I am at a client event and thought I would take a snapshot of my desk 15 minutes after arrival to see what was there. This was right at the start of the set up process and thought it would give me insight into what I think is important.
Obviously, hearing things is important because I have 2 sets of headphones and a set of speakers. The internet is also key because I have a wireless router and repeater to boost the signal.
One of the things that I find amazing about social media for meeting and event planners (marketers) is that our very attendees can be our biggest army of marketing foot-soldiers. When your event is an amazing success, they will talk about it, they will share it and they will let everyone know.
This has changed the event marketing landscape for the better and has made our jobs as event marketers 1000 times easier.
Etta James, a true legend and one of the greatest singers ever, passed today, she will be missed.
What a voice, if you watch this video, the song makes an awesome transition at 1 minute 40.
This is a question that should nag at every person who is involved with meetings and events for a number of reasons. We are increasingly online with our attendee databases, our event financials and our entire event marketing strategies and this is information that some people would pay good money for.
You are only as secure as your staffs’ weakest password.
You may not be able to control the passwords of all of your colleagues but at least you can make sure that you are not the source of the data-leak that winds up on the homepage of the Huffington Post.
Find out how secure your passwords are by heading over to “How Secure is my Password” and type away. The site updates as you type telling you how long it would take an average PC to crack your code.
You might be amazed to find out that you are not as secure as you think.
So, if you are a regular visitor here, you will notice a few changes! I have ditched the narcissistic header in favor of something a little more streamlined with the new logo and more accurate categories (God, about time, I have no idea what that Planner Life category was all about).
One thing that I said that I would do is turn my post on great event industry blogs into a page and you can find it here. One of my goals is to get each of the bloggers behind these amazing sites to write a few sentences about another blog on the list.
Thanks to everyone for their readership and good words, it really does mean a lot and I want everyone to know that I truly appreciate the fact that you are here.
Anyway, I hope that everyone digs the new digs and let me know what you think!
Original Image: GWire
I wrote this post on Friday with the intent of posting on Monday. Over the weekend, there were some dramatic changes in Washington. Specifically, the White House made the following statement:
While we believe that online piracy by foreign websites is a serious problem that requires a serious legislative response, we will not support legislation that reduces freedom of expression, increases cybersecurity risk, or undermines the dynamic, innovative global Internet.
In addition, many of those that were behind SOPA are now pulling their support in what must be amazing moments of clarity.While this might “kill the bill”, we need to stay on top of this and not let our politicians do stupid things.
That being said, the image that you see above could have this website slammed off the internet, it could make it disappear in an instant. Why? Because I did not create the image and even though I give credit (the image is from this post over at Forbes where the author is calling for large internet sites to join in his call for a massive protest)
We need to focus and keep our eye on the ball because this post is about a real issue that needs to be addressed by the meetings and events industry and so far, our industry associations are silent (surprised??). [Read more...]
I love being involved with Site (the Society of Incentive Travel Executives) and being a Board Member for the Chicago Chapter.
This is why I am totally psyched that we are putting the final touches on our new website.
We are just about ready to pull the stops out for the members and send them their log ins so that they can go behind the scenes and check out all of the amazing features including the new forum, educational sections and member directory.
Email marketing for events, specifically for conferences and meetings has been around for a long time and there are some marketers out there that do an amazing job. Their emails are first on my read list when they come in and you should strive to be this good.
Your attendees should want to open your emails because they are good, attendees should not get them and cringe.
Look, I know that accounting, bookkeeping and expenses are a drag, I have lived with it for years and I hate every minute of it. I truly do.
That is why I love the internet! Those little internet fairies build and construct some of the most amazing things in the middle of the night when we are all sleeping snug in our beds. They use their magic fairy dust to produce products that make me a better person because when I do not have to do the heavy lifting on accounting chores, I am a much nicer person. Really… just ask people that know me.
I am not going to give reviews or in-depth info, just enough so you can see what the product is about. This is one of those times when you have to do the final research yourself because many of the offerings are similar and some are excellent so it is a matter of personal choice… which works better for your needs.
Feeling great about being back to work after the holidays. I hope that everyone had an amazing New Year and I am looking forward to rocking out some great posts!
But first…. I look at my desk this morning. I love the creative process that goes into event planning!
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Keith Johnston is PlannerWire.
PlannerWire is the meeting and event industry blog that is loaded with sarcasm, humor and lots of great information for meeting and event professionals.
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