I think the kids here at Digital Blue have made a pretty respectable foray into the new world of interaction here on the intarwebs. But as event producers, we have very limited interaction before and after an event with the attendees. We use all kinds of new-fangled goodies to manage inventory, to document sales activities and to communicate amongst ourselves (and here, on this blog with both of our readers – hi mom!) – but we watch with envy as our meeting planner friends and clients pick up the reins of the web and use it to bring attendees into the development process!
This is why I love seeing other industry blogs picking up on the discussion. Confabb has a great perspective on the changes that should be taking place:
Trade shows and conferences are definitely ‘old industries,’ considering their origins reach back thousands of years. If you think about it, the concept and execution of trade shows and conferences hasn’t changed much from then until now. People still gather at an appointed time, at an appointed place to showcase their products and/or ideas to a dedicated, captured and hopefully interested audience.
What’s been missing is a way for event participants to better prepare for shows, inform them of at-large goings-on and then keep them connected long after the schwag has run out, the booths have been packed up and the speakers have quieted. The read/write web, or “Web 2.0,” is the perfect mechanism. It adds another dimension to the live show, too: those who can’t make it to the physical event can follow along in near-real time, expanding the on-site crowd with an entire virtual audience.
The web’s instantaneous availability of information is in itself a tremendous value add to the conference industry. For instance, The addition of a chat box running on the conference site portal next to a live feed of a well-known speaker invites those following along to debate the speaker’s content with links. It also helps organizers gauge how well the speaker’s message is resonating so they can make a decision to either invite her back for more sessions, or try someone new.
We know change is scary. Especially for those of us who have been planning meetings since the dawn of man – we know what works and what doesn’t. Introducing a new element – or (gasp) giving up a bit of control to our attendees is a bit daunting. But there isn’t an alternative if we want to be a progressive industry. We are responsible for bringing people together and making that time productive. Using collaborative tools before, during and after meetings can only improve the outcome of these get-togethers.
And, by the way, I still see an opportunity in this market for the strategic meetings management companies to jump in and own some of the space. We’re meeting planners and producers, not engineers – we need some help tailoring some social media tools to our industry. Anyone got anything in the hopper we can look at?
0 Responses to “Pssst…conference goers like the interwebs. Pass it on.”