There once was a communication trade group called ITVA. Long ago, that stood for Industrial TV Association, and then International TV Association, I think. I’m not sure because the name was never really that important. (Are you sensing a branding nightmare? Yeah, we’ll get to that.) It was a trade group for people like me (at the time) who worked in corporate communication departments making training videos and never seeing the sun except in exterior shots. The ITVA did all the trade-groupy things like monthly meetings, electing boards, and having annual blowout drunk-fests in far-off cities. It was a cool hang and, as long as your company was paying the $450 annual membership, everything was groovy.
But things changed, as they always do. I know I aged 10 years in the time I was active, and so did everybody else. Things like vitality and new blood became less important. And our chapter evolved from a networking group of young people trying to make connections into a social club more concerned about the refreshments being served. As the average age continued to skew older, the national office lurched into “action.” In a delicate situation that required lots of tact, they displayed precisely none, and civil war broke out. They said (quite rightly) that to remain vital, we can’t be the “video dude” club anymore. And many people found themselves on the Status Quo side, largely in response to the ham-fisted actions of the national office. We said, if the Teamsters can have a horse and a wagon-wheel as their logo, then we can be the ITVA!
Anyway, it became a race between re-branding and irrelevance that, somehow, achieved both. The ITVA became the MCA-I, the Media Communications Association International. It wisely attempted to incorporate all the elements of communication that weren’t video, like print, web and multimedia, but had no idea (as of 2002, anyway) how to do it.
It’s been years since I attended a meeting, even longer since I was on the local board. So I have to ask…do organizations like this even have a place anymore? Or do forums and chatrooms fulfill the same purpose? What do you think?
Update: Old Cincinnati hands were aghast that the Flying Pig was not on the name badge. So, take your pigs and stick them!
A Lively Exchange 
Ahhh, the ITVA! Philly was quite the time, Anaheim had it’s moments, and the Flying Pigs T-shirt still brings a chuckle! We often mention putting together a reunion, yet it has never gone any further than thought…I can thank ITVA for our introduction, it was a great networking organization. Let the hits keep coming on the blog.
GG: without a doubt, there were plenty of good times. Thanks for the comment!
Mmmmm…..flying pig…the OTHER white meat. I have fond memories of our ITVA chapter for sure. I miss the comraderie, although I’m still in touch with a lot of former members. And ITVA was a great conduit for jobs. I got a bunch of freelance work, and then a certain fateful breakfast meeting secured me a position at the Fernald Multimedia Visual Services department, where I worked for a decade. I’m not sure that a forum or chat could replace the face time we had at ITVA. I think networking in person is still the best way.
Great blog Spike!
Are forums and chatrooms a viable substitute for open dialog over drinks? C’mon…
Now, I wasn’t involved when it was still called ITVA, but my brief experience with MCA-I was… how shall I say… underwhelming. Seeming more like a glamorized high-school AV club than an association of trade professionals, I was pretty disappointed… especially having previously heard all the stories from the ITVA’s glory days. All due respect to TRUE Video Dudes/Dude-ettes currently active in MCA-I, but it didn’t feel like something I wanted to pursue any further after only two meetings. The monthly drive to Dayton and back might have also swayed my judgement a bit. If some new kind of video pro association worth it’s weight in C-47’s ever emerges, I only hope it grants Cincinnati it’s own chapter… especially with gas prices the way they are now.
I joined ITVA in ’87 while a producer/writer at General Dynamics in San Diego. I’m still a member of MCA-I – and while I’m not on the International board this year, I am still involved closely with the International office and the current board – and stay active in my local Chapter.
There are a lot of new members who have never heard of ITVA now, but they are experiencing the benefits of having an association networked across the country – and in a few places around the world. On the board this year is Steve King from New Zealand.
While virtual networking is still working out the kinks, these relative youngsters experienced the true benefits of meeting face-to-face last year at the International ProTrack Conference in Milwaukee. From north to south to central America, these new members have started to bond and take leadership positions within the association on both the local and the International level.
