Bottom Line Briefing

Association executives frequently have to give speeches at meetings and events that they hope will not bore attendees. For those looking to spruce up such presentations with witty or thought-provoking quotes, log onto Quoteland.com and browse the site's large collection of past witticisms and sayings. The site is broken down into sections that should help with any speech. Among these sections are: "Motivational Quotations," "Sports Quotations," "Art Quotations" and "Quotations by Topic." In addition, the site boasts such special features as "Quote of the Day" and an "Identify a Quote" search engine.

Those executives who are looking to launch a blog on their association's Web site should log onto About.com's Blogging Basics for the Beginner Blogger web page. The page offers helpful tips and numerous links to virtually all the info needed to get started. Links to full articles range from "Top 10 Reasons to Start a Blog" to "Blogging Tips Every Blogger Should Read." The site also provides content on topics from choosing a domain name for your association's blog to how frequently a blog should be updated.

When crafting speeches and other written communications, association executives no longer have to wonder whether or not they are using proper English. Instead, they can log onto www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/index.html, a Web site that lists common errors in English and how to correct them. The site also has a section titled "Non-Errors," which details usages that some say are wrong, but are actually standard in English. These include ending a sentence with a preposition, beginning a sentence with a conjunction, and more.

Meetings Collaborative is a relatively new Web site that seeks to create a community of meeting planners. Launched in the fall of 2007, the site at www.meetingscollaborative.com features hotel reviews that are based on three basic questions. The first is whether the reviewer was satisfied with his/her meeting experience at that particular lodging. The second asks whether the reviewer would use that hotel again for a program. Third and most importantly, would the review recommend the hotel to colleagues. Site registrants can submit write-ups based on their experience holding a meeting or other event at the hotel. Those who simply attended an event at a specific site in their capacity as a meeting planner are also allowed to post. Property search results list the highest-rated lodgings first. Currently, the site contains approximately 1,000 reviews on nearly 900 properties.

The goal of www.ecommerce-guide.com is to provide the single best online source of independent, up-to-date information about electronic commerce. The Web site's editorial content is 100 percent e-commerce, including everything from daily news and feature articles to product guides and e-commerce-focused discussion forums. The site reviews the tools and software that associations need to build an e-commerce site, including Auction Builders, Commerce Servers, Payment Solutions, Portal Sites and Storefront Builders.

Logging on to the Web site www.seatguru.com provides travelers with quite possibly the best resource for commercial airplane seating, in-flight amenities and general airline information online. The site boasts everything from detailed seat map graphics and in-seat power port locations to galley, lavatory, exit row and closet locations on most airlines' fleet of planes. The airlines are listed in click-on, alphabetical categories on the left side of the main page. When a particular airline is selected, the user will be taken to that company's General Information page for a list of quick links and contact information. From the General page, the user can navigate the company's information pages for tips on check-in, baggage, unaccompanied minors and traveling with infants and pets. SeatGuru has routinely been listed among the best travel Web sites by such publications as Forbes, Kiplinger and Travel + Leisure.

Sperling's Best Places Web site at www.bestplaces.net is responsible for more "Best Places" studies than any other organization. The site's founder is Bert Sperling. In 1985, he developed a software program named "Places, U.S.A." that allowed people to enter their personal preferences to find their own best place. BestPlaces.net is a natural extension of his staff's work over the years regarding demographics, preferences and other factors in rating the "Best Places" to live, work and retire. By keying in a city and state, users can get the skinny on everything from schools to crime rates to climate.

Bob Harris Web site at www.nonprofitcenter.com is dedicated to promoting the association management profession. Harris, who has more than two decades of experience working with associations, offers a series of interactive seminars focused on core-knowledge and member needs. Such seminars cover everything from board orientation and strategic planning to staff training and consulting. Harris is the author of "Association Management 101 Online" and co-author of "Building an Association Management Company." His site includes a free section, titled "Management Tips & Templates," that is of particular interest to readers of Bottom Line Briefing.

Association executives looking to save money on airfare should look no further than www.airfarewatchdog.com. The site e-mails alerts when prices decline for domestic and international flights, lists Internet-only fares and automatically checks seat availability. In addition, it is one of the best places on the Web to find unadvertised and short-lived fares. It even shows so-called "error" or "fat finger" fares typically caused by human typos that most airlines honor.

