“Incentives” Magazine recently printed an editor’s note (Vincent Alonzo) that described a way to bring online tradeshows to the world. Virtual Incentive World is making it possible for people to log on and visit booths any time of the day or night and get information over the transom that would have taken much more time to gather previously.

The June, 2009 editorial entitled “Motivation 2.0 and 2009” did not really say how this would be motivational, but it does bring up an interesting idea for meeting planners: How can it benefit you and your business?

For one thing, it confirms what you may already suspect. It means that lots of people are trying to find alternatives to spending money on travel, lodging, meeting space, etc. It may also mean that if you don’t become familiar with technology to the point where you could help create an online event, down the road you may be left behind.

Of course, this is speculation. However, it may give you some incentive to beef up your knowledge of technology so that you can at least cope with the technological advances that meetings will experience over the next decade, even if the yare not all incentives.