I just shot (most of) this on a forum discussing the failure of one high profile professional organization to attract new members. Particularly, it's special interest sections are seeing a marked decrease in membership.
One of the staples of the (already long-running) discussion has been that the organization tends not to provide knowledge or connections valuable to one's immediate career objectives.
Another long running theme has been that the fees are quite high and most companies no longer reimburse them. When coming on top of other expenses needed to keep up-to-date with all the new data in one's domain, they may be a burden not everyone can afford.
Combine the two "issues" and the "incentives" to join a prestigious professional organization get blown through all windows.
