Fork In The Road Blog

Events: Technology. Design. Strategy.

Pop Up Sessions and Unpanels Coming to a Conference Near You

Welcome to the world of the unexpected where restaurants, stores, and classrooms pop up overnight with the spontaneity of a pimple on prom night. While impromptu conference sessions have yet to appear in the traditional conference setting, there are signs that instant gatherings of like-minded people tipped off by the lightning fast transmission of messages over social media channels could be coming to a conference near you.

Here’s how a pop up session might look: Let’s say Chris Brogan, Gary Vaynerchuk, and Seth Godin attend BlogWorld. Shortly before lunch they tweet to their followers that they will be in Room 2204 to talk to anyone who wants to listen about how they made millions of dollars blogging (or their biggest blogging blunders). The tweet (or Facebook post or text message) also informs readers that Ford Motor Company is providing lunch for everyone and a cherry red Ford Mustang car for the first person through the door (OK maybe just signed books from the speakers to the first 200 people). Who wouldn’t want to go?

Flash sessions, “unpanels,” and impromptu meetups are the logical next steps for conference producers looking for viral “sugar.” The fact that many conferences have tweetups (CES had over 1,000 people show up at their tweetup last January) demonstrates that attendees respond to informality. The flash mob phenomena, which gives the appearance that people just spontaneously start dancing together in the middle of a conference center foyer, garners YouTube love every time a new video appears. Pop up panels like the one with Jeremiah Owyang and friends on the future of content creation during SXSW was covered on a number of blogs. In fact, SXSW conference organizers presided over a number of instant initiatives: flash mobs, pop up stores, unpanels, and lots of user-generated publicity.

In addition to the yen to experiment, conference organizers would need to plan ahead of time to perfect the look and feel of spontaneity:

  • Non-programmed blocks of free time when attendees are available to attend
  • Speakers, topics, and incentives with broad appeal to attract followers
  • Forward-thinking and flexible sponsors to underwrite costs
  • Open spaces capable of accommodating large crowds

The Takeaway: With all the talk about unconferences, barcamps, and other self-organized gatherings, pop up conference sessions seem like a natural fit for organizers looking to breathe new life into an old format or attract the newly social hipsters who have outgrown the rave parties but still crave the excitement of the unexpected. They’re also a great way to get more followers using the conference’s social media platforms. Who knows, could pop up trade shows be next?

When there are no More Hybrid Events

In the future, says Dannette Veale, global manager of the Cisco Live and Networkers Virtual event, there will be no more live vs. virtual discussions. The two experiences will overlap so completely, that what we now perceive as two separate environments glued together through some “hybrid” sleight of hand will merge into a single, seamless stream of content, entertainment, and engagement that can be accessed from either end of the physical to virtual spectrum.

Although Veale will speak more about content authentication and syndication when she gives her presentation on Hybrid Meetings and Digital Events during the Virtual Edge Summit, she has some definite ideas on how games, mobile, augmented reality, and video technology will enable the physical and virtual worlds to merge.

The convergence has already begun with games. “You will see tighter and tighter integration between online and offline audiences using games and online formats that both can engage in,” Veale says.  Think about a scavenger hunt extended to a virtual audience. “The same search for clues will exist but the game won’t be strictly location based,” she explains.

The creators of the “Heroes” television show created an augmented reality game called “Conspiracy for Good.” Using mobile phones, players venture out onto the streets of London looking for clues from live characters and QR codes planted in various locations. Veale believes that similar scenarios will become reality in the event space of the future. Exhibitors, sponsors, event hosts, and organizers can use the same tactics to engage live attendees and help them interact with virtual content.

Augmented reality could also be coming to a trade show booth near you, Veale explains.  Imagine walking into a booth, pointing your cell phone at a product’s QR code, and receiving layer upon layer of information about the company, sales outlets, contact information, product applications, white papers, videos, maps, and location-based information. Mobile devices will be the gateway for virtual attendees to engage with content from the live show and for live attendees to engage with content from the virtual space.

