Simon on: ITCM - Make event apps a necessity not a novelty

As a nation of smartphone users we spend on average more than 43 hours each month accessing content via apps – so it’s easy to see why the events industry wants in on the power of mobile.

But when it comes to event apps there seems to be a few problems – said applications are ephemeral in nature and of the ones I’ve comes across, lack a clear purpose and benefit to the user.

So how do organisers transform event apps from a novelty into a necessity?

To find out, read the whole article featured on ITCM by clicking here.

Simon on: Data security in events

I know I bang on about data security a lot but it really is a subject that doesn’t get taken seriously enough.

I do believe that event websites are less likely to be targeted because of the short term nature of registration websites - that isn’t an excuse for not doing everything you possibly can to protect your data though.

Very recently a healthcare company in the US had a data breach and were sued by their customers. The healthcare company’s insurance paid out $4.1m in compensation, but an investigation revealed that the healthcare company had not done enough to secure their data and so the insurance company demanded the money be repaid.

Another recent study found that for the first time ever, bots are generating more traffic on the internet than people. A bot is an automated process that gathers information – Google use them to index web pages but criminal gangs are now using the same technology to look for personal information.

Our data is an important asset which needs to be protected. You wouldn’t leave your home or office unlocked when there’s nobody there so why leave your online information up for grabs?

Originally published in Conference News

Simon on: Tech for tech's sake

Despite various claims from the experts that wearables will be a game-changer in the meetings industry, it would seem the tech continues to struggle to make an impact.

We’ve seen Google Glass be taken back to the drawing board after mankind refused to become a nation of glassholes, and now, even the mighty Apple has fallen foul in the smartwatch stakes. Its new wrist wearable fails to work on tattooed skin – sorry inked delegates, looks like you’ll have to get your notifications the old fashioned way on your phone.

Smartbands like the Myo which controls a presenter’s slides with a series of arm swipes and gestures is only going to unnerve a speaker, as well as leave room for more technical issues to arise.

So why are experts hell-bent on hailing wearables as the next big thing? Well, to me it is simply a case of tech for tech’s sake.

There still hasn’t been any real proof that wearable tech benefits the industry. Why? Because deep down in the realms of common sense we know that all the industry actually needs is great content and great speakers.

Originally published in Conference News