The increasingly popular trend of Web logging, or "blogging," has spread through the meetings community rapidly in the last year. Some innovative conference and trade show producers are using blogs, currently the hottest form of promotional communication, to tout their events across the Internet.
Blogs are essentially journal entries posted on Web sites. Bloggers, as they're known, write about virtually any aspect of a topic that strikes their interest. In the meetings business, then, bloggers might post items about scheduled speakers, exhibitors' product launches, meetings logistics, or even topics related to the event's main focus. And during the event, they might write about speeches, panel discussions, and activity—scripted or unscripted—on the show floor.
Event organizers may write the blogs themselves or enlist attendees to write. The intent of planners to keep on the cutting edge is important, says Tim Bourquin, president of TNC New Media in Laguna Niguel, CA. "Blogging is about putting a face and personality on a show," he says, so that people think it's a can't-miss event.
Bourquin knows from where he speaks: This spring he launched his "Trade Show Start-Up" blog to chronicle his triumphs and travails in show production. "I want to help people like me, a small, for-profit show producer, learn what others are going through," Bourquin explains. "But also," he admits, "the purpose is to market the show."