Simon on: Technology and presentations

Since the start of another new year, we’ve seen industry experts give their opinions on what will be the tech trends to watch out for. However, some just seem to be throwing the latest gadgets into the events space for fun.

For example, the comment from the Jan/Feb issue regarding the Myo wearable armband, which will give presenters the opportunity to control slides, sound effects and visual effects with the sweep of an arm, simply struck me as misguided to say the least.

The average company bod making a presentation often struggles to press the right button to move their PowerPoint on one frame. Ask them to use slides, sound effects and visual effects, and they’ll be in real trouble – tell them they must control it all by waving their arms and some of them will freak out completely.

This is what’s becoming a classic case of tech for tech’s sake. To me, it seems totally pointless – there is nothing wrong with the wireless tools which are pressed once per slide, especially when you consider outstanding presenters like Hans Rosling use said standard clickers.

Some presenters would even go as far as to say that computers are temperamental enough. I imagine Martin Lewis (managing editor of this magazine) would agree with me, given that the last time I saw him presenting, his computer aide wasn’t playing properly – so adding another technological risk into the mix with a wearable seems just plain daft.

According to Myo creators, ThalmicLabs, the armband is claimed to let your content shine and leaves your anxiety behind knowing that you are in control thanks to its intuitive gesture controls. Waving left takes the presenter to the previous slide, a wave to the right jumps to the next.

But even Oliver Richardson of DB Systems who made the original comment, stated that with the Myo, ‘perfecting the right movements takes getting used to.’ When you pair that with the findings from a recent study conducted by human behaviour research lab, Science of People, the Myo seems even more of a ridiculous addition.

The study looked into the science behind TED talks, or more specifically, what makes them so popular. Half of the participants watched the videos with sound, half watched them muted before rating each speaker.

A correlation was found between the number of views on a TED talk and the number of hand gestures – the most popular videos had an average of 7 million views with speakers using an average of 465 hand gestures. The least popular talks had an average of 124,000 views with speakers on average using 272 hand gestures.

These natural hand gestures would surely include swiping side to side, so if the TED speakers incorporated the Myo into their presentations, they’d run the risk of jumping through their slides – not exactly the way to win over an audience.

The findings also showed that speakers who use their hands to illustrate and reinforce ideas came across as relaxed, confident and authoritative – something that would surely be lost if the speaker had to focus using gestures to control their presentation.

Originally published in M&IT

Simon on: App overload

App overload is now common because so many aren’t good enough so don’t get used or need updating so often we ditch them. Yet they’re still being hyped.

A recent example was a promotional video for an American convention centre: it was full of hype yet utterly pointless.

The app in question was just for the convention centre, so an attendee has to install that app AND the event app - a great route to failure.

Worse still, the app didn’t offer any real benefits. Sure, you can see a message pointing to a Starbucks a few metres away or watch augmented reality videos if you stop at a sign. The only useful feature was a local transport map which you could probably download easily from a website.

Technology should streamline everyday tasks, enhance activities or make something that was difficult, easy. It shouldn’t try to replace sensory functions like vision.

When it comes to conferences, forget the gimmicks. If you absolutely have to have an app, make sure it provides material that adds to the conference.

Originally published in Conference News 

Simon on: M&IT - Big data, again

The predictions are in - 'big data is the one to watch in the meetings industry in 2015.'

*Sigh*

The term 'big data' is one that continues to wind me up as it is brandished by those who either don't understand it or choose to deliberately misuse it.

So what's the real definition?

Big data is an all-encompassing term for sets of data which are so large and complex that traditional processing methods are rendered inadequate.

To see big data put into perspective when it comes to meetings, read the whole article featured on M&IT, by clicking here.

Simon on: Distractions vs. Content

In our lives today we are constantly surrounded by distractions with the majority of them being digital. It’s begun to impact on everything else we do and, quite frankly, we need to learn how to disconnect.

At a conference, phones pinging or even just being available to Google something can easily claim our attention. We should really be focusing on what’s being said, but having our phones, tablets or laptops out can make it difficult.

Whether it’s instant messaging and email, or silly games and web pages, our digital devices have numerous ways to distract us with new methods coming at us all the time - but it’s not all our fault though.

Conference content needs to be gripping – probably more so than ever before – and that would make it easier to stay engaged. If someone gets bored by the session that they’re in then distractions will rule.

