And so the conversation continues … This week I began a series of blog posts connected to a collaboration I initiated on Google Wave. For the details and the vision of the project please take a moment to read this.

The first two articles focused on the following:

• Part One — Successes of 2009 in the meetings and events business!
• Part Two — What’s the priority business issue to focus on in 2010?

I am proud to associate with and thank the following event professionals whom have contributed their thought leadership to this edition, Part Three:

• Jessica Levin, President & Chief Connector, Seven Degrees Communications
• Midori Connolly, CEO and Chief AVGirl at Pulse Staging and Events
• Michelle Bruno, President, Bruno Group Signature Events
• Jeff Hurt, Director of Education & Events, National Association of Dental Plans
• Ian McGonnigal, Executive Director, Strategy – George P. Johnson
• Mike McAllen, Co-Founder, Grass Shack Events & Media
• Samuel J. Smith, Experienced B2B Marketing and Sales Professional
• Cameron Toth, Founder, Toth Communications

Question  –  What is the next “hot” social media tool and why?

Ian – I think aggregation will be the next big thing.  A great example of this is Google Wave.  Although this tool is only in preview, it will change the way we communicate, collaborate, integrate and share.  Because it is open source and can be user-defined, it will quickly gain use and favor cross-community.

I see Google Wave as the future of collaboration. As a platform it’s powerful, but what’s most compelling to me is what the developer community will come up with as far as extensions are concerned. Imagine one place with your Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, MySpace, email, slideshare, travel plans, audio / video / photo sharing, blogging, RSS and community collaboration. This is going to be huge.

Jeff –>Ian:  Aggregation or collaboration? I see these as two different tools–both very powerful indeed. I’m seeing event aggregation tools already like http://almost.at, twubs, & ASAE’s annual event conference hub.

McCurry –> Jeff: So what do you two mean by Aggregation? Not sure i understand.

Jeff –> McCurry: Aggregation is when several feeds of information is sourced together on one page. For instance, all of the tweets with hashtag, all Facebook fan page mentions, all Flickr pics with specific words, all Google alerts with specific words, sourced onto one web page and constantly updated live.

McCurry –> Jeff: Appreciate the clarification… I really believe Google Wave will serve as both a collaboration and aggregation tool. I see a context for its use in both camps. With it’s plugins and extensions clearly it has the ability to embed other applications (not just web 2.0) seamlessly. When you combine that use with it’s collaborative nature the impact on users could be  extremely powerful!

Jeff — Mobile applications will be the next “hot” social media tool because the power is being put in the user’s hands.  Location-based mobile applications like Foursquare will also see a rise and savvy event professionals will find a way to apply apps such as this to their events and conferences.

Mike – I think those of us nerdo social media event early adopters live in a bubble. We get our panties in a knot talking about the new twitter type tools online. I really feel that the mobile applications will be the driving force for events and meetings. We all carry mobile phones and the new applications will change how we do things. Gowalla, Foursquare types of apps will really take hold and will be integrated into meetings and events.

Jeff –> Mike: Seriously Mike? ASAE used an aggregation tool at their annual conference called the ASAE Conference Hub. It had a mobile application and was a huge hit by conference attendees. That’s not a tech audience by far!

Jessica — I think the event websites will be converted to event communities and they will need to be accessible through both desktop and remote channels.  I see tremendous potential for Google Wave as a vehicle to deliver pre-event education.

One thing we often hear is that people go to events and get ideas, but when they return to work, follow-through falls through the cracks. I see speakers using tools like Google Wave to host post-con sessions and continue relationships with their audience. It may provide a strong channel for accountability.

Midori – Yes, totally! This is a GREAT point. It addresses that question that always comes up about whether or not to create hashtags for breakout sessions. If a Wave was created, it could pull what we love about Twitter (ie public access, knowledge capture and sharing, visibility) but permit expansive collaboration and more elaborate conversation: before, during and after the session.

Michelle – I agree that mobile applications will be the next frontier to change the way events are organized and consumed, however I see a void in the space where the implementers (organizers, associations, technology providers) should be providing users with more assistance.  The social networking platforms put the technology out there but then (with a few exceptions) don’t really help stimulate usage (especially after the event is over).

There don’t seem to be many “user manuals” on how to use all of the tools being offered on an event effectively. The best information appears to be coming from the bloggers. I think there should be greater efforts to on-board users by those responsible for making the technology available. Did anyone say ROI?

Samuel – Your guess is as good as mine. Last week, I would have told you Google Wave.  This week, I think it is going to be Hot Potato – the new real time chat for events. Next week, we will hear about a new tool.

