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In the first episode of 2025, Amith and Mallory dive into groundbreaking innovations reshaping the association world. They explore Google’s Gemini Deep Research, a cutting-edge AI tool revolutionizing how associations can generate actionable insights. Then, they discuss the futuristic potential of carbon-14 diamond batteries—offering nearly unlimited power for thousands of years. From enhancing member engagement through AI to powering the tech of tomorrow, this episode blends scientific curiosity with practical association strategies. Tune in for insights, inspiration, and a glimpse of what’s ahead in AI and energy innovation.

🔎 Check out the NEW Sidecar Learning Hub:
https://learn.sidecarglobal.com/home

📕 Download ‘Ascend 2nd Edition: Unlocking the Power of AI for Associations’ for FREE
https://sidecarglobal.com/ai

🛠 AI Tools and Resources Mentioned in This Episode:
Gemini Deep Research ➡ https://gemini.google.com/app
ChatGPT ➡ https://openai.com/chatgpt

📅 Register for digitalNow2026 in Washington, D.C. from October 25–28:
 https://digitalnow.sidecar.ai

🎀 Use code AIPOD50 for $50 off your Association AI Professional (AAiP) certification at https://sidecar.ai/aaip

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Amith Nagarajan is the Chairman of Blue Cypress, a family of purpose-driven companies and proud practitioners of Conscious Capitalism. The Blue Cypress companies focus on helping associations, non-profits, and other purpose-driven organizations achieve long-term success. Amith is also an active early-stage investor in B2B SaaS companies. He’s had the good fortune of nearly three decades of success as an entrepreneur and enjoys helping others in their journey.

https://linkedin.com/amithnagarajan

Mallory Mejias is passionate about creating opportunities for association professionals to learn, grow, and better serve their members using artificial intelligence. She enjoys blending creativity and innovation to produce fresh, meaningful content for the association space. Mallory co-hosts and produces the Sidecar Sync podcast, where she delves into the latest trends in AI and technology, translating them into actionable insights.

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Welcome to a special edition of Sidecar Sync! In this episode, Mallory shares keynote highlights from Day One of digitalNow 2024, a premier event for association leaders. Dive into insights from Amith Nagarajan on AI agents and agentic systems, Thomas Altman on AI's role in knowledge creation, Sharon Gai on AI-driven e-commerce strategies, and Dr. Denise Turley on implementing generative AI solutions. From practical takeaways to future-forward ideas, this episode is packed with inspiration for associations navigating the AI revolution.

📣 Take Advantage of the Early Bird Special and Sign Up for digitalNow 2025:
https://digitalnow.sidecarglobal.com/

🔎 Check out the NEW Sidecar Learning Hub:
https://learn.sidecarglobal.com/home

📕 Download ‘Ascend 2nd Edition: Unlocking the Power of AI for Associations’ for FREE
https://sidecarglobal.com/ai

🛠 AI Tools and Resources Mentioned in This Episode:
ChatGPT ➡ https://openai.com/chatgpt
Sora Text-to-Video ➡ https://openai.com/research
Klarna AI Assistant ➡ https://www.klarna.com/us

📅 Register for digitalNow2026 in Washington, D.C. from October 25–28:
 https://digitalnow.sidecar.ai

🎀 Use code AIPOD50 for $50 off your Association AI Professional (AAiP) certification at https://sidecar.ai/aaip

🚀 Help Us Grow Our Reach - Share With a Friend or Colleague!

👍 Like & Subscribe!
https://x.com/sidecarglobal
https://www.youtube.com/@SidecarSync
https://sidecar.ai/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/sidecar-global/

Amith Nagarajan is the Chairman of Blue Cypress, a family of purpose-driven companies and proud practitioners of Conscious Capitalism. The Blue Cypress companies focus on helping associations, non-profits, and other purpose-driven organizations achieve long-term success. Amith is also an active early-stage investor in B2B SaaS companies. He’s had the good fortune of nearly three decades of success as an entrepreneur and enjoys helping others in their journey.

https://linkedin.com/amithnagarajan

Mallory Mejias is passionate about creating opportunities for association professionals to learn, grow, and better serve their members using artificial intelligence. She enjoys blending creativity and innovation to produce fresh, meaningful content for the association space. Mallory co-hosts and produces the Sidecar Sync podcast, where she delves into the latest trends in AI and technology, translating them into actionable insights.

https://linkedin.com/mallorymejias

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In this special interview, Mallory chats with Varun Puri, co-founder of Yoodli, an AI-powered communication coach revolutionizing how people prepare for speeches, interviews, and conversations. Varun shares Yoodli’s journey, from its inspiration as a "smart mirror" for speech to its adoption by global organizations like Google and Toastmasters. Discover how associations, professionals, and even doctors are using Yoodli to enhance communication skills, and get insights into why keeping the "human in the loop" is key for authentic speaking. Varun’s candid anecdotes, including the quirky origin of Yoodli’s name, make this an episode you won’t forget.

