Oh why not?

Thanks to Bill Geist for the pointer!

Here’s a roundup of the latest thoughts on how Arizona’s S.B. 1070 immigration-enforcement legislation could affect meetings in that state. I have to give my colleagues kudos for pulling this one together so fast, and so well (IMHO). One thing that seems certain is that the law, if it goes into effect in 90 days, will cause some groups to boycott the state. Stay tuned, because I have a feeling there will be more to this story…

Nice move, Hilton, offering a way to let guests download an app that they can use to print out plane tickets, presentations, and whatever else they’d like right from their smart phone.

Interesting article in the NYT today about how the use of PowerPoint in military meetings “makes us stupid” (according to Gen. James N. Mattis of the Marine Corps, the Joint Forces commander). The problem: “Commanders say that behind all the PowerPoint jokes are serious concerns that the program stifles discussion, critical thinking and thoughtful decision-making.”

I’d say that holds for all meetings that intend to delve deeper than a “70 tips in 60 minutes” type of session. Wouldn’t you?

Update: Just read Seth Godin’s take on this, and he nails it. Especially like this line: “Guns don’t kill people, bullets do.”

How to handle illegal immigrants is a hot-button issue politically, and it’s coming to a head in Arizona with its SB 1070. The bill, which I just heard via Twitter was signed into law this afternoon by Arizona Gov. Brewer, would allow law enforcement to demand proof of citizenship from anyone they think might be undocumented, and prosecute those who can’t produce the documents. I haven’t read the bill, so I can’t go into any more detail than that (news outlets are starting to pick this up: NYT here, Fox news here) but from the rumblings I’m hearing already, it likely will have meetings implications.

One planner on the Miforum listserv has already said that her group is concerned about holding its fall meeting in the state, and others whose groups’ whose constituencies consider this to be racial profiling rather than illegal-immigration control also may want to meet elsewhere. Fanning the flames is Congressman Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz), who according to this article earlier this week “called for a boycott of conventions and conferences in Arizona should the Bill be passed. He spoke on MSNBC’s Countdown with Keith Olberman earlier this week stating, ‘We’re asking organizations, civic, religious, labor, Latino, organizations of color to refrain from using Arizona as a convention site. To refrain from spending their dollars in the state of Arizona until Arizona turns the clock forward instead of backwards and joins the rest of the union.’” Read the the article for more responses to the call for an Arizona meetings boycott.

I thought it was just me, but it seems that others also get headaches (and stuffy noses, and all-around malaise) when wandering the tradeshow floor. And now I know why: The carpeting gives off toxic fumes. The good news is that we can do better. Read more on Hey Newman’s blog.

It seems so obvious, but I’ve seen it too: Webinar promotions that don’t give you a time zone with the starting time. It’s easy to forget that, unlike a live meeting, not everyone will intuitively understand what zone you’re in when tuning in to a webinar (or audioconference, etc.) that has a national or international audience. More on webinars and time zones from Ken Molay at the Webinar blog.

It seems a handyman tasked with pruning a tree cut off the branch his ladder was leaning against and, not surprisingly, fell down and injured himself. But it’s the hotel’s fault for not doing a proper pruning risk assessment, he says, suing the company. I love this response from the hotel lawyer:

David Walton, mitigating, said the hotel owner, Jan Hampton, was not on the premises at the time and would have ensured the task was carried out by specialist tree surgeons if she had been.

”They proceeded to cut the branch that the ladder was leaning against. It is an unusual accident. Laurel and Hardy do this sort of thing,” he said.

Just when I thought we’d covered every type of meetings venue there is, I stumble over this post about planning meetings at horse-racing venues. Hey, if anyone’s doing a Kentucky Derby event and needs a journalist to cover it, I’m available! Even though I literally outgrew my childhood dream of being the first female jockey to win the Derby, just going to it and wearing the most bizarre hat I can find is still on my bucket list.

No matter what your hobby, profession, passion, or quirk is, there’s probably a conference just for you. MSNBC put together a list of 12 of the “world’s strangest conventions (for twins, toilet aficionados, and celebrity impersonators, to name a just a few), but it hardly scratches the surface of what I’m sure is out there.

What’s the weirdest convention you’ve heard of? I remember reading a while back about a convention for people with unusual romantic interests (is that the nice way to put it?) getting in trouble for sharing a host hotel with a religious group. Or what about that CSI episode about a convention for people who like to dress up as giant stuffed animals? I know that’s just a TV show, but I wouldn’t be surprised to find out there really is one of those.