That’s the message that he brought to MPI Members from Minnesota and Wisconsin at the Midwest Regional Conference in St. Paul, Minnesota, today. I hope that he continue to share this same message with all chapters around the world.

Bruce brought more than theory. He brought three “A” list events that would inspire anyone.  I have summarized each event below – so you can be inspired too.

SAP’s Sapphire Now

Luca Favetta and his team outdid themselves with this event. They built a hybrid event that linked two hub cities of Frankfurt and Orlando and integrated thousands of people online. They used TV studios to create additional content and connect people to a broader audience.

Cisco GSX

In 2009, Cisco’s Global sales event was in danger of being cancelled. Instead of cancelling the event, they created a virtual event. They pulled together over 19,000 people and created a remarkable case study in the process. They created interactive games, like the Threshold, to get thousands of people involved and participating.

[vimeo=http://vimeo.com/8364581]

TED

TED does four things to connect people to ideas and content outside the room. First, they use an 18 minute format for their presentations. Second, they regularly publish videos on their websites. Three, they have TEDActive which is a simulcast event for people that could not attend the real TED event (See Interview). Fourth, they have the TEDx series of self organized events that help connect people to the content.

[vodpod id=Groupvideo.7434917&w=425&h=350&fv=vu%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fvideo.ted.com%2Ftalks%2Fembed%2FTEDACTIVE_v15.mp4%26su%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fimages.ted.com%2Fimages%2Fted%2Ftedindex%2Fembed-posters%2FTEDActive-2010.embed_thumbnail.jpg%26vw%3D512%26vh%3D288%26ap%3D0]

Bottom Line

We have the tools to connect people and ideas to larger audiences around the world. The events above show you what you can do with gazillions of dollars. There’s a big secret that most people don’t know about. You don’t need a gazillion dollars to create innovative and engaging experiences for remote attendees. At Event Camp Twin Cities we proved that you can create engaging experiences with a lot less money. A lot less. (if you don’t believe me checkout the case study: Watch)

Are you thinking outside the room?

The post Are You Thinking Outside the Room? appeared first on Interactive Meeting Technology.

All of this negativity can make the daily grind even more challenging. People are more snippy around the water cooler. There is lots of finger pointing, complaining, etc.

It is easy to forget why you are great. It is easy to forget what makes you so special. In other words, it is easy for you to lose your mojo.

Helping Employees Appreciate Your Company

It’s time that we “flip” the conversation. We need to start talking about what we do have instead of what we don’t have. If you are a fortune 500 company, you aren’t going to go away overnight. Things might be rough, today, but there still has to be something for you to celebrate.

Maybe it is your new product pipeline. Maybe it is your best in class customer service. Maybe it is your awesome channel power. Maybe it is your organization’s ability to persevere.

Whatever it is – are you using your internal events to rediscover your magic and appreciate it? You should.

5,000 Events for 5,000 people

This summer, I was part of an event team that took employees of a medical company on a personal journey to reconnect with their company. We brought manufacturing, operations, R&D, marketing and the top leadership together. Then, we created a museum type environment where they could go rediscover the great things about their company. Their awesome products, their awesome patients, their awesome physicans, and….their awesome colleagues.

For most of these employees, it was the first time that they had ever met the people who depended on them – their customers, their physicians and their leadership. For most of these employees it was the first time that they had stood shoulder to shoulder with each other.

While the event was remarkably busy  (5,000 people can do that to you!) – at one moment, I caught the CEO enjoying a silent moment watching videos that employees had created about the best kept secrets of the company. He was just listening to these employees talk about what was important to them. It was remarkable.

Constructive Conversations

At this event, my team used Pop-up Workshops (something that I made up), Informal Town Hall Meetings, Employee Tube Video Kiosks, Idea Kiosks and Reflection Stations to get people to release their positive energy and start talking constructively about the future.

These workshops and interactive kiosks yielded hundreds and hundreds of ideas and support from employees. Some came in the form of videos, some on post-it notes, while others came in the form of questions and other comments (digital, written and verbal).