🔎 Check out the NEW Sidecar Learning Hub:
https://learn.sidecarglobal.com/home

📕 Download ‘Ascend 2nd Edition: Unlocking the Power of AI for Associations’ for FREE
https://sidecarglobal.com/ai

🛠 AI Tools and Resources Mentioned in This Episode:
Yoodli ➡ https://yoodli.ai

📅 Register for digitalNow2026 in Washington, D.C. from October 25–28:
 https://digitalnow.sidecar.ai

🎀 Use code AIPOD50 for $50 off your Association AI Professional (AAiP) certification at https://sidecar.ai/aaip

🚀 Help Us Grow Our Reach - Share With a Friend or Colleague!

👍 Like & Subscribe!
https://x.com/sidecarglobal
https://www.youtube.com/@SidecarSync
https://sidecar.ai/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/sidecar-global/

Amith Nagarajan is the Chairman of Blue Cypress, a family of purpose-driven companies and proud practitioners of Conscious Capitalism. The Blue Cypress companies focus on helping associations, non-profits, and other purpose-driven organizations achieve long-term success. Amith is also an active early-stage investor in B2B SaaS companies. He’s had the good fortune of nearly three decades of success as an entrepreneur and enjoys helping others in their journey.

https://linkedin.com/amithnagarajan

Mallory Mejias is passionate about creating opportunities for association professionals to learn, grow, and better serve their members using artificial intelligence. She enjoys blending creativity and innovation to produce fresh, meaningful content for the association space. Mallory co-hosts and produces the Sidecar Sync podcast, where she delves into the latest trends in AI and technology, translating them into actionable insights.

https://linkedin.com/mallorymejias

Send us Fan Mail

In this special year-end episode of Sidecar Sync, Amith and Mallory reflect on 2024’s AI predictions and dive headfirst into the top 10 AI trends set to transform associations in 2025. From advancements in AI-powered video creation and humanoid robots to the rise of domain-specific tools and AI education, this episode unpacks what’s on the horizon. Amit also shares strong views on leadership and AI readiness, coining the term “leadership malpractice.” Tune in for expert insights, actionable advice, and a glimpse into the exciting future of AI in the association world.

🔎 Check out the NEW Sidecar Learning Hub:
https://learn.sidecarglobal.com/home

📕 Download ‘Ascend 2nd Edition: Unlocking the Power of AI for Associations’ for FREE
https://sidecarglobal.com/ai

🛠 AI Tools and Resources Mentioned in This Episode:
ChatGPT ➡ https://openai.com/chatgpt
Google Gemini ➡ https://ai.google/gemini
Meta AI ➡ https://meta.com/ai
DeepMind’s AlphaFold ➡ https://www.deepmind.com/research/highlights/alphafold

📅 Register for digitalNow2026 in Washington, D.C. from October 25–28:
 https://digitalnow.sidecar.ai

🎀 Use code AIPOD50 for $50 off your Association AI Professional (AAiP) certification at https://sidecar.ai/aaip

🚀 Help Us Grow Our Reach - Share With a Friend or Colleague!

👍 Like & Subscribe!
https://x.com/sidecarglobal
https://www.youtube.com/@SidecarSync
https://sidecar.ai/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/sidecar-global/

Amith Nagarajan is the Chairman of Blue Cypress, a family of purpose-driven companies and proud practitioners of Conscious Capitalism. The Blue Cypress companies focus on helping associations, non-profits, and other purpose-driven organizations achieve long-term success. Amith is also an active early-stage investor in B2B SaaS companies. He’s had the good fortune of nearly three decades of success as an entrepreneur and enjoys helping others in their journey.

https://linkedin.com/amithnagarajan

Mallory Mejias is passionate about creating opportunities for association professionals to learn, grow, and better serve their members using artificial intelligence. She enjoys blending creativity and innovation to produce fresh, meaningful content for the association space. Mallory co-hosts and produces the Sidecar Sync podcast, where she delves into the latest trends in AI and technology, translating them into actionable insights.

https://linkedin.com/mallorymejias

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In this episode of Sidecar Sync, Amith and Mallory unpack the latest advancements shaping the AI and association landscape. From Meta's groundbreaking Llama 3.3 model, which challenges scaling laws with its smaller yet mightier parameters, to OpenAI’s launch of Sora, a highly anticipated text-to-video AI model, we explore how these technologies redefine the boundaries of innovation. Discover why smaller AI models are taking the spotlight, how Sora’s creative capabilities might revolutionize storytelling, and the implications for associations embracing video at scale. Tune in for an insightful discussion on these exciting AI breakthroughs!

