Sidecar Blog

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5 min read

The Quiet Shift Reshaping Event Teams: From Planner to Builder

Mallory Mejias: Apr 29, 2026 6:30:00 AM

If you work on the events side of an association, the math probably looks familiar. Budgets have been flat for years. Costs — venues, catering, AV, travel, talent — have not. And every year, leadership wants a bigger and better event than the one...

Artificial Intelligence Events Management

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5 min read

The 17-Year Overnight Success: A Framework for Spotting What's Next

Mallory Mejias: Apr 28, 2026 9:15:00 AM

Here's a story you may have heard a version of: a small team launches a free app in the App Store. Two weeks later, Apple calls — unannounced,...

Strategy Innovation Trend Spotting

Sidecar Sync Episode episode 131 cover featuring Adam Cheyer, Noah Cheyer, and Mallory Mejias

41 min read

How Siri’s Co-Creator Predicts the Next AI Wave with Adam & Noah Cheyer | [Sidecar Sync Episode 131]

Mallory Mejias: Apr 28, 2026 8:54:02 AM

Summary: What happens when you put a Siri co-creator and longtime AI pioneer together with a next-generation events strategist? Adam...

Events Management Sidecar Sync Podcast Leadership Innovation AI Products & Services

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5 min read

What's Coming for Association Knowledge Bases: Faster, Smarter, More Accurate

Mallory Mejias: Apr 23, 2026 12:25:40 PM

More associations are building AI-powered knowledge assistants every month. The pitch is compelling: members get instant answers drawn from your...

AI Models Innovation Model compression RAG

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4 min read

Why Smart Associations Don't Use One AI Model. They Use Five.

Mallory Mejias: Apr 21, 2026 6:30:01 AM

Most AI conversations in associations start with the same question: which model should we use? Claude or ChatGPT? Gemini or something open-source?...

AI Models Innovation

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4 min read

The Little Models That Could: How AI Got 200x Cheaper in Three Years

Mallory Mejias: Apr 20, 2026 6:30:00 AM

In early 2023, if you wanted access to the smartest AI available, you paid about $30 per million tokens to use GPT-4. It was expensive, it lived in...

AI Models Innovation Model compression

Sidecar Sync Episode episode 130 cover featuring Amith Nagarajan and Mallory Mejias

38 min read

The Little AI Models That Could | [Sidecar Sync Episode 130]

Mallory Mejias: Apr 17, 2026 12:16:35 PM

Summary: This week on the Sidecar Sync, Amith Nagarajan and Mallory Mejias trace one of the biggest stories in AI: how cutting-edge intelligence...

Sidecar Sync Podcast AI Models Open Source Model compression

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5 min read

Trust Is Becoming an Uncommon Commodity — And That's an Association Problem

Mallory Mejias: Apr 17, 2026 11:38:59 AM

Associations have always been in the trust business. Members come to them for credentialing, education, industry standards, and reliable information...

Cybersecurity Trust

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6 min read

The Practical Cybersecurity Playbook for Associations With Small IT Teams

Mallory Mejias: Apr 14, 2026 3:31:18 PM

Many associations are operating with IT teams of one, two, or three people — and those teams are responsible for protecting sensitive member data,...

Cybersecurity

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