Event Mobile Apps Part II – Advice & Trends from Mobile Technology Experts
In my last post, I recommended seven points show organizers should consider before they launch a mobile app for their next event. In this post, I’ve interviewed several leaders in the mobile industry to get their insights on pitfalls to avoid and trends to watch.
I. Advice from the Experts
Look at the performance metrics of apps and providers…
According to Kathleen Gilroy, Entrepreneur and Owner of SWIFT Mobile, the options available right now to event planners can make it difficult to select an app that really matches the needs of the event. “There are so many options now that it is very hard to differentiate the app providers. Meeting planners need to look carefully under the hood to make sure that the apps can support the show data.” The larger the show, with more sessions, events and attendees, the more critical this is. Read more
Mobile indoor way-finding is finding its way to an App near you.
Have you ever taken a walk through an affluent neighborhood and wondered about what lies at the end of a driveway? When I first got my iPhone and realized I could use the Google Maps App, not only to get an up close, detailed view of the neighborhood I was walking through (and a bird’s eye view of what I couldn’t see in the real world), but also to track my own position in that neighborhood as I moved through it, I was pretty excited. Unfortunately, my excitement led to me to spending too many hours walking with my head bent forward, following my virtual progress on my phone instead of paying attention to the real world. After the novelty of the map app wore off (and after being honked at a few times), I decided to put the iPhone back in my pocket. I would only pull it out when I really needed it; to check on the direction my walk was taking me, to find out how far I had gone, or to satisfy my curiosity about what that 10 foot fence behind the large villa was hiding. You know, really important stuff.
It didn’t take long for me to take all this for granted. I can’t imagine a world where I couldn’t check on my location any time I wanted to. Well, as long as I’m outside … and as long as the margin of error can be within 20 meters. I can accept that limitation, right? At some point in the future, I may not have to. Imagine you are in a super mall and want your phone to show you your exact location (within a couple feet) in that mall. You want your phone to give you precise (literally step-by-step) directions to a specific store in that mall. On top of that, you want to be able to download a 2-for-1 coupon for that store while you are walking towards it. Read more 
Event Mobile Apps – 7 Strategies to Apply Before You Launch
We’ve likely all heard the statistics about the acceleration of smart phone usage. By 2014, everyone over the age of 4 will have one, and most of the people over the age of 12 will have built an app for one.
OK, maybe that’s a slight exaggeration but there is no question that smartphones are on the rise and changing the way people interact with the world. Pretty soon everyone, including conference attendees, will expect a mobile app that provides the information they need, when they need it. Mobile apps for events offer an alternative to printed programs, add new media channels for advertising and sponsorship, and offer new ways to facilitate communication and engagement between attendees.
There is no one-size-fits-all when it comes to mobile apps. Consider the following strategies before you make the mobile app investment: Read more
We love to hate it…Technology
We’ve all been hampered by technology especially when we’ve need it most. The worst time for technology to fail is when you’re onsite at a conference and the attendees, the client and especially you at the registration desk are relying on it. I was just at a show in New York and the hotel we were at had the internet go out on the entire second floor, which just so happened to be where our registration was located. Luckily when it happened it was well into the conference so it wasn’t a crisis situation but the effects were still felt mainly by the attendees. Turns out it was just a bad port at the hotel but because it was on a Sunday they had to call in the IT guy who lived 45 minutes away.
Planning ahead can help make unexpected onsite technology issues less of a burden onsite and keep your show running smoothly until tech support arrives. I offer the following preparations, based on my recent experience: Read more
QR codes for lower cost lead retrieval? Who is leading the way?
I was recently asked to research lead retrieval solutions that utilize QR codes and smart phone technology as opposed to the more traditional barcode/RFID /proprietary scanners. I was in search of a solution that was easy to learn and use while also cost effective. I was surprised to only find a couple to investigate. One is called iLeads (created by Bartizan) and the other is a service/QRGRIP application combo provided by the BlackNet Group. I would have thought that with all the QR code hype and convenience of using your own device, that this would be a thriving/growing market!
But then, I stumbled on Corbin Ball’s article, “QR Codes for Meetings”, and read the following; Read more
The Year Ahead – A Return to Excellence
Travis Stanton’s Editorial in the November issue of EXHIBITOR magazine hit home with me as I thought about our company this past year and where I want to take it in the year to come. He talked about how the last few years of economic recession and hiring freezes has squelched innovation as organizations have struggled to get things done with fewer resources. Out of necessity, the focus has been on managing costs and making things work, not on considering the new ideas that will that will drive future success. “Good became good enough and excellent became an aspiration, rather than an expectation.”