Using User-Generated Content to Manage “Monday Morning”

While the immediate reaction to the event was – “WOW, that was awesome! It was just what we needed”. The real question is how do you maintain the momentum. What actions do you take on Monday morning?

We talked with the internal communications about this. They took on the challenge of repurposing this massive amount of user-generated content (video, questions, comments, etc.) on their intranet website, leadership blogs, internal e-blasts and in internal company newsletters. Very quickly after this event, the intranet site had content posted and the first e-blast went out from leadership. Regular updates are planned over the next several months.

So far so good.

Bottom Line

One event is not going to work like a magic pill and solve all of your problems. You can strategically use events to reconnect your employees and help them rediscover why your company is so great. You can use events to get your mojo back.

What are you doing to rediscover your organization’s mojo?

The post Are You Using Events To Get Your Mojo Back? appeared first on Interactive Meeting Technology.

Why?

Because it sounds unhealthy, irresistible and something that you should try at least once! I imagine it just like the photo below.

Fried Snickers Bar on a Stick. Photo credit: linksmanjd

Why should you try Nacho Mamas?

Good question. Has anyone ever said this about a virtual event that you have organized?

At 6:00 pm when the camera stopped rolling and the event closed down, I realized for the first time I was alone in my office.  I looked around and wondered where the 174 people had gone.

Or what about this:

It blew me away. For the first time ever, this was officially a hybrid event that works.  It was the whole package. I got way more than I expected. If I had to pay for it – I would have.

If you aren’t getting that kind of feedback, then maybe this recipe is the kick start that you need. It is tasty, irresistible and keeps people coming back for more.

Here is the recipe, so you can go out and create your own Deep Fried Hybrid Event on A Stick. See the finished product.

Ingredients

Team Roles

1 Virtual Event Design Consultant / Project Manager

1 Virtual Emcee: The Host of the Remote Broadcast

1 Tech Director: Calls the show, video camera shots and switches

1 Twitter Moderator: Captures questions, comments and ideas from the audience

1 Soundbyte Tweeter: Tweets Out Speaker highlights under the event’s Twitter ID

1 Main Session Cameraman

1 Studio Cameraman

1 Mediasite Tech: Manages video, audio and VGA feeds going into Mediasite system

1 A/V Tech: Manages the House signals

1 A/V Tech: Manges the Video and Audio Switches for Remote Audience

Equipment and Technology

2 Cameras: One for the main room and a second for the studio

2 Camera Tripods

1 Riser – to make the tripod sit over everyone’s head

2 Studio Microphones (These are linked to webcast – but not house sound.)

3 House Sound Microphones

1 Media Site Player (this is the webcasting gear)

1 Video Switcher

1 Interview Studio (Table, Chairs Backdrop, Professional Lighting)

1 Twitter Hashtag

1 Event Twitter Account

1 Webcast Player (Mediasite provides this – but can be configured)

1 Intefy System (Virtual Front Door that shows video, schedule plus twitter streams

1 Hosting Server for Storing and Hosting Streaming Video

3 Laptops for Virtual Emcee, Twitter Moderator and Fact Based Tweeter (if not the same person)

Various and sundry cables to connect and power everything

Directions

Create A Virtual Agenda

Take your event agenda and mix in a virtual introduction, virtual shows and planned interviews. With your rolling pin, neatly roll out the virtual conference agenda until it integrates nicely with your regular event agenda. Be sure that most of the breaks and meals are filled with lively content for the virtual audience.

Next, chop the agenda up into a run schedule and add in different points for group time. Take those chopped up elements and sprinkle in various people (virtual emcee, twitter moderator) and places (Studio, main room and man on the street).

Put the programming in the refrigerator to gel for a few days.

Design the Virtual Experience

Next, sketch out the virtual experience. Sketch out the sights, sounds and mouse clicks that people will experience while moving from your Virtual Front Door into your Event’s Virtual Living Room. There may be several steps and screens – understand them all. Be sure to look at experience, performance, usability and intuitive interface when choosing vendors.

Plan & Equip Your Physical Spaces

Now, you need to assemble the elements that will go into your studio, main room, etc – the tech, decor and people. Be sure that you compare these pieces to your agenda to make sure that you have not forgot anything — you want the flavors to gel together when you deep fry it. If they don’t match you could be in trouble. Then, go find your vendors to execute.

