How can you use the Internet to green your meeting? Check out these tips from Access All Areas. A lot of it really is a no-brainer, I think, like using online registration and evaluation tools. I know there still are groups whose members aren’t online (though it hardly seems possible in the here and now), but even the most Luddite of groups likely has some attendees who would take advantage of it.

I’m looking forward to being able to congratulate this year’s International Association of Exhibitions and Events IAEE Individual Award winners at Expo! Expo in a couple of months! To see who won, and more about the awards, click here.

We all travel with laptops these days (at least, those of us who haven’t succumbed to BlackBerry envy yet). But are we doing so wisely? Here are some laptop travel tips I received via e-mail today from Michael Miller, author of the new book, Your First Notebook PC:

If you’re flying and don’t have enough room to place your widescreen notebook on the coach class tray table, consider investing in Keynamics’ Aviator Laptop stand, which positions your notebook at an angle to make the most of the available space.

Don’t be tempted to place your notebook PC in a plane’s overhead storage area; it can easily get knocked around or even stolen by your fellow travelers. Instead, store it under the seat in front of you, where it’s always in sight.

Some long-haul flights provide power ports that supply 15V direct current to power your notebook and other devices. Your best bet for finding such power ports are on cross-country and international flights on American, Delta, United, and US Airways. To use a power port, you’ll need a compatible DC auto/air power adapter. Keep in mind that power adapters are device and model specific – although you can always go with the iGo Juice power cord, an all-in-one power adapter that connects your device to any AC or DC power source.

If you’re a mobile professional who likes to check in during driving breaks, consider investing in a mobile notebook desk that provides a good resting surface for your notebook. Some of these mounts attach to the passenger seat, some mount permanently
to the front floor of the car, and others just sit on your lap.

If you travel by car, use a cellular data card for roving Internet access. You’ll find lots of Wi-Fi hotspots when you stop your car at rest stops and hotel parking lots, but not on the highway. For connecting from anywhere you get cellular phone service, invest in a broadband cellular data card for your notebook, and the accompanying data service.

If you can get Internet service, there’s no reason not to use your notebook to help you navigate – and find gas stations, restaurants and hotels on the road. I like to use Google Maps for these tasks, although any general-purpose mapping site will do the trick.

If you’re traveling with kids, let them use your notebook PC for in-car entertainment. It can function as a mobile game player and a portable DVD player. For long trips, you might want to consider a rear seatback notebook mount.

For safety of your notebook PC, identify it before you take your trip. Try taping a business card to the bottom of your notebook; if it gets stolen and found, you can identify it as yours.

Take an extra battery – it doesn’t hurt to travel with a second fully-charged battery. When your main battery runs out, replace it with the auxiliary battery.

Want to keep your nosy seatmate or the guy at the next table from seeing what you’re typing? Use a privacy screen filter. It fits on your notebook screen and uses microlouver technology to reduce off-angle viewing. You can see what’s on screen, but people on your left and right can’t.

That’s the title of this thought-provoking article from the Conference Board. Covering the topic of meeting spend consolidation and tracking in the corporate world, it has a few choice quotes, including:

There is still another reason for the mystery surrounding meeting expenditures: the entrenched, secretive culture of meeting planning, which is too often a parallel universe of financial fiefdoms. Consequently, the real-world working environment is usually reflective of a recent American Express study’s conclusion: that meeting planners are unusually resistant to change.

And as evidence, the author cites these FutureWatch 2007 study results:

While acknowledging a trend toward virtual meetings as a way to reduce physical attendance and costs, only 29 percent of planners said they are likely to position themselves as the go-to resource for such meetings. Even more perplexing at a time when planners clearly recognize the shift from tactics to strategy, the least-sought-after new technologies, they said, are those that match attendees with relevant courses, vendors, and peers at an event; facilitate networking; share conference content; or provide more cost-effective alternatives to participation in live meetings, such as webcasts or DVDs. Such lack of interest is analogous to a caveman declining to master the use of fire.

Ouch.

If you’re not nice to them, they won’t be nice to you, either—in fact, they could get you sent for extra screening, make you check more bags, move you to the dreaded seats by the bathrooms, or even get you bumped from your flight, according to this MSNBC article. Fortunately, it also offers some tips on how to keep on their good side.

Even if I have to grit my teeth to do it, I do try to make a point of being nice to them just on general principles. What a thankless job they often have, and they get blamed by a lot of folks for things they have no control over. There’s another job I could never do.

Thanks to the MeCo listserv for the pointer!