The New Year offers an opportunity for fresh perspective and new ideas. Like EXHIBITOR magazine, MRA Services has welcomed some new talent to our company. We, too, have attempted to change the conversation within our organization over the last few months to focus on how things could and should be done, even if it’s not how we’re currently doing them. We, too, will challenge ourselves to tap into fresh perspectives, while attempting to manage change initiatives to maintain stability and superior service.
In the year ahead, MRA Services will center our priorities on the following: Read more
When it’s Cool to be Square
My husband was thrilled last week when he received a tiny, little package in the mail that contained a small, white plastic square. I hadn’t seen one up close before, but having several family members who are also small businesses owners, I had heard the rumors. I was well aware of what this little device was capable of. This little piece of plastic, along with the Square app and certain smartphones, is the solution to an age old problem.
Ask yourself the following; What do you do if you need to accept credit card payments at a location where you don’t have access to an Internet connection, Wi-Fi, a computer, phone lines, or even electricity! You really only have two choices;
Move Over QR Code – NFC is The Real McCoy
Recently, at a party, I overheard someone talking about wanting to invest in a company that invented jackets with titanium-lined pockets. My curiosity was peaked and so I wandered over to eavesdrop further on this conversation. Unfortunately, I didn’t catch the name of the company, but, I did find out what this “wannabe investor” was concerned about- the increasing popularity of NFC-enabled smart phones and what he thought it meant in terms of security and privacy issues. The more I listened, the more I realized that this person was a little too obsessed with “Big Brother” conspiracy theories and the existence of secret tracking devices, but , the conversation made me wonder what was so special (or dangerous) about a phone equipped with a little NFC chip.
After some research, I learned that there was nothing new about the basic technology behind this little chip. NFC, or near-field communication, is basically a short-range wireless technology, like RFID, that uses magnets to quickly swap information between devices when they’re touched together. What’s new is combining this technology with a smartphone. The result could really have big impact on our lives – in the not so distant future.
Imagine the following scenario… Read more
QR Codes – Finding Ingenious Ways of Connecting the Real World to the Digital One
QR Codes are all the rage, or should be, especially at conferences that tend to rely on traditional paper information and handouts to communicate with attendees. One of the most obvious uses of QR code scanning for conferences is to promote the viewing of session materials electronically to save printing costs. Instead of reviewing obvious ways of taking advantage of this technology to reduce waste, save time, etc., let’s look at a few less obvious ways that QR Codes can be used to link the real and digital world in a fun and inventive way.
First, as a quick refresher to those that need it, QR Codes, or Quick Response codes, are Matrix barcodes designed to be read by camera equipped smart phones using reader apps. These 2D barcodes are scanned and decoded at high speed to give immediate access to digital content on the web or to activate phone/email/web browser functions. This act of linking from physical world objects to the virtual world is termed hardlinking or object hyperlinking.
1. Exhibit Hall QR Code Scavenger Hunt
Instead of the traditional “find all raffle bins in the exhibit hall” traffic incentive game – one could design a scavenger hunt where the objective is to follow a trail of hidden QR codes. Each one found would give the player digital tips (for example a video hint/video riddle) for finding the next code.
2. Trivia Questions and QR Code Answers
To make registration desk handouts and tote-bag inserts more interesting, include a trivia question and have the answer be in a digital format that could only be discovered by scanning a QR code. Once scanned, the answer could be displayed as text or as a short embedded video or linked to a sponsor’s web site.
3. In-Session Instant Polling of Audiences (without the need to raise hands)
Display a QR Code on a screen behind the speaker which, when scanned, would bring up a question that attendees could immediately and anonymously answer – allowing the speaker to share results with the audience for a dynamic and entertaining session.
4. Conference Direction Signs with QR codes
Scanning these codes would help attendees navigate to where they need to go. This information could be displayed graphically or as instructions in different languages.
This is just the tip of the iceberg, but, hopefully, these ideas will help inspire you to think outside the (one dimensional) box when it comes to planning your next conference.
Interested in learning more about using QR codes? Check out these sources that inspired this post:
http://www.arnoldinternet.com/tag/print-media/
http://highedwebtech.com/2010/03/01/qr-codes-going-slightly-more-mainstream/