🔎 Check out the NEW Sidecar Learning Hub:
https://learn.sidecarglobal.com/home

📕 Download ‘Ascend 2nd Edition: Unlocking the Power of AI for Associations’ for FREE
https://sidecarglobal.com/ai

🛠 AI Tools and Resources Mentioned in This Episode:
Llama 3.3 ➡ https://www.llama.com/
Sora ➡ https://openai.com/sora
HeyGen ➡ https://heygen.com
Hugging Face ➡ https://huggingface.co

📅 Register for digitalNow2026 in Washington, D.C. from October 25–28:
 https://digitalnow.sidecar.ai

🎀 Use code AIPOD50 for $50 off your Association AI Professional (AAiP) certification at https://sidecar.ai/aaip

🚀 Help Us Grow Our Reach - Share With a Friend or Colleague!

👍 Like & Subscribe!
https://x.com/sidecarglobal
https://www.youtube.com/@SidecarSync
https://sidecar.ai/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/sidecar-global/

Amith Nagarajan is the Chairman of Blue Cypress, a family of purpose-driven companies and proud practitioners of Conscious Capitalism. The Blue Cypress companies focus on helping associations, non-profits, and other purpose-driven organizations achieve long-term success. Amith is also an active early-stage investor in B2B SaaS companies. He’s had the good fortune of nearly three decades of success as an entrepreneur and enjoys helping others in their journey.

https://linkedin.com/amithnagarajan

Mallory Mejias is passionate about creating opportunities for association professionals to learn, grow, and better serve their members using artificial intelligence. She enjoys blending creativity and innovation to produce fresh, meaningful content for the association space. Mallory co-hosts and produces the Sidecar Sync podcast, where she delves into the latest trends in AI and technology, translating them into actionable insights.

https://linkedin.com/mallorymejias

Send us Fan Mail

In this post-Thanksgiving episode, Amith and Mallory dive into groundbreaking AI innovations shaping the association landscape. Discover the story behind Daisy, a clever chatbot designed to thwart phone scammers, and its implications for cybersecurity. The hosts also unpack Anthropic’s Model Context Protocol (MCP), an open-source framework poised to redefine how AI interacts with diverse data sources. With a mix of practical advice and forward-thinking insights, this episode is a must-listen for anyone navigating the intersection of AI and associations.

🔎 Check out the NEW Sidecar Learning Hub:
https://learn.sidecarglobal.com/home

📕 Download ‘Ascend 2nd Edition: Unlocking the Power of AI for Associations’ for FREE
https://sidecarglobal.com/ai

🛠 AI Tools and Resources Mentioned in This Episode:
ChatGPT ➡ https://openai.com
ElevenLabs ➡ https://elevenlabs.io
HeyGen ➡ https://www.heygen.com
Anthropic’s Claude ➡ https://www.anthropic.com

📅 Register for digitalNow2026 in Washington, D.C. from October 25–28:
 https://digitalnow.sidecar.ai

🎀 Use code AIPOD50 for $50 off your Association AI Professional (AAiP) certification at https://sidecar.ai/aaip

🚀 Help Us Grow Our Reach - Share With a Friend or Colleague!

👍 Like & Subscribe!
https://x.com/sidecarglobal
https://www.youtube.com/@SidecarSync
https://sidecar.ai/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/sidecar-global/

Amith Nagarajan is the Chairman of Blue Cypress, a family of purpose-driven companies and proud practitioners of Conscious Capitalism. The Blue Cypress companies focus on helping associations, non-profits, and other purpose-driven organizations achieve long-term success. Amith is also an active early-stage investor in B2B SaaS companies. He’s had the good fortune of nearly three decades of success as an entrepreneur and enjoys helping others in their journey.

https://linkedin.com/amithnagarajan

Mallory Mejias is passionate about creating opportunities for association professionals to learn, grow, and better serve their members using artificial intelligence. She enjoys blending creativity and innovation to produce fresh, meaningful content for the association space. Mallory co-hosts and produces the Sidecar Sync podcast, where she delves into the latest trends in AI and technology, translating them into actionable insights.

https://linkedin.com/mallorymejias

Send us Fan Mail

In this special Thanksgiving episode of Sidecar Sync, Wilson, your AI host, takes the reins while Mallory and Amit are off for the holiday. The focus? Exploring how AI audio tools are revolutionizing associations. From streamlining podcast production to creating personalized learning experiences and enhancing accessibility, Wilson shares practical applications and inspiring insights. Learn how associations can harness these tools to save time, expand reach, and better serve their members—all while staying ahead in a tech-driven world.

