You may recall that some Region 3 long-time members were very upset with the demise of the paper IEEE Member Directory (2 volumes) for cost reasons, around 2003. As a result, in 2005 (after activist support from Bob Duggan, Jim Beall and others) then-Director Bill Harrison put an item on the RAB agenda to look into revival of the directory in some form. It was referred to Membership Development, and a plan for an on-line membership directory evolved.
That directory, called MemberNet, will be available this spring. John Day has promised that a IEEE staff member will be present at Huntsville to brief the Region 3 meeting about this development.
Briefly, owing to privacy concerns, the directory will initially contain only name and present member grade, but the member can "opt-in" to include other information as well.. The paper directory included member grade history and dates as well as work affiliation, contact information and, for Fellows, a brief biography with their citation and other awards. This latter information made it invaluable for Fellow nominators and references.
The new directory will be available through the "My IEEE" portal, and can contain a variety of information - that the member wants to share.
The directory will have advantages for peer-to-peer networking (identifying/locating other society members in your area), and for member recruitment and retention (e.g., aiding in senior member elevations). It will include a search capability. It will include higher-grade members (including associate members) but not affiliates.
It can also fill a "Rolodex" function for members, and John Day has solicited ideas for how this can be implemented and used.
The "My IEEE" portal is functional now, and can be populated with as much information as you want to put into it. Again, it will be opt-in management (by you) with the security of your web account for access.
Regards,
George
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