by Brendan M. Lynch |
October 01, 2005
The phenomenon of the blog (an online journal)
has affected American politics, business and culture, and, of
course, the meetings industry. A “blogosphere” (a giant community
of blogs) devoted to trade shows, associations and corporate
meeting planning is flourishing on the web, with an expanding
universe of writers expounding on everything from industry
association meetings to the demise of tech events.
At the new “Xtreme ASAE Blog” (
blogs.centeronline.org/XtremeASAEblog), members of the
American Society of Association Executives sound off on many
subjects, including ASAE & The Center for Association
Leadership’s new brand identity. “Looks a bit cartoonish,” exclaims
one member, complaining that too much space in the new logo is
given to the Center. “It looks snazzy,” chimes in another
member.
Other popular meetings blogs include the Trade Show Marketing
Institute’s “Trade Show Marketing Report” (
tsmi.blogs.com/tsmiblog) and “Tradeshow Startup” (
www.TradeshowStartup.com), written by Tim Borquin,
founder/president of TNC New Media in Laguna Niguel, Calif., who is
creating a new for-profit exhibition called the Portable Media
Expo.
Then there’s “View from a Corner Office,” a blog affiliated
with the Association Forum of Chicagoland and written by the
anonymous CEO of a small association, whose secret identity allows
unabashed honesty. A recent post noted, “truth is, all convention
centers look alike, worldwide. You may be in a European country,
but you may as well be on the moon. Our life always appears far
more glamorous than it actually is.”