Delivering content that people can get excited about should enable organisers to have disconnected attendees. Yet it’s also important to help your attendees choose the right sessions so they don’t sit there wishing they’d gone to a different one and start looking for tweets from attendees of that session!

Originally published in Conference News

Simon on: Apps vs. Web

New research suggests that a third of young professionals dislike event apps. Given the way apps have been promoted to organisers, this may come as a surprise.

But should it? In most cases it’s quicker to use a mobile device to go to the event website and find information than to download and install an app. And if users don’t get round to removing apps for past events, their devices are going to get cluttered up with apps they no longer need.

It’s also clear that the design of some apps works against them because they’re so muddled it’s difficult to find relevant information.

All of this means that organisers must not neglect their websites in favour of their apps.

They need to take a close look at their websites and ask whether they provide the information users want and whether it’s easy to find. For example, are the dates, location and opening times shown at the top of the home page? How many clicks does it take to find the seminar programme? These days it's very easy to deliver different content to mobile devices and desktop browsers.

Get all of this right and it might even be possible to save money on app development.

Originally published in Conference News

Simon on: Suitcasing

There seems to be an increase of interest in ‘suitcasing’ - the process of taking advantage of networking opportunities at conferences without paying the registration fee. Even the New York Times has written about it.

It’s easy to see why it annoys organisers: people are gaining benefits from the event without contributing anything. One organiser quoted in the NYT article claims that between 1 and 3 percent of attendees are ‘suitcasing’. If you have 500 delegates at a conference each paying €1,000.00 registration, you could be losing up to €15,000.00.

There are proven technologies and techniques that can be used to combat the problem but this issue also raises a question: why are people doing this? It’s because they want the networking benefits of being at the conference.

That’s something that you don’t get with virtual or hybrid events. The promoters of these technologies will disagree but recent experience suggests that trying to be a virtual visitor can be a frustrating business. The technology works but people at events don’t want to stand around talking to a tablet on a stick.

People want to talk to people. The best way to do that is face to face. That’s why people are ‘suitcasing’.

Originally published in Conference News 

Simon on: Compelling content

A recent conference session included information from research carried out for MPI a couple of years ago. When asked to identify the most effective elements of a hybrid meeting, planners chose online chats, rebroadcast recorded sessions, online Q&A with speakers and virtual breakout rooms.

Attendees, on the other hand, put compelling content as easily the most important factor.

In itself this difference of opinion may not matter were it not for the fact that, if the MPI figures are right, content was put in a clear first place by attendees while planners reckoned it a poor seventh.

Why was this? Do planners want to boast about having the latest gizmos at their events or have suppliers’ sales people convinced them they can’t survive without this or that technology?

Whatever the reason, planners need to understand that the answer to the question, ‘how do you engage the attendees?’ isn’t ‘use the latest tech’ it’s ‘get the content right’.

Because if the content isn’t right, the sexiest technology in the world isn’t going to save the conference. The attendees will all be sitting with their heads bent over their mobile devices and they won’t be sending tweets about what a great conference they’re at.

Originally published in Conference News

Simon on: Wearable technology

So wearable technology in the form of Google Glass or smartwatches is supposed to be the latest game-changer for the meetings industry. This looks very much like another example of the latest shiny thing being hailed as a breakthrough.

In spite of the hype surrounding the likes of the Galaxy Gear, the watches are little more than repeater stations for smartphones and they need charging every couple of days.

Then there’s Google Glass which appears to provide a connection to email, the Web and other functions by showing, in effect, a heads-up display in the top right corner of the wearer’s field of vision. 

Various voices are already being raised in alarm at the privacy issues the gadget raises by providing users with the ability to record video and take photos using Glass without anybody else knowing.

But the point about all of this is that none of the technology provides a real benefit to the meetings industry. It’s a distraction. It’s probably going to have as much impact as 3D television had on the nation’s viewing habits. 

The good news for meeting planners is that, for now, all those blogs promoting wearable tech can be safely ignored.

Originally published in Conference News

Simon on: M&IT - iBeacons

With so many gizmos and gadgets continuously hailed as the latest game-changer, it's hard to know what is useful and what is useless.

The most recent piece of tech to be crowned the golden egg of the meetings industry is iBeacons - but what's the truth? And more importantly, what are the benefits?

Find out by reading the whole article featured on M&IT, by clicking here.