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Today's issue contains part two of a two part series describing 10 Simple Tips to More Effective Tradeshows, an article describing how to protect your computer from power surges and part two of a two part series on E-evidence collection, preservation and usage.
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This is the second article in a two-part series about how to simply maximize the return on your tradeshow investment. The first article highlighted pre-show tactics to reduce your costs and improve your return
Management agrees that a booth at your industry's premier tradeshow is essential to your marketing and promotion program for the year. But your calculator and budget say the booth production costs, exhibit fees, association membership fees and related T&E are cost prohibitive, especially given your past tradeshow experience. But, before you remove this line item from the budget, read these five tips on how your firm can easily gain brand exposure, competitive information and new clients while at and after a tradeshow.
Tip #6 - Competitive Landscaping: The tradeshow is not only an opportunity to generate leads, but also check out what your competition is saying, doing and promoting. This knowledge will help you better position your firm against the competition not only during the show, but also to win business afterwards. Just beware; your competitors are doing the same to you.
Tip #7 - Media Attention: Receiving 'ink' is challenging at a tradeshow when the media are bombarded with messages from competitors, suppliers, etc. The press relies on the show's media room to interview company representatives about late-breaking product news, company services, acquisitions, etc. While open throughout the show, the press is stationed there at designated times a day or two before the show. This is a golden opportunity to speak with all of your industry's most influential writers. And, because exhibitors can receive the media list in advance of the show, you can be well-stocked with the right number of professional press kits to give to the media.
Tip #8 - Make Your Mark: Every tradeshow offers exhibitors many opportunities to promote their brand and gain exposure. From lunch sponsorships, to banners, directory advertisements, newspaper inserts, magazine wraps and more. But it's the unconventional and creative that leave an indelible impression on prospects and the media. Nothing is more eye-catching than your name painted on the show's escalator, your brand appearing on the 700 seat backs in the main ballroom or your logo skirting the tables in the coffee bar or refreshment areas of the conference.
Tip #9 - Walk The Talk: No doubt your suppliers and distributors are attending the same tradeshows, so use their booths to gain additional exposure for your company. Work with these firms to be featured in their case studies, 'best-in- breed' client lists and booth demos or prototypes. And, leverage these awards and your expertise to win a slot on the show's speaker roster.
Tip #10 - Post Time: Be sure to pepper your prospects with correspondence after the show. A targeted, varied and systematic approach will keep you in front of your prospects long after the show closes. Capitalize on proposal opportunities by telephoning prospects within a week after the show. Refresh and distinguish your company from the pack by sending a 'thanks for visiting' email imbedded with a picture of your tradeshow booth. Engage the prospect by using snail mail to send requested information, provide samples or offer references. Keep in touch, 'cause this is where the money is left on the table.
Implement even some of these and you'll realize a positive return on your tradeshow investment!
Susan Steinbrink is president of Market Architext, a marketing consulting firm. She can be reached at susan.marketarchitext@verizon.net or 215-628-4777.
How safe is your computer data from electrical surges?
Considering all the time, work, and future business represented by this data, the lackadaisical attitude most people have about protecting it simply astounds me!
A little preventative action on your part can mean the difference between a bit of inconvenience and a catastrophic loss.
Chances are you're already familiar with surge suppressors. You simply plug your computer into a power strip containing surge-suppression circuitry, then plug the power strip into your AC outlet -- in the case of a power surge on your AC line, the surge suppression circuitry should redirect the high-current away from your computer.
That's the theory, anyway.
The 'hard reality' is most surge suppressors are based on a 'sacrificial' component called an 'MOV' (metal oxide varistor). There are two problems with surge suppressors based on this technology:
1. With each electrical jolt received by an MOV, it loses some of its ability to function properly -- eventually it stops functioning altogether, leaving your sensitive computer equipment completely unprotected.
2. These MOVs are generally employed to divert surge current to 'ground'. But current doesn't stop flowing there. This surge current travels through the computer chassis, and up through the 'ground reference' lines in your computer's motherboard and other circuitry, through the data ports, etc.
So all the surge suppressor does is prevent the surge from traveling over the 'hot' voltage line. The surge still gets to your computer circuitry, just via a different path.
It may interest you to know these surges, even if too small to cause any immediate damage to your system, can affect the data on your computer's data lines -- leading to incorrect data, decreased performance, and computer 'lock ups' requiring you to reboot your machine. (Arrrggg!)
By the way, don't be fooled by the UL (Underwriters Laboratories) listing on your surge suppressor. It most likely states 'UL Listed' or 'UL 1449'. However, UL standards are primarily safety standards, not performance standards.