Assemble and Deep Fry

Wrap your virtual emcee, virtual experience pieces and physical on-site elements together in your programming. Insert a stick to make sure that your solution is fully portable (that you can embed it on other websites).

Now, Deep Fry that Bad boy for 60 seconds. Let it sit for 20 seconds (the webcast delay), then serve with a big smile and a group of social sharing buttons.

This recipe serves 550.

If you are making a double batch, consider adding two different twitter moderators. The first is a twitter moderator that responds to comments. The second is a twitter moderator that only tweets out speaker highlights from the main event into retweetable soundbytes.

Bottom Line

There were many people, processes and technologies that went into creating and implementing the Event Camp Twin Cities virtual experience. It was the combination of all of these elements – along with compelling content – that got people to engage in the event.

If your hybrid or virtual event or technology or process had a cool food name, what would it be? and why?

The post Nacho Mamas Deep Fried Hybrid Event on A Stick appeared first on Interactive Meeting Technology.

Is “Technology” the Future of Meetings?

The topic of the future of meetings sends some people flying toward technology. This was evidenced by the thousands of attendees that flocked to the many technology sessions to learn about the latest whizbangs and strategies. This was evidenced by the paperless program, the Mobile apps and the Pathable community.

So, it’s technology right? Smartphones and that kind of stuff. Um, not exactly.

Is “Environment” the Future of Meetings?

The topic of the future of meetings sends others into the “better room layout” and “environment” corner. Joan Eisenstodt, for example, wants pictures on the walls, natural light and flexible space. When she says that many in the crowd nod with approval. Some cheer. Venue Executives mumble profanities. While others would just be happy if the room setup would match the session. “Rounds in the general session room? What’s that all about,” asks one attendee.

So, it’s environment right? Redesign the conference centers OR match the room setup to the needs. That must be the future of meetings. Um, not exactly.

Is “Content” the Future of Meetings?

The topic of the future of meetings sends others into the “content” corner. These people are talking about content delivery, interactive formats, learning styles, objectives, discovery, etc. They say less time listening to boring speakers and more time interacting in an informal learning environment. When someone says more collaboration and interaction – groups of people start whooping and hollering Texas style. Speakers scratch their heads and ask if better hand gestures would help.

So, it’s content right? Use more collaborative formats. Get people out of chairs and writing on white boards. Um, not exactly.

Is “Attendee Experience” the Future of Meetings?

The topic of the future of meetings gets others talking about attendee experience. It’s about putting the attendee at the center of the event. Ruud Janssen says that we need to think about it like “100 events for 100 people.” Another person talks about interviewing “professional attendees” – the conference road warriors – and using their needs as the model for how these experiences could work.

So, it’s attendee experience right? Design events with the attendee in mind. Um, not exactly.

Is “Storytelling” the Future of Meetings?

The topic of the future of meetings gets others talking about storytelling. It’s about narrative and personas they say. They talk about the strong characters in movies and books that we identify with. They talk about the dilemmas created in good vs. evil situations. They continue on with more stuff that is over our heads – but sounds good. Many nod in approval.

So, it’s storytelling right? We just hire a scriptwriter create good characters, put Bruce MacMillan in a flying harness and get Stephen Spielberg to show us how to produce the stuff. Um, not exactly.

Is “Inspiration” the Future of Meetings?

The keynote speakers from the Opening General Session will tell you that the future of meetings is about passion and inspiring people to become part of something greater than themselves. They will site examples of people coming from remarkable circumstances that you couldn’t ever imagine to do something extraordinary. Since, we are all amazed – we nod with approval and donate $20.

So, it’s inspiration right? We find someone or something that inspires us – like Bruce Willis or the A-team. Then we book them for our next event. That’s the ticket! Um, not exactly.

Is “Outside the Industry” the Future of Meetings?

The topic of the future of events gets others to talk about looking outside our industry for the answer. Looking for inspiration in art, in movies, in design, in Farmville, in nature and in space. Or was it in Oldspice? Regardless, asking ourselves what the Future of Meetings looks like – doesn’t help – because we all have the similar answers. As we hear this point of view, we nod again.