Here’s what I do know – Success with social media is not going to be about tools and technologies. Success will be about people and processes.  The events that are able to use these tools to change their content distribution and collaboration models will be the winners.

Midori –> Samuel: Copy that big fella! What’s my favorite thing to say? (Okay, at least one of them) “If it doesn’t serve a human need, technology is just a toy.”

Cameron – I think the next “hot” tool may be a tool that already exists.  Facebook is making inroads with other websites across the web.  They have been innovating while other social media sites seem to be sleeping.  Fanpages, Group Pages are extremely useful.  LinkedIn is a closed network and Twitter can be unreliable in both its content and its operation.

Users will define Social Media and Social Media sites and Facebook is by far the most popular and most used. I recently put together an event and Facebook was the driving force. That says a lot about the power of a tool that has been around a while but still growing in its functional usage.

McCurry — For my part I currently see Google Wave as the social media tool emerging in 2010 as a leader.  Whether that becomes truth or not largely depends on how Google responds to the current challenges being experienced with its beta release.  The application at times runs very slow, especially when you have several people interacting in a wave simultaneously.  That worries me, because it’s greatest strength could become it’s greatest liability!

The fascinating thing about our world today is the continuous introduction of new applications into the marketplace.  For that reason it may be difficult to predict what will be the front running application in 2010.  My colleagues in this article have some excellent insights on the future.  Sam’s assertion that it is not about tools and technologies, but about people and processes is in my mind “on the mark.”

I believe we all need to keep an open mind to what lies ahead, because we just might be surprised at how things evolve in 2010!  What do you think?  Lets keep this conversation going……

Yesterday I published Part One of a series of posts generated by an experimental use of Google Wave.  For the details of the overall project please click here to read the article. To recap, I developed five “hot topic” business questions and invited several colleagues to respond to them in a Google Wave I created.

Many thanks to the following event professionals participating in Part Two:

• Jessica Levin, President & Chief Connector, Seven Degrees Communications
• Midori Connolly, CEO and Chief AVGirl at Pulse Staging and Events
• Michelle Bruno, President, Bruno Group Signature Events
• Jeff Hurt, Director of Education & Events, National Association of Dental Plans
• Ian McGonnigal, Executive Director, Strategy – George P. Johnson
• Mike McAllen, Co-Founder, Grass Shack Events & Media
• Samuel J. Smith, Experienced B2B Marketing and Sales Professional

Question  — What business issue do Event Professionals need to most focus on in 2010 and why?

Jeff:  Identifying value of the hybrid meeting and when it’s most appropriate to use the hybrid meeting.   If the goal of an event is to reach as many people as possible with a message, or help move a professional industry forward, then event professionals may want to consider how to reach both the face-to-face and virtual attendees.

Attendees will also be using more discretion when choosing which meetings they attend and where they place their registration dollars.  Attendees will look for ways to customize their experience, choose virtual or face-to-face, and have options with registration fees.  These are just a few reasons why event professionals should consider hybrid meetings in the future.

Ian:  Event professionals need to better understand the role of social media. Its not about Facebook, Twittter, MySpace or Linkedin. The tools don’t matter. Its about audience engagement before, during and after an event. In fact, its about using events as a point of accentuation in the greater conversation to drive long term relationships with your audiences.

Jessica: I agree with Jeff. The hybrid meeting will be critical. We will need to find a way to explain the value to attendees and help them understand which format (live or distance) is best for them. Pricing structures will need to be established so that the cost is spread appropriately between live and remote attendees.  In addition, pre and post event interaction is going to continue to grow as a result of the availability of new media channels.

Mike: Making sure the content is valuable, the networking valuable and leaving the attendees wanting more. All the wonderful tools like this one (google wave) are great but making sure the fundamental elements of a great meeting are met, is imperative to justify attending any meeting or conference. Work as hard on planning the contents emotional, and motivational ideas to keep folks engaged.

Samuel: I am with Mike on this one.   When I think about what we can do to engage attendees I don’t think that we have even scratched the surface. There are millions and millions of events taking place around the world. Most of them still use the same – Speaker Talks. Attendee Listens. Attendee Goes Home Smart model.

This is really a pity.   The world population has never been more educated than today. The access to information at our fingertips has never been better than today. At the same time, the gap between the “so-called” experts on the stage and the experts in the audience has never been smaller. This gap will continue to shrink.

We need to take a hard look at how we are using the collective wisdom of the talented individuals sitting in the audience to generate new ideas, share best practices and collaborate on projects.   By starting here – we will drive new event formats, new technology tools, etc.

