Fork In The Road Blog

Events: Technology. Design. Strategy.

Top One Prediction for 2011

In the beginning of the month (on December 7, the anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor), I received an email from a company that I had previously blogged about. They somehow landed on my radar and I found their application interesting. The subject line of the email read, “A Christmas present from the Triqle Team.” After a pleasant opening—“we love you, because of your involvement and feedback…”—they made me a fabulous offer. Of course, I couldn’t refuse.

In the next part of the email, they offered me a challenge:

“Let’s talk presents,” they wrote. “We would like to give something to you. However, therefore we must first know what you need. We challenge you: dare to ask! Who are you trying to get in touch with for some time? What sort of problems do you run into ever again? Or the answer to what question are you looking for? We will activate our whole network to answer your question. Will you take on this challenge? Sincerely, The Triqle Team,” the email said.

Naturally, I couldn’t resist the challenge. So, I replied:

“Very clever email. What I really want can’t be delivered by a network, or can it? I want people to be so content that they will stop warring and hungering and suffering. In case you can’t address my problem, I wish your team a very happy holiday season anyway. Thank you for your thoughts. Michelle Bruno.”

Believing that my reply would be the last word of the exchange, I was surprised to receive another email from my Not-So-Secret Santas the very next day:

“Very clever response too! 🙂 Did you ever hear about the many drops that are needed to create a wave in an ocean? Plus the fact that people are often trying to fit in with the ‘social standards’ of their peer group. In that way, we all can use our network to achieve your wishes. We have to personally lead by example and ‘make some noise.’ Start small: be content, peaceful and helpful in your own daily practice. Show and share your experiences so other people can follow. And confront people around you that are ‘warring.’ The world is not as big as it seemed anymore. I believe we do have the chance to make a difference by mobilizing our social networks. An example in a very practical way: our service “What’s On?” will be free of charge for events that ‘contribute to a better world.’ It’s the least we can do… 🙂 So let’s do both! We wish each other a very happy holiday season AND we start to lead by example in being content, peaceful and helpful. Are you with us? Cheers! Gerrit,” the email said.

So here’s my top one prediction for 2011 (and, I hope, 2012, 2013, and so on):

Social networks will save the world. We will connect with each other around the subjects we are passionate about. We will learn how much alike we really are. We will see that someone whom we never met in Amsterdam can turn a semi-skeptic into a true believer in Salt Lake City. And, things will change.

Happy holidays Gerrit. The world deserves to know how cool you (and your team) are.

Open Source Event Websites and Apps: Same Functionality, Lower Cost

It’s no secret that advances in technology have rocked the event world. From mobile apps to virtual trade shows to social networks—not to mention gaming, geo-location, and cloud computing—tech is driving major innovation. But somewhere in the bowels of this business, there is another movement afoot. Open source platforms—free applications that are built by an individual but evolved communally by sharing the source code with other programmers and enthusiasts —could be the next big thing in trade shows, conferences, and meetings.

Pros and cons

After years of development, group experimentation, and refinement, open source platforms are stable, full-featured, easy to maintain, and less expensive than prefabricated applications. The communities that support the tools provide 24/7 tech support. And according to Pat Pathade of Fantail Consulting, open source tools now exist to power Websites, CMS (content managements systems), ecommerce, CRM (customer relationship management), conference management, (floor plans, education, speaker coordination, registration) and computer operating systems.

“One of the main advantages of open source is that you have a choice. You can make changes or customize your applications and Websites and you don’t have to depend on a vendor. If you build a house, anyone can fix it for you. You don’t have to go back to the original builder,” says Pathade. Plus, he adds, “You don’t have to be a programmer to work with open source tools.”

The perceived downside of open source tools is the issue of support. Some event organizers could be concerned with a solution that no one really owns. However, commercial companies are available to provide the support if organizations are squeamish at first and plenty of large corporations including General Dynamics and Lockheed are using open source platforms to run their businesses.

Who’s using open source

Fantail recently completed a new Web site for TSEA. The site was built using several modules of the flexible, open source, Drupal content management system without requiring any custom programming. The new no-code website runs on Rackspace Cloud Hosting, and includes on-demand videos, blog/twitter feeds, a buyer’s guide, several large and small lead and data capture forms, and automatically creates user accounts in their new Salesforce.com CRM.