So, it’s looking outside ourselves right? We watch a few OldSpice commercials, play Farmville and “friend” that Zuckerberg dude who created Facebook – then we will know the future of events. Right? Um, not exactly.

So what is the Future of Meetings?

Well, if the future of meetings is not technology or space or content or attendee experience or inspiration or outside factors – then what is it?

I have no idea. I just can tell you that it is not ONE of those factors – it is all of them. As far as I can tell that is the conclusion drawn from the MPI World Education Conference.

What do you think our future meetings and events will look like? or what do they need to look like?

Note: I did receive partial registration reduction for agreeing to participate in the Social Media Guru program at MPI’s World Education Conference.

The post The Future of Meetings: Are You My Mother? appeared first on Interactive Meeting Technology.

Mike McAllen and I are taking this challenge to heart. Today, we are launching a new show focused on technology strategy, social media and the latest trends and tools in event technology. Our goal is to create another platform for discussing event technology.

We are calling this new show “Going Digital with Samuel J. Smith.” You can listen to the first installment here.

Meetings Podcast – Going Digital with Samuel J. Smith

Using a 20 minute podcast format, we will cover a couple of topics during each show, answer at least one listener question and give you ONE tip that you can take back to your office today and try.

The podcast will be available on Meetings Podcast, iTunes and here – on interactivemeetingtechnology.com.

By making the show available on these three platforms, we hope that we can create opportunities for you to listen to our show while gardening, commuting to work or waiting in the departure lounge. Of course, we would be happy if you listened to the show in any other location that you thought was appropriate as well.

Initially, the show will be sponsored by Audible.com. If you would like to sponsor the show, please contact me at blog (at) samueljsmith.com or Mike at meetingspodcast at gmail.com. We would be happy to talk to you about a customized program.

Finally, if you have any topics, people, products or news that we should be discussing – please be sure to let us know. We would be happy to include it in our next show.

The post New Meetings Podcast Series – Going Digital with Samuel J. Smith appeared first on Interactive Meeting Technology.

While I haven’t found any “event” app that seems to pull everything together in “just the right way” – I have found several event apps that are worth checking out. In fact, if you could mash the best elements of these apps together – you could have an awesome event app. Today, I want to share a few of these apps with you.

Without further ado, here are five event apps. that I hope provide you a little inspiration.

Vancouver Olympics 2010

> Which Event: 2010 Vancouver Olympics

> What does it do: This app was designed to be an Olympics guide that fit into the palm of your hand. It provided a real time schedule of events that was searchable and sortable by venue, date, event type, etc. It used the phone’s geo-position capability to help users find their way to venues, etc. Finally, there was a live Medal scoreboard and news stream that helped you stay on top of the latest news.

> Why is it a source of inspiration: I thought the user interface was innovative and well done on this application. While I was writing this post, I learned that if you shake the phone while the app is on – it will show you different videos. Cool. (Don’t ask me why I was shaking my iphone!)

Meet Different 2010

> Which Event: Meeting Professionals Internationl’s North American Education Conference (called Meet Different)

> What does it do: This app provided a real time schedule, links to social tools, speaker profiles, etc. Some of the same stuff as above.

> Why is it a source of inspiration: I liked how this application bridged the social applications (Twitter, Pathable community, etc.) into the application.

March Madness on Demand

> Which Event: 2010 NCAA College Basketball Tournament

> What does it do: This app provided a status update on all games, streamed the radio broadcasts and live video broadcasts from the games. Also, it linked personalized content just for me on the NCAA hoops website. Finally, the application sent me notifications that told me when games were close OR when a potential upset was about to happen.

> Why is it a source of inspiration: The live video and alerts (also called push notifications) were awesome here! You could select different types of alerts that you wanted to receive. Then the application would send you these little “heads up messages.” I think this could be a useful way to send attendees special update messages like “You better get to the lobby! The bus is leaving in 10 minutes.”

