Effective Volunteer Relations and Member Empowerment

I've brought over a couple of articles from our corporate website that I think have some good nuggets of wisdom in them.  They were written a few years back but both outline some timeless 'rules-of-thumb' around the issues of volunteer relations and member empowerment.

• Focus on Volunteers: Ten Steps for Effective Volunteer Relations
• Achieving Your Association's Potential: Involving and Empowering Your Members

I think most associations run into challenges of one kind or another with one, if not both, of these issues.  I'd love to hear your thoughts on how your association has (or hasn't) implemented some of the ideas raised here.  If not, how does your organization maximize its potential in these two key areas?

Also some food for thought:  How do you think implementing effective volunteer relations is changing given the rise in social media?