Augmented reality kiosks have surfaced in Japan and Germany. Veale describes how the kiosks work. “Bringing a car to an event can be costly. With an augmented reality kiosk, you can bring 30 to 40 cars to the show virtually. You have one kiosk where visitors pick up different flyers with QR codes indicating specific car models. They hold a flyer up to the scanner at the kiosk and get a 3D augmented reality rendering of the vehicle,” she says.

Other technologies will enable the real world and virtual world to meld together. Cisco’s TelePresence video conferencing technology “has helped remove the idea that conference speakers have to physically be there,” Veale says. And their new Videoscape platform is another example, she says, of how technology “will start to layer the video experience.”

In the future, there will be no more hybrid events—a term that implies the cobbling together of two separate realities into one hiccuppy, Frankensteiny, excuse to multi-task. The future of events as Dannette Veale envisions it is one where the learning is über compelling, the engagement is exhilarating, and anyone can participate.

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.

Using Social Media Channels to Market U.S. Shows in China

I’m always curious about how social media channels function in other countries. Recently, I noticed a discussion on LinkedIn about social media in the People’s Republic of China. I posted a question about whether social media channels could be used to recruit attendees to U.S. trade shows. I received a very informative response from Shawn He Yuxun, founder and chairman at MeetChinaBiz.org. He has given me permission to post it here.

“In my opinion, it would be extremely difficult if not entirely impossible to do that.

The social media scene in China at the moment still resembles what things were like when Facebook and MySpace were just created years ago, i.e., mostly a place for the young and those with a lot of free time on their hands to hang out and find dates.

BTW, you can more or less get a sense simply from the names of the top sites listed in Rebecca’s post above: “QQ alumni” is an outgrowth/extension of the original QQ (China’s answer to ICQ), a SMS or text messaging service. (N.B. Q usually stands for ‘cute’ in China. Another example is the beatle-like car model QQ produced by a leading Chinese automaker named Chery. Google “QQ car” with the images option and you will see…)

“Renren” means “everybody”; “Sina Space” is leading Chinese portal site Sina’s answer to “MySpace”; “51” is a word play on one of China’s most vacationed holidays — the May 1st holiday — which until 2 years ago had been dubbed the “Golden Week” because for years it had been a week-long national holiday.

Indigenous Chinese professional SN sites on a par with LinkedIn haven’t been created (or at least haven’t attained the popularity of the ones listed) yet. Perhaps for the lack of an alternative, many Western-minded young professionals and executives in China have in fact started using Linkedln by default. (That is why I decided to add my Chinese name – you may only be able to see three ?’s if your OS was not set up to display Chinese characters — to my title so it is searchable for Chinese speakers / LinkedIn users.)

So in a nutshell, at least in the near-term I believe one’s money would be better spent by focusing on more conventional online and offline approaches in order to generate traffic from China to a trade show in the US. These would include existing industry-specific online or offline platforms and channels (i.e., portals, associations, publications, etc.)

Depending on the size of the marketing budget and the strategic positioning, one could also opt to be more proactive as well, such as setting up operations and/or forming partnership or alliances with players on the ground in China.

Hope this affords you at least a ‘big picture’ of the situation and answers some of your initial questions.”

The Takeaway:  Who wants to be the first U.S. show organizer to create a group on LinkedIn (in the Chinese language) exclusively for Chinese buyers and potential exhibitors?

How are you using social media channels to market trade shows to individuals outside the U.S.?

Day 2 of Trust Agents: How to Overcome Fear

In the second of several video clips from the Q&A during the Women Tech Council meeting, Trust Agents Chris Brogan and Julien Smith discuss how to overcome fear and some other ideas for you to think about. I love how they take on any question whether related to social media or not. These responses in particular helped me better understand Chris and Julien as people.

Julien recommends embracing the uncomfortable and teaching your mind to overcome certain things. He says to give in to the desires of your future self (the one that is already better than your present self) and make decisions based on him or her.