MTO Summit Chicago

> Which Event: Meeting TechOnline Summit Chicago

> What does it do: This app provided a schedule for the event, personalized schedule, link to speaker profiles, exhibitor information, session feedback forms, twitter stream and the exhibitor guide.

> Why is it a source of inspiration: The personalized schedule was very useful. I could select different sessions from the event and include them in my schedule. It was very easy to do and I could see how it would simplify life at larger, more complex events. Also, this application had surveys and feedback forms embedded in the schedule. Having paperless feedback forms rather than paper made it easy to complete the forms and submit them – like 1-2-3.

Digital Now

> Which Event: Digital Now Conference

> What does it do: This app provided an agenda, speaker profiles, video case studies, partner information, linkedin and twitter integration, ability to send feedback to organizer and the ability to record audio notes.

> Why is it a source of inspiration: I really enjoyed the video case studies. It seemed that the videos were embedded in the application when I downloaded it. I didn’t have to connect to some other place etc. This was a great thing. Also, the links to the social sites (twitter and linkedin) allowed me to engage right away from the application.

Bottom Line

Hopefully this post gives you a good idea of some of the creative things that other events are doing with their smart phone apps. I am sure that this is just the tip of the iceberg. I imagine that there are many more interesting ideas out there as well.

What other “event focused apps” would you recommend event organizers consider for inspiration? What other features would you like to see in these apps?

(PS – For those of you that would like to debate the validity of smart phone apps vs handheld devices for events — hold your horses — that will be another post. Save your ammunition and check back in a few days.)

The post Inspiration for Your Shiny New Event App appeared first on Interactive Meeting Technology.

Shirky came to mind when I heard that 3,000 attendees at an HR Block conference exchanged 153,000 digital business cards and 15,000 paperless brochures using the Busy Event BeLinker. (Case)

The BeLinker must be dead simple for attendees to understand and use. When I talked with Brian Slawin of Busy Event recently, I asked him – how did you get so many people to use it?

Brian emphasized three things:

1. The organizer sent attendees emails telling them about the new technology.
2. Attendees had a demonstration & short activity at the beginning to introduce people to the tech and let them try it.
3. They had a support area for attendees with questions.

The Message: Simple is Good – but so is making sure that attendees feel comfortable with the technology.

Wait! Wait! There’s More!

While Busy Event has a great case – several similar technologies have entered the market in the past 15 months. Here are some examples:

> Poken – Originally designed for college kids, these are sponsorable take home versions of Busy Event. By touching your Poken to another attendee’s Poken, you can exchange social business cards that connect each other’s facebook, twitter and linkedin accounts together. By the looks of things – it is taking off at events. Read the BMW Case Study and IBM Case Study to see how this tool is being used.

> Mingle Stick – This little gadget works similarly to BusyEvent and Poken – except that it is not as robust as BusyEvent or as cool as Poken.

> Living TradeShow – The LivingTradeshow Crickit gives attendees a one button system for exchanging lead information. These little devices are tied to a powerful backend database and onsite network (like BusyEvent) to let exhibitors look at lead information in a live format. The cool thing about these CrickIt devices is that they can be custom molded for each tradeshow and serve as a take-home item.

A Word of Caution – About Mobile Devices

For those of you drinking the mobile-phone KoolAid, I think mobile has some work to do to become as-simple-for-attendees-to-use as these new gadgets.  With mobile, you run into all kinds of problems with different hardware models, software compatibility, compliance, etc.  At a recent event, I discovered that the attendees had many different types of phones and software applications. Trying to exchange mobile contact information was sometimes more effort than it was worth.

Bottom Line

These new simple gadgets are creating new ways for event attendees to connect and share leads, exchange contact information and connect their social world to the real world. By giving all attendees the same technology (Belinkers, Pokens, MingleSticks or CrickITs) you are making sure that they are all working with the same business productivity tools.

What do you think?

image: courtesy of Busy Event

Reminder: I don’t receive any form of compensation for product reviews.

The post Is Your Mingle Stick Poken Attendees in the BeLinker appeared first on Interactive Meeting Technology.

