Bill Clinton

On Tuesday the entire staff went to hear President William Jefferson Clinton speak in Moncton (Thank you Management !).

While his talk mainly focusing on economics - you can be sure I found several relevant tourism technology references !

1. There were 5000 attendees, and since it was general admission seating we all arrived early. I couldn't help but notice how many of us were on the phone, or "blackberrying". In fact the person behind us was giving his colleague a lesson on his new Samsung Instinct. I wondered how many were surfing the internet ...perhaps looking for a place to have lunch after the speech.

2. President Clinton mentioned the recent election campaign several times. He eventually referred to the amount of money that both candidates raised over the internet. Perhaps this is the first time that large amounts of campaign funds have been raised over the internet - not sure. This year the internet did contribute to the change in voter demographic. US residents from all over America felt like they were a part of the election, even though they didn't live in an urban centre and were no where near a rally site. Blogs, websites, chat rooms, and internet sponsorship allows Joe Public to feel a sense of ownership in the process.

3. He focused mainly on the economic crisis in the US and the interdependent world we live in. Whether good or bad, this is how our world has evolved and we have to live in it. So my advice to you is to be positive, and start using the cheapest and broadest based advertising available to you - your website !