Chris breaks “fear” down in categories such as the business fear of having to let employees go because he didn’t make his numbers, not knowing how to do a job (the difference between men and women), and not having a college degree.

In the context of social media and face-to-face events, there is still a lot of uncertainty associated with bringing social networking platforms, technologies and methodologies into the marketing mix. There is fear around privacy, investment of time, costs, negative comments, loss of control, lack of expertise, exposure, difficulty measuring ROI, and the risk of failure in such a transparent environment. After all, not only were we put in the hot seat by the recession, some of us were burned beyond recognition (lost jobs, companies out of business, marketing strategies obsolete).

Here are some of observations about the event industry and how to use social media more effectively to overcome our fears.

Stop speculating. Organizations have been accustomed to short term returns. If you invest X amount of dollars in audience promotion or booth sales, you will get X number of attendees and exhibitors for this year’s event. Social media success requires a long-term, sustained, and creative investment of time, energy and money without the expectation of immediate return. It requires that someone in the organization be working the social media levers all day every day and never asking the question, “how long will this take?” Instead they should be asking the question, “what can I do to help my customers today?” The result will be less fear (it’s more comfortable to help), more loyalty.

Quit trying to force twenty pounds of old school sales and marketing into a five pound social media bag. I see event industry companies and show organizers on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook every day selling their wares the old way on a new channel. I recently witnessed an individual on my #eventprofs Twitter “channel” being drummed out of there (by group consensus) because she was continuously selling her educational program and not contributing in any other way. There is an underlying mindset, philosophy, and liberalism of thought that underpins social media behavior. Organizations need to learn the rules of the road to prevent the much scarier scenario of driving off a cliff.

Stop the faux “I feel your pain” efforts. Over the years, I’ve written about exhibitor advisory boards and volunteer committees formed by organizations in an effort to get “feedback” from their customers. It’s a great idea on paper. In reality the same groups that allow these committees to “contribute” also restrict them from having any power to effect change. Second, the members of the committee are usually the large exhibitors, the biggest sponsors and the companies with the most “value” to the organization. They don’t necessarily represent the broader constituency.  Social media channels can empower customers, provide honest feedback, and represent a broad customer base more effectively than committees. When the community knows you have their back, they respond with increased loyalty.

Community first. Brand later. The reason why so many organizations are playing catch up in social media is that they are still trying to form a community around their brand. They soon learn that the only time their community members are jazzed about their brand is when they are at the show, being wined, dined and entertained. What about the rest of the year? Companies need to use social media strategies year round. Having a strong community helps companies overcome the fear of social media in so many ways–loyal, trusted customers ready and willing to offer honest feedback, promote their brand, and guide their continuous improvement is invaluable.

Be more human. (Yes I stole this from Chris Brogan). Be open to smaller group interaction. Stop marketing to thousands of people at once and try talking to only six people at once (I stole that from Mitch Joel). Maybe scale back the mega-events. Here’s what’s happening in the events industry. Attendees who are unhappy with boring speakers, the lack of personalization at large conferences, the same meeting formats over and over, and feeling like a number (thanks again Chris) are having tweetups, creating their own meetings (eventcamp) and burning up the Twittersphere talking about how to fix broken conferences and trade shows. Smart organizations will attempt to use social media to understand why this is happening and improve their own products.

Be very afraid. Be very afraid to overcome your fear? Yes. Here’s how. RD Whitney of Tarsus Online Media told me that one of the things that keeps him up at night is putting resources, time, and energy into creating a great event only to have the community siphoned off by some “guy” in his underwear at the kitchen table blogging about the same subject and getting people to listen. Wisely, RD uses social media to remain vigilant and ultimately mitigate his fear because either there isn’t anyone doing a better job than he is (the goal) or he figures out how to work with the underwear bloggers that have new and interesting ideas to support his community.

The Takeaway: In the end, these observations all point to the same mandate for overcoming the fear of social media–Listen, learn, and evolve or your customers will do it without you.

Are you afraid of anything?

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