In my first 365 days, I wrote 2,743 tweets – which is about 110 pages worth of tweeting. I have to admit that I was shocked that I had written so many pages of tweets. (For the math people this assumes that each tweet takes up 1 line in a page and there are 25 lines per page.) It made stop for a few minutes and reflect on what I had learned over the past year from using this new tool.

Below are some things that I have learned. Have a look and then let me know if you think all of this tweeting was really worth it? or was it a massive waste of time? Of course, if you have things to add from your own experiences – please do so. The more the merrier!

20 Things I Learned in My First Year of Tweeting

1. Twitter is a super-simple way to publish messages. How hard is it to write one sentence and hit send? Not hard.
2. When you have 1,000 followers it is impossible to listen to what everyone is saying with equal attention.
3. Tools like TweetDeck and Hootsuite help me organize my Twitter “ears” and listen to the people and conversations that are most important to me.
4. I choose the conversations to follow and dip my toe into other conversations of interest throughout the day.
5. In some twitter groups – members find and share articles that would be impossible for 1 person to find on his own and in a timely manner.
6. Twitter is a great way to spread content to like-minded individuals.
7. Twitter isn’t for all people.
8. Twitter is public – so it won’t work for any private or confidential corporate events.
9. Many-to-Many conversations on Twitter are fast-moving, action packed and fully archived. Watch what you say!
10. Conversations on Twitter can be archived at wthashtag.com. This is a great resource to go back and review what was said.
11. I once summarized a full conversation of tweets with 1 tweet. Is that good or bad?
12. I started this blog because of Twitter. I know 10 others that did the same.
13. Twitter is a super-simple way to connect remote and virtual attendees.
14. While the movers were packing boxes at my home, I participated in a conference via Twitter 4000 miles and nine time zones away.
15. Luckily, not everyone is on Twitter.
16. I never had any interest in following Shaq, Britney Oprah or Aston Kucher.
17. The #eventprofs community on Twitter is awesome.
18. I attended a conference in February because of the people that I met on Twitter. I had an awesome time! Some people think I was crazy.
19. I attended a conference in March because someone tweeted that they were attending. Does that make me a stalker?
20. Twitter introduced me to thousands of interesting people in the past year. If it weren’t for them – I would have left this technology long ago.

Bottom Line

While Twitter is a simple technology – it is a powerful communication tool. After 110 pages of tweets, I am very thankful for the people that I met on Twitter this past year. Without them – I probably would have abandoned the technology very quickly. Thank you Twitter friends!

image credit: @cdharrison

The post After 110 Pages of Tweets is Twitter Worth It? appeared first on Interactive Meeting Technology.

This new mobile platform is a mashup of Ning, Eventbrite, Twitter and Foursquare for small groups. Plus, it has a self-service setup AND they are making it free for groups with less than 250 people.

Said another way: Zerista can do schedules, messaging, backchannel, take payments, support checkin, send invites, maps and browse member lists and probably other stuff, too.

Watch the video from the DEMO Conference last week to get an overview:

[vodpod id=ExternalVideo.931373&w=425&h=350&fv=]

Here is What I Like About Zerista:

When I think about what Zerista brings to small events, I see much more than a mobile social network. I see a mobile communication system for small groups. To me, most event social network’s seem to be fancy delegate lists. (Someone take me to task on that statement, please.) Zerista has created a mobile communication platform that gives attendees several different types of communication tools. Here are a couple of things that I think are worth your attention:

> No-Web-Enabled Phone Left Behind: Unlike iphone applications that only work on one mobile phone – the Zerista system will work on any web-enabled phone. While that limits some functionality in the short run (like uploading mobile pictures), it does ensure that everyone can participate and use the solution.

> Backchannel Capability: I like that the backchannel can be private or sent out on Twitter. In some cases, you will want to share things with everyone. But, you might only want to post GOOOOOAAAALLL! to the other parents. The only other company that I have seen with a similar backchannel capability is EventVue.

> Checkin Capability: When I went to Event Camp in February, most attendees tweeted that they had arrived at the hotel. If we would have had the Zerista platform, we could have “checked-in” and told other community members that we had arrived. Hitting a checkin button is easy. I think we are going to see more applications for “checkin” capability at events, because it could be used to tell people that you have arrived on-site, arrived at the plenary session, arrived at lunch or at a satellite event.

