He hits the nail on the head with the benefits of collaboration with your membership.

Check it out:
Golf Business Monitor

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericaswallow/2013/02/09/clubster/

Clubster - Named Product of the Year for 2012 by Boardroom Magazine

The BoardRoom magazine “Excellence in Achievement” Awards is the only private club industry award that recognizes the clubs’ business partners.  BoardRoom magazine’s industry peers review and select these outstanding suppliers and consultants, which represent various aspects of course and club operations.

Winners, each year, are selected for overall excellence in their respective fields, achievements, innovation, vision for future growth and continued impact on private club operations.

“Each of the recipients of the BoardRoom magazine “Excellence in Achievement” awards are clearly leaders in their respective industries,” said John Fornaro, publisher of the BoardRoom magazine.

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL THE DEVELOPERS AND STAFF AT CLUBSTER!

Download the article here

This just in from our friends over at VCT…

Did you know?

• In 2013, the audience of internet users in the U.S. will expand by 2.6% vs. 2012 to 245.2 million, representing more than three quarters of the total population.
• In the U.S. alone, 146.7 million people will use Facebook at least monthly, or nearly 60% of internet users.
• In 2013, 247.5 million people will use a mobile phone in the U.S. with 137.5 million of those being smartphones.
• 95.6% of smartphone users are mobile internet users.

From the 2013 U.S. Digital Media Usage Report published by eMarketer™.

View the entire article here:

http://activate.clubnewsmaker.org/8ern85jz7qq1o9o94zyutp?email=true&a=1&p=799395&t=47035

Today Clubster released it latest version of its private club communication system and now allow all users to share photo images throughout the application.

Club member can now share photos on all update posts, private and group messages.

Club staff can now share photos on all club communications and posts, including club news, alerts and events.

Don Williams, CEO of Clubster stated:  “Our developers are continuing to work to create the most advanced club communication system utilizing the latest in social media technology.  Clubster is a true game-changer for the private club industry, and will continue to lead the way in helping clubs communicate with their members.”

Check out our short user demo video…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZm5kyfsZQQ&feature=youtu.be

The article, “Clubster A ‘Game Changer’ for the Club Industry, by Dave White points out many of the reasons we have been telling clubs all along…that Clubster really is the future way members and clubs can communicate and stay connected.  There are no other fully operational, robust social media applications that even come close.

Dave points out:  “No question, social media has hit the private club industry…there’s no turning back.  Clubs must use every possible method of communication with their members and Clubster seems like the most powerful one that exists for this unique niche market.”

Check out the full article:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/3mgu5k21fyiolhr/ClubsterAGameChanger.pdf

We are real excited to have our new marketing video completed and posted on our website.  We also have links to it on our Facebook, Twitter and our YouTube pages.

Check it out…and enjoy!!

http://youtu.be/j0GeW4axEFs
 

In this article they ask 21 different social media practitioners to answer this question:

Do you think social networking has hit a saturation point and peaked in user interest?

A couple of good insightful answers:

No. I think, just like humans, it’s organic and ever-shifting and evolving. The problem is that many businesses are missing the whole “social” aspect with social networking and are using social networking sites in a way that’s not congruent with how their audience (a.k.a. people) is using this medium.  Rachel Karl

I believe as long as social networking continues to evolve, we won’t ever reach a saturation point. Right now there are two things that are happening to social networks. First of all, they’re becoming easier, faster and more personalized. We’ve seen this with the rapid rise of Pinterest. But we’re also seeing a leap into new technology, mobile in particular, which is making social networking more relevant in the real world.  Carla Dewing

I think social networking is just beginning to forever change and impact the way we communicate. Social networks may come and go, but I do believe the dominant players will have staying power. In some ways we are limited in our communications capabilities through social networks due to devices and tools needing to catch up, and also due to bandwidth (or lack thereof). Certainly human interest will be variable and dispersed, but fundamentally the way we communicate and interact has forever changed with social networking.  Stephanie Sammons

Check out the entire article:

http://www.ignitesocialmedia.com/social-networks/the-future-of-social-networks-2012/

By Paul Hattimer, CCM

As an independent social media seminar leader I have led a total of over 2,000 individuals through Social Media seminars. I have fielded hundreds of questions and concerns about Facebook.  I also have the unique perspective of several decades of country club management experience.  My combination of Facebook knowledge and years of experience garnered me this comical compliment at one of my seminars:  “I didn’t know that someone so old could know so much about Facebook”.

In the past year I have also been directly involved with the development and marketing of Clubster – the private social media network for private clubs.  Clubster harnesses the power of inbound marketing and two-way group and individual communication without sacrificing a club or organization’s privacy or security.   Clubster is a “scalable platform”, that will continue to add features the will benefit clubs and organizations well into the future.

With this perspective in mind, let us take a look at Facebook vs. Clubster:

Privacy and Security:

• Facebook is open to the world and has over 900 million users.
• Clubster is open only to invited club members and staff, generally less than 1,000 users per club.
• Facebook is searchable on the internet.
• Clubster is not searchable on the internet.
• Facebook can be restricted to allow no posts.  But that defeats the two- way communication of social media. If no restrictions the whole world can post on a Facebook page.
• Clubster does not allow use or posts by anyone outside the club. Club members cannot post to the entire club membership but only to their club friends.
• Clubster is a social networking site built exclusively for Private Clubs.

Ease of Use

• Facebook has become increasingly complex especially since the adoption of Timeline.  Desire to remain competitive and monetize Facebook will only increase rate of change and complexity.
• Clubster is one of the easiest social media platforms to use.  Simplicity is the cornerstone and improvements and new features will be gradual.

Groups

• Facebook groups do not connect directly to a Facebook Business Page.  Groups are only available to Facebook members and are visible unless designated as a secret group.
• Clubster groups are easy to create by either club members or the club and are not visible on the internet.
• With Clubster…our Club can form private sub-groups of members within in your Club like (Senior Golfers, or Ladies Tennis League)
• With Clubster Club Members can form private groups, their Golf buddies, Tennis partners, etc.
• With Clubster Club can Post separate categories of Club communications: Club News, Club Events (with RSVP), Club Alerts, Club Shared Links to groups or to the entire Clubster membership.

Events

• Facebook has a good events feature but a club can only directly invite the friends of the Facebook Business page creator
• Clubster has an equally good events feature plus the club can invite every single club member who is on Clubster with just one click.  Plus Clubster allows you to turn on and off the RSVP feature.

Advertising

• Facebook has multiple ads throughout the page and a club has no control over the type of ad that will appear on their page.
• Clubster has just two small areas on the page for sponsors.  Clubster selects only high-end private club related sponsors.

For a private club or an organization concerned about its privacy and looking for a user friendly social media platform Clubster is a better choice than Facebook.

All clubs using Clubster can become members of Clubster Connect which will automatically link to their existing Clubster account.

Everyday, our Clubster staff will share valuable ideas on Clubster Connect on how clubs can use Clubster to engage their members, increase revenue, build their Clubster community and more. Clubs can friend others and freely exchange ideas and communicate.

Click here for more information:

Introducing Clubster Connect