Meetings Industry Leaders
Launch Virtual Community

Meetings Focus Forum moderated by meetings industry thought-leader Joan Eisenstodt

SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 17, 2010�Meetings Media, publisher of meetings and convention industry publications and educational products, today launched a meetings industry discussion forum moderated by veteran meeting professional Joan Eisenstodt, chief strategist of Washington, D.C.-based Eisenstodt Associates, LLC.

Meetings Focus Forum (www.MeetingsFocusForum.com) provides a virtual community for meeting professionals and their business partners to exchange information about destinations, facilities, themes and decorative ideas for meetings and events, and a place to discuss major news and issues that affect the profession.

Eisenstodt was instrumental in the launch and moderation of the MIMList, the first virtual meetings industry community, in 1999. Eisenstodt, a 35-year-plus industry practitioner, has been honored by MPI, PCMA, HSMAI, NSA and IACC, and was inducted into the CIC Hall of Leaders, among other accolades.

�Meetings Focus Forum has the ability to create �just in time� answers to problems and issues; provide thought-provoking insights and links from me as moderator and from others as they see fit; and to give the tens of thousands of industry people who have been and may never have been part of any virtual community an opportunity to interact and learn,� Eisenstodt said. �Over many years of being part of virtual communities, in and outside our industry, I've found that a diversity of opinion has contributed to the body of knowledge and the education for and about the industry.�

According to Tyler Davidson, chief content director of Meetings Media, bringing Eisenstodt aboard was a natural fit with the purpose of Meetings Focus Forum.

�After working as a colleague of Joan�s for many years in the meetings industry, I have come to rely on her as a solid source for our stories as well as recognize her as one of the premier industry educators,� he said. �Following her posts on Facebook and Twitter alone practically makes me dizzy trying to keep up with all of the information she shares. Her history as the top virtual community moderator in the industry and dedication to meetings industry education and her fellow meeting professionals made her the obvious choice to lead this effort.�

Eisenstodt said she will draw on her experience to deliver the most robust virtual community in the meetings world.
�I know the value of a community,� she said. �I am confident we will help those who actively participate and those who �lurk� (read and learn without posting ever or often) increase their expertise and knowledge while providing great resources.�
Meetings Focus Forum is located at www.MeetingsFocusForum.com.

About Meetings Media
Meetings Media�s publications target meeting planners who book meetings, conferences, conventions and events throughout the U.S., Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. It publishes four titles, Meetings East, Meetings MidAmerica, Meetings South and Meetings West, and offers a planner-based website, MeetingsFocus.com, and four regionally focused editions of the Meetings Focus e-newsletter. In addition, the company produces monthly webinars covering various meetings industry-related topics.