> Payment Processing: This might be the killer feature. How great would it be for a small event to collect payments for “add-on” items that are purchased onsite during the event? Or what if attendees asked the organizer to throw together a last minute dinner for 40 people. You could sell tickets to that dinner and collect payments online. It would be so easy to collect money and distribute tickets online.

> Freemium Pricing: The pricing model is free for small groups, but you can purchase add-on services to make your event community a little bit better than the basic format. I like this model because it allows event organizers to try out the basic version, see what works and then upgrade or customize as required.

A Word of Caution

> This product has not launched, yet: Until I get to play with the system, I am making assumptions about how it will work based on my previous experiences with similar tech tools. (Like I did with the iPad)

> Clash of the Non-Joiners: I can see the baby-boomers cringing at the thought of joining a bunch of micro-communities. My response to them is that these “disposable communities” are temporary communication platforms that should make it easier for them to be a part of an event. Also, I imagine that Zerista will use Facebook Connect or Twitter Login to reduce the number of logins/passwords.

Bottom Line

When it comes down to it – the Zerista mobile community is more of a communication platform than a private social network. It allows you to form “disposable communities” and help them communicate, collaborate and share – while they are on the go.

What do you think? Will this Zerista mobile platform be a game changer for small events?  What additional strengths or shortcomings do you see with this idea?

Note: I don’t accept any money, gifts or commissions for writing product reviews.

The post Game Changer For Small Events: Zerista’s Mobile Community Platform appeared first on Interactive Meeting Technology.

If Chris Brogan and Stephen Nold had opened the event by saying “Wayne’s World. Wayne’s World. Party Time. Excellent.” – it would have set a perfect tone for the day. Maybe next time. Here are some of my notes from the event.

Three Parts to Your Social Media Strategy

Social media guru Chris Brogan pointed out that he advises clients to have at least three elements in their social media program: Listening, Connecting and Publishing. Chris advises clients to spend 30-60 minutes on all three elements each day.

I asked some attendees if they were following Chris’ advice – most responded that they are only publishers. How do you stack up?

Community Building the Old Fashioned Way

Mark Ragan of Ragan Communications told the audience how he creates and builds communities around compelling content THEN he creates events. He told us that he did it the old fashioned way – via email. Mark uses Social Media as a brand building tool. Also, he pointed out that you don’t have to create all of the content yourself. You can find great articles, write an interesting summary and share it with your community.

Are you using content to build a strong community all year long?

Mobile Apps Need to Be Open & Integrated

Event organizers that launched iphone apps in 2009 quickly realized that their mobile apps need to be able to work on all phone types. While the iphone is sexy, most corporate attendees are still using the Blackberry. Nokia and Android have sizable installed base, too.

Also, mobile apps need to be integrated with other data and systems that you are using for the event. Most event organizers were exasperated with tech vendors that were not “partnering” with other vendors to create integrated solutions. (Vendors take note!)

Geo-positioning & Wayfinding

While many show organizers cringed at the thought of looking at a venue map on a tiny mobile phone screen, most agreed that “you are here” and “wayfinding” should become part of mobile solutions for events in the future. Wayfinding is the name for giving people directions from point A to point B.

There was a lot of talk about social tools Foursquare and Gowalla and how these type of “checkin” services could be useful for traffic flow, navigating an event experience or encouraging people to visit event sites.

Where Were the Virtual & Hybrid Events?

Virtual & Hybrid events were like Claudia Schiffer on a date with Wayne and Garth – nowhere to be found. Yet, it was clear to most at the event that this technology is something to consider. Mark Ragan even pointed out that he is getting 15% of his event revenue from virtual events. When you are making money with virtual or hybrid events, I think that makes virtual events magically babelicious.

Bottom Line

Just like Wayne’s World, the MTO Summit was entertaining, engaging and full of amazing people and ideas. If I were smart, I would have summarized this entire post in one line: “MTO Summit. MTO Summit. Party Time. Excellent.”

What do you say?

The post MTO Summit Chicago: The Wayne’s World For Event Technology appeared first on Interactive Meeting Technology.