“Business conventions are useful because they demonstrate how many people a company can operate without.” - Anonymous

Saw this on the FC Experts blog and had to share.

The Center for Exhibition Industry Research just launched a blog to talk about key exhibitor issues (geez, these trade show folks are suddenly getting all bloggy on us, aren’t they?). From the press release:

Bloggers are encouraged to contribute their experiences on the subject, particularly in terms of:
The Preventive Process - The proper care and feeding of key exhibitors
Responding effectively to requests/demands of key exhibitors
How organizers can cope with the loss of key exhibitors

The objective of this blog is to serve as a place where exhibition organizers, exhibitors, and others can exchange thoughts and practices that are designed to better understand the role that key exhibitors play in the universe of exhibitions. It is a place where case study-type experiences can be shared, critiqued, commented upon, and cataloged.

But my favorite part was how they explained the reason behind setting up this blog: They released a white paper on the subject, which got people talking at the conference, which got some folks to suggest CEIR continue the conversation via blog. “Therefore, CEIR will launch a blog…” It just cracked me up to see “therefore” and “blog” in the same sentence, I don’t know why.

But boy is this product video bizarre. It’s about the Dobson Blendie, a blender that “responds to human communication. The person speaks the language of the blender.” So if you growl at it, it goes at low speed, and, well, you have to watch it yourself.

And I can’t help but picture bartenders at an evening function growling up some margaritas for folks. Or better yet, letting them blend their own. It would be beyond a hoot to watch, wouldn’t it?

The saddest part of this story about how federal investigators had no problem smuggling bomb bits past TSA screeners is that it appears that TSA screeners were even warned by headquarters that the tests were happening, and “described the methods and appearance of those conducting the probes.”

And they still missed it.

Cindy of AE on the Verge has been at the National Association of Realtors conference in Las Vegas, and she has some great observations for meeting planners. For example:

To get thousands lined up before doors open for Grand Assembly (featuring Bill Cosby), facility staff had everyone file into holding area outside ballroom in pattern similar to how Disney parks cars - filling single rows at a time. Picture doesn’t do justice. When doors opened, no more order, no more rows of people — and certainly no filing around the room the way we filed in. Claustrophobic merge towards the opening — seemed dangerous. Made me think that sometimes half a plan can be worse than no plan — especially if tens of thousands involved.

She also has observations about the Frontier Hotel implosion and meeting Seth Godin (I’m glad I missed the first, jealous about the second), among other musings. Great reading.

Have you thought about using one of those automated voice messaging services to promote your event? I’ve been on the receiving end of one lately (not for ASAE and The Center’s Great Idea Conference, but reading this post on the topic on Acronym by Ann Oliveri made me think about it). I know some people love them, and from press releases I’ve gotten, the companies who provide them say they improve attendance. But I’m with Ann: They make my skin crawl.

Is it worth it to use these services if, say, 75 percent of your audience loves them, but they turn off 25 percent to the point where they feel tele-spammed and those warm fuzzy feelings turn sharp and spikey? I wouldn’t do it, but then again, I’m in that 25 (or whatever) percent.

I know planners are always looking for interesting venues for off-site events, like museums and mansions. But car dealerships?

Hey, why not? Especially if they’re dealerships like the Herb Chambers Lexus dealership I read about in the Boston Globe this morning. I’ve never heard of such a thing: marble and cherry wood bathrooms with plasma tvs, a lounge with a fireplace, an espresso bar, a playroom for the kids, and a business center complete with eight computers. From the Globe:

The Lexus dealership, with its huge portico - fountain to come - has been likened to a Vegas casino, a luxury hotel, or even an art museum with its lofty space and natural light. All the furniture came from the Boston Design Center.

In fact, New England Cable News is hosting its “TV Diner” Platinum Plate Gala not at a tony restaurant or hotel but at the dealership. Next Saturday, 20 celebrity chefs will bring signature dishes to the Lexus showroom in a $100-a-head benefit for Community Servings. There will be live music, an auction hosted by “TV Diner” ’s Billy Costa and comedian Lenny Clarke, and lots of bold-faced names among the 1,000 guests.

“Herb Chambers opened the platinum plate of dealerships,” says Costa, who awards “platinum plate” honors to the best restaurants reviewed on his show. “It’s an over-the-top place. When I went there, I said, ‘Wow!’ It just seemed like the perfect place.”

I wonder if they had to go check with the manager before settling on the final fee?

And, by the way, if you aren’t familiar with UniqueVenues.com, check it out. I don’t know if they list car dealerships, but they do have info on pretty much every other type of non-hotel venue you can think of.

Fed chief Ben Bernanke is predicting a worsening economy, and rising oil prices are causing airlines to hike prices and tack on fuel surcharges&8212;how could all this not affect meeting attendance? I’ve been hearing a lot anecdotally about companies cutting back on their internal meetings, and I’m guessing that they may not be so willing to pay for employees to go to association meetings, either.

Not to sound panicky or anything, but I think we all need to prepare ourselves for some tough times ahead.

Tech guru Corbin Ball has written an interesting new article on how technology is impacting adult education. The upshot of many of his points is that the Web is making us more impatient with some of the typical meeting problems, like PowerPoint abuse and talking head lecturers&8212;it’s about time we just said no to this stuff! But new tech tools also are giving us lots of ways to augment learning through audience participation, from real-time Web-based audience polling on cellphones to blogging and Web archives of conference sessions. He doesn’t break any really new ground, but it’s a good wrap-up of what’s going on technologically and how it is shaping the learning environment.

Looking for inside info on holding meetings in Las Vegas? Look no further than I Live in Las Vegas, a new blog from my favorite UNLV prof, Patti Shock (who also just so happens to write our food and beverage column). She also has another blog called Resources for Hospitality, which I just added to my newsreader.

P.S. Sorry to have been quiet for so long. I have been absolutely submerged in a story I’m writing for Association Meetings. It has been the most difficult, interesting, and absorbing topic I have tackled in probably forever. Look for musings coming soon to a blog near you…