You know the Web has come full circle when trade show Web sites start having their own awards. And now they do: The Society of Independent Show Organizers; The Jordan, Edmiston Group Inc.; and Tradeshow Week announced their picks for “best in class” trade show Web sites at the SISO Executive Conference in Atlanta in August.

“At a time when the event industry is evolving and implementing new digital media tools and technology, it's especially relevant to celebrate the best-in-class Web sites,” said Mary Beth Rebedeau, executive director, SISO, in a press release.

While the biggest winner was DMG World Media, an international exhibitions company and a division of DMGT PLC whose Surf Expo Web site, www.surfexpo.com, won Best Navigation and Best Overall awards in the “Over $10 million in revenue” category, associations were also among the winners. The Association for Manufacturing Technology took the prize for best use of technology in the “Over $10 million in revenue category” with its IMTS 08 site, www.imts.com.

“The volume and quality of this year's Web site submissions, and the difficult decisions we faced in the awards competition, show that the industry is clearly embracing the Web and using it to drive additional revenue, generate more leads, raise awareness, and build community,” said Richard Mead, managing director, JEGI.

The complete list of winners is available at www.jegi.com/SISO-WebProject.

Strategic Reading

In Charlie Hawkins's new book, Make Meetings Matter, the author offers strategies for improving the effectiveness of small meetings (two to 25 people). He offers tips on keeping the agenda on track, improving retention, leveraging new technologies, and keeping participants engaged. Hawkins includes checklists for evaluating a meeting's effectiveness.

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