Sidecar Blog

Strategy (2)

Abstract 2×1 illustration with speech bubbles, a dinner-table silhouette, declining call-volume icon, and a glowing lightbulb, all in flowing coral, teal, and charcoal Sidecar colors.

6 min read

Stop Talking, Start Measuring: Real AI ROI from Associations

Mallory Mejias: Nov 17, 2025 9:44:00 AM

Return on investment doesn't always arrive in a spreadsheet. Sometimes it walks up to you at dinner. Sometimes it shows up as a percentage drop in...

Sidecay Sync Podcast episode 108 cover featuring Amith Nagarajan and Mallory Mejias

21 min read

Live from digitalNow 2025: Inside the Association Evolution | [Sidecar Sync Episode 108]

Mallory Mejias: Nov 13, 2025 9:27:19 AM

Summary: Live from digitalNow 2025 in Chicago, this special edition of Sidecar Sync brings together voices from across the association world, sharing...

Artificial Intelligence digitalNow Sidecar Sync Podcast Leadership Strategy

Bird’s-eye view of a conference room split in half: left side shows rows of professionals seated in theater-style, isolated and focused on laptops or phones; right side shows small round tables with groups leaning in, talking, gesturing, and collaborating.

4 min read

The Cohort Solution: Why Small Groups Drive Big Engagement

Mallory Mejias: Sep 18, 2025 7:00:00 AM

After formal education ends, professionals lose their built-in peer groups. No more classmates, no more study partners, no more cohorts. Just...

Artificial Intelligence Member Engagement Strategy

Retro Pac-Man style maze of a conference center with blue ghost association vs yellow Pac-Man influencer, member icons as dots, power-ups, and scores 300K vs 60K.

4 min read

When Influencers Become Your Competition

Mallory Mejias: Sep 17, 2025 4:34:25 PM

A 75-year-old association with 300,000 members. A six-year-old startup that's already reached one-fifth of that scale. One has decades of...

Artificial Intelligence Strategy Influence

Minimalist loading screen showing a progress bar at 45% on a dark charcoal background, with the text “Loading GPT-5…” in light gray, a small frozen spinning loader icon, and “45%” displayed below in soft peach.

4 min read

The Rocky Rollout: What OpenAI's GPT-5 Launch Teaches Associations About Innovation

Mallory Mejias: Aug 28, 2025 1:30:52 PM

Have you tested out GPT-5? You might have noticed it's been a bit buggy. Connection failures, voice mode not working, responses that feel oddly cold...

Artificial Intelligence Strategy OpenAI

Vector illustration of nested technology devices—server, desktop, laptop, smartphone, smartwatch—arranged like Russian dolls, each with a glowing AI brain icon

4 min read

Open Models Are Getting Smaller, Smarter, and More Practical

Mallory Mejias: Aug 26, 2025 10:25:38 AM

The open source AI movement continues to accelerate. Microsoft, Meta, Mistral, OpenAI, DeepSeek, and Google have all released open models in recent...

Artificial Intelligence Strategy google Open Source

5 min read

What Makes Your Beer Taste Better: Identifying Your Association's True Value Drivers

Mallory Mejias: Apr 15, 2025 10:01:16 AM

Imagine a European brewery at the dawn of the 20th century facing a momentous decision. Electricity has just arrived—a revolutionary technology that...

Artificial Intelligence Association Leader Strategy