Yesterday, that report was finally published by Echelon Design. The report highlights several case studies that reflect the possibilities for enhancing and enriching any event strategy. There are thoughts and insights from many people including:
> Kenny Lauer, Executive Director of Digital Experience at George P. Johnson Company
> Dennis Shiao, VP Product Marketing for InXpo
> Jeff Hurt, Director of Education and Engagement, Velvet Chain Consulting
> John Jainschigg, Director of Internet and Community at Ziff-Davis Enterprise
> Eric Lukazewski, Marketing Director and Social Media Strategist, Echelon Design

Talking about the report, Eric Lukazewski said, “we’ll continue to see an evolving event world with accelerated change and technology will forevermore be one of these primary factors.” This report helps all event professionals understand the new opportunities that social media brings to the table for marketing and expanding their own events.

Download the Free Report: Social Media in the New Event World.

The post Are You Ready for Social Media in the New Event World? 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.

Here is the slide deck. Some notes from the presentation are below:

[slideshare id=3344908&doc=emec2010virtual101-100305101811-phpapp02]

What is a virtual event? How are people using them?

This presentation contained some insights and ideas from my participation in the “Virtual 3rd World” at the Virtual Edge Summit (Read more here). Where I tapped into some of the latest research data from Virtual Edge and George P. Johnson regarding virtual event usage and statistics. Also, I discussed the big question: What is a virtual event? and showed some of the graphs from Kelly A Graham’s presentation on Virtual Events.

Three Types of Attendees in the LikeMinded Community

One of the radical ideas that I proposed – was this idea that there are three types of likeminds in your event community:

1. Those that are attending.

2. Those that cannot or do not attend

3. Those that don’t know who you are but believe how your attendees do.

In my opinion, the virtual event is very powerful for giving the people that are your fans (and cannot attend) a platform for participation and sharing. In this sharing, your virtual participants can help draw in other likeminded individuals that don’t know about your organization, brand or event.

New Opportunities that Digital Technology Creates for Events

I shared my framework of the four opportunities that digital technology creates for events: Extend the Event Experience, Include More People, Increase Interaction and Leverage New Formats. Then, I discussed four different types of virtual technologies that could be used for their events and explained the advantages and differences.

One of the points that I tried to make in this presentation is that events are an explosion of content. While that is great, virtual events help us extend that content explosion and spread it much further. Also, they help us re-use the content that goes into these events over a much longer time.

Also, I shared some planning timelines from Cisco, where I made the point that a “Virtual Event” is a real event. You need to still go through your planning process in the same way that you would for another event.

Metrics and Best Practices

The final section covered some metrics and best practices that I wanted to share with the audience. In fairness, I could have developed this a little further – but I considered these bonus slides. I didn’t think that we would even get to these slides.

Questions and Comments

If you have any questions or comments on the presentation or the content, please let me know. I would be more than happy to answer any questions and expand on any of the ideas that were discussed.

The post Virtual Events 101 Presentation at MPI EMEC appeared first on Interactive Meeting Technology.

The idea behind the presentation was to get the audience to think about how to get the audience to think about the opportunities that technology can bring to events in terms of extending the event, including more people, offering new formats and increasing interaction. Then, I wanted to show them a process for planning to implement interactive or collaborative technology inside their events. (This could be Social Media or other event technology).

You are more than welcome to look through the slides here.

[slideshare id=3330105&doc=emec2010digitalgameplanpdf-100303170305-phpapp02]

Supporting Material

Equally important, I compiled several blog posts into a pseudo e-book that the attendees could use as a second reference. This was designed to provide some additional support behind what happened. Here is that document: Building a Digital Game Plan Article Collection.

Questions or Comments

If you have any questions on the content or ideas that were included in this presentation, please let me know. I would be happy to expand on any of the topics.  For the regular blog readers – there are some ideas in the slide deck that will be the subject of future blog posts.

The post Building A Digital Game Plan For Events appeared first on Interactive Meeting Technology.

While it wasn’t ideal – I gotta say that it wasn’t that bad either. Especially, considering my alternative was to watch movers load the truck.

Movers Loading the Container

Here are 20 Tweets that I collected from the event that I think are worth your attention. If you are interested in more – you can either watch the videos or checkout the backchannel (Search #ve10 on Twitter).