Those looking for a cheap rental car should consider logging onto www.autodriveaway.com. Those who sign up with the site can drive cars that need to be relocated for free. There is no rental charge, only a refundable cash deposit. Another positive: the first tank of gas is free. Since 1952, Auto Driveaway has become widely known for its unique auto transportation services, offering everything from individual and commercial vehicle delivery to fleet shipping and fleet management.

Idealware is a Web site that provides candid, consumer-oriented articles and reviews on software of interest to nonprofits. Through product comparisons, case studies, recommendations and software news, www.idealware.org enables nonprofits to make informed software decisions that will help their organizations be more effective.

The Columbus World Travel Guide at www.worldtravelguide.net offers quite possibly the most comprehensive guide to global travel on the Internet. The site has links to travel guides covering nearly every country in the world, along with detailed city, ski, beach, cruise and airport guides. Users can scroll down the main page and view the Travel Essentials category, which puts everything from world weather forecasts to a world clock at the click of a mouse. World Travel Guide has had a presence online since 1996, providing detailed travel information to consumers and licensed content to third-party sites for the benefit of their users.

The Web site www.findlaw.com is your starting place for help in understanding the law. A legal resource for up-to-date online legal data, the site offers detailed information on such legal topics as bankruptcy, medical malpractice, civil rights, dangerous products, employee rights, immigration, and more. Even personal legal issues such as will preparation and traffic violations are covered.

Embassy World offers an international voltage finder search engine that allows travelers to learn the voltages used in nearly every country around the world. The search engine can be accessed for free at www.embassyworld.com/directories/International_Voltages.html. The process is easy, too. Simply use your mouse to select the country you are seeking from a drop-down menu, and then click "Find Voltage!"

The Web site www.procon.com features more than 1,000 questions on controversial issues accompanied by pro, con, and not clearly pro or con answers. The site adheres to strict editorial guidelines in order to ensure journalistic integrity. It has been referenced by such mainstream media outlets as Forbes, the Los Angeles and the New York times over 100 times. It has also been archived by the Library of Congress for having "materials of historical importance." The site features click-on categories to display pro-con issues in everything from Business and Law to Politics and Technology.

The Web site www.yapta.com is designed to help business and leisure travelers get a refund if they buy an airline ticket and the price later decreases. With prices in the travel industry fluctuating often, Yapta's price drop alerts help the paying public know when to book flights to get the best value. The site also allows users to find and track hotels that match one's personal preferences. E-mail alerts will inform you know when those prices drop, too. Since May of 2007, Yapta claims it has saved its members more than $171.3 million, or an average of $306 per member. The site has been profiled in such major publications as Time and Travel & Leisure.

Maryland-based www.eReleases.com has handled organizations' and individuals' press release writing needs for more than a decade now. The company promises national press release distribution to the right people at the right price. With more than 100,000 opt-in journalists, eReleases is able to get media releases directly to the right desktops offering the broadest coverage. Best of all, each client receives a WireWatch report with Web links to their press release posted on more than 40 Web sites, including Google and Yahoo!

FedStats provides access to the full range of official statistical information produced by the U.S. government without having to know in advance which federal agency produces which particular statistic. With convenient searching and linking capablilties to more than 100 agencies that provide data and trend information on such topics as economic and population trends, health care, energy use, and more, FedStats (www.fedstats.gov) is your one-stop location for access to the full breadth of federal statistical information.

Association executives tasked with giving a speech would be wise to use Brainy Quote to liven up their presentations. The Web site features a multitude of great illustrative quotes from various famous people and individuals of note. Brainy Quote allows users to browse quotes via profession -- from actors and athletes to business professionals and U.S. Presidents -- and based on such topics as business, government, technology, and science. The site boasts multiple search features and also offers a "Quote of the Day."

Congress.org is a nonpartisan news and information Web site devoted to encouraging civic participation and providing information about public policy issues. The site includes tips on effective advocacy and features a software program that makes it easy for citizens to write their elected officials and have that correspondence be delivered directly to the decision-maker whose opinion you hope to influence.

strategy+business is an award-winning management magazine, published in print and online for decision makers in businesses and organizations around the globe. Its purpose is to illuminate the complex choices that leaders face -- in strategy, marketing, operations, governance, and other domains -- and the impact of their decisions. Recent articles range from "The Rise of Generation C" to "Using Influence to Get Things Done" to "The Coming Wave of 'Social Apponomics." More than 365,000 readers are currently registered on the s+b website.

