Posts Tagged Event Ideas
Monday, April 16th, 2012
Yes, it’s been 2 weeks since my last post. I feel it would only be fitting if I was in a confessional right now. But, alas, I’m not – I’m sitting at my desk desperately trying to catch up on all of my work. So, instead of my normal post, I thought I’d share some ideas and news with you until I get back on track next week. Not to worry, dear reader, I promise to give you some interesting content to nosh on until we meet here again.
My favorite new task management tool:
Like me, maybe you’ve been looking for a great task management system. Until recently, I was using Basecamp and hated it. Then, my client introduced Asana to me. It’s easy to create collaborative tasks, sync with your calendar, assign task responsibilities, even create followers…and the best part is that it’s 100% free. Perhaps I could schedule some blog writing time ;)
Build an Event Website
My friend, Julius Solaris of Event Manager Blog, has recently launched a WordPress template for called WordPress Event Theme and I’ve partnered with him to help promote this new tool.
It has everything an event manager would need: the ability to manage speakers, sessions, registrations, customize the design and it also works across devices (smart phones, tablets and PCs).
The cost is just $99 to use for unlimited events (or $149 with support). Purchase here.
Eventprofs Chat
This Thursday, I will be hosting an EventProfs chat at 12pm EST on How to get PR for your event/business. I will have some guest experts (including BizBash, Event Marketer Magazine and Plan Your Meetings) with me on the chat to answer your burning questions. Click the link to find out more about how to participate in an eventprofs chat.
I’m coming to Chi-town:
I’m happy to share that I’ll be back in Chicago. This time, I’ll be speaking at Smart Mart in partnership with Smart Meetings magazine on May 24th at The Drake. Click here to register and find out more about the event.
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I speak all of the time about the importance of telling stories in business and in events. Stories help to create intangible value, they break down complex ideas and most of what we store in our brains are attached to a story. We’re hardwired to not only tell stories, but to learn from them and retain them.
Event Planners are fantastic at creating a story at the live event…providing experiences that create lasting memories. But the story shouldn’t begin and end face to face.
Storify is a tool that lets event organizers collect tweets, Facebook updates, Flickr photos, Youtube videos, RSS feeds pre- during and post-event to build a lasting narrative around an event. Just take a look at this Storify page for HIMSS (Healthcare Information & Management Systems Society). In one story they included speaker presentations, event photos, attendee comments, behind the scenes videos, etc.
Take a look at this mini-story I pulled together from Event Solutions Idea Factory tweets and video:
Storify Features:
- Pull content from Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, Youtube, RSS or Google – it even lets you create custom links.
- In addition to pulling content, Storify lets you add text commentary and hyperlinks to contribute wider context.
- Edit your story even after it has been published (the embedded story will be updated everywhere that it’s seen online)
- When you pull other people’s tweets into your story, Storify allows you to notify them (encouraging further social sharing)
- You can publish your story easily to your blog or Mailchimp.
- You can easily encourage your attendees to create their own Storify pages for your event.
For more information, read Storify’s How to get the most out of your story.
How might you use Storify for your business / events?
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1. A luxurious event table is set up in the heart of a bustling Istanbul market via Axel Burla.
2. A slide show of event design from the last 10 years of the mind bending Robin Hood Gala via BizBash New York.
3. Samsung uses a stunning 3D projection on a historic Dutch building.
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I just participated in a few livestreamed breakout sessions from EventCamp 2010 New York. One of which was a session run by Samuel J Smith which used what’s called a fishbowl technique to promote discussion around his topic: Integrating Social Media Onsite at Events. I learned a great deal from watching this session remotely and give Samuel big kudos for taking a leap and doing something unconventional.
The Fishbowl Set Up
The fishbowl in action at Event Camp 2010
Having sat through far too many sessions that use conventional classroom style room set ups, I found this more collaborative set up quite refreshing. For those of you who have not seen fishbowl dialogue in action, it is much like it sounds…a circle of 5-8 chairs are placed in the center of the room facing each other (this would be the fishbowl) and 2-8 (depending on the size of your audience) rows of chairs are set up to radiate out of the fishbowl.
People who volunteer or are selected to sit in the fishbowl have a dialogue or provide points of view on a selected topic. One of the fishbowl chairs is always left empty – this way if anyone from the audience wants to join the discussion they seat themselves at the empty chair (and someone else gets up to free up a chair). The idea is the moderation is kept to a minimum and the constantly changing fishbowl participants drive the dialogue.
I found this technique to be a great way to tap into the intelligence of the audience and build content for a subject around the needs, challenges and experiences of that crowd (at least the ones who participated in the fishbowl).
Learnings from outside of the fishbowl
Get the audience warmed up
We all know that audience interaction can be tough to achieve. There are natural extroverts who have no problem standing up and making a point, but there are others who get shivers of fear at the thought of even putting up their hand. Sitting in a fishbowl can be very intimidating, so it’s not for everyone. But I do think there’s an opportunity to warm up the audience before the fishbowl begins. Get people on their feet and interacting.
Set parameters upfront
To build off of the last point, there are some individuals who gravitate to the spotlight. Some of them can tend to go on and on and on and on and on and on about a point (It should be noted that this did not happen at EventCamp). Setting some upfront parameters may be helpful to ensure people stay on topic, don’t hog the mic and interact professionally.
A side note: My husband is one of those guys who is a best man or MC at every wedding we attend. Most of our friends are West Indian and let’s just say that the speeches portion of the reception can be…er…a bit long winded. He regularly warns wedding guests that if their speeches go on too long, he may come out to cut them short. His schtick? A pair of briefs (i.e. underwear). When someone drones on with the speech he pulls out the briefs and flashes them to the speaker and the audience. It gets the audience re-engaged and gets the speaker to wrap up. Case closed.
Choose a controversial subject
There was some great dialogue, but one of the most enjoyable parts of Samuel Smith’s session was when Clinton Bonner decided to take the ‘devil’s advocate’ position on a topic. It got participants fired up (in a good way) and created some great points on both sides of the argument.
Instead of picking an all encompassing subject, why not pick a controversial statement like: “why social media should never be used for events” . It gives people permission to pick sides and get passionate about their points of view.
Online engagement
A goal, whenever live streaming a session, is to involve the online audience as much as possible. The fishbowl made it very difficult to engage the online viewers since (stating the obvious here) we couldn’t physically sit in the empty seat. I do, however, think there’s an opportunity to allow online viewers to have a seat in the fishbowl by way of video stream. I’d love to get an a/v professional to weigh in on this (in the comments section) to see if you have any recommendation on how this could work.
Fishbowl introductions
As an online viewer, since there were so many people moving in and out of the fishbowl, it was a bit hard to keep up with who was speaking. I’d recommending asking anyone who speaks to introduce them self and their twitter handle.
I really enjoyed this session and plan on using the technique and some of my learnings from all of you in some of my upcoming seminars. Thank you for bringing this to my attention, Sam!
What do you think?
Did you watch the fishbowl? What did you think? Can you see yourself incorporating this into any of your events?
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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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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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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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