1. C your F2f event as a microverse in a larger context of community says @PaulSalinger #vevu #ve10 think of all channels 4 your content /via @jeffhurt

2. Key component of Hybrid events is the interaction and engagement created between virtual and face2face attendees /via @michaelmccurry

3. Remote attendees arrive early, stay late online and want a robust virtual experience when attending a virtual event says @kellyAGraham #ve10 /via @jeffhurt

4. Why Virtual Events: extend content reach, extend, reduce spend, extend duration, support #green, demonstrate tech @kellyAGraham A) #ve10 /via @jeffhurt

5. Why Virtual Events B) Gain better metrics for business intelligence – data, data, data says @kellyAGraham #ve10 /via @jeffhurt

6. Consider prospects who may attend your virtual event, taste it, & decide to later attend the F2F event says @kellyAGraham #ve10 /via @jeffhurt

7. A Virtual Event is a gathering of ppl who meet in online environment at set time 2 acquire info, share, network, engage @kellyAGraham #ve10 /via @jeffhurt

8. Virtual Event Strategies: Get, Keep & Grow Customers says @kellyAGraham #ve10 /via @jeffhurt

9. Virtual Event Strategy (VES) 1) Understand your Audience 2) Document Your Objectives 3) Develop Measurement Plan says @kellyAGraham #ve10 /via @jeffhurt

10. What I like about the live stream of #ve10 – I can flip between sessions until I find content of interest http://bit.ly/ci5h7Y /via @scottlum

11. @scottlum You can flip between sessions and no one has to move their chair to let you scoot by! #ve10 /via @ginaschreck

12. VES: Don’t understimate resources for virtual strategy. Lrn to understand virtual attendee’s expectations says @KellyAGraham #ve10 /via @jeffhurt

13. You need a good Digital Strategiest that understand virtual and online experiences for Virtual Events Success says @KellyAGraham #ve10 /via @jeffhurt

14. Strategic Methodology for Virtual Events Use Master Process: M) Mark your aud A) Assess Objs & goals S) Strategy says @kellyagraham #ve10 /@jeffhurt

15. VE Strategic Methodology cont T) Tech Review E) Execution R ) Review & Reblance says @kellyagraham #ve10 /@jeffhurt

16. Audience Technographics for Virtual Events #ve10 from @KellyAGraham http://twitpic.com/14x7h8 [Book mark this. Another winner from Kelly] /via @jeffhurt

17. Wow, Cisco did a virtual event for 10 million says @kellyAGraham [Not the norm she reminds audience] #ve10 /via @jeffhurt

18. Cisco cost per person dropped from $4500 to $385 by going virtual. But they want hybrid event for 2010 : drive motivation #ve10 #vevu /@ikesingh

19. Virtual events? Don’t look at technology first – what do you want to accomplish? Look at tech. after event plan in place. #ve10 /via @scottlum

20. Virtual is an umbrella term for any type of event that is not face-to-face says @KellyAGraham /via @JeffHurt

Two BONUS Tweets

21. Gr8 4all events: Virtual Event Obj: Complete form for each aud segment u target says @KellyAGraham http://twitpic.com/14x8q9 /via @JeffHurt

The diagram is great for all events that are using any type of digital technology. I use many similar questions when I meet with companies that are considering event technology.

22. Virtual Events Metrics & ROI [Good list to consider] from @deTomasi & @KellyAGraham #ve10 #eventprofs http://twitpic.com/14xjax

I like how this list of metrics is categorized: Reach, Engagement, Conversion and Content Lifecycle. I think the attention to the content life-cycle is important. If you are going to make the investment in creating content, then you should look very closely at how you far and wide you can spread that content.

Bottom Line

Even in the virtual third world, I was able to connect with this conference and harvest some valuable insights. I hope that you found these 20 tweets and the links valuable as well.

So, what jumped out at you? What would you add?

The post 20 Tweets from the Virtual Edge Summit Worth Reading appeared first on Interactive Meeting Technology.

While any of these technologies – if implemented correctly – will be sure to enhance the event experience, you need to be prepared for the down side. What happens if the technology fails?

This is the situation that I like to call the Moment of Truth. The purpose of this post is to help you identify event technology vendors that are prepared for the Moment of Truth.

What is the Moment of Truth?

To me, the Moment of Truth is that point (or points) in your event where the technology MUST work. It could be a voting session, or on-demand badge printing or the backchannel or whatever. While 95% of the time these event technologies will work – there are going to be situations when they fail for one reason or another. It is in these moments that you find out what type of vendor partners you have on your team.

In my opinion, one of the differences between an exceptional vendor and a bad vendor are how they handle these situations. Good vendors have mitigation strategies and solutions. They also have battle scars. Bad or New vendors don’t know what they don’t know.

