Corbin's January/February 2009 TechTalk Newsletter

TechTalk Newsletter

	Corbin's January/February 2009 TechTalk Newsletter
		Volume XI, Issue 1
	Happy New Year! Welcome to Corbin's TechTalk Newsletter, in its tenth year of providing the latest in technology for events, tradeshows and hospitality professionals in more than 67 countries. The Chinese character for "crisis" has elements of both "danger" and "opportunity." As we enter into these troubled times, there will be opportunities. Technology can help to find them by reducing costs and doing more with less. This newsletter will cover new meetings technology development with lots of useful links. View this email as a web page at: http://www.corbinball.com/techtalk/index.cfm?fuseaction=cor_av&artid=6423 Change your email preferences at www.corbinball.com/contact. In this issue: NEW ARTICLE:QR Codes for the Meetings Industry NEW ARTICLE: Money-Saving Meeting Formats NEW VIDEO: Web 2.0 Effects on Meetings NEW PODCASTS NEWS 21 WEB BOOKMARKS FOR MEETINGS, BUSINESS AND FUN QUOTES OF THE MONTH RECENT ARTICLES WITH "QUOTES FROM CORBIN" CORBIN'S CALENDAR and the fine print NEW ARTICLE: QR Codes for the Meetings Industry Would you like an almost free means of digital lead exchange for your meetings? Or inexpensive electronic ticketing using mobile phones? Or a means of providing paragraphs of information and/or web links to your attendees without the use of paper? If so, then QR codes may soon be the answer for you. This article will cover this emerging technology with several meeting industry applications. NEW ARTICLE: Money-Saving Meeting Formats Article by Andrea Driessen from www.nomoreboringmeetings.com with ideas (some of them using technology) to get more bang for your speaker buck. NEW VIDEO: HOW WEB 2.0 IS GIVING POWER TO THE PEOPLE James Latham interviews me at the ICCA conference about how online social networking and mobile phone innovation is changing the way meetings are organized, allowing the delegates themselves to set the agenda, and so making the whole experience more engaging. NEW PODCASTS: Two New Podcast Clips from Corbin Stephen Brown from the ShowChannel interviews me on the topics below: MP3 File: Using Cell Phones for Audience Polling MP3 File: Telepresence Options Simply click on the link and it will launch the media player on your PC or right-click on the link to "Save Target As..." to download file for your MP3 Player. NEWS. More of Corbin's Articles in Spanish Another article (New Meeting Tech Trends Highlighted with the EIBTM Worldwide Tech Watch) has been translated into Spanish with more to come. Thanks to Thomas MacFarlane from Event Planner Spain (www.eventplannerspain.com), for providing the translation services. In Praise of Tradeshows http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2338983,00.asp Interesting PC Mag article about the benefits of tradeshows. 21+ Web Bookmarks for Meetings, Business and Fun *7 Meeting Industry-Related Sites:* Pathable -- Social Media comes to meetings http://www.pathable.com This application uses Web 2.0 social networking technology has great potential for networking at meetings. Amiando http://www.amiando.com Another attendee management system with great use of social networking technology. MeetingPod http://www.synanto.com/overview.php Interesting group brainstorming, messaging, presentation display, notetaking, group messaging device for smaller events. Promises to be at a very low cost (under $10/person). Event Secrets http://www.eventsecrets.com Hundreds of articles and ideas about meeting planning. UK-based site with sign up (name and email) required. Facebook used to increase registrations http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/01/prweb1831454.htm Print from you mobile phone at meetings http://www.ricoh-usa.com/about/press/releases.asp?id=449 Active RFID Solutions at low costs http://www.sherpa-solutions.com/ 4+ Utility/Reference Sites: Top 10 mobile gadgets of all time http://www.nydailynews.com/money/galleries/revolutionary_mobile_gadgets/revolutionary_mobile_gadgets.html Ever have problems sending out email from your notebook while on the road? http://www.loapowertools.com/ The hotel firewalls are likely to blame. This email utility will solve the problem. Up to 50 emails a