 |
      |
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Corbin's
Meetings Technology Newsletter - May 2000 Spring
is in full bloom here in Bellingham. In the past few weeks, I have been watching
from my home office window a rare pod of gray whales visiting Bellingham Bay. Thanks
to AllMeetings.com (www.allmeetings.com)
for helping to sponsor this issue. There are several articles and other items
highlighted in this issue. If you have questions, comments or suggestions for
future topics, I would love to hear from you. Corbin *********************************************************************** [NEW
ARTICLE] Advances
in Onsite Tradeshow Technology Technology
is making the job of a show manager onsite easier while improving services to
show attendees and exhibitors. These
efficiencies include streamlined registration, electronic messaging, lead
retrieval, product locators, cyber cafes, online job banks, personal
calendars/appointment makers, surveys and more. This article touches on a number
of these advances. http://www.corbinball.com/articles/art-tradeshowtech.htm *********************************************************************** [NEW
ARTICLE] Meeting
Planning Software Questions and Answers For the
past several months, I have been one of the columnists for Meeting News' (www.meetingnews.com)
online "Ask the Experts" column. I am fortunate to be in very good
company here with some of the top planners in the world to ask questions to.
Nearly every subject in the industry is covered, including: legal issues,
ethics, adult education, international meetings, trade shows, ADA, speakers,
airlines, AV, ROI and much more. Go to www.meetingnews.com to get all your
meeting questions answered. Responses will be posted at the site. My
area is meeting planning software. In this article at my web site, I have
included an archive of all of the questions and answers provided to date. http://www.corbinball.com/articles/art-softwarequestions.htm
*********************************************************************** [NEW
ARTICLE] Corbin's
Favorite 40 Meeting Industry Web Sites What
are some of the best Web sites around? As keeper of one of the meeting
industry’s largest online favorites files (http://www.corbinball.com/tips.list.corbinslist.htm)
I am constantly on the prowl for good ones. Here are my top favorite 40 meeting
industry Web sites. http://www.corbinball.com/articles/art-favorite40meetingindustrysites.htm *********************************************************************** [NEW
ARTICLE] Corbin’s
Top 40 Web Sites (non-meeting industry related) Here
are several of my favorite all-purpose sites as well. http://www.corbinball.com/articles/art-favorite40.htm
*********************************************************************** [WEB
SITE EVALUATION CRITERIA] What
makes a good site? This, to some extent, is a matter of taste. Here is what is
important to me as I evaluate web sites: Web
evaluation criteria: 65%
Content All
the sites listed have useful content or present a great use of web technology.
Strong content can make up for a lot of other faults. Good information is the
bottom line! 20%
Usability The
site should be cleanly designed with good navigation. It should load quickly and
be easy to get information from. 15%
Style A
consistent, attractive theme and design make the site more usable, and therefore
the content easier to access. Pet Peeves Here
are my top things not to do with your site: Music A
site that plays music when opening the home page tops my list of pet peeves.
Not only does it slow the loading time, it assaults the visitors’
senses. People have their own music preferences, thank you, and they almost
never are the ones that the web site plays. Interstitial
Ads Interstitial
ads are those annoying pop-up windows that automatically open when you go to a
site. I would rather spend my time getting information rather than closing these
distracting and unnecessary windows. Extreme
slowness If
the home page does not open in 20 to 25 seconds, forget it.
This especially applies to splash pages (the graphic intensive opening
pages that some sites use) before you can even get to the real home page. User-hostile
password protection If
a site won’t let you see at least a portion of what it has to offer before
signing on, or if the site does not let you choose and change both your user
name and password in the restricted area, I move on. There are plenty of good
sites that are not unnecessarily restrictive or user-hostile.
