Corbin's May/June 2002 TechTalk Newsletter
©2002 Corbin Ball Associates

Welcome to the 17th edition of Corbin's TechTalk Newsletter covering the latest in technology in clear (jargon-free) language for more than 5,000 meetings, hospitality and travel professionals. 

IN THIS ISSUE:
This issue has a wide range of topics, tips and tools:

• NEW ARTICLE: 101 key benefits for online registration
• NEW ARTICLE: Using online survey tools
• 4 SPAM-BUSTER FAVORITE SITES: anti-SPAM tools
• 4 HIGHLIGHTED MEETING INDUSTRY FAVORITE SITES
• NEWS: Corbin's programs on the Web and CD
• VIRUS WATCH: WORM_KLEZ.G
• FOR FUN: Kenya/Tanzania photo safari 2002

--- and more!

SPONSORS

Thanks to the following newsletter sponsors:

Thanks to the following newsletter sponsors:

Conferon (www.conferon.com): 
Is your marketing reaching your target audience and  boosting ROI? Conferon's MRA and ConferOnline options help you meet attendance goals. 

b-there (www.b-there.com): 
Twice the efficiency. Half the work. Discover the benefits of integrated online registration, housing, travel, & e-marketing solutions.

NEW ARTICLE: 
101 Key Benefits and Features to Look for in Online Meeting Registration and Management Systems

Online registration has hit critical mass with more than half of meeting planners in recent polls using or soon to be using these multiple-benefit tools. There has been an 
explosion of useful features offered from the application services providers (ASPs) in this area in the past few years. However, most planners are just scratching the surface in terms of the potential benefits. This article will cover many of these features and benefits to help you analyze your online registration system.

www.corbinball.com/articles/art-regbenefits.htm

NEW ARTICLE: 

USING ONLINE SURVEY TOOLS 

By Cathy Chatfield-Taylor ©2002 

The hard work of planning a meeting isn't over until you've evaluated your results. Did the event fulfill expectations? Were the site and services acceptable? What activities did people enjoy? Feedback helps you plan a better event next time, but getting it can be a challenge. 

An online survey is a quick-and-dirty solution. Blast an e-mail the day after your event and invite participants to click a link to a Web-based questionnaire that takes just minutes to complete. Their responses are tabulated and reported in real time for you and your staff to review. You'll get the best results from an online survey with a personalized invitation, an attractive incentive and multiple e-mail blasts to boost response. The advantages over a mail or telephone survey are low cost, quick turnaround times and easy access to an international audience. 

This article discusses the several options:

www.corbinball.com/articles/art-surveys.htm

4 FAVORITES SITES: SPAM-BUSTERS

Is your email inbox getting clogged with SPAM (unsolicited bulk email)? Are you fed up with unwanted promotions for Viagra, casinos, cable descramblers, get-rich-quick schemes, and "hot babes"? I, for one, have started to fight back!

SPAM tips:
Never respond directly to Spam - it merely identifies you as an active email user and will likely increase mail from the spammer.

Be very careful about giving your email address out -- click "no" on web forms asking if you wish to receive additional information.

The following two programs are excellent tools in the anti-spammer's arsenal:

MailWasher
www.mailwasher.net

MailWasher allows you to quickly preview your email headers. You can set the program to block domains and bounce back unwanted messages. So when a spammer gets a bounced email, they remove you from their list. It also allows you to easily view the full email header, which can 
be used for the next tool below.

******

SpamPunisher
www.mailwasher.net

SPAM Punisher is anti-spam tool that makes it easy for you to find out address of spammer's Internet Service Provider (ISPs), generate and sends a complaint to them. If the ISP receives spammer repeated complaints, often they will close the spammer's account. 

This is a shareware product that is quick and easy to use. 

******

Direct Marketing Association Email Opt-Out
www.dmaconsumers.org/emps.html 

Although many spammers are unscrupulous, there are some that play by the "rules" and will delete you from their lists. A one-stop way to notify many direct marketers is from the Direct Marketing Association.

*****

JMHO on SPAM
home.att.net/~marjie1/index.htm 

An excellent, well-organized site for those who want more information about fighting spam. This FAQ (frequently asked questions) site has lots of helpful information and links.