Seek Solutions First – Blame Later

One of the challenges for event organizers is that there could be several causes for the technology failure. It could be the software, the hardware, the wifi network, power failure, the leaky roof, etc. When there are several vendors involved in the service delivery – you don’t have “one neck to ring.”  As a result, some vendors take this opportunity to play the blame game. “Wasn’t me,” they say.

In these moments, you need vendors that are willing to work together to solve problems. There will be plenty of time to assign blame and fight over the “who done it” after the event.

How Can You Tell If Your Vendor Is Prepared?

You can uncover the preparation and preparedness by interviewing prospective vendors. Here are some things that you might want to discuss:

1. What is their risk mitigation plan? Ultimately, you don’t want things to fail. So, of course, they should test the technology setup to make sure that things work correctly. But, you also want them to check things again before the moment of truth to make sure that nothing has changed unexpectedly. If they are not doing this – they should. Are there other steps that they can take to reduce the risk of failure?
2. What is their backup plan when things don’t go as planned? You want to find out if the backup plan is multi-dimensional and layered. Do they have a checklist of things to consider? Do they have support resources to call – in case of emergency? Do they have backup plans for backup plans? It is a red flag if they don’t know what you are talking about.
3. How do they react when things fail onsite? Ask them for an example. Listen closely for what happened, the steps that they took and how they resolved the situation. Did they take the lead in diagnosing solutions? Did they work with others in a collaborative way? Don’t trust the salesperson who says “our stuff doesn’t fail.” He is either an idiot, lying or new. Ask to speak with someone else or find another vendor.
4. Are the onsite staff prepared and capable of handling these situations? The person you are speaking with might be a sales or marketing type that does not go on-site. Find out about the experience level of the on-site teams. Are they trained? Do they have support manuals? Do they have 1st line and 2nd line support at the main office for unusual problems?
5. Can the vendor describe a time where their technology failed (or nearly failed) and how did they recover?  Here you want to hear an example of how they recovered from a disaster or prevented one from occurring. Be sure to find out how they have changed their technology or onsite processes to prevent these situations (or minimize the risk of these situations) from occurring in the future?

Bottom Line

Most of the time your Attendee 2.0 experiences are going to work as planned. However, when things go wrong, you want to make sure that you have an experienced wingman (someone with battle scars). Some of these questions above will help you filter out the good, experienced vendors from the bad vendors.

Based on your experiences – what would you add? Or is there anything above that needs further explanation?

Photo Credit: Rabblefish

The post Is Your Event Technology Vendor Prepared for the Moment of Truth? appeared first on Interactive Meeting Technology.

For those of you stuck outside of the room on Tuesday, I am sorry that you were not able to attend live. Hopefully, this video is an acceptable substitute.

To set expectations – the video is not professional grade. We shot it with my home movie camera. So please excuse the camera position, video quality and the start. We missed the introductions and first ARS questions.

The video is 52 minutes long – so watch it with a fresh cup of coffee and a pastry!

Finally, I hope that you find some usable ideas that can be applied to your 2010 events. Enjoy!

[wpvideo fLHzsmLz]

Special thanks to Maarten Vanneste for operating the camera, getting a decent shot of the presentation and moderating the session. Without Maarten’s help, we wouldn’t have this video to share with you.

The post 2010 Event Technology Shopping List Presentation appeared first on Interactive Meeting Technology.

On Tuesday, 1 December, we will be presenting our 2010 Event Technology Shopping List to the participants of the EIBTM Tech Hour at 1pm. Here is our promotional video.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m7Jz9ppb83U]

Why a Shopping List?

When you are cooking, you combine different types of ingredients to prepare your dishes.  We think that the combination of tech ingredients is what makes the attendee experience great.  The shopping list analogy comes from the ingredients that you need to go get or hire.

Plus, not every tech tool (or ingredient) will be appropriate for your event.  For example, just because you like apples – doesn’t mean that they are appropriate for every dish. The same is true with event technology.

Finally, the shopping list supports my strong personal desire to make sure that each participant in the session goes home with something tangible and actionable for their next event.

How Will We Sort Through the Madness?

Just like a chef preparing a meal for his guests, we are putting the attendee at the center of the discussion. We are looking at event technology tools that:

• Improve the participant experience
• Allow you to reach out and connect with more participants than before
• Allow you to do more for less.

After we assemble the list, then we will categorize and rate the tools. The criteria will look something like the following:

• Impact on the participant experience
• Extend the reach and range
• Cost (relative to others in category)
• Amount of prepartory time involved
• Impact on the planner’s design & execution process
• Global business capability (to acknowledge Asian vs European vs US suppliers)

(Note: This list is still evolving and being refined. Please share any ideas or input that you have!)