Michelle: I think that social media adoption will be critical because of the relative cost savings and the way that it addresses the changing mood in customer behavior.  For example, every time I have attended a session on social media at an industry event, it gets hijacked by people wanting to know how to use Twitter. We all are essentially teaching ourselves and each other.

Where are the day long “how-to” sessions on how to use social media specifically for our industry? If we truly believe in the social media message and potential we need to lead the effort to educate everyone that wants to be educated on a larger scale. If you know something, share it, right?

Midori: From a supplier side, one of the greatest issues will be profitability. In the last year, I’ve seen suppliers make foolish decisions to keep a positive short-term cash flow. However, the margins they’ve accepted have pushed price expectations into a dangerous realm for the longevity of many of these businesses.

It will be interesting to see who survives and how they do it!  This could also impact the planner side – as suppliers can no longer survive with weakened margins and raise their prices to realistic levels, will this impact budgets?

McCurry: Its clear from this discussion that our interviewees believe Hybrid Meetings and social media are “top of mind” to most folks when developing their strategies for 2010.  More importantly the focus is on understanding customers needs and tailoring event designs to deliver outstanding customized event experiences to them.  Business people have a hunger to connect at a higher level with their colleagues, customers and suppliers and the businesses focused on building community through the use of the tools available to them will thrive.

On the financial side Midori Connolly and Jessica Levin believe organizations must return to a more realistic pricing model in order to survive.  I tend to agree with them, however the real question is whether the economy has improved enough to sustain this approach.

Thanks very much to my partners in this collaboration and we certainly would like to receive your feedback on this issue!  What do you expect for 2010 to be your primary focus and why?  Stay tuned for Part Three later this week as we continue this discussion.

Earlier this week I published an article introducing a new project idea of mine;  to write a blog post utilizing Google Wave as the creation platform.  For those of you not aware Google Wave is a new web 2.0 application still in its beta testing phase.  Its greatest strength, initially, seems to be it’s use as a collaboration tool in a real-time wiki style environment.

For this project I developed five “hot topic” business questions and invited several event professionals into a Google Wave I created, to respond.  Initially I anticipated writing one document to recap the entire experience.  However, due to a tremendous response there was enough content generated to necessitate more than one article.  This is Part One in a series of posts …

Many thanks to the following event professionals participating in this portion of the interview:

• Jessica Levin, President & Chief Connector, Seven Degrees Communications
• Midori Connolly, CEO and Chief AVGirl at Pulse Staging and Events
• Michelle Bruno, President, Bruno Group Signature Events
• Jeff Hurt, Director of Education & Events, National Association of Dental Plans
• Ian McGonnigal, Executive Director, Strategy – George P. Johnson
• Mike McAllen, Co-Founder, Grass Shack Events & Media

Question  — What, in your mind, is the greatest success story of 2009 in the Meetings & Events industry and why?

Jeff:  The rise of “attendee” as king and the primary focus of attention in the meetings industry. The traditional meeting model has slipped into a focus on the speaker or the organizer instead of the attendee.The biggest success in my mind is a return to focus on the attendee, their needs, their wants, their expectations. Attendees are questioning the status quo of traditional meetings and looking for unique conference experiences.

Ian:  I would have to say the emergence of virtual events as a viable marketing tactic. The economic crisis, coupled with travel restrictions, bandwidth availability, technological advancement and adoption have created an optimal environment for virtual events (and hybrid activities) to thrive. Cisco GSX is an excellent example of this. This virtual sales conference successfully engaged over 19,000 attendees through keynotes, breakout sessions, and interactive games, saving Cisco millions.

Mike:  Survival- Our industry took an awful beating this year and I hope it will change in the near future. I see my clients who are mostly internal meeting planners for large companies starting to talk about meetings returning. When I look back at 2009 I think about all the online tools we have at our fingertips to build relationships. I see that growing into utilizing these same tools in and around meetings to enhance the social interaction, education and motivation to engage attendees at meetings and conferences. But our companies need to start meeting again to make this positive path work.

Midori: Greatest success story? People like this group (#Eventprofs) finding each other (in half the time it would have required a couple of years ago).

Good topic guys! Actually, we had a record month in October and have been fielding a steady new stream of business.   There is one key piece of economic data that EVERYONE should know and how I’ve hinged my economic forecasting. Non Financial companies in the second quarter of 2009 had a $156 billion surplus of cash flow relative to their capital spending. Except for 2005 (when companies were allowed a one-time repatriation of foreign earnings at a reduced tax rate, that is the largest surplus on record.   Essentially, if you look at the economic data, you can explain the uptick in business.

