It seems that even just a few spammy exhibitors can burn all the trust you’ve built up with your meeting attendees.

As BusyEvent notes,when attendees no longer trust exhibitors with their contact information, they can miss out on valuable connections with vendors. “In a time where everyone wakes up to an inbox full of spam, we can’t blame attendees for being a bit doubtful of exhibitors’ intentions,” the company’s Nicolette Anderson writes.

“Even if an exhibitor has the best intentions for managing an attendee’s contact information, people are trained to assume they are going to receive spam or be harassed by a sales person if they give out their information,” she notes.

Anderson offers several best practices for exhibitors to follow—including being better about finding qualified attendees, being honest, keeping your word, and allowing attendees to opt in, rather than opt out.

Conferences That Work author Adrian Segar, who commented on the post, pointed out a similar piece of his own last year, noting that event organizers share responsibility here.

Both make good points. Exhibitors should hold themselves to a higher standard, but event planners should do the same. What’s your take on the issue?

Get a Sip in

https://twitter.com/billwalker7/status/497433856577110018

Craft beer is all the rage these days, so you’re probably gonna want some while you’re at ASAE’s Annual Meeting & Exposition in Nashville, starting this weekend.

Fortunately, Deirdre Reid has the scoop on spots where you can find frosty brews throughout the city, including Jackalope Brewing Co., Tennessee Brew Works, and Flying Saucer.

“I always have high hopes of getting to a lot of breweries when I’m at a conference, but it rarely happens,” she writes. “If you have more free time than I do, I hope you can hoist one for me. Or just grab me and make me come with you!”

The post is only the latest in Reid’s series of roundups ahead of the conference. (ht @billwalker7)

Other good reads

Even when Velvet Chainsaw Consulting isn’t working at an event, it’s working as a “secret shopper” to get a taste for what’s out there.

“The solution is actually quite simple: Do what you love and is important to you regularly.” Developer Kent Nguyen has some good thoughts on stopping burnout.

If you want to wander around a social network you’ve never heard of before, check out We Heart It, which apparently has 30 million active users.

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p>Does your website use HTTPS? If not, you might want to get on that. Google says it’s about to become a factor in its search rankings.

(iStock/Thinkstock)