Association executives who are looking to round out their staffs with the best young and hungry talent should log onto CollegeGrad.com, which both Yahoo and Alexa currently rank as the No. 1 entry level job site for college students and recent grads. According to its employer information page, "no other job site provides you with a lower cost per hire." In addition, CollegeGrad.com gets more traffic than any other college/entry level job site, and it is linked to by more colleges and universities than any other career site.

BusinessTravelNews.com is a website dedicated to delivering the latest news and research for organizations that manage travel. The site provides original daily news updates and boasts a searchable archive that dates back to 1996. It also offers access to BTN's six annual research works.

For association executives and their staffs, searching via Google can be a rewarding experience once they know how to make search queries efficient. A Web page at TechTracer.com provides 10 tips to do just that. When looking for materials from educational institutes or universities, for example, use the Google scholar search function. To find out the meaning of a particular word, use the define: keyword box. The page also shows you how to find the time of any location and get weather reports for anywhere in the world. Additionally, the page shows how to compare currencies, keep track of stocks and search according to different file types.

Looking for affordable fares on a specific route? AirfareWatchdog.com hunts down deals computers tend to miss, like promo codes airlines include in e-mail newsletters. In addition, the website finds sales from Allegiant and Southwest, which typically are not listed on major airfare search engines. You can sign up for specific fare alerts or a list of all the cheap round-trip fares from your nearest airport.

CEOExpress.com aims to be the association executive's interface to the Internet. The site's editorial staff recognizes that execs have precious little time to obtain all the information they require to conduct business. CEOExpress employs expert human editors and "mind ergonomics" in filtering and organizing the content executives need on the Internet while adding features to the site to make their lives even more streamlined and efficient. Stock quotes, headline news, and customization are all conveniences users appreciate.

Association executives can log onto www.kayak.com to save money on their travel needs. Kayak is different in that it searches more than 140 travel sites at once and finds the cheapest fares. The free service also enables users to compare results from all of the various sites together, filter them and sort instantly. Since Kayak is not a travel agent, it allows users to click and purchase direct from either airlines or agencies.

Wright Investors' Service's CorporateInformation.com provides researchers with a list of comprehensive links to useful public, private, national, and international company Web sites. The site's database contains more than 350,000 company profiles and is searchable by company name, ticker, industry, and country. In addition, the database contains more than 15,000 research reports.

Bob Jones has put his more than four decades of business and personal traveling experience to work for budget-conscious executives and other travelers at www.BookingWiz.com. Jones, who has dubbed himself the FrugalWiz," and his experienced staff sift through thousands of deals from such travel sites as Expedia and Travelocity. He then features the top three in his Web site's weekly newsletter. The site also offers a plethora of travel trips. To become a subscriber, executives can put their e-mail address in the "optional newsletter" box on the site's home page.

BlackEnterprise.com bills itself as the premier business and lifestyle resource for African Americans, providing essential business information and advice to black professionals, corporate executives, entrepreneurs, and decision makers. Recent posts on the website range from "Young Bosses: 6 Successful Brand Builders Who Got an Early Start" to "6 Ways to Grow Your Business Through Social Media" to "Winging It: Work. Life. Balance? -- Managing Motherhood."

Bottom Line Briefing (BLB) is now available as a downloadable app via Apple's iTunes at this link. BLB, which is tailored to meet the needs of today's busy association executive, offers ideas on how to improve their association's bottom line from increasing non-dues revenue to saving money on your next meeting or trade show. Each issue contains summaries of the most significant, association-related news stories of the past month, delivering the key points to the reader in a concise monthly feed.

ClickZ is the largest resource of interactive marketing news, information, commentary, advice, opinion, research, and reference on the Internet. The main goal of the site is to help interactive marketers do their jobs better. Recent features include such titles as "10 Guidelines for Creating Great Social Media Content" and "Have We Gone Too Far With Targeting?"

Corporette.com is a popular fashion and lifestyle blog for corporate women and and "otherwise overachieving chicks." Last summer, Forbes named it as one its "Top 100 Websites for Women." Also around that time, Hybrid Mom listed as one of the "Top 50 Websites Moms Need to Know About." Featured articles and pages on the site range from "10 Things You Should Know About a Business Lunch" to "What to Wear on Interviews Generally." Corporette's founder and editor-in-chief Kat Griffin is an attorney and a former editor of Family Circle magazine and Sportswear International.

