WEBLOG   |    TOPICS   |    FAQs  |    LINKS   |    E-MAIL STEVE

Evite: Free Online Invitation & Event Communication Service

Planning a meeting and want to e-mail invitations, details, location map, and keep track of RSVPs? Try Evite (www.evite.com), a free online invitation and event communication service from USA Interactive.

Evite is a handy service for meeting planners. At first glance, though, I got the impression from the home page that the service is for lighter weight holiday and birthday parties. Evite does allows users to select designs, graphics, and sound to dress up party invitations, but there's much more utility to the service.

Evite can handle invitation lists up to 500 people -- and more upon special permission (they want to avoid the appearance of spamming). The service lets the host import e-mail addresses from other sources, determine whether or not the guest list can be viewed, and allows guests to post comments along with their RSVP. During the invitation phase before the event, guests can see who else is coming, who isn't, and who has yet to respond. A reminder feature, maps, and an event payment collection utility are included.

Evite could be a great tool for small user groups, state and regional association events, or agencies that host events for customers. Evite takes the hassle out of the event communication process by eliminating repeated mailings, telephone tag, and paper sign-up lists. I recently received an Evite for an upcoming business meeting, and was impressed with the concept and its usefulness. I think you'll like it too.

"I triple guarantee you, there are no American soldiers in Baghdad."

Today is my birthday and I want to report something in a humorous vein.

Surely, some time during the last few weeks you must have seen Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf, the Iraqi Minister of Information.

Of course, he's nowhere to be found right now. But not to worry.

MSS (as he's apparently referred to by some) is now a cult figure courtesy of the World Wide Web. An entire new Web site is devoted to him, focusing on his outrageous daily news pronouncements that were a source of amusement in the face of impending defeat.

Check him out at the link below. Beware, the site reportedly received so much traffic that the owners had to shut down for a while and transfer things to upgraded equipment. It's still slow, but amusing all the same.

http://www.welovetheiraqiinformationminister.com/index.html

I'll be back tomorrow with something of (presumable) significance.

Agency Web Sites and Gender Sensitivity

A few years ago, the Internet user population was decidedly male. But according to The Wall Street Journal and reported by writer Susan Solomon in ClickZ (www.clickz.com), that has changed. The WSJ reports that the new online shopper is 48 years old and predominantly female -- 57%!

What does this mean for agents? A number of things. But Solomon writes, "Women in general aren't shy when it comes to talking to friends and acquaintances about bad customer service, shoddy products, or a truly terrible online experience." Yes, that may sound like gender stereotyping to some, but the comment was made by a woman who apparently knows whereof she speaks. And while online insurance purchases were not the focus of the WSJ report, the Internet is, all the same, a useful shopping tool.

Of the 3,500-plus agency Web sites I've looked at, I haven't noticed many glaring gender sensitivity violations. Nevertheless, most agency sites are less than impressive, marginally informative, and sorely neglected, which doesn't bode well for creating positive impact. In light of women now being the dominant gender when it comes to Internet shopping, an agency probably should be concerned with how its site stacks up with its female visitors. While you're at it, remember the marketing adage that says that a bad experience gets shared with nine other people; a good experience only gets shared with three.

Another Day, Another Internet Scam

On Tuesday, April 8, the Internet hosting service and tech provider, CrystalTech, alerted its customers about another "domain name renewal" scam. Scams such as these periodically make their rounds and owners of domain names need to be aware of them because they could violate your Internet security.

This one has been dubbed the "Melbourne IT E-mail Scam." According to CrystalTech, someone is impersonating a representative of Melbourne IT. The e-mail informs recipients that they need to renew their domains immediately or risk losing their service. An unsuspecting domain owner clicks the provided link, and ends up on a page that asks for personal information and credit card info.

Scams like this one prey upon people who are not sophisticated enough to know (or remember) how domain registration works or who don't read things carefully. When registering a domain name, you should use a reputable registrar and remember who that registrar is. Reputable domain registrars typically provide information you can print out for your files and later refer to should you have questions or become suspicious.

Spam Concerns at the Extreme

Without question, spam -- unsolicited commercial e-mail -- is a growing problem. The volume being written about the topic is also mind-boggling and growing. But are there no limits to the problem? You be the judge.

Here's the latest spam-related story to be reported in one of my sources, zdnet.com.

Employers may be held liable for unwanted porn spam in the workplace. That's right. Unwanted porn spam showing up in an employee's e-mail could qualify as evidence of a "hostile work environment," which is prohibited by federal employment laws. In essence, if an employer fails to protect his employees from it, porn spam could lead to sexual harassment complaints.

While no court cases involving unwanted porn spam in the workplace have materialized yet, some believe it's just a matter of time.

The upcoming May issue of Sounding Line will outline the problem as it relates to legitimate mass e-mail, a useful and productive marketing technique. A comprehensive look at spam will be the subject of a Sounding Line Special Report, which will be available this summer.

In the meantime, I'd like your feedback. Specifically, how do you define spam? Does your organization use mass e-mail? If so, how, for what, and to whom? Is one person's spam another person's answer to a need? Please reply. E-mail me your responses.

Point of View:
It Takes Time to Sort Through Print Media

InformationWeek is a well-respected publication read each week by 440,000 business technology professionals. It arrived in my for-real mailbox yesterday. Ordinarily, I wouldn't bother with the paper version (I read the online version) and I didn't order the subscription. My partner, the techie, did, but I think it was a free subscription anyway.

For some reason I decided to thumb through the April 7 issue. There was nothing on the cover that particularly grabbed my attention, unless you're attracted to aerial photos of the overcast and grimy Port of Seattle. Because I didn't expect to find anything particularly useful, I started at the back cover and flipped forward.

It's fairly common for commercial print publications to split editorial content and advertising pages nearly 50-50. This issue was 88 pages long. If I counted correctly, 42 of them were advertising, mostly full-page ads and several double-page spreads. On top of that, 12 additional pages were included in "special advertising sections."

For my purposes, the April 7 issue wasn't particularly substantive or engaging. In fact, I was too distracted by the advertising and didn't really feel like hunting for anything relevant. The issue might have made for light in-flight reading, except you could have read most of it while backing away from the gate and taxiing out for takeoff.

The point? Coping with information overload is a challenge. Despite the Internet, there are more print publications than ever before. Most are narrowly targeted to specific audiences. It's up to the reader to decide what to read, when, why, how, and from which sources. Paper media still has its place. But many business people want specific information that's relevant to their situation and are turning to the convenience of electronic publications, many of which are devoid of advertising. It's your choice.

By the way, I did stumble across something interesting. Intel is apparently developing a prototype called Newport that is supposed to combine the functions of a notebook computer, tablet PC, and a PDA. Could be interesting.

PC Prices Hit All-time Lows

If you need to replace desktop PCs, now is the time to do it. An online news item at ZDNet (zdnet.com) reported that the average retail price for a PC in February was $717. The average price for a notebook dropped to $1,311.

These prices are for lower-end PCs on the features and functionality scale, but are nevertheless regarded by purchasers as providing "good enough value" for the dollars spent.

Sales activity for lower-end notebooks also picked up due to the inclusion of certain features (15-inch screen, 256MB of RAM, a 40GB hard drive, and CD burner) that were only available on pricier models a year ago.

So, what does this mean? Cost-conscious agencies can more easily replace or add new PCs. Not everyone in an agency needs a high-end desktop model. Also, the price for notebooks is attractive enough for even the most resistant of field producers who use price as an excuse for not automating.

archives