day at no-charge. Google Zeitgeist 2008 http://www.google.com/intl/en/press/zeitgeist2008/ See what people are searching for this past year. Using Social Networking to Find Jobs http://www.chrisbrogan.com/img/socialwebforwork.pdf A sign of the times. Helpful article by Chris Brogan. Backup Software Deal Regular backups are crucial! Titan Backup has offered their award-winning backup software product at a 50% discount for TechTalk subscribers ($19.95 instead of $40). I make no commission from this (I have never accepted a cent of commission for the sale of a technology product), but, as a user of Titan Backup, I think it is a good deal. To get the discount, use the below links: Titan Backup Home Edition: http://www.regnow.com/softsell/nph-softsell.cgi?item=7810-8&ss_coupon=NEOB-OVTP Titan Backup Business Edition (Client/Server): http://www.regnow.com/softsell/nph-softsell.cgi?item=7810-6&ss_coupon=NEOB-OVTP *10 Sites Just for Fun:* The phone that can do EVERTHING! http://www.pomegranatephone.com/default.html I want one of these! Creative promo campaign. Totally Looks Like http://totallylookslike.com/ Playing For Change: Song Around the World "Stand By Me" http://www.flixxy.com/peace-through-music.htm Amazing voice from Norway: 7 year old Celina Hristov http://www.flixxy.com/celina-hristov-singing-talent.htm\ StarWars -- A Capella Tribute to John Williams http://www.flixxy.com/star-wars-close-encounters.htm Cool Slides http://www.slideshare.net/siamenglish/best-pictures-of-the-year/ Cat and Parrot Massage and Pedicure? http://www.flixxy.com/parrot-cat-massage.htm Free Style Cyclist http://www.flixxy.com/freestyle-cycling-skills.htm Guinness "Tipping Point" Ad http://www.flixxy.com/tipping-point.htm The New Mac Wheel -- Very funny! http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/01/06/macbook-wheel-debuts-on-the-onion/ Thanks to Dave Lutz for this link suggestion. QUOTES OF THE MONTH: "The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart." -- Helen Keller "The best things in life are not things." -- Anonymous "It's not what you look at that matters, it is what you see." -- Henry David Thoreau SHORT-SIGHTED TECHNOLOGY QUOTE OF THE MONTH: "Radio has no future." -- Lord Kelvin (1897) RECENT ARTICLES WITH "QUOTES FROM CORBIN" MeetingsMetrics Takes EIBTM’s Worldwide Technology Watch 2008 Crown http://www.ftnnews.com/content/view/3773/lang,english/ Travel News Gazette article by Ozgur Tore on the WWTW 2008. Mining Meetings Intelligence -- Websites offer reviews you can use http://www.meetingsweb.com/displayarticle.asp?id=11381 Ruth Hill’s Meeting Focus article on peer review meeting industry websites. An Event Planners Guide: 7 Ways Online Registration Cuts Workload http://www.txt-m8s.com/2008/09/28/an-event-planners-guide-7-ways-online-registration-cuts-workload/ J. Demery’s article on the benefits of web registration. SUGGESTION BOX Please send along any questions, ideas, or suggestions on how to make this newsletter more useful for you: contactcorbin@corbinball.com CORBIN'S SPEAKING CALENDAR My travel schedule for January and February will bring me to Cancun, New Orleans, Orlando (two times), Atlanta, Tacoma, Melbourne, San Diego, Torino and likely a few other places as well. Click the link above for specific details. I would love to make your city one of my destinations as well, so please contact me and let's set a date. CORBIN'S PROGRAMS FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS TESTIMONIALS CORBIN'S CONSULTING AND WRITING SERVICES SPONSORSHIP: Want to help sponsor Corbin's Tech Talk Newsletter sent to more than 7,200 subscribers in 67 countries interested in meetings, events, trade show and hotel technology? Find out the details at the TechTalk Sponsorship Page or email me at: contactcorbin@corbinball.com. PRIVACY STATEMENT: Your, e-mail address and any other information will never be sold, traded, rented, bartered, or given away. Nor will it be used for any other purpose than to communicate with you. Period! TO SUBSCRIBE OR UNSUBSCRIBE: http://www.corbinball.com/contact/ To subscribe, unsubscribe, to get this newsletter in a different format (Text or HTML) or to change your email address, please to to the profile page link above. LIST DIFFICULTIES? Check out the TechTalk FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) File or send a message to: contactcorbin@corbinball.com. PASS IT ON: Know someone who needs to stay current on the latest in meetings technology? Please forward them this newsletter or send them to the TechTalk subscriptions page: http://www.corbinball.com/contact/. CONTACT INFO: Corbin Ball, CSP, CMP, MS Corbin Ball Associates 506 14th Street, Bellingham, WA 98225-6107 Phone: 360-734-8756 AIM/Skype: corbinball Email Corbin Web: www.corbinball.com © Copyright 2009 Corbin Ball Associates. This letter and its content are proprietary products. All rights reserved. Please forward the entire letter to anyone you feel may be interested.	Thanks to our sponsors who make TechTalk possible: AllianceTech Alliance Tech, two time winner of CEMA Summit Technology Shoot Out, is the industry leader in business intelligence solutions that measure and increase the value of tradeshows and conferences. Our event intelligence solutions include RFID Attendance, Lead Retrieval, Surveys, Social Networking, and industry leading analytics. WTTC.com With 4,000 registered members and over 15,000 pages of content, WTTC.com is the largest independent online service for the meetings and conventions industry. Search for, find and contact suppliers of all kinds. Save and manage you supplier details. "Expert Review" your program with a real live DMC. Sign-up today. . Travel Planners Convention Housing Minimize the economy’s impact on your housing program. Travel Planners, the leader in convention housing since 1980, knows how. Our innovative tech tools find, capture and count more bookings. And our team of experts acts as your housing staff at no extra cost. It’s all the support you need when you need it the most. Visit TPhousing.com. Certain Software®, Inc.and its subsidiary Amlink Technologies provide innovative technologies used by meeting planning professionals and event organizers to plan and produce a wide spectrum of meetings and events. Certain Registration™ is the leading online Software as a Service (SaaS) registration product used by the world’s largest corporations, universities, associations and government agencies. events™ is the top ranking events management product used by associations, continuing education and world events such as the Olympic Games, United Nations World Summit and Rugby World Cup. N200 N200 is Europe ’s biggest visitor registration and lead retrieval company. More than 230 trade shows and events in 11 countries use the online and onsite products and services of N200. Do you have a show in Europe ? Please contact us for a free demo or quotation via exposales@n200.com or look at www.n200.com. IAEE promotes the unique value of exhibitions and other events that bring buyers and sellers together such as road shows, conferences with an exhibition component, and proprietary corporate exhibitions. IAEE is the principal resource for those who plan, produce and service the industry EIBTM Barcelona 1-3 December 2009 EIBTM Is The Premier International Event Dedicated To The Global Meetings And Incentive Industry. EIBTM attracts 5,000 industry buyers and 2,000 exhibitors from over 100 countries. Over 2,500 buyers at EIBTM are top-level decision-makers bought to the event as part its Hosted Buyer Programme®. Attendee Management Inc. (AMi) AMi breaks down the barriers to online registration, housing, travel and e-marketing. No license fees, no software to manage, just dedicated, experienced service. Pay only for what you need, and provide the solutions your attendees and clients expect. Contact info@attendeenet.com, or call 512.842.1612 IMEX 2009 26-28 May 2009 Messe Frankfurt, Germany The essential worldwide exhibition for meetings & incentive travel Over 8,700 visitors. 3,600 international hosted buyers. 4,000 German buyers. 3,500 exhibitors. 150 countries. www.imex-frankfurt.com CardinalWare CardinalWare is a 4^th Generation Content Management System that fully integrates management of information, personal profiles and distribution. Whether you need a new or better Website, online marketing and communications tools, integration with other data, or anything in between, CardinalWare may be right for you. Visit our Website or call us at 888-755-7075 .

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