Programmer and environmentalist, Stephen Cataldo is launching a new company called Verdant Event that will build Websites for conferences incorporating technology, social sharing, and green values into the design. He is also using Drupal to build sites that will integrate green education, matchmaking, speaker management, and resource (especially paper) conservation into the fabric of typical conference Websites.

SEMI, the association for the microelectronic, display, and photovoltaic industries is switching to Drupal to address slashed staff, budgets and reduced internal resources. They have contracted an outside vendor to build and manage the sites. Semi’s local regional offices will upload content in their native languages and manage their own pages. According to Thomas Viano, director, interactive services, Drupal will minimize the marketing department’s reliance on IT.

“We chose Drupal because of it’s low cost, because it’s open source, and because of the available vendors to build our new sites and manage the sites over time. We chose Drupal, then we chose the agency. We plan to build 24 sites in multiple languages on Drupal,” Viano says.

Open source platforms have come a long way over the last decade. Much of the Internet is powered by open source. “Now things move so fast that you are forced to move faster with open source. Drupal is ready for prime time. Using an average skilled programmer you can quickly set things up for a conference. It’s a great tool. It’s there and it’s got a community behind it,” Says Verdant Event’s Stephen Cataldo.

The Takeaway: More and more event Websites and applications will be built using open source tools in the future. They provide event organizers with significant advantages including a lower cost to build and maintain. A move toward DIY content management, customization, and experimentation is the next logical step for our industry. Open Source is a less painless way to get there.

Making your Cash Register Ring with (Event) Affiliate Marketing

At the risk of seeming like a Rick Calvert Groupie (I’ve already written about BlogWorld twice at TSNN.com: The “Networked Beat” Approach to Curating Event Communities and The Day That Banners Died: BlogWorld and the QR Code Trip), I’m going to take yet another shot at it. Earlier this month, I was able to attend the MTO Summit in Washington, DC where Rick Calvert, co-founder of BlogWorld and New Media Expo, gave a presentation on affiliate marketing for trade shows and conferences. He has used the techniques he described at his own event with impressive results. For all of those event organizers still unsure about the value of cultivating a strong community, this post should make you sit up straight in your chair.

Affiliate marketing is a system for rewarding individuals who recommend your event by asking their friends, followers, and colleagues to click on a link, banner, or widget on their blog or Web site. The link takes said friends to event registration or some other desired destination on your Web site. You reward the individuals (your affiliates) with cash. The new registrant receives a discount on registration or some other benefit. When done well, i.e. the program is transparent, the affiliates are ethical, and the discount is worthwhile, affiliate marketing works.

So, “What can event organizers sell with affiliate marketing?” Calvert asked the audience members:

  • Registration
  • Lead generation
  • Exhibit space
  • Sponsorship
  • Housing
  • Virtual events
  • Content

Your affiliates could be past attendees, exhibitors, speakers, trade associations, media, and of course bloggers. Affiliate marketing can also be carried out with email (and newsletters) eliminating the barriers for affiliates who don’t have their own Web sites. All of the “accounting” is done behind the scenes with embedded code and the assistance of third party Affiliate Networks such as ShareASale, LinkShare, Commission Junction, and AffinityClick who take a percentage of the transaction (10% or so according to Calvert).

Affiliate marketing isn’t an overnight success story. Calvert began in 2007 with revenue under $10,000. In 2010, his affiliate marketing efforts put nearly $120,000 (less the 10% commission) in his pocket. Besides the obvious benefit of revenue, affiliate programs help organizers market and socialize their events. If one blogger puts a link on his blog, and twenty people retweet the blog post, the event is marketed to at least twenty new people and so on. Discounted registration, hotel rooms, sponsorships, etc. would be hot commodities not to mention being able to fill hotel room blocks. Anyone heard of Groupon?

Like any marketing program, someone in your organization has to monitor the affiliate behavior (as much as possible), work with the Affiliate Network, and do the math. Obviously, if it costs more to offer discounts and pay commission and staff to execute the program, it may not be for you. However, BlogWorld with 3,000 attendees (mostly bloggers) was able to earn $100,000+ in a few years, what could larger events do?

