Archive for January, 2010
Saturday, January 30th, 2010
According to Wikipedia, Crowdsourcing is:
…the act of taking tasks traditionally performed by an employee or contractor, and outsourcing them to a group of people or community, through an “open call” to a large group of people (a crowd) asking for contributions.”
In the world of web 2.0 this has totally revolutionized the way businesses drive solutions for their customers. After all, it’s ignorant to believe that we know everything there is to know about our customer’s needs, wants, thoughts and desires. The power of the crowd can unlock the key to truly valuable business ideas and offerings. One of the most famous examples of a corporation using crowdsourcing is Starbuck’s MyStarbucksIdea – where customers answer the question: What do you want to see from Starbucks?. The result is a dynamic list of ideas, suggestions, needs and issues for Starbucks and a list of ideas in action for customers. I love a good win/win!
Tapping into the collective intelligence of the crowd can also convert attendees into advocates. When an attendee feels as if they contributed to a detail of an event, even if small, they’re likely to want to tell everyone they know (oh, and they’re also much more likely to enjoy the event). So what are you waiting for?
10 crowdsourcing ideas for Event Planners
The key is to think up ideas that will help you achieve your event objectives. But hopefully these are some good thought starters…
- Have attendees submit their favorite recipes before the event & let chefs recreate the top rated ideas
- Ask them to tell you their biggest business issues and build conference education around them
- Get your attendees to share their favorite sources for inspiration (i.e. blogs, publications, twitter users) and give these people media passes, exclusives and VIP treatment at your event
- Create a contest for the best event theme ideas
- Ask attendees to share their favorite experiences/photos from your event and have the crowd determine the best one(s)
- Have attendees vote on what the event organizers should wear at the conference <– as done by Event Camp 2010
- Get your attendees to vote for another audience member to make an appearance during an event showcase like a fashion show
- Have them suggest and vote on a meaningful charitable partner for your event
- Have a call for speakers or entertainers and ask applicants to submit a 2-5 minute video on what they’ll be presenting. Have attendees vote on what they’d like to see.
- After the event, have them submit ideas on how you can build a better experience for them next time
What ideas would you add?
Keys to ensure crowdsourcing success
- Identify what you’re trying to achieve before implementing crowdsourcing. Any tactic you employ should meet your larger strategic objectives.
- Be clear with what you’re looking for the crowd to weigh in on. If you’re too vague or if you’re unclear you’ll either lose the crowd or have feedback that’s too broad to meet your objectives.
- Support your campaign. Awareness of a crowdsourcing campaign is critical. If no one participates, there’s no crowd to source. Include on your website, in your emails, promote via social networking sites, etc.
- Be prepared to implement ideas. The worst thing you can do is ask people for suggestions then ignore them.
4 crowdsourcing tools
Crowdsound.com (free)
Twtpoll.com (free)
Twitter.com (free)
Chaordix.com (paid)
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I attended AdBall – a Fashion Fetish Event – last night. It was a bacchanalian gala held to signal the end of Advertising Week 2010. I was generously invited by the men of 5th Element Events (one of our Blog Sponsors) and, with camera in tow, set out to let my hair down after a long week of travel and training.
It was a great night out, one of my most enjoyable in a while. Highlights included watching a man take off his pants for a photo op (yes, it’s true), listening to artist Anjulie, who tore it up for the crowd, the great food, and of course the swag bag! Some photos from the event can be seen below.
Here’s a YouTube video of the talented Anjulie performing her song Rain, which was featured on The Hills.
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I just came across a post from Debra Roth of Pink Inc (aka @PinkDeb) on Facebook and thought it was important to share. In her post, which you can read below, she expresses some concerns about the state of the economy and its impact on trade conferences as well as the the production (or in this case, limited production) of new ideas, products and relevant education.