Your equipment should be UL 1449 listed, because that's a good assurance it won't cause a fire -- but it's not an assurance the device will adequately protect your equipment.
So what are you to do? Look for a surge protector with a 'UL 1449 Adjunct Certified Grade A Class 1 Mode 1' rating. Unlike the standard UL 1449 test, the Adjunct test is an endurance test.
Here are two companies who make surge suppressors complying with the above requirements (they call them 'series mode' suppressors):
I don't believe there's any significant difference in the protection supplied by either company -- both meet the requirements stated above.
These devices cost more than the MOV-technology, but if you're leaning towards staying with the cheapie, I feel I should ask you in my best 'Dirty Harry' impression, 'Do you feel lucky?' -- think about it!
Paul Galloway is an Internet Marketing Technology consultant and the author of 'The Business Owner's Toolchest'.
( http://www.businesstoolchest.com )
He also publishes a free eZine, 'BizTools Brief' ( sign up at http://biztoolsbrief.com ) and develops custom internet marketing software solutions.
This article discusses preventing problems and how to collect, preserve and use electronic evidence.
Preventing Problems
Whether protecting a company's information through investigations during the normal course of business or in response to a criminal or civil intrusion into the company's information system, it is important for companies and attorneys to have a solid understanding of the technical, legal an evidentiary aspects of computers and networks. This enables them to understand how to locate sources of evidence quickly, obtain authorization to search and seize evidence, collect evidence that will be accepted in court, and to protect and use electronic evidence through computer forensics. Computer forensics applies computer investigation and analysis techniques to determine potential legal evidence. Additionally, handheld forensics specialists acquire, investigate and analyze potential evidence from PDAs and are used in criminal and civil company investigations.
Companies and attorneys also need to consider the risks associated with maintaining electronic information, the tactics to use to discover it, and the safeguards to protect electronic evidence for trial. System administrators, computer security professionals, law enforcement officials, computer forensic scientists, ant Internet, computer and information technology attorneys are invaluable resources to the company. Then, after the company preplans and attempts to prevent unintentionally disclosing information, it needs to consider acquiring, protecting and using the computer forensic evidence.
Collecting Evidence
First, the company must collect paper and electronic evidence from adversaries and third parties. Electronic evidence includes: (1) electronic copies, i.e., what the user created and can see on the screen and slack files attached to the document; and (2) electronic images, i.e., bit-by-bit digital records of the entire hard drive, disks, and tapes that captured deleted files and file fragments that have not been irretrievably written over with new data. Then the company should send a preservation letter to the opponent informing it to preserve certain documents. For example, not to destroy backup tapes, to cease recycling electronic data, and to preserve imbedded data histories (when and by whom the data was created or edited).
Sources that contain hidden data include: the web browser cache, the system logs, diskettes, disks within disks, data written between tracks, graphics, metadata, PDAs, laptop computers, internal drives off-site servers, back-up tapes, zip drives, storage devices, browsers, cookies, compact disks, tapes, floppy disks, memory sticks, email, off-site storage, Internet and intranet content, source codes and spreadsheets. Evidence collection and analysis tools are important to collect information from the compromised system. Digital evidence is found on computer networks, on the Internet, at the transport and network layers, and on the data-link and physical layers.
Preserving Evidence
The electronic evidence must be appropriately preserved. Some ways include an electronic data audit, treating the electronic data appropriately after obtaining it, preserving the chain of custody, and authenticating it. One should use well known, reliable software and methods to work with the data, record all that the experts find, ensure the electronic evidence is not altered, or destroyed, write-protect and copy all of the efiles, scan for viruses, accurately date, time and place other authenticating stamps on the data, and search, organize and evaluate the results obtained through the discovery.
Web sites traditionally are considered untrustworthy because data changes frequently and at times can be changed by numerous people. Consequently, authenticating the web site takes special skill and effort to establish its accuracy, whereas authenticating electronic mail is simpler because the e-mail was sent from a particular e-mail address.
Using Electronic Evidence
The electronic evidence must be used by adhering to Federal or Pennsylvania Rules of Evidence. Although some similarities exist between paper and electronic company documents, and the use of experts, unique circumstances arise with electronic evidence.
Dorothy M. Bollinger is an Internet, computer and information technology attorney at the law firm of Fox Rothschild O'Brien and Frankel. She also teaches cyber law and policy at Temple University's Beasley School of Law. She can be reached at 215-661-9419 or dbollinger@frof.com
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