Creating “interactive experiences” is essential for live events, be them face-to-face (f2f), virtual) or hybrid (a mix of f2f and virtual). Interactive experiences are one of the reasons that justifies being present, a way to connect attendees with each other, with the content and with the speakers.
Creating interactive experiences is also an over-hyped expression that’s often brought out to justify mobile technology or other kind of rube-goldbergian mechanism that participants end up by not using (not intuitive enough, too complicated, no real value added, etc). An art installation by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama dubbed “The Obliteration Room” shows how a great interactive experience is created and while this one was aimed to kids, it summarizes some of the key factors to create one (more on that below).
The Conference Basics Tribune is a free newsletter specifically made for event organizers -> It includes a selection of articles, tips, recommended mobile apps, books and featured event organizers. Want to see how the newsletter looks like? Here are a few examples.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a rather abused concept and often it means using tricks and not real value to make your content more findable on search engines, but there are a few things that are smart to increase discoverability (the possibility of your event being found).
The main search engines, including Bing, Google, Yahoo!, have created special html tags –documented by Schema.org– which structure content in a search engine friendly way, making it easier for people to find the right web pages.
The Conference Basics Tribune is a free newsletter specifically made for event organizers -> It includes a selection of articles, tips, recommended mobile apps, books and featured event organizers. Want to see how the newsletter looks like? Here are a few examples.
During 2011 I’ve organized a couple of events, spoke at 5 or 6 and attended in total more than 20 in 8 different countries, big and small, including international conferences, seminars, meet-ups , gatherings and university lectures. Many are still playing it safe in an industry which is heavily influenced by outdated principles of the pre-internet era. The most fantastic ones, those that made it worth it to be there in flesh and bone, were those outliers that are challenging business as usual and creating new kinds of experiences that attract media , smart crowds and business dollars alike.
This report presents the eight most relevant trends from those events that are shaping the industry for better and how you can use them in your own conference. Consider it a Christmas present
The Conference Basics Tribune is a free newsletter specifically made for event organizers -> It includes a selection of articles, tips, recommended mobile apps, books and featured event organizers. Want to see how the newsletter looks like? Here are a few examples.
The upcoming issue of The Conference Basics Tribune newsletter (subscribe now!) will feature, among other things, this young (19 y.o.) and passionate conference organizer that’s already rocking it: Ricardo Sousa (web, twitter)
I met Ricardo back in April when he invited me to speak at his SWITCH Conference (web, twitter) in Oporto, Portugal. I was surprised by how him and his energetic team pulled off a world class event with top speakers, a very interesting audience and just few resources.
The Conference Basics Tribune is a free newsletter specifically made for event organizers -> It includes a selection of articles, tips, recommended mobile apps, books and featured event organizers. Want to see how the newsletter looks like? Here are a few examples.
This post is sponsored by Eventbrite. Nonetheless, I find the product updates mentioned below quite useful as a conference organizer
There is a current trend in the events world –or at least in many of the events that I admire and are setting the baseline on how events should be– which is concerned with:
Using [web] technology to make events more discoverable, sell better and help logistics run smoothly and painlessly both for the organizer and the attendees
Making technology disappear (by making it invisible or eliminating it altogether) inside the conference room to create a more intimate atmosphere and allow face-to-face (F2F) interaction in it’s purest form
Today Eventbrite announced three products (one completely new, two improved) that further expand their services to help you with the first point mentioned above.
The Conference Basics Tribune is a free newsletter specifically made for event organizers -> It includes a selection of articles, tips, recommended mobile apps, books and featured event organizers. Want to see how the newsletter looks like? Here are a few examples.
Evernote (web) goes by the tagline “remember everything” and it’s latest free app –Hello (iTunes)– becomes a faithful follower of that motto specifically built to help you remember people you meet (for example at a conference). Read the full article →
The Conference Basics Tribune is a free newsletter specifically made for event organizers -> It includes a selection of articles, tips, recommended mobile apps, books and featured event organizers. Want to see how the newsletter looks like? Here are a few examples.
This is the first guest-post by Ana Silva, specialist in Enterprise 2.0 and social media, and scholarly on serendipitous matter (more on Ana at the end of the article). Serendipity, the art of looking for something and ending up finding something else, at times more valuable than the thing you were looking for in the first place, is generally seen as something that happens in our personal lives, as portrayed in Hollywood movies.
The Conference Basics Tribune is a free newsletter specifically made for event organizers -> It includes a selection of articles, tips, recommended mobile apps, books and featured event organizers. Want to see how the newsletter looks like? Here are a few examples.
Illustration by Otto (taken from the original article)
Simon Jenkins writes in this articlein the Guardian something I’ve been emphasizing in my event organizer activity, that is, even though we’re more connected than ever (or thanks to it) there are more physical/face-to-face events taking place that in any other time of the human existence. But beware! Those experiences cannot follow the ways (best practices) valid until just a few years ago. In fact, best practices are not enough for creating a compelling experience… one that is at least relevant, useful or entertaining for the participants, or in other words, worth dedicating your time, money and attention.
Extract from the article:
Post-digital is not anti-digital. It extends digital into the beyond. The web becomes not a destination in itself but a route map to somewhere real. In Marshall McLuhan’s terminology, it is cold where live is hot. This is why concerts did not die with the invention of records, but thrived on the difference. The screen relieves loneliness, as once did letters and phones, but it remains a window on the world, not a door. You cannot download the thunderous beat and sweaty presence of thousands at a Lady Gaga concert, any more than you can make love on Facebook, much as some try. You have to go somewhere for it to happen.
The Conference Basics Tribune is a free newsletter specifically made for event organizers -> It includes a selection of articles, tips, recommended mobile apps, books and featured event organizers. Want to see how the newsletter looks like? Here are a few examples.
An event produces a lot of ephemeral tidbits of valuable content that resonates in real time but then fades (e.g.: tweeted quotes the speaker currently on stage). How can you highlight that content not only to the attendees but also to their connections on social media and a broader audience that might not be aware of your conference? Professional illustrator Chris Shipton (twitter, web, company: Livescribes) might have a solution for you.
The Conference Basics Tribune is a free newsletter specifically made for event organizers -> It includes a selection of articles, tips, recommended mobile apps, books and featured event organizers. Want to see how the newsletter looks like? Here are a few examples.
You have an iPad but are afraid of it slipping from your hands while you’re speaking on-stage? Grabbit has a solution for both iPad 1 and iPad 2 owners, and at a quite affordable price too. With it’s hardshell body and quality leader strap, it appeals to both technologists and business men alike. It has several other features but it’s the strap what makes it useful for event organizers and speakers alike, or as they write “Ideal for presentations & one-hand entries. Great for showrooms, inventory work, hospitals, conference rooms, podiums & stages.”
The Conference Basics Tribune is a free newsletter specifically made for event organizers -> It includes a selection of articles, tips, recommended mobile apps, books and featured event organizers. Want to see how the newsletter looks like? Here are a few examples.
Creating “interactive experiences” is essential for live events, be them face-to-face (f2f), virtual) or hybrid (a mix of f2f and virtual). Interactive experiences are one of the reasons that justifies being present, a way to connect attendees with each other, with the content and with the speakers.
