Bug Bytes: Volume 1: Issue 7

As another month draws to a close, that means it’s time for another edition of Bug Bytes!

Below is a summary of bugs RegOnline customers reported, and have since been fixed by our development team.

BUG: When creating multiple choice agenda items, with multiple choice answers, the unique names for each agenda item are not showing up on reports.

FIX: This bug occurred if you had two agenda items with the same answers.  Lets say  turkey, ham and vegetarian were possible answers for “What would you like for lunch?”  and “What would you like for dinner?”.  In the reports, an attendees answer only appeared for one of those agenda items instead of for both. Now fixed, this no longer occurs.

BUG: No data appears when accessing a survey.

FIX:The problem with this bug was in updating survey data. After a registrant completed a survey, when going back to “view, print or email survey record” no data would appear. Previously, surveys were accessible for updating, but no longer are designed to update answers. If a previously existing survey already exists, then the registrant would need to start a new one.

BUG: Email addresses containing an “&” symbol, everything past the ampersand would not be pulled in when clicking on the email address.

FIX: An “&”  symbol is an acceptable character for email addresses, and now fixed, email addresses containing it or other special characters are recognized in their entirety.

BUG: On the check payment method, the word check should be spelled “cheque”.

FIX: For payment by check in the United Kingdom and Singapore, the spelling has been changed to reflect internationalization. Now the word “cheque” displays and is identical to the spelling on the checkout page.

Have a question or a comment? Please leave one below.

Written By: Michelle Nikolayevsky

What Technologies Shaped Events in 2011?

2011 was an exciting year for events.

Anthony Miller, Global Strategic Director for Active Network|Events, shared a few thoughts on the Eventia website regarding the enhancements made to event technology this past year.

Growth of the QR code, alongside the rise of social media and networking, are highlighted in particular as beneficial changes to the event landscape.

According to their website, Eventia is the “voice of the event industry” within the United Kingdom and abroad. Check out the full article on Technology Highlights from 2011.

In your events during 2011, what technologies did you notice become the new trend? We love hearing from you, so feel free to drop a line below.

Written By: Michelle Nikolayevsky

A First Hand Suggestion for 2012

Guest Post By:
Justin Gritzmacher, ETS Coordinator
Active Network| Events

Our Event Technology Seminar Coordinator, Justin Gritzmacher, is our guest author for today’s blog post. From traveling around the country running our Lunch and Learn series, Justin has had the opportunity to frequently interact with Event Organizers and learn more about their needs. One big trend he sees for 2012 is the impact of social media as a tool to engage attendees, even during the event off season.

Traveling around the country hosting Active Network’s – Event Technology Seminars, I am fortunate enough to meet a wide variety of event organizers. I get to hear about ideas that have worked…and some that have not.

Looking back at 2011, I have seen a few trends in the Events Space. Using Social Media is one trend I suggest you try to incorporate into your events as we head into the New Year.

Social Media has changed the way we live our lives. Using sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter provide an outlet to engage attendees year round with good informed content, while keeping them aware of information relevant to your events. Many event organizers I’ve talked with are capitalizing on these technologies to help run larger and more successful events.

By creating communities for your events you can pass information to all your attendees, and potential attendees, year round making interaction more constant, instead of only during the time surrounding your event.

Social Media will allow you to find out more about the types of people interested in your events, and what they are hoping to accomplish while at your event. With this information organizers can make effective changes as simple as changing start time or venue, or more complex changes like adding new content or even changing the event scope.

When you are not running events, keep your attendees engaged with white papers or links to interesting articles about topics relating to your events, or even short informational webinars. This way, attendees never have a chance to forget about you or your events. Year round interaction will help plan events that directly meet the needs of your audience.

Once you have created a steady stream of interaction, you will begin to have a “captive” audience that is a perfect group to send your first round of invitations when the time comes. The people in these groups will be more excited and educated about your event, and will be much more likely to sign up. Channel the excitement and energy generated by these attendees to help increase your registrations. If your attendees are excited about your event, they will become your ambassadors, promoting your event for you. In this respect, social media can be a cost effective way to branch out your marketing efforts.

As we close out 2011, I hope that these few tips make you optimistic, and help your events reach new heights in to 2012.

Written By: Michelle Nikolayevsky

12 Emerging Technologies for Events in 2012

There are several technologies shaping the meetings industry for 2012.

Industry thought leader and seasoned events expert, Corbin Ball, recently released an article on the “12 Meetings Technology Trends to Watch for 2012” on his website.  Below are just three of the 12 technologies Mr. Ball highlights:

Mobile Technology and the Growth of HTML5

Ball says, “there will be a very significant adoption of mobile apps for events in 2012 and 2013”. Smartphone based applications are now being provided by event organizers as a tool for attendees to navigate through events. Furthermore, HTML5 mobile apps are less expensive than native applications, yet still provide the customization and flexibility for a quality app.

Hybrid Events

Growing in popularity, hybrid events are connecting remote and live participants through multiple forms of technology.  The very concept is starting to revolutionize the meeting landscape, as bridging the gap between virtual attendees and live events.

Social Gaming

Incorporating gaming into events, (commonly known as gamification), helps engage attendees and helps them to get the most from their events.

Check out Corbin’s complete article for the complete list of trends.

We want to hear from you…What trends have you seen in events you’ve attended this past year? What are you looking to incorporate for 2012?

Written By: Michelle Nikolayevsky

5 Event Questions to Consider for 2012

2011 is rapidly drawing to a close…have you started thinking about, or even working on, your 2012 events?

This week, we will focus on planning ahead. Below are a handful of questions that you should consider when sizing up future events.

1. Budget

Before getting started, what is your overall budget? Make sure to know exactly what you are working with before even looking. This will help you realistically assess all aspects of your event.

