It IS being tried by John Nawn and a few others of us who hope to launch a prototype soon where it will be broadened to bring to the table .. the fire chiefs, the architects and designers, the furniture makers and more – and be a think-tank that does it and plays with it.

It SHOULD be done at the MPIs, PCMAs, ASAEs — where failure is a positive word bec. you tried and analyzed it.

And it needs to be affordable — to participate. My airline ticket alone for Vancouver was a bank-breaker! People have great ideas and too many people just can’t afford to attend.

Years ago, I woulda said that if it’s impt. to you, you’d find a way to do it. I no longer believe that bec. when one has to choose a roof over one’s head and food on the table and healthcare v. exploring ideas .. well, the intellect says one thing until reality sets in.

So now what?

@Dave: Thanks for your comment here. You are so right about the connections. They were missing from the conversation and not discussed much. It was like the “connections” piece was either assumed or the discussions didn’t offer any specific strategies for generating them. Great catch.

@Garry: Thanks for reading and your contribution. I agree with you about the Twitter stream – it’s a great way to stay connected to an event when you cannot attend.

@Jeff: Thanks for your comment, Jeff. The chef analogy is a great one – and I think you could take it further and challenge people to assemble new creations from these ingredients as well.

Great post about the variety of options available for meeting and event professionals when planning their meetings. We have a lot of choices and that’s why I think meeting professionals need to become like well established chefs that know the right amount of spices and ingredients to mix into the recipe for a great dish.

I do believe that technology will continue to drive some changes. And I think attendees will continue to demand high-touch, highly customized experiences and engagement with each other and the content.

Thanks for capturing this information and the challenge that each meeting professional must face.

I think all of these topics have merit and are worth discussing during meeting planning and it’s truly the group dynamics, the goals for the meeting, and a combination of unique factors that creates a great meeting for your organization.

Having a technology background myself, I think technology will continue to play a role in meetings that will grow, but it is not the future in and of itself. I love watching my Twitter stream when I can’t attend a meeting, as it works well to get the word out, but it’s no substitute for actually going. I’ve been to “online” conferences but they are a pale version of the real thing.

Thanks,

Garry

Also, you left off one common attendee desire off your list – “connections”. They want to leave with more of them and add depth to the ones that they already have. Attendees don’t want to feel like a number either.

Looking forward to reading the comments!

What I mean by that is what if there were wonderfully comfortable chair on wheels (that locked down when I were seated, as an example) that I could take to some sessions or just use in a hallway or exhibit hall when I wanted to sit and have a conversation – one of what Maarten calls a “campfire chat”? The chair could be designed to also hold my stuff – a back-pack like device so it would be useful. Then wherever I was I’d have my personalized comfortable seating.

What if I had w/ me a replica of a painting that made me feel good – in one case it might be “Water lilies” – in another case, a DeKooning or in another one I’d created at a creativity area and brought along and it could hang on the back of a chair in front of or near me so I could always view it. Or for those who are using tech w/ a device that can do all things at once, on it?

What if, as Sue Pelletier suggested, outside the room there were a sensory dipping area where I could pick up a container of what I wanted to touch – smell – taste – see and it were with me.

And if I were participating virtually while there or not there .. well, this could go on for pages.

It’s all doable — scalable — we just have to try and bring everyone to the table who wants to join this convo. starting w/ convention authorities and chiefs of police and fire marshals and designers of furniture and .. stuff.