The Takeaway: Today’s affiliate marketing isn’t like the MCI Friends and Family Offer of yesteryear where customers were “encouraged” to turn over the contact info of their family and friends to the telephone company. It is much more widely accepted and practiced than network marketing (multilevel marketing). It is another way to leverage the Internet and take advantage of social networks and yes, it is another way that a well-developed and loyal community built around an event CAN deliver tangible results.

Be in the Room Streamlines Hybrid Event Search and Remote Access

Hybrid events (live events with a virtual audience) are becoming more popular. Tools to live stream content, platforms to handle Q & A, and remote attendees comfortable with Twitter are commonplace. However, bringing all of the virtual channels together into one “room” is still a little clunky. Plus, finding virtual events that weren’t previously on your radar is nearly impossible. A start-up out of Sydney, Australia is working to streamline the search and simplify the access to virtual events.

Be in the Room developers describe the online platform as a directory for digital events. In fact, it does offer event organizers in the social, digital, tech, leadership, entrepreneur, marketing, public relations, design, Web, journalism, and psychology sectors an opportunity to add their events to the list. The directory is searchable by hashtag, name, city, country, or topic. A separate search function allows visitors to search for speakers on the above topics—a great tool for event producers looking to hire speakers in the niche fields that Be in the Room covers.

Be in the Room also serves as a “dashboard” for virtual attendees. The platform pulls the Twitter stream, live feed, and Foursquare check-ins into one window. The “Noticeboard” updates visitors on programming updates, schedule changes, and news alerts. “The Presentations” window lists links to speaker presentations on SlideShare. A “Ticket Sales” tab takes prospective attendees to the EventBrite Ticket Widget for advance ticket sales. Recent updates allow the event organizer to add event details, a logo, and the event schedule.

Feedback from event organizers has been positive, says Lucy McFadden, the brains behind Be in the Room. “There will always be people and topics compelling you to be there. You won’t always be able to. The virtual experience is changing things and opening up a lot more opportunity for event organizers and remote attendees,” she says. “Early adopters are attracted to being able to learn more,” McFadden adds. Some Web aficionados would rather “watch” the Internet than television (I’m one of them) and now they can.

The Takeaway: As the lines between face-to-face and virtual events blur, Be in the Room and others could be the missing links between the online and offline worlds.

Buyer’s Guide to Mobile Apps Released

The MeetingTechOnline Buyer’s Guide to Mobile Apps for professional event organizers and corporate meeting planners has just been released and will be available (in print) at the MTO Summit in November. I wanted to give you a preview of the guide which I had the pleasure of writing and pass along some of the insight I received in the process. This and other guides to follow are designed to give buyers all of the information they need to make an informed purchase. Plus, it lists all the providers that helped me with the guide and others that are leading the field of mobile app development.

The Table of Contents of the 35-page Buyer’s Guide includes:

  • Introduction
  • Why mobile?
  • Developing a mobile app strategy
  • Mobile possibilities—what can you do with a mobile solution?
  • Native apps or mobile Web sites—pros and cons
  • Pricing models
  • Revenue opportunities
  • Time frame
  • Best practices
  • Choosing a provider
  • What to include in a Request For Proposal (RFP)
  • Case Studies
  • About the author
  • Acknowledgements
  • Provider Directory
The guide is a neutral, non-commercial (except for the advertising) overview of third party mobile apps for events. When I was putting together the publication, I learned a couple of things:

  1. Most event organizers do NOT approach vendor selection from an informed perspective and very few actually put together an RFP when entering into the selection process. One reason is that there is so much information to sift through. Another reason is that there are so many apps to choose from (and many more on the way). What do you put in an RFP if you don’t know what you don’t know?
  2. The two camps (native apps vs. Web sites) are equally vibrant and can argue either way for their solution. Some providers offer both options and that is definitely an alternative that buyers should consider (depending on their audience and the connectivity of the venue).
  3. Selecting an app is only half the battle.  Adoption is the other half. Event organizers have to do a better job of promoting the app and training users. Although one of the goals of developers is ease-of-use, organizers can play a substantial role in reducing the learning curve that still exists.

The Takeaway: Read the guide. Get in the game.

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