2. Site Planning and Lodging

Where will you be hosting your event? What do you need from your facility (staffing, equipment rental, etc)? Do you need lodging for your event?

3. Attendees

How many people are you expecting? How many are local vs. non local? Do you need transportation? Do you have specific dietary needs that need to be accounted for?

4. Registration

How robust of a system do you need? Do you need to have multiple types of registration? Do you need different types of pricing levels, like early bird or late registration? Will you have groups?  Do you need surveys?

5. On site Needs

Do you have a process for onsite check-in? How will confirmation work?  Do you need to print badges? Do you need extra staff on hand to help?

These may seem like a lot of questions, but they are just a few of the many things to consider for your events. RegOnline can help you with online registration forms, event websites, surveys, attendee management, on site needs and more.

Stay tuned all this week for helpful planning tips for the year. What kinds of events do you have on deck for 2012? Let us know by leaving us a note below.

Written By: Michelle Nikolayevsky

Feature Requests are Live!

Did you know that Feature Requests are the most powerful way to get your voice heard?

Feature Requests are an excellent method for our development team to have a direct pulse on the needs of customers, and to help make RegOnline more robust and useful. Through the Active Network Customer Portal, RegOnline customers can submit Feature Requests, or vote on existing requests.

To submit a Feature Request:
• Go to RegOnline product page in the Active Network Customer Portal
• Select the “Feature Requests” icon
• Over to the right, you will see a link to new “Idea”
• From this field, you are able to input a Feature Request

What can you expect?
We do our best to accommodate the amount of feature requests that come through the portal, and we greatly appreciate your time in submitting them. Due to the nature of the demand, we try our best to get to all the ideas that are posted.
The ideas that are submitted will be reviewed on a bi-weekly basis by our moderation team for their relevancy and product fit. Ideas that are duplicates, not a fit for our product or too specific will be moved into the “Closed” folder by a moderator. When this happens, the submitter is notified via email.

Ideas that could potentially be included into our product will be left in their list to gather votes and comments. When an idea proves to be valuable enough (based on votes and comments) we will attempt to work it into our release schedule.

Get out the Vote!
To get a feature request heard, vote on one today!
• Go to RegOnline product page in the customer portal
• Select the “Feature Requests”icon
• Read through the existing ideas and simply click on “I like this” to vote on a Feature Request.

NOTE: The feature request you want to add may already exist within the Active Network Customer Portal. Make sure to search for duplicates, and vote on an existing request instead of adding a new one. The more votes for a feature request, the greater chance it has of being incorporated into the development queue.

Have a feature request? Have a question? Check out the Active Network Customer Portal for answers or to give it a try.

Written By: Michelle Nikolayevsky

Special Podcast: Eric Olson on the Tradeshow Guy Blog

Founder of Communication One Exhibits and trade show expert, Tim Patterson, recently viewed a demo of RegOnline. He was so impressed with the product he decided to interview General Manager Eric Olson for a podcast.

Listen to the podcast on Tim’s Tradeshowguy Blog, and learn in more detail about the benefits of using RegOnline.

What do you think of the interview? Let us know by posting a comment below.

Written By: Michelle Nikolayevsky

Smoother Check In is Here!

Onsite Check in just got easier!

Enhance the overall event experience for your attendees! We upgraded the RegOnline Onsite Check in Kiosk this past weekend and smoother, faster and easier check-in is here.

The RegOnline Onsite Kiosk makes it easy to check in attendees with fewer clicks than ever before. Check in attendees by scanning their barcode, which automatically prints badges, in a noticeably more efficient process.

When activating your event, enabling Onsite Check in couldn't be easier.

Highlights of the onsite kiosk include:
• Auto printing capabilities (Removes up to 3 clicks to get badges to print)
• Configuration of scanner to auto-submit the search page
• When searching by reg id; automatically check in and print badges without a single click
• Works in Google Chrome and FireFox versions 4 and higher with Adobe Reader 9/10
• QR Code improvements with Quiet Zone and background colors to increase scanner reliability
• Scanner reliability warning when barcodes are reduced in size from the default

Please note that security settings in Adobe Reader must be configured to allow for auto printing. These can be configured through Adobe Reader preferences.

Anyone can set it up; anyone can use it. Just one more thing to help make onsite processes more efficient, so you can easily remove one more issue onsite.

For your next event, give the updated onsite check in a try and tell us about your experience. We love hearing from you!

Written By: Michelle Nikolayevsky

5 Tips to Avoid a Scary Registration Form

Although it was Halloween on Monday, we can’t help but shutter at the idea of a scary registration form. With that said, here are some tips to avoid a cluttered form:
1. Keep your branding and logos consistent
If you have a logo associated with your company or event, use it for your branding. Theme Designer can help match colors to your logos, making a look and feel that your registrants recognize.
2. Avoid neon!
Neon colors are more distracting than useful. If you make your colors secondary to your content, your registrants will have a much easier time with your online registration.
3. Don’t clutter your space.
Too many images, text and colors can create a form that is hard to follow, and will make it difficult for your registrants to find a true message. Keep it clean, keep it brief, and keep it to the point.
4. Keep your fonts clean and easy to read
There are a variety of fonts that look professional and are easy to read such as Arial or Tahoma. Avoid fonts such as Comic Sans as they can make the form look less professional. Additionally, mixing different fonts creates clutter, so stick to one.
5. Sponsorship Logos
If you have a multitude of sponsors, make the logos the same size, and line them up on the same line. This will guide your registrants eye along and create once again, a clean, appealing space.

Use these tips and it will make all the world of difference. Have a great design idea? Or have a horrific form you’d like to share? Post a comment below.

Written By: Michelle Nikolayevsky