IEEE, with slogans and taglines like “The world’s largest professional association for the advancement of technology” and “Advancing Technology for Society” has lost its credibility. After being a member for 10 years, I can say I’ve seen no benefits. In fact, I’ve only encountered frustration like spam email, randomly assigned usernames that are hard to remember, and strictly enforced password policies that are less secure than my standards–making passwords impossible to remember. The website is ugly and hard to use. Want benefits like access to webinars? Sorry, that will cost extra. Doing research and trying to access an IEEE publication? Sorry, that will cost extra.

This came to a head recently when I checked the mail and saw an official looking envelope claiming membership information was included. This concerned me some, so I opened the envelope and found yet another junk mailing. No credible brand will allow spamvertising, much less spamvertising with their name all over it.

Sadly, IEEE promotes these services as an incentive to join. If these services are for my benefit, let me choose when to enact these benefits. IEEE is a cheap brand that sells its members’ information. Their only claim to fame is convincing 400,000 people that their dues are low enough to endure. IEEE has lost its credibility: their information is late and incomplete–even worse, they charge inordinate amounts for research that might be timely and detailed.

There are so many worthwhile publications, blogs, and organizations; IEEE is not one of them. I will not be renewing my membership again. Will you? If so, why?