Method and apparatus for exchange of information

1. A computer-implemented method for transmitting information, the method comprising:

receiving, by a server, contact information about an attendee;

assigning, by the server, an identification to the attendee, wherein the identification does not include the name or email address of the attendee;

associating, by the server, the identification with the contact information of the attendee;

allowing, by the server, use of the identification on a network associated with an event, wherein the network is available only during the event;

receiving, by the server, a request transmitted over the network from a computing device of a vendor to send a message to the attendee, wherein the request comprises the identification of the attendee;

determining, by the server, a method of communication of the attendee based upon the identification in the request; and

transmitting, by the server, the message to the attendee using the method of communication.

2. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving, by the server, information about a product or service of a vendor;

storing, by the server, the information about the product or service in a database;

allowing, by the server, access to the information about the product or service on the network;

receiving, by the server, a request transmitted over the network for information about the product or service;

retrieving, by the server, the information about the product or service from the database; and

providing, by the server, the requested information over the network.

3. The method according to claim 2 , wherein the message comprises a link to information about products or services stored in the database, further comprising:

receiving, by the server, a selection by the attendee of the link in the message; and

providing, by the server, an indication to the vendor that the attendee has selected the link for information about the product or service.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the identification comprises a sequence of alphanumeric characters.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the identification comprises a barcode or QR code.

6. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the identification is printed on a nametag of the attendee.

7. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the network is limited to a geographic region, and the geographic region is selected from the group consisting of a building, a room, a campus, and a convention center.

8. A computer-implemented method for transmitting information, the method comprising:

executing, by a computing device of a vendor, an application for managing information about a product or service;

establishing, by the computing device of the vendor, a connection to a geographically-limited network associated with an event, wherein the network is available only during the event;

receiving, by the computing device of the vendor, a search request for a particular product or service from the vendor;

transmitting, over the network by the computing device of the vendor, the search request to a server for determining whether a database comprises information about the particular product or service;

receiving, over the network by the computing device of the vendor, search results from the server that comprise information about the particular product or service;

displaying, by the computing device of the vendor, the search results on a screen of the computing device of the vendor;

receiving, by the computing device of the vendor, a selection of at least a portion of the search results of the vendor;

retrieving, over the network by the computing device of the vendor, information based upon the selection of at least a portion of the search results;

displaying, by the computing device of the vendor, the selected information on the screen of the computing device of the vendor;

receiving, by the computing device of the vendor, a request to transmit the selected information to an attendee;

generating, by the computing device of the vendor, a message incorporating the selected information;

receiving, by the computing device of the vendor, an identification of the attendee for transmitting the message, wherein the identification does not include the name or email address of the attendee;

transmitting, over the network by the computing device of the vendor, the message to the attendee, whereby a server receives the message and converts the identification to an email address, an SMS text message address, or a website User ID based upon an association of the email address, SMS text message address, or the website User ID with the identification of the attendee; and

receiving, over the network by the computing device of the vendor, an indication that the attendee has viewed the information in the message.

9. The method according to claim 8 , wherein the identification comprises a sequence of alphanumeric characters.

10. The method according to claim 8 , wherein the identification comprises a barcode or QR code.

11. The method according to claim 8 , wherein the identification is printed on a nametag of the attendee.

12. The method according to claim 8 , wherein the geographically-limited network is limited to a building, a room, a campus, or a convention center.

13. The method according to claim 8 , wherein the network is only accessible by the computing device during the occurrence of an event.

14. The method according to claim 8 , further comprising requesting, over the network by the computing device, a report regarding activity involving the vendor and any product or service.

15. The method according to claim 8 , further comprising:

receiving, by the computing device, a command to add a search result to a folder associated with the attendee; and

generating, by the computing device, a message to the attendee incorporating the contents of the folder.

16. The method according to claim 8 , further comprising receiving, by the computing device, an indication to include in the message that the attendee desires to receive a sample of a product or service.