Finally, it’s important to bear in mind that no matter how much we try to apply logic, the economy is very much a function of two emotions – as my dad always taught me – fear and greed. Frankly, I see a population that is simply becoming tired of being fearful, no longer dwelling on the bad news. Rather, they are gradually shifting back towards a state of greed.

Jessica: I think 2009 has forced us to become more disciplined in our approach. Meetings need to have value. Perhaps we took attendees for granted and expected that they would be in attendance without carefully evaluating what they were getting out of our events. Now, in order to succeed, we need to scrutinize everything from format to speakers to networking. We are forced to find creative solutions and work much more closely with vendors on pricing structures that work for everyone.

Michelle: Although there isn’t much documented evidence yet, I believe that the concept of “inbound marketing” in the events industry is beginning to catch on. In other words, event organizers are developing engaging ways to attract customers to their Web sites, discussions, offerings instead of pushing messages out to the customers. The notion that community building tactics are more effective than customer acquisition “ploys” is an important new realization.

McCurry: Great insights and comments by my colleagues here… Thanks so much for taking time to share your thoughts on this topic.  This conversation will continue  in my next blog post to be published on Wednesday.  Please come back and check out what these industry leaders have to say!

Do you have a perspective or thought to add to continue this conversation?  If so please share your comments with us…. Let’s keep the conversation going!

Have you checked out Google Wave yet?  I am just finishing my second week as an account holder.  As I’ve stated previously there’s no question there is some real potential to this latest ambitious project from Google.

This application’s greatest strength at present seems to be its collaborative nature.  Thus this post … I am currently experimenting with a blog article written via a wave featuring some of my Event Professional colleagues.  To get this process rolling here are the steps I took:

• I created a new wave and the first blip explains what the wave is about for those invited to participate.  Essentially it provides the instructions for the project.
• Next I created separate blips for each question.  This article will be written in an interview format so I developed five high level questions relevant to the overall subject of this post  (meeting and events industry) and positioned them as separate blips.
• I invited the article participants into the wave via my Twitter account sending them DM’s. (Direct messages)

Here are a couple of screen-shots of how the wave looked in the beginning:

Figure One -- The First Blip

Figure Two -- The Five Questions in blips

Thus far three of my friends are participating in this project and the next screen-shot will demonstrate how they used this tool to log their responses.

Figure Three -- Collaboration at Work

I expect to publish the finished article sometime this week so stay tuned and you will be able to see how this all plays out.  I am really excited about the collaborative aspect of Google Wave!  How about you?  Have you experimented at all with this new application.  If so we would love to hear about your experiences!

Many of you read my article published on Sunday providing you a first look at the new web 2.0 tool Google Wave.  To view that article please click here.  I came across a very solid EBook, “The Complete Guide to Google Wave,” written by Gina Trapani with Adam Pash.  The book’s title is a bit of a misnomer as it is still a “work in progress” but I would recommend the book as it will help you become better acquainted with this application.

Clearly Google Wave is in its infancy and is still in the beta testing phase.  It also has not been officially released to the public so its true potential is untapped as of yet.  That being said some basic features of this application seem to match up usefully with content delivery for meetings.

Here are some interesting ways Google Wave may be utilized at conferences and other types of events of the future:

• Back Channel Conversation Tool — This application will thrive as an enhancement for Hybrid or Virtual Events.  There are two major online discussions about this I’ve seen thus far, a blog post from Pete Cashmore, CEO of Mashable, and then Charlie Osmond at the FreshNetworks blog.  Both contend Google Wave will be a much better platform than Twitter for “conference chatter.”  I agree… here’s why:
  • A Google Wave is a wiki-like page of annotations which evolve over the course of a presentation versus a Hashtag Twitter chat, which is a “stream of disconnected Tweets.”
  • Real-Time Collaboration — Whereas with Twitter there is a delay, for the posting of each tweet, with Google Wave it all evolves in one place, in real-time.  The end product is a  crowd-sourced write-up of a presentation neatly transcribed with key points and a record of audience comments all in one document.
  • Playback — using the applications “playback” feature event participants can review the history of the event which is a real benefit for late-comers, or for someone seeking a review of the session.

Note:  Both the above-mentioned Blog articles have a nice series of screen shots demonstrating visually how the wave collaboration process plays out.

• Brainstorming Tool — For roundtable style sessions Google Wave can be used in place of Flipcharts.  One Wave would be created for each discussion topic and then groups collaborate to pool their ideas and document them for everyone to see in a wrap-up discussion with the entire group.  Virtual participants could even participate in these sessions using an audio or video gadget embedded into the wave itself.