Trade associations are finding that they communicate better and smarter with Bondware, a leading provider of affordable web-based software and services that allow association execs to self-manage their websites. With Bondware, those who manage trade association websites can "get the word out" to association members, have them respond quickly, and keep an up-to-date assocation member list both on the Internet and at headquarters. According to Bondware, "No longer do you have to send a request to a web developer and hope they make the necessary changes in a timely manner. Bondware is so easy you can do it yourself, and from anywhere you can find Internet access."

The Web site www.eHow.com offers a massive, searchable database of articles and features that clue users in on how to do just about anything. The home page offers click-on buttons that allow you to browse "How to's" in multiple categories, including: Business, Careers & Work, Electronics, Health, Legal, Personal Finance and even Weddings. A quick search revealed such intriguing article titles as "How to Hold a Business Meeting," "How to Ace Every Hiring Decision," "How to Become a Dynamic Leader," "How to Create a Great PowerPoint Presentation With SlideRocket," "How to Be a Successful Salesperson," and so on.

Association executives know better than anyone the dizzying array of acronyms out there. Now there is a Web site (www.acronymfinder.com) that details what each one stands for. With more than 600,000 human-edited definitions, Acronym Finder ranks as the world's biggest and most comprehensive online dictionary of acronyms, abbreviations, and "initialisms." Combined with the Acronym Attic, Acronym Finder contains more than 4 million acronyms and abbreviations.

GoToMeeting.com allows association execs to host an online meeting with up to 15 people. Using the site's web conferencing tool, users can share any application via the computer in real time. It should be noted that one does not need a GoToMeeting account to attend a GoToMeeting session. You take part as a guest of the meeting organizer, and there is no obligation to buy or sign up for a free trial.

The Web site www.helpguide.org aims to help people understand, prevent and resolve life's challenges by giving them information and encouragement to take charge of their health and well-being. The Helpguide team consists of various health experts, psychologists, journalists and Internet professionals. The site's Stress and Trauma section stands out, with Web pages devoted to everything from "Stress at Work" to "Preventing Burnout" to "Relaxation Techniques." Other sections range from "Diet & Nutrition" and "Quality of Life" to "Abuse & Addictions and Depression."

Since its founding in 1996, NetMechanic.com has specialized in providing easy, affordable, self-service Web tools that help organizations increase revenue, satisfy customers, and improve overall Web site quality. NetMechanic's automated tools optimize search engine rankings, analyze site availability and reliability, improve page visualization, and monitor performance. NetMechanic has come to serve a broad base of clients, ranging from Jet Blue Airways to the Foundation for the National Institute of Health.

Since 1996, Intellicast.com has provided weather data with the world's most technically advanced site-specific forecasting system. The result of a multi-million dollar research project, Intellicast.com delivers site-specific forecasts for 60,000 sites nationwide and around the world. From detailed local forecasts to hurricane tracks, severe weather warnings to international conditions, Intellicast.com has the tools business professionals have come to depend on when traveling.

The Korn/Ferry Institute's Briefings on Talent & Leadership is a Web-based periodical dedicated to offering a fresh perspective on the most pressing issues facing boards and the C-suite today. The site's goal is to keep executives engaged about topics that will them be better leaders. Articles are written by Korn/Ferry consultants, academics, and journalists from such publications as Harvard Business Review and the Wall Street Journal.

YouSendIt.com touts that it offers the most widely used solutions for sending, receiving and tracking digital content. This Web site is ideal for sending large files without the limitations of e-mail attachments, FTP connections or overnighting critical data. Designed for individual use or for organization-wide deployments, YouSendIt's Web-based Software-as-a-Service offering simplifies file transfer for end-users while ensuring data security and compliance. YouSendIt currently has more than 10.2 million users with nearly 2 million downloads a week worldwide.

NationMaster is a massive central data source that provides association executives and their staffers with a handy way to graphically compare countries. The Web site offers a vast compilation of data from such sources as the CIA World Factbook, the United Nations and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Using forms provided on the Web site, users can generate maps and graphs on all kinds of statistics with relative ease. The site aims to be the Internet's one-stop resource for statistics on everything from crime rates around the world to wall plug voltages.

For those association executives with allergies who travel often, the Web site www.pollen.com offers allergy alerts, reports and forecasts for various parts of the country. The site can deliver allergy data for those on-the-go via Pollen.com Mobile. On the main site, meanwhile, there are click-on sections marked "Allergy Shopping" (offering products to help with one's allergies), "Pollen History," and "Pollen Blog."