Don’t “strip-search” the customer just to allow them in the front
door. *********************************************************************** [COOL
ADDITIONS TO CORBIN’S “FAMOUS FAVORITES FILE”] My
file represents the most comprehensive list of categorized Web site Favorites
for the meetings and hospitality industries found on the Internet – with more
than 1,200 listings. It especially focuses on meetings technology http://www.corbinball.com/articles/art-favorite40.htm
Check
out the following highlights: ********* This
is the best site around for information and links about virus hoaxes, email
chain letter and other web scams. If someone sends you a message asking you to
forward it to everyone in your address book, 99% of the time it is a hoax or
chain letter. My general rule is to
immediately delete these messages. But, if you feel compelled to forward them,
check the messages out here for validity before you even think about sending. ********* This
site provides basic words, numbers, shopping/dining terms, directions, places,
time and dates in 70 languages in an easy-to-use format. You can even listen to
the words and phrases with streaming audio. ********* This
shipping site compares all of the major shippers (USPS, FedEx, UPS, Emery,
Airborne, DHL and more) both nationally and internationally.
Enter the weight and where the package/letter is to be sent. This site
ranks them all, and finds the best deal. The site also contains tracking links,
drop off info, and much more. *********************************************************************** [LIST
SERVES WORTH CHECKING OUT] Email
Forums and Newsletters and lists are a great way of keeping up to date on
current information. Security - Event & Meeting Security Services Event
& Meeting Security Services (www.eventsecurity.com)
provides a free weekly email newsletter developed specifically for event and
meeting planners. Coverage includes international news and information that is
relevant to event destinations, event security and travel safety. As
meeting professionals, we should all be alert and aware of event security
issues. This site and newsletter is an excellent source of current information. ********************************************************************* [SOFTWARE
BOOK IS SCHEDULED FOR RELEASE THIS SUMMER] My
first edition of the “Ultimate Meeting Professionals Software Guide” is
nearly sold out of the MPI bookstore (www.mpiweb.org). I have been busy working on the second edition due for
release this coming July. More than 70 new titles will be included and more
categories adding substantially to what was already the most extensive book ever
written on the subject. https://www3.mpiweb.org/bookstore/index.cfm
*********************************************************************** [WWW.CORBINBALL.COM
MAJOR SITE UPDATE SCHEDULED] Although
I do web site consulting for major corporations, associations, convention
bureaus, conference centers and more, I am the first to admit that my site is
not the most artistically designed. – I must simply acknowledge the fact that
I am not a graphic artist! Therefore,
thanks to Cardinal Communications (www.cardinalweb.com)
you will see in the next month or so a whole new look. The content will be the
same, just in cleaner and easier-to-use wrapper. Look for it by the start of
June. *********************************************************************** [CORBIN’S
SPEAKING SCHEDULE] My
speaking schedule is filling rapidly for 2000.
Bookings for May and June will be bringing me to Chicago, Whistler,
Norwich, Phoenix, Winston/Salem and back to Phoenix. The
current list of customizable programs can be found at: http://www.corbinball.com/presentations.htm
Frequently
asked questions about hiring Corbin: http://www.corbinball.com/presentations.faq.htm
Testimonials: http://www.corbinball.com/testimonials.htm
My
most current confirmed schedule is listed at my web site: http://www.corbinball.com/presentations.calendar.htm
*********************************************************************** [CALL FOR ARTICLES SPREADSHEETS, CHECKLISTS, DATABASE PROGRAMS, & OTHER COOL TOOLS] Send
me your meeting planning spreadsheets, sample database files, checklists, and
any other tools you have developed using standard off-the-shelf software. I will
review and post the best ones at my site and include your name as the author and
other contact information if desired. Let's share from each other’s
experiences! *********************************************************************** [TELL
A FRIEND] If
you know of anyone that would benefit from my free email newsletter (sent every
two months) containing the latest in meetings technology in clear language
designed specifically for the meeting professional, please forward this
newsletter on. Alternatively, one can simply send an email message with
"subscribe" in the subject line to corbin@corbinball.com.
If
you ever wish to unsubscribe, just send me a message with
"unsubscribe" in the subject line. *********************************************************************** Until
the next time, Corbin Sign up for Corbin's fee TechTalk
Newsletter distributed via email every 2 months in the
|
|
     
|