I like your thoughts around information design.

One very important point. We are all in the relationship business. Regardless of what tool(s) you use to propagate information (virtual, social, face to face or otherwise) its critical we recognize what the purpose of each tool is in the relationship cycle.

As we know, relationships are based on trust, a mutual exchange of value and shared experiences. What you seem to be talking about here are human factors in information design which is a very important component of experiences and can either drive or detract from these experiences. Good information design is one way to drive real engagement, but its just one of the many components that makes our work so complex and enjoyable at the same time.

Thanks for a great post.

My post was focused on the user experience of a virtual attendee – it was intended to be a vision for a user experience quite different from the “average” experience today. What your questions highlight is the desperate need for collaboration to make any event successful, especially when there is a vision for something different and innovative to take place. A planner cannot do it alone. A creative team cannot do it alone. A speaker cannot do it alone. And this is exactly the reason it is so difficult for innovation to happen in any industry – not just in meetings & events!

In response to Mike’s request, this post was intended as a vision piece to stimulate thinking, not a practical how-to guide. As a supplier and part of the design team, I have been involved in events that incorporated some of these ideas, but I have not seen this vision implemented whole hog.

I’m not sure I answered all of your questions, but your points are good ones – how can someone interested in this vision actually implement it? Is it even implementable? And by whom? I would love to engage experienced meeting professionals in precisely those conversations. If this is a sufficiently compelling vision, let’s figure out how to execute it! Would this be a dialogue you’d like to pursue further?

Ok, I like what Jay & Cece say and I get it. Lots to offer, lots to discuss. Harder to implement.

Jay, can you clarify who your audience is for this post?

I think you were writing to meeting and event organizers but I’m not sure.

IMO, the post addresses three different audiences: event professionals, presenters and the group charged with the visual design of an experience (often the marketing department.) I think this is an important clarification for any meeting professional that works within a corporation or association as the silo structure is often fairly defined. If you’re writing to independent meeting planners, then they may have the ability to make an impact on the areas you define. When you add a virtual experience such as you’re discussing, often that is not the task of the corporation or association meeting planner at all. You’ve added another silo in the mix.

Here’s why I ask. I think seeing the meeting professional as the architect of an experience, virtual or face to face, requires a fundamental shift in tasks crossing corporate silo cultures.

Also, outside of meetings that you facilitate, what’s your experience planning conferences and events that have virtual components and focus on the elements you discuss. I know you have experience as the supplier to an event professional adding the visual elements. I’m just curious on your views from the trenches as the conference organizer.

Wow, you guys are baffling me with this stuff… it is so “outside the box.” I love it.

Cece thanks for your comments and additional shared experience, and Jay just want to give you a shoutout for writing the article…. you went way outside my realm of expertise and it is great to see all these exciting things evolve with events!

I look forward to seeing the additional discussion generated!

Mike

I read the Cisco article over the weekend, and yes, they are conceiving of these meetings quite differently. It’s not just broadcasting some of the live event outwards (which is a good place to start, at least), but it’s designing an experience to engage a variety of audiences in a variety of locations. It’s orders of magnitude trickier, but you’re giving each participant an experience designed for THEM.

It’s exciting to see this kind of approach taking hold, and I love the gaming aspect — a close cousin of the simulation idea I described above.

Thank you for the comments!
Jay

With Juxt and GPJ providing the design elements and InXpo powering the platform, Cisco is taking advantage of the unique aspects of virtual to develop an “experience” for audiences. This includes “communities around segmentation and team Alternate Reality Game (ARG) for sales teams and technical sales staff.”

I believe that this represents an represents an inflection point in our industry – a move away from pure “replication” to creating an experience.

Thanks,
Cece
Director of Marketing, InXpo