The Web site www.rescuetime.com is proving to be an invaluable resource to those association executives who want to understand and optimize how they and their staffers spends their time and attention. One of the most important things about RescueTime is the fact that there is no data entry involved. Association management simply installs a small application on the various workstation computers, and RescueTime tracks what software and which web sites are actively being used.

LibrarySpot.com is a free virtual library resource center that is ideal for business professionals, association executives, and just about anyone exploring the Internet for valuable research information. The website was created to break through the information overload of the Internet and bring the best library and reference sites together in one user-friendly spot. Sites featured on LibrarySpot.com are hand-selected and reviewed by an expert editorial staff for their quality, content, and utility.

Looking for inspiration? Log onto www.springwise.com/ideas and get a wealth of new business ideas. Springwise and its network of 8,000 Web spotters scan the World Wide Web for smart new business ideas, delivering instant inspiration to entrepreneurial minds from Seattle to Shanghai. The site's "Idea Database" covers such industries as automotive, financial services, food & beverage, retail, tourism and transportation. Springwise also offers a free e-mail newsletter to those who wish to subscribe. Finally, it allows users to become affiliated "spotters" themselves and earn rewards for contributions.

strategy+business (s+b) is an award-winning management magazine that is published on the Web for decision makers in businesses and organizations worldwide. The publication's purpose is to illuminate the complex choices that leaders face -- in strategy, marketing, operations, governance, and other domains -- and the impact of their decisions. It is published by the international management consulting firm Booz & Company. Recent articles have ranged from "Donning a Leader's Garb" to "Making the Most of Failure."

MagPortal.com is a search engine and directory for finding online magazine articles. Owned and operated by Hot Neuron LLC, MagPortal.com also boasts magazine article listing feeds and search engine services that integrate with an association's Web site to make it into an attractive source of information on topics of interest to members.

Association executives can log onto www.Airtimetable.com and find a wealth of up-to-date airline and travel information. The site enables users to check routes, locate an airport, compare fares, book a flight, check airplane seat maps, track flights in real time and even read reviews of airline food. In addition, association execs can get weather reports and read about their eventual travel destinations.

Thomas Global's Web site at www.thomasglobal.com has a database of hundreds of thousands of industrial suppliers and products around the globe. So, if you are searching for the name and location of a manufacturer of seals and gaskets in Germany, for instance, this is the place to visit. The user simply types in a product, service or company name and specifies the country or region to get the desired information. You can also click on a product category and then peruse the subcategories until a listing of companies in that industry appears. Each company listing has a phone number and address, in addition to a link to the company's Web site. Those who have registered for a free account can also save searches and create contact lists from the searches that have been run.

Wufoo.com offers an HTML form builder that helps association executives and others create contact forms, Web surveys and invitations so they can collect data, registrations and online payments without writing a single line of code. Infinity Box Inc. founded the Web application on the belief that forms were the beginning point for building anything useful on the Internet. In so doing, it has taken what used to require days--even weeks--of work by trained professionals and turned it into something that can be done by anyone in a matter of minutes. All that is needed is a browser, an Internet connection and a few minutes to build a form. Wufoo's tiered monthly plans range from $9.95 to $199.95 a month, with prices based on such factors as the number of forms needed and the amount of disk space used for handling files.

Association executives looking to find information on more than 4,000 product recalls and recall alerts can log onto www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prerel.html and use the various searches on this page. Indeed, searches can be conducted according to company, product type, product description, type of hazard and country of manufacture. The Web site is run by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the federal agency that is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from more than 15,000 types of consumer products.

WEDDLE's Association Directory is a free information resource specially designed for HR practitioners, corporate and staffing firm recruiters, and job seekers. Professional associations and societies often operate websites featuring job boards, resume banks, discussion forums for networking, and other employment-related services. This Directory is specially designed to help users find those association sites. WEDDLE's lists several thousand associations from all over the globe by their primary professional/occupational focus and/or industry of interest and provides a link to each of their sites.

YourDictionary.com touts itself as the best e-dictionary on the Internet. Not only does it allow users to easily browse words and word meanings from A-Z, it also boasts a comprehensive library of original articles that aim to give users the answers they need on grammar, language, spelling, ESL, and more. Examples range from "Most mispronounced words" to "Most misspelled words" to "Affect vs. effect grammar rules." Those association executives who do a lot of public speaking and/or deal heavily in written communications will want to bookmark this site.