I just want to address this very  point for just a second.
""Right or wrong, young people no longer believe that there is value in face-to-face networking in the age of LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter and association memberships everywhere are falling year after year as a result. " 
To a great degree, we are becoming a "google" world where the answer for everything is just a few keystrokes away.  Unfortunately, reliance on a "google" mentality creates a "superficial" understanding of how things are created, used, stored, etc.  In essence, there is no "foundation" or "substance" as to the "who, what, where, why" that goes with deeper involvement."

I agree with this 100% and see if often that a lot of younger RIM professionals that have a lot of book smarts on theory but when attempting to justify in the real world of RIM it is just that and really of very little use to further the programs and/ or goals.  The peer to peer interaction is a huge aspect of what I used to love about ARMA, especially the ISG group and then talking more in depth afterwards.  While I will concur you can learn a lot from book and google, nothing beats OTJ training in the RIM world and the sound advice of what has and has not worked for other organizations in similar fields and places as yours.  I respect lessons learned and advice from other practitioners and love getting it and "talking shop" about what makes our jobs and ever expanding roles great!  One of the best feelings in the world is to "geek out" on our professions with others who love it as much as I do because let's face it not everyone is going to enjoy RIM.  You don’t get that comradery from social media.

Thanks,
 adh

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