, CCS, CCCA, SCIP www.specsandcodes.com Robin E. Snyder Senior Member Username: robin Post Number: 454 Registered: 08-2004 Posted on Thursday, April 04, 2013 - 11:33 am:    I never thought of Newbrief as "an email from CSI". I found it to be a quick way to see what is going on in the industry. When I think of "emails from CSI" they would be those that are pushing products or agendas or updating me on the state of CSI. I don't think that CSI has abused email with these types of emails. The number of emails received varies whether someone is a member or is involved at a chapter/region/national level. Even as a region leader, i don't feel the level of emails is excessive. That said...i sure wish National would respond when i do email them... Robin E. Snyder Senior Member Username: robin Post Number: 455 Registered: 08-2004 Posted on Thursday, April 04, 2013 - 11:40 am:    i also agree with Nathan - now is not the time (IMO) to DECREASE the perceived value of CSI. Ronald L. Geren, AIA, CSI, CCS, CCCA, SCIP Senior Member Username: specman Post Number: 1102 Registered: 03-2003 Posted on Thursday, April 04, 2013 - 11:47 am:    I agree about the "value" agrument. Also, if you (or anyone on this forum) has a problem communicating with Institute, PLEASE let me know - ron@specsandcodes.com Ron Geren, AIA, CSI, CCS, CCCA, SCIP www.specsandcodes.com George A. Everding, AIA, CSI, CCS, CCCA Senior Member Username: geverding Post Number: 661 Registered: 11-2004 Posted on Thursday, April 04, 2013 - 12:18 pm:    Ron- Correct me if I am wrong, but wasn't the NewsBrief a purchased product and not something produced internally at CSI? In fact, how much time does staff spend on the few CSI specific items in the newsletter? As Lynn notes, there are other email newsletters that compile essentially the same information, and although I did enjoy the CSI version, such emails were more valuable to me a decade ago. It was the morning coffee time ritual for me to scan the emails and see what was going on. Now, however, I get the "what's happening" information from Twitter, Linkin discussion groups, and (not so much anymore) Facebook. In fact, I think NewsBrief was the last of the email newsletters I subscribe to (except for maybe my local AIA). As far as perceived value, I guess the benefit was that the CSI logo appeared on the masthead and it was a way to share some CSI specific news. But won’t that CSI news appear elsewhere now, such as the AGC newsletter, as well as the aforementioned social media? I wonder how much real benefit we get from the newsletter now, for instance do people join CSI because of something they see? Or even just sign up for a CSI webinar? Has anyone looked at the return on the investment? I don’t feel my CSI membership lessened by the death of the NewsBrief, especially if we are saving a pot of gold (or at least a few shekels) by not buying a product that has less value (at least for me) than it did in the past. George A. Everding AIA CSI CCS CCCA Ingersoll Rand Security Technologies St. Louis, MO Robin E. Snyder Senior Member Username: robin Post Number: 456 Registered: 08-2004 Posted on Thursday, April 04, 2013 - 12:30 pm:    @George - i feel the exact opposite. I do look at twitter and linkedin regularly, but it is too easy to miss information. If i don't check twitter for a day, i could miss out on dozens of interesting tidbits. Newsbrief was one place shopping for my construction industry fix. Yes, it's great to save $$, but what do we get in exchange. You can't remove services and benefits until a member doesn't perceive any value in membership. Where is the saved money going to be spent? Ronald L. Geren, AIA, CSI, CCS, CCCA, SCIP Senior Member Username: specman Post Number: 1103 Registered: 03-2003 Posted on Thursday, April 04, 2013 - 12:54 pm:    George: The NewsBrief is an outsourced product. We'll be looking into email effectiveness, since CSI's open rate for general email is below what it should be. The thing about CSI NewsBrief is that it really wasn't an exclusive member benefit--nonmembers could sign up for it. The key issue is finding those products that add value to membership. If you can get it as a nonmember, does it add value to your membership? In other words, do you want to pay for something that others can get for free? CSI is always looking for ideas that could add value to your membership. If you have any ideas, please send them to a board or staff member. Ron Geren, AIA, CSI, CCS, CCCA, SCIP www.specsandcodes.com D. Marshall Fryer, CSI, CCS, CCCA, Assoc. AIA Senior Member Username: dmfryer Post Number: 80 Registered: 09-2003 Posted on Thursday, April 04, 2013 - 01:01 pm:    I had a discussion recently with Matthew Fochs at CSI regarding this topic. My concern was that CSI uses so many different channels to communicate with us (particularly those of us involved in leadership), that it becomes time consuming to monitor them all and difficult to retrieve prior information because you can't remember what channel you saw it in. His challenge is to simplify the number of channels, while maintaining (or even increasing) the total amount of information available to us, and at the same time simplifying the archiving and retrieval processes. I agree with the other posters who find newsbrief to be one of the more informative things we get from CSI. I hope this isn't like cancelling white house tours due to sequestering Ronald L. Geren, AIA, CSI, CCS, CCCA, SCIP Senior Member Username: specman Post Number: 1104 Registered: 03-2003 Posted on Thursday, April 04, 2013 - 01:09 pm:    No, Marshall, you can visit CSI headquarters (the Terra Cotta House?) any time...and it's free! Ron Geren, AIA, CSI, CCS, CCCA, SCIP www.specsandcodes.com Robin E. Snyder Senior Member Username: robin Post Number: 457 Registered: 08-2004 Posted on Thursday, April 04, 2013 - 04:41 pm:    Good point Ron about Newsbrief being open to non-members. I guess i perceived it as being a member benefit because it came to me "automatically" without me having to take any extra effort to sign up. That is a value to me! As for other suggestions...i would love it if CSI made the educational webinars a much lower price point for members. I see several that i would like to attend, but not at $80+ a pop. That is too much for small/single person companies. A savings of $20 from a non member price does not strike me as a huge "value" for my membership dollars Phil Kabza Senior Member Username: phil_kabza Post Number: 522 Registered: 12-2002 Posted on Thursday, April 04, 2013 - 10:52 pm:    Perhaps the potential CRM system could work as a compiler and send a compendium email message once a day that gathered the several channels of CSI Institute- tied communication into a single source for each member. Complex but not impossible. Between CSI promoting certain activities and emails about activities I've signed up for, the traffic is pretty high. Webinars, practice groups, convention promotion, certification promotion. All are part of CSI and its value, but many of us belong to several organizations, and we're drowning in email. Perhaps a real CSI-sourced digest could emerge from this. Nathan Woods, CSI, CCCA, LEED AP Senior Member Username: nwoods Post Number: 531 Registered: 08-2005 Posted on Friday, April 05, 2013 - 03:17 pm:    Well, I just got the first AGC version of the NewsBrief. It's much the same, not quite the same, but I appreciate it, and I appreciate that the editor of the CSI version pointed us to it.