Our List of Event Tech Tools?

We already have a list of over 200 event technology tools. This includes the 48 participants in the EIBTM WorldWide Technology Watch Contest that was won by Pathable.

We know that we are missing several others. Soooo – if you have a product or service that you would like to recommend – please tell us about it. We will be happy to include it in our process. You can either leave a comment on this post OR send me an email at samuel_j_smith at yahoo.com.

Bottom Line

The motivation behind this project is to create a tool that helps meeting and event organizers sift through event technology. Based on what you can see in this post – what will help you with your job the most?  What are we missing that we need to include in the process and analysis?

I hope to see you in Barcelona at EIBTM in December!

The post Announcing 2010 Event Technology Shopping List appeared first on Interactive Meeting Technology.

In August, I took a few digital-days-off to celebrate my 10 year wedding anniversary in Croatia. While I was off-the-grid, Corbin Ball of Corbin Ball Associates and David Nour of Relationship Economics hosted a webinar on the 10 Meeting Trends for 2010. (Watch)

I finally got a chance to watch that webinar this week. It is loaded with links to new technologies that are guaranteed to dazzle your mind and send attendees dancing in the aisles. The data, examples and web links were protein enriched and packed with healthy goodness. The Q&A – which was spread throughout the session — was managed brilliantly. One criticism of the presentation – the Top 10 list was biased toward technology. So, it should have probably been a Meeting Tech Trends List.

CC Image by Balakov

The Top 10 Meeting Trends for 2010

10. Mobile Platforms

9. Social Networking Meeting Applications

8. MicroBlogging

7. Social Review Sites

6. Strategic Meetings Management

5. Video Options

4. Telepresence

3. Audience Response

2. Mobile Lead Retrieval

1. Power of Face-to-Face

(Source: Top 10 Meeting Trends Webinar by Corbin Ball and David Nour)

Bottom Line

Now that you are aware of the event technology trends – how will you integrate this information into your 2010 event planning? If you are not sure, try asking yourself the following questions:

1.  Which trends & tools improve my attendee experience and allow the attendee to achieve his/her objectives?

2.  Which trends and tools will help me extend my event experience and create attendee value beyond the face-2-face event? (Before – During – After)

3.  Which event objectives become easily (or cheaply) achievable with these tech tools?

4.  Does my team have the right skills to flawlessly execute the tech at my event(s)? or will I need a good vendor partner?

What Does Your  Crystal Ball Say?

Did David and Corbin hit the nail on the head with this Top 10 List? Or did they miss something in your opinion?  Or maybe they got the trends right and the order wrong?  What do  you see when you look into your crystal ball?

The post Thoughts on “Top 10 Meeting Trends for 2010″ Webinar appeared first on Interactive Meeting Technology.

This morning, I was powering through my backlog of “toread” articles when I ran across two articles from Jack Morton that are worth discussing: “The Power of Smart: Integrated Event Technology” and “Orchestrating the (IT) Experience.”

Think Beyond Tools. Focus on Attendees.

I like the way they frame the discussion in the Power of Smart: Integrated Event Technology. They help you move beyond technology tools to focus on attendees, operational efficiency and expanding the event. The author describes the Power of Smart as using integrated event solutions to “make life easier, more efficient and more effective.” Then, she defines integrated event technology as including the following three categories:

1. Applications that enhance the attendee’s experience
2. Applications that make the event marketer’s job easier.
3. Applications that help the event reach new audiences and generate new revenue streams.

To me, this framework makes it easier to create attendee focused questions like – what can I do to improve the attendee’s experience? What tools can I provide attendees to help them achieve their event objectives? I like those questions much better than starting with – should we do something on facebook?

Orchestrating Success. Focus on Touchpoints.

The article Orchestrating the (IT) Experience focuses on execution of the IT experience. What I liked most about Jack Morton’s approach here is the ruthless focus on attendees and their technology touchpoints. The author encourages you to match the right technology in the right amount (scale and scope) to the experience that you want to create. I think they are right on target here. Plus, I would add: make sure that your digital touchpoints are planned, scrutinized and tested in the same way that you handle your face2face touchpoints.

Bottom Line

The attendee’s experience at your event is the sum total of your face-to-face and digital experiences. You need to keep a sharp focus on your attendees, touchpoints and execution.

Does the digital strategy for your event start with attendees and touchpoints? Or do you find yourself starting in the techno-soup?

The post Insights from Jack Morton on Event Tech Strategy appeared first on Interactive Meeting Technology.