🔎 Check out the NEW Sidecar Learning Hub:
https://learn.sidecarglobal.com/home

📕 Download ‘Ascend 2nd Edition: Unlocking the Power of AI for Associations’ for FREE
https://sidecarglobal.com/ai

📅 Register for digitalNow2026 in Washington, D.C. from October 25–28:
 https://digitalnow.sidecar.ai

🎀 Use code AIPOD50 for $50 off your Association AI Professional (AAiP) certification at https://sidecar.ai/aaip

🚀 Help Us Grow Our Reach - Share With a Friend or Colleague!

👍 Like & Subscribe!
https://x.com/sidecarglobal
https://www.youtube.com/@SidecarSync
https://sidecar.ai/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/sidecar-global/

Amith Nagarajan is the Chairman of Blue Cypress, a family of purpose-driven companies and proud practitioners of Conscious Capitalism. The Blue Cypress companies focus on helping associations, non-profits, and other purpose-driven organizations achieve long-term success. Amith is also an active early-stage investor in B2B SaaS companies. He’s had the good fortune of nearly three decades of success as an entrepreneur and enjoys helping others in their journey.

https://linkedin.com/amithnagarajan

Mallory Mejias is passionate about creating opportunities for association professionals to learn, grow, and better serve their members using artificial intelligence. She enjoys blending creativity and innovation to produce fresh, meaningful content for the association space. Mallory co-hosts and produces the Sidecar Sync podcast, where she delves into the latest trends in AI and technology, translating them into actionable insights.

https://linkedin.com/mallorymejias

Send us Fan Mail

In this episode of Sidecar Sync, hosts Amith and Mallory explore whether prompt engineering is becoming obsolete with advancements like Stanford’s DSPY and Zenbase, and discuss OpenAI’s upcoming Operator agent, which promises to revolutionize how AI integrates with workflows. From understanding effective communication with AI to weighing the risks and rewards of emerging AI agents, this episode is packed with actionable insights for professionals navigating AI-driven transformations.

🔎 Check out the NEW Sidecar Learning Hub:
https://learn.sidecarglobal.com/home

📕 Download ‘Ascend 2nd Edition: Unlocking the Power of AI for Associations’ for FREE
https://sidecarglobal.com/ai

🛠 AI Tools and Resources Mentioned in This Episode
Stanford’s DSPY ➡ https://stanford.edu/dspy
Zenbase ➡ https://zenbase.io
OpenAI Operator ➡ https://openai.com
ChatGPT ➡ https://openai.com/chatgpt
Claude ➡ https://anthropic.com

📅 Register for digitalNow2026 in Washington, D.C. from October 25–28:
 https://digitalnow.sidecar.ai

🎀 Use code AIPOD50 for $50 off your Association AI Professional (AAiP) certification at https://sidecar.ai/aaip

🚀 Help Us Grow Our Reach - Share With a Friend or Colleague!

👍 Like & Subscribe!
https://x.com/sidecarglobal
https://www.youtube.com/@SidecarSync
https://sidecar.ai/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/sidecar-global/

Amith Nagarajan is the Chairman of Blue Cypress, a family of purpose-driven companies and proud practitioners of Conscious Capitalism. The Blue Cypress companies focus on helping associations, non-profits, and other purpose-driven organizations achieve long-term success. Amith is also an active early-stage investor in B2B SaaS companies. He’s had the good fortune of nearly three decades of success as an entrepreneur and enjoys helping others in their journey.

https://linkedin.com/amithnagarajan

Mallory Mejias is passionate about creating opportunities for association professionals to learn, grow, and better serve their members using artificial intelligence. She enjoys blending creativity and innovation to produce fresh, meaningful content for the association space. Mallory co-hosts and produces the Sidecar Sync podcast, where she delves into the latest trends in AI and technology, translating them into actionable insights.

https://linkedin.com/mallorymejias

Send us Fan Mail

In this episode of Sidecar Sync, Amith and Mallory dive deep into the world of AI agents and their transformative potential for associations. Amith shares insights from his keynote at Digital Now 2024, exploring the difference between models and agents, and why agents hold the key to unlocking significant ROI for associations. The discussion covers use cases like customer service and knowledge management, and how associations can get started with building their own agents. Whether it’s creating an efficient content workflow or enhancing member engagement, this episode breaks down practical steps for implementing AI agents that can automate complex processes, reduce costs, and elevate the member experience.