This year’s ProTrack is in Anaheim – October 31-November 1 – plan a vacation – bring the family – go to Disneyland. You can bet that the Party Sig will be there – Gary Stone lives in Orange County and Whirrly the Sacred Blender will be there.
Connie:
I’m glad to hear from someone who thinks MCAI is still relevant. In an already-too-long post I should have said that I believe ITVA was truly done. It needed to change, but change was difficult and could have been handled better. My circumstances changed, and I moved on like a lot of other people. If the new beast has found it’s feet, then bravo. Like the other commenters, I still believe the face-to-face hookup is best.
While there are active local media communication groups in many many cities across the country, MCA-I is still relevant in that it can function as a connection method for those times when you either need to find crews or other talent outside your area or people are trying to find support in your area. The annual conference provides a way for people in far flung parts of the country (or the world) to “press the flesh.” There is nothing like eyeball to eyeball contact to create a real connection.
Having an active chapter does require some effort – and since we are all volunteers at the chapter level there will always be ups and downs in every chapter. Some chapters are doing pretty well, others have folded. Others are doing the bare minimum. Want to know more?
Sign up to receive MCA-I eNews and get a better idea of what is going on. http://www.mca-i.org/news/ . Also look for the new pdf version of the Quarterly publication CONNECT which gives a more complete overview of what is happening in the chapters.
Feel free to ask some specific questions. If I can’t answer them, I’ll find someone who can.
If you can remember a national ITVA conference, you weren’t there dude! The hospitality suites… free pens, coffee mugs, keychains, food, booze and sex. Well, the food, the booze, the networking, the kareoke!!! Good times! I do not recall being consulted on a name change, really pissed me off, after being a local board member for over 15 #$%*&!! years!! (I like exclamation points!!!!)!!! I undestand being more inclusive (PC, B.S.), but include the locals in the decision. You see the results… less chapters, less membership and from what I hear our regional chapter is close to dissolving. Really bad move! In all fairness though, corporate video was “downsized” and in some cases elliminated! Many people opted out. Ultimately, things had to change. Right-on to all those who carry the torch or memory stick!! Hey, where’s the flying pig aplicay in your graphic? Very covetted at national meetings!!
Sorry, Peckery–if that is your real name! This was the only name badge that had any context to it at all, and not just a total mashup of “city” stickers. I believe this was from Seattle 1992, long before the genetic abomination of flying pink pigs.
But, if it makes you feel better, I have updated the main page. Pork on!!
Pork you very much for the flying pigs. I’m not sure that I have any… and I ordered and bought them!! Thanks to Joyce for the design! Who cares about networking?!? It’s the trinkets!!!
All I can say is “Hell Yeah!” F2F networking is social networking at its best. Talk to any Social Networking intelligentsia and they”ll tell you they love the F2F time they finally get with their online “friends”.
I instigated the MCA-I change. ITVA needed to be more inclusive. If it hadn’t been for a near disasterous financial meltdown the name change would have taken. But 8 years later MCA-I (ITVA) is here and celebrating 40 years.
I’m still cheerleader. I miss having a chapter here in San Antonio so I started my own local group, MediaPeopleSA. Didn’t take much to set up; just emailed some folks I knew and invited them to lunch.
Like Connie mentoned, sign up for the eNews and check out ProTracks, the annual conference. Think badge “pimping” and more schwag! Sorry, the days of hospitality suites are gone, gone, gone. Vendors won’t host them.
Something like MCA-I is as relevant as you make it. If it’s an “AV Club” then complain out loud.
The cool thing about the social media movement now is that it’s pretty much up to the individual to make it happen. And the tools to do that like Meetup and Facebook make it really easy. The downfall of the chapter structure is that it depends on a small group to make it happen for a large group. But when you combine current technology with the chapter concept, well, now you got something! (MCA-I Orange County is doing it with Meetup.)
Signed,
“Keeping it relevant” š
Groups like that tend to deteriorate just as you describe. Which is too bad. Their best function is to help people network and find work.
social networking on the internet is a tad easier, refreshments are irrelevant, but it’s also hard to get to know people just thu email.
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