4 HIGHTLIGHTED MEETING INDUSTRY FAVORITE SITES

ExpoWorld
www.expoworld.net

An excellent compilation of links to meeting industry suppliers, event calendars, press, association, venues, and more.

*****

UNLV Hospitality Industry Resource Pages
www.unlv.edu/Tourism/bookmarks.html 

Another extensive collections of meeting industry link from Professor Patti Shock from the University of Las Vegas Tourism and Convention Department.

*****

TSNN.com
www2.tsnn.com

The best online calendar of international tradeshows, events and suppliers. Searchable by industry, city, state, country, timeframe, and keywords in the show name.

*****

Conferon's Solution Center
www.conferon.com/solution/index.html

This is an extremely helpful assemblage of articles and links. Check out the "Conferon Guide to Meeting Management" -- one of the best free checklist for meeting planners on the web. There are also dozens of insightful articles and other links as well.

Disclosure notice: I am on the Conferon Board of Directors. 

NEWS
CORBIN'S TECHTALK NEWSLETTER PASSES 5,000 SUBSCRIBERS!
Started nearly 3 years ago, the TechTalk Newsletter has focused on helping people understand, use and embrace technology. This issue is being sent out to 5,011 people, and thank you for being one of them!

*****

CORBIN'S PROGRAMS AVAILABLE VIA CD-ROM
I am happy to announce an alliance with Conference Archives, Inc. (www.conferencearchives.com) to provide my programs on CD-ROM and on the Web.

The first program is "Hot and Emerging Wireless and Handheld Computer Trends for Meeting Professionals" and includes high-resolution slides, audio-narration and searchable text. You can stop, pause, and search through the program with ease.

Price per CD: $99.00US.

See course description, learner objectives and ordering details at:
www.corbinball.com/presentations-pda-cd.htm 

New programs will be added monthly. Please see my web site 
or this newsletter for future developments.

VIRUS UPDATE
Are you receiving undeliverable email messages with subject lines you haven't written to people you haven't sent messages to? 

Although I am very careful about virus protection, and am certain that my system is virus free, I have received more than 150 such messages in the past month. 

These are the effects of the WORM_KLEZ.H virus. 

The twist on this worm is that it "spoofs" the sender's name. So, when someone opens the email attachment containing the virus, the virus searches his/her Outlook address folder and sends out copies of itself to random recipients, spoofing the sender's email address (replacing the sender's name with someone else in address book). For example, if Bob opens the virus attachment, and Mary and John are in Bob's Outlook address folder, the program will send out the virus to Mary as if it were sent from John (it is spoofing John's email address). 

If Mary opens the attachment, the whole thing starts again. 

The problem is that Mary will think that the sender is John, a totally innocent bystander.

It is a destructive virus and destroys files.

More info can be found about this can be found at: http://vil.nai.com/vil/content/v_99455.htm

VIRUS CAUTIONS:

This brings me to my major cautions regarding viruses:

• Be exceedingly cautious in opening email attachments.

• See: http://www.corbinball.com/articles/art-virus.htm 
  for detail on which attachment are particularly 
  dangerous.

• Keep your anti-virus program up-to-date.

• Backup regularly. FOR FUN - KENYA/TANZANIA PHOTO SAFARI 2002

FOR FUN - KENYA/TANZANIA PHOTO SAFARI 2002
I was delighted to be invited again by the East African Chapter of the Society of Incentive Travel Executives (SITE) for a repeat speaking engagement to Kenya and Tanzania this past March. It was not "all work and no play" however. My son, Aaron, and I spent 12 days in 6 game parks.

This is truly the most amazing place of the 50 countries I have been to! I can't wait to return. It is also a photographer's dream. See samples in my photo diary: 

www.corbinball.com/articles/art-kenya-intro.htm 

CURRENT SPEAKING CALENDAR: www.corbinball.com/presentations.calendar.htm

My speaking and consulting travel schedule for May and June will bring me to Stowe (VT), Dubai, Dallas, Uncasville (CT), and Providence. I would love to come to your city as well so please contact me and let's set a date: www.corbinball.com/contact.htm

CORBIN'S PROGRAMS:www.corbinball.com/presentations.htm 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS: www.corbinball.com/presentations.faq.htm 

TESTIMONIALS:www.corbinball.com/testimonials.htm

CORBIN'S CONSULTING AND WRITING SERVICES: www.corbinball.com/services.htm