🔎 Check out the NEW Sidecar Learning Hub:
https://learn.sidecarglobal.com/home

📕 Download ‘Ascend 2nd Edition: Unlocking the Power of AI for Associations’ for FREE
https://sidecarglobal.com/ai

🛠 AI Tools and Resources Mentioned in This Episode:
Microsoft Copilot ➡ https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/copilot
Zapier ➡ https://zapier.com
Member Junction ➡ https://memberjunction.org
Claude by Anthropic ➡ https://www.anthropic.com

📅 Register for digitalNow2026 in Washington, D.C. from October 25–28:
 https://digitalnow.sidecar.ai

🎀 Use code AIPOD50 for $50 off your Association AI Professional (AAiP) certification at https://sidecar.ai/aaip

🚀 Help Us Grow Our Reach - Share With a Friend or Colleague!

👍 Like & Subscribe!
https://x.com/sidecarglobal
https://www.youtube.com/@SidecarSync
https://sidecar.ai/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/sidecar-global/

Amith Nagarajan is the Chairman of Blue Cypress, a family of purpose-driven companies and proud practitioners of Conscious Capitalism. The Blue Cypress companies focus on helping associations, non-profits, and other purpose-driven organizations achieve long-term success. Amith is also an active early-stage investor in B2B SaaS companies. He’s had the good fortune of nearly three decades of success as an entrepreneur and enjoys helping others in their journey.

https://linkedin.com/amithnagarajan

Mallory Mejias is passionate about creating opportunities for association professionals to learn, grow, and better serve their members using artificial intelligence. She enjoys blending creativity and innovation to produce fresh, meaningful content for the association space. Mallory co-hosts and produces the Sidecar Sync podcast, where she delves into the latest trends in AI and technology, translating them into actionable insights.

https://linkedin.com/mallorymejias

Send us Fan Mail

In part two of this special audio-focused episode of Sidecar Sync, Amith and Mallory dive into the innovative ways associations can leverage audio and AI to engage members and enhance accessibility. Amith discusses real-world applications of text-to-speech AI tools like ElevenLabs, exploring how associations can maintain a consistent brand voice across platforms, convert complex technical content into audio formats, and create interactive knowledge modules. The conversation also touches on the future potential of intelligent voice support and real-time translation, making association content more accessible worldwide. With real-world examples, they share how AI-driven audio solutions open doors to engagement, from enhanced sponsor content to democratized language access at global conferences.

🔎 Check out the NEW Sidecar Learning Hub:
https://learn.sidecarglobal.com/home

📕 Download ‘Ascend 2nd Edition: Unlocking the Power of AI for Associations’ for FREE
https://sidecarglobal.com/ai

🎬 Sidecar Sync Ep. 47: Project Strawberry, Hugging Face Speech-to-Speech Model, & AI and Grid Infrastructure
https://youtu.be/lXcnx_HECes?si=7kVStK8JO09Qylfo

🎬 Sidecar Sync Ep. 47: Previewing digitalNow 2024, Google NotebookLM, and xRx Framework Explained
https://youtu.be/bpINBxVSM4s?si=vTx01nZyUWde22MT

🛠 AI Tools and Resources Mentioned in This Episode:
ElevenLabs ➡ https://elevenlabs.io/
Notebook LM ➡ https://notebooklm.google.com
HeyGen ➡ https://heygen.com

📅 Register for digitalNow2026 in Washington, D.C. from October 25–28:
 https://digitalnow.sidecar.ai

🎀 Use code AIPOD50 for $50 off your Association AI Professional (AAiP) certification at https://sidecar.ai/aaip

🚀 Help Us Grow Our Reach - Share With a Friend or Colleague!

👍 Like & Subscribe!
https://x.com/sidecarglobal
https://www.youtube.com/@SidecarSync
https://sidecar.ai/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/sidecar-global/

Amith Nagarajan is the Chairman of Blue Cypress, a family of purpose-driven companies and proud practitioners of Conscious Capitalism. The Blue Cypress companies focus on helping associations, non-profits, and other purpose-driven organizations achieve long-term success. Amith is also an active early-stage investor in B2B SaaS companies. He’s had the good fortune of nearly three decades of success as an entrepreneur and enjoys helping others in their journey.

https://linkedin.com/amithnagarajan

Mallory Mejias is passionate about creating opportunities for association professionals to learn, grow, and better serve their members using artificial intelligence. She enjoys blending creativity and innovation to produce fresh, meaningful content for the association space. Mallory co-hosts and produces the Sidecar Sync podcast, where she delves into the latest trends in AI and technology, translating them into actionable insights.

https://linkedin.com/mallorymejias