There’s a new scam in town (or at least, one that’s new to me): Invitations to attend a fake academic conference so the “organizers” can get your personal information. Bob Grant recounts his experience with one such conference on this post on TheScientist.com.

He starts with this question, then gets into the gory details: “Are phony academic conferences the new Nigerian princes of the internet?” Oh, I sure hope not. It’s bad enough that legit scientific conference organizers have to watch out for overseas attendees who try to get invitations just to get in the country holding the meeting; the last thing we need is for legit attendees to have to worry that the conference is bogus.

No seriously, plug your name into Google and see what comes up, especially if you’re among the meeting professionals on the job hunt these days. Chances are, those looking to employ you (or give you a raise, or invite you to speak, or give you whatever it is you desire) will check you out on the Internet, so you might as well know what they’ll be seeing. And while it’s true that once something is on the Web, it’s forever, there are ways to manage what will come up in a Google search. Or so says Wired. I haven’t tried it, but Wireds How-to blog includes a step-by-step on how to disengage yourself from some less-than-complimentary Internet content.

Are meeting planners among the most devoted meeting-goers, or would they rather just stay home? I was just reading this post by Seth Godin about insurance agents who don’t have insurance themselves, nonprofit workers who don’t give to charities other than their own, and waiters who don’t tip, and it made me wonder if there are any meeting planners who aren’t among the most avid meeting-goers around.

Of course, I only meet those who do go to industry conferences and events at industry conferences and events, so those I’ve spoken with at PCMA or ASAE say they wouldn’t miss the chance to learn from what their associations are doing with their events, from talking with their peers, and possibly even a nugget or two from the sessions. But what about those who don’t like to go to meetings, yet spend practically their every waking hour planning them? Do such creatures exist?

That’d be like a magazine editor who never cracked a magazine — how would you ever know what cool new things were happening?

Just now finally getting caught up on my RSS feeds, and ran across this must-read post by (who else?) Jeff Hurt: 8 Ways to Provide Remarkable, Purple Cow, Unique Conference Experiences.

Read it. Then do it. On behalf of your attendees, I beg you.

Here’s a best and worst airports list from The Daily Beast that sounds fairly well-reasoned, though of course your experience may vary widely. I’m just glad that our flight yesterday from Boston Logan to Myrtle Beach, S.C., was fast and easy, with no waits in security lines and an on-time departure and arrival. Of course, we had to get up at 2 a.m. to get an early flight to make sure that would happen, but it worked, and we were here in time for breakfast on Wednesday morning.

I just got a note from MPI reminding me that there currently is an open call for nominations for the Recognizing Industry Success and Excellence (RISE) awards (you don’t have to be a MPI member to submit a nomination). There are six awards you can nominate an individual or a community for; nominees should have made “a significant contribution to the meetings and events industry through influence, innovation, and global reach.”

More particulars here.

And pinching the pennies harder than ever, according to this writeup of a PKF report: Meeting Planners Struggle To Control Costs. While I don’t often toot our horn here, MeetingsNet does have a great collection of cost-saving tips and budget advice in our Cost Savings/Budgets Special Report. Here are two of my favorites (both were written before the current economic slump, but the ideas are evergreen):

125 Ways to Save on Meetings

99 ways to improve your meeting’s bottom line

I’ve heard of — and sometimes paid — all kinds of airline fees, but paying $14 for the pleasure of buying a ticket over the phone or online? That’s a new one on me. And not a welcome one for someone who would have to make a two-hour round trip to buy one at the airport if I didn’t want to pay it. Which I’m almost ornery enough to do. Here’s hoping this is one idea that won’t catch on!

Interesting post over at Social Entrepreneurship called “The Conference Is Dead (…Does Anyone Care?),” by Nathaniel Whittemore. It’s not that I haven’t heard before (and probably said a few times) how people just aren’t willing to put up with the old plenary/breakouts/talking heads type of conferences — or at least they won’t be in a few years as they experience unconferences and other (to me) more engaging ways to interact with experts, peers, and information. But Nathaniel makes the argument well, and the comments really take the conversation to new and interesting places from the perspectives of attendees, presenters, and conference organizers. I’m tempted to chime in, but I can’t think of anything that hasn’t already been said, and really well, by the current crop of commenters. I particularly liked this one:

“Bad organizers organize bad events. Good organizers organize good events. If the streudel is no good, don’t blame all the streudels in the world. Blame the baker.”

And this in response:

“To continue the streudel analogy…it’s ultimately about whether the consumer will eat the streudel, regardless of the recipe. If the customer doesn’t want streudel, then the Baker’s got a bigger problem.”