Cindy relates the tale of an association that found something from their meeting on YouTube that they really, really didn’t want to be out there for the world to see. This is exactly the thing I talked about in this editorial from Association Meeting’s April issue (what? You didn’t read it? Gee, and I thought everyone read my stuff ;0).

Cindy asks: “Should associations make decisions about our events, functions and meetings in the future realizing anything that happens could be minutes away from YouTube?” I say of course they should. That horse has left the barn, sorry folks. Not to quote myself (but I will):

Are we ushering in a new era in which no one can say anything in a public forum without the expectation that it’ll show up on YouTube 10 minutes later? Would that result in education that, to avoid any possibility of offense, hits the lowest common denominator? Would people not feel free to be critical of the status quo, knowing their words could be taken out of context and/or blown out of proportion in an online forum? We talk about wanting greater transparency, but have we really thought through what that might mean for our meetings?

But think it through we must, because like it or not, it’s our new reality. The hardest part, especially for us older folks, is giving up the illusion of control. And it is an illusion, because whether we condone it or not, attendees already are blogging, Twittering, and otherwise letting their feelings about the meeting be known far and wide. Burying our heads in the sand or trying to beat the trend into submission with draconian rules will do nothing but alienate tomorrow’s attendees.

Instead, let’s talk about how we can reconcile transparency with what needs to remain private — and find the wisdom to know the difference between the two.

If you’re considering charging for the webinars you produce, read this post by Ken Molay of the Webinar blog first. He offers a realistic and clear-eyed perspective on why it may not be such a great idea.

Update: Ken just posted part 2. Sounds like he got some interesting responses, particularly from those who want to charge for their webinars (not too surprisingly).

Google recently announced its holding a contest for budding videographers that will send the winner to the 2008 Democratic or Republican national conventions. All you have to do is submit a video depicting a day in the life of the candidate you support. From the Official Google Blog:

Through unprecedented partnerships with both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions, we just debuted a video contest that will send one talented winner from each side of the aisle onto their candidate’s campaign trail, and ultimately into their party’s national convention in Denver or Minneapolis-St. Paul. The call to action is simple: submit a video explaining why you’re a Democrat or Republican in 2008. The five most compelling and creative videos selected by each convention will be voted on by the YouTube community, who will determine the final winner.

Details are here.

For associations, why not dip your toes in that YouTube pool? I don’t know what your contest could be, but I’m sure you can think of something.

A new article from tech guru Corbin Ball talks about the recent cutbacks, layoffs, fees, etc., going on in the airlines these days, and how it could affect attendance at meetings. On the plus side, he says,

* The relationship-building and networking occurring at events is difficult to replicate online (at least with the current level of technology).
* There are efficiencies of scale at tradeshows and events – it is possible to make many contacts whose business benefits will continue to outweigh substantial travel cost and hassle for many.
* A primary revenue source for most associations is events and tradeshows. The attendee numbers may go down, but events will stay as long as the association is operating.
* There is an isolation factor – the more we work in front of computer screens and/or telecommute for small offices, the more we will desire human contact.

But as air travel gets more difficult and expensive, it could be the breaking point for many attendees. Corbin lays out some “telepresence meeting solutions” that planners perhaps ought to be paying attention to–if you’re not already, that is.

Just read about Vivaty on the Scobleizer and thought, gee, this could be a cool new tool for meeting planners. Robert Scoble likens it to Second Life, in a way, only with more widespread appeal. Scoble explains:

My blog or Facebook page could have a 3D scene embedded on it, and you could “dive into” the scene and walk around. These scenes are very graphically rich. I could put videos, photos, and other details around, along with prebuilt furniture and other things.

I don’t see why this couldn’t extend to all kinds of meeting use, from speaker highlights and trade show previews to a pre-show networking forum. It’ll be interesting to see what happens with this one.

Update: Looks like Google just launched its own version called Lively. Wish I wasn’t so busy so I had time to play with these things!

American Airlines is testing its WiFi system on a JFK-LA flight today. For an analysis of AA’s Internet plans, check out this post.

Someone just asked me if I knew of any data about the actual extent to which people are using use social media in the promotion, implementation and assessment of their meetings. If you know of any such studies, please drop a note in the comments or send me an e-mail. Thanks!

Everything you need to know to get started with adding some social networking aspects to your conference can be found in this post by Chris Brogan.

Many thanks to Rich, who is at least temporarily back to blogging on TSMI’s Trade Show Marketing Report.

They’re in: Hotel Chatter’s list of the best WiFi hotels of 2008.

This is day two of the Virtualis convention center grand opening in Second Life, and it’s going a little more smoothly for me than yesterday. First and most importantly, I’ve been able to actually hang out for entire sessions, instead of bopping in and out and all about like I was yesterday. I missed James Hogg’s session this morning on emergent technologies, which from what I hear was really good. But I did get to sit in on CMP Boot Camp by Bonnie Wallsh and Marianne McNulty, which was really informative–I somehow get the impression that they’ve done this topic before! There was someone there who had been doing events in Second Life for a long time (relatively speaking) who had never heard of the Certified Meeting Professional designation, and he sounded interested in it. Actually, this guy says he’s been earning a living putting on events in Second Life for a couple of years now, so if you’re looking for a job, you may want to expand your horizons outside of the usual desired city and state.
Here’s a shot of Joan Eisenstodt’s session yesterday in the Eisenstodt Learning Center, which is so cool.

Anyway, then Joe Pine did a keynote on the experiential economy that came off, I thought, much better than the session he did with his fellow Authenticity and The Experience Economy author Jim Gilmore at PCMA in January. It didn’t cover a lot of new ground for me, but it was really fun to see him talk about virtual experiences from inside a virtual experience. I wish he’d done something a little more experiential than the usual PowerPoint presentation, just to prove the point, but the content was terrific.

Taking a break now before heading back to the Virtualis main ballroom for John Foster’s international contract negotiation session in a few minutes. It’s still a little frustrating for me because my Mac seems to have some sort of firewall built in that won’t allow me to use the Second Life voice chat. So I’m using my PC laptop, which allows the voice chat, but is brought to its knees (ankles? toes?) by the Second Life program; everything (especially my avatar) moves jerkily and in slo-mo, and things take a long time to reach full resolution. But it’s still really cool.

One thing I’m enjoying is being able to comment via text chat as the session goes on. I don’t know if that’s distracting to the speaker or what, but the running commentary added another dimension to it for me. Especially the funny bits.

OK, back to the ballroom…