• Content Exchange — Session speakers will be able to use waves as vehicles for sharing various types of content integrated together.  For example in the same Wave users (speaker or audience) could embed on-the-spot streaming video, audio clips, pictures and audience polling tools.  Attendees (virtual or live) may post question blips and/or shared content adding to the presentation.  The possibilities are endless and exciting!  Speakers of the feature will function more as “content moderators” than “talking heads.”  The “panel discussions” of the past will evolve to audience-sourced panel interactions.

The more I think about this stuff, the more excited I get.  I am optimistic about the future potential of Google Wave, and other tools to come like it.  We are truly headed into an exciting era in the meetings and events industry!

I am going to keep marching on the Google Wave trail and as I come across new discoveries and ideas I will share them with you.  I also look forward to learning about your experiences with this new technology.  What could be better or different?  Please share your thoughts with us!

Have you received your invitation yet to preview the much hyped and anticipated “beta” release of Google Wave?  Do you even understand what Google Wave is?  Well … now’s the time to investigate this new collaborative web 2.0 application as it is innovative and feature-rich.

Google Wave is an online tool for real-time communication and collaboration. A wave can be both a conversation and a document where people can discuss and work together using richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps, and more. (http://wave.google.com/help/wave/about.html)

Here is a quick video to provide you with a quick overview of its concept:

Google cleverly rolled out the beta version of this new “cutting edge” application on September 30th, by invitation only.  This maneuver created a huge buzz in the social media community.  Since only 100,000 invitations were released, many people don’t have access to Google Wave yet, and that is causing quite a stir. In fact on Twitter, Google Wave  has been a “top ten” trending topic for quite some time.

I have been experimenting with the application off and on all week.  Here is my first look at this intriguing new tool:

Positives:

• Real-Time Communication — Unlike email, or online chat applications, a user can literally see the keystrokes of their colleagues as they are typed.   So the project unfolds right before your eyes.  I think this feature is more novel than it is functional.  The downside is when users make typing mistakes you can see those as well.  The concept, though, is interesting and intriguing.
• Collaboration at its finest — Google takes the concept of co-creation in a real-time setting to the next level.  No longer do users have to send documents back and forth, or wait their turn to make an edit/addition to its content.  Multiple users may edit a “wave” simultaneously which is a breakthrough in electronic communications.
• Open Source Environment — Similar to Twitter, Google created this application with the aim of leveraging open sourcing for its further development .  Therefore it is likely this tool will evolve rapidly!
• Miles of Functionality — one of the most amazing things about Google Wave are its gadgets, extensions and Robots.  From embedded video to Twitter feeds, a user can integrate a multitude of features into their waves.  A great place to review some of these cool add-ons is on the original Extensions site or on Wavety.com.
• Playback Feature — With every wave created it is possible for users having access to that document to click a “playback button” and watch the evolution of the document step-by-step.  This is a useful feature when members of a wave group are not able to participate in a collaboration session, or want a refresher on the history of the wave.

Negatives:

• Buggy — Remembering this application is still in “beta testing” phase it does feel like that.  Little things will confuse you, such as the inability to “undo” something you have created, which really is a staple of any application nowadays.  Also it is not possible to always “cut or copy” and paste from within a wave.  That can be frustrating!  I am sure Google will fix all these problems before too long.
• Laggy — This is a problem.  When you open a wave with many users present, the experience can be very slow…. killing the value of the real-time aspect of this application.  Before Google unveils this to the public they must find a way to improve the bandwidth and connection speed.  Major Issue!

• Browser Compatibility — this issue is minor, but if you are an Internet Explorer user (ugh) you must download a “google chrome frame workaround in order to use Google wave.  Personally I recommend using Mozilla’s Firefox or Google’s Chrome as the browser of choice for Google Wave.

• No “Undo” Feature — This is a very painful issue with Google Wave.  The freedom of expression and maneuverability in the application is one of its most enticing features… it is also one of its most dangerous.  Once invited into a “wave” a user can literally edit anything they want in a document.  It is not possible to undo any changes.  The only workaround I am aware of is to use the “playback” feature to find the missing content and copy it back to the wave.  With a complex document this could become very cumbersome.

No question there is incredible potential for Google Wave.  In particular I see some great opportunities for its use in Meetings and Events.  Also in business collaboration, I believe it is going to greatly enhance the “crowdsourcing” concept of communications!

If you have not received an invitation to preview Google Wave, then you need to start working your marketing channels in the social media world to obtain one.  If  you have a Google Wave account and an experience or perspective for its use please share it with us.