I too attended The Special Event Show in New Orleans and was saddened to see far fewer people than in years past. Even more shocking was a Gala Awards auditorium, filled with chairs – more than half of them empty. Shock and sadness because the show has always been something I look forward to – to connect with friends, new and old…to taste, see and touch the hottest new products to hit the industry, to learn from the best minds in our industry and to be inspired by the great projects and feats undertaken by amazing event professionals from around the world.
So, yes, I agree with Deb’s sentiments and felt the same pain. But all too often, we end it there. What I love about Deb’s post is that she’s asked us to all reflect on what WE can do to change the situation. After all, aren’t we magicians (who can make anything happen), creators (who think beyond convention) and survivors (who can defeat any challenge)? My contribution is leveraging social media to help spread the word about why face-to-face events are so very important. I’m hoping that this post inspired other people to ask the same question (as Deb’s did for me). So, what will YOU do?
The state of the industry has left us all holding on tight to our little spot. With trade shows being expensive, it doesn’t’ allow us to send and spend like we did just a few short years ago.
Although all of our attitudes are great and we networked up and down the yin-yang there was a sense of missing….numbers of people, new ideas and products and not a real focus on addressing the idea that our industry is in real trouble.
One of my take aways is HOW CAN I HELP? Give me the data and statistics to talk about this fact – what can I do? What can you do?
Am I alone in this feeling?”
Update: I think this post from Seth Godin does a wonderful job of summarizing how we need to shift our thinking and go beyond simply being average and status quo.
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Sugru is one of those scratch your head inventions that, heck, you can actually use. Despite its odd name, it’s quite simply a silicone clay that lets you ‘hack’ anything. Lost your glasses’ nose pad? Create one with Sugru. Handle fell off your chest of drawers? Create a new handle with Sugru. In other words, don’t throw it out. Hack it.
Sugru comes in a vast range of colours, is waterproof, flexible and dishwasher-safe once it’s cured. Oh, and it’s also temperature resistant between -60 and 180 degrees C!
So, my creative readers, what could you possibly use this product for?
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It’s that time again! Time to weigh in on our Love It or Hate It game. These gorgeous emu eggs were served up at The Hollywood Roosevelt’s Library Bar by famed bar tender and creator of culinary cocktails, Matthew Biancaniello. To use them as cocktail vessels, Matthew had to file down the rims, coat them and add a mouthpiece for sipping.
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I was out for brunch with friends this morning and we were debating the age old question: If you could come back as anything what would it be? One person said they’d like to be an old Oak tree. I guffawed and said, “That would be boring. There’d be no one to speak to for 800 years!”.
I guess that’s one thing that separates humans from most others. If we get bored we can do or find something to occupy ourselves. When you think about it, that’s kind of inspiring.
If you’re bored with work, life or play, you have the power to change it.
Photo via John-Morgan
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For those of you who don’t know our industry’s first unconference, eventcamp 2010, will be hitting New York during Social Media Week on February 6, 2010 from 7:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.
This event is a great example of how to build an event around a community. The organizers of this event are all active #eventprofs and have done a wonderful job engaging with and adding value to the thriving community of event & meeting professionals online.
In fact, a wonderful story has unfolded that highlights just how tight this group has become. @MsStallings wanted desperately to attend eventcamp 2010, but didn’t have the funds to do it on her own. As this blog post states, she humbly asked for some help from #eventprofs and they delivered! 7 people came together to sponsor her trip to New York from Atlanta.
To extend the amazing benefits of being a part of a community, I would like to sponsor one deserving person the cost of registration for the event (a $75 US value). If you’d like to win this opportunity, here’s what you need to do:
How to win a ticket
1. Create a short Youtube video stating why you want to go (in under 2 mins) & BE SURE TO TAG IT WITH EC10. Update: Or make a comment in the comment section below!
2. Deadline is January 26th
3. Most deserving video, as decided by the judges will win!
Call for more sponsors
I would like to encourage any other people who wish to sponsor someone to add to the list of items being sponsored! Let’s see how this unfolds :)
For more info on eventcamp 2010
The event hashtag is #EC10
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