10 Apps The Busy Meeting Professional Can’t Live Without

By: Eric Olson, General Manager
Active Network, Business Solutions

About a year ago I stopped carrying a laptop on short trips. It was a big — and slightly stressful moment — when I boarded a plane for a conference in San Jose with only an iPad and a presentation on iWork Keynote. But, something quickly dawned on me. Apps were made for the conference goer.

Event professionals need information on the go. And with the app market now worth over $10 billion with a staggering year-on-year growth rate of 100%, there is an app for just about every element of the business meeting experience — from the airport to the convention center and everything in between.

So, after a couple of years of experimenting with the latest apps on my smartphone and tablet, I’ve compiled a list of 10 of my favorite business travel and event apps. Check out my list below and please comment with your thoughts and any other recommendations you have.

1.       Evernote – Winner of the best mobile app award by TechCrunch and  Mashable, Evernote enables you to capture your ideas and notes on- the- go, documenting them as text, photos or audio recordings and auto-synchronizing all content to your devices (desktop computer, phone, iPad). This app now features geo-location tagging, advanced search capabilities and multiple language support. This is one app every mobile user should have.

2.       Bump - is a virtual business card that allows you to swap contact info, calendar, pictures and social media profiles with others, simply by bumping your phone with theirs. The information is transferred wirelessly and automatically added to your contact list. Genius!

3.       Trip-it – Log your travel plans and find out who’s near-by for business and networking opportunities. The TripIt mobile planner keeps all of your travel plans in one spot from flight information to hotel bookings and car rental confirmations. Forward your booking confirmation details to plans@tripit.com  and the TripIt app organizes and shares your itinerary with family, colleagues and social networking contacts, making it easier to coordinate schedules. Itineraries can even be customized to include weather, maps and directions.

4.      Quickvoice  – This is the most popular voice recorder available. Record ideas, voice memos, voice email, dictation, lists, meetings, classes, and entire lectures or presentations on your mobile phone or tablet!  With this nifty app, you can even email using your voice. Read the rest of this entry »

Written By: Eric Olson

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

Guest Post: Can One Person Really Do it All?

Guest Post By:
Andrew Steiner, Senior Marketing Manager
Active Network | Events

This is the second post from Andrew Steiner, Senior Marketing Manager for RegOnline. Andrew draws upon the daily experience of setting up our Event Technology Seminars, and how RegOnline makes it possible for his colleague Justin Gritzmacher to single handedly manage it all.

My colleague and I have run more than 75 events (three since my last post) with another 20-25 events before year’s end. These hour and half “lunch and learns” are designed to educate event organizers on different technologies that could expand the size of their events, help them manage more efficiently and intelligently, and build lasting relationships with their attendees.

Did you know that all of these events can be managed by one person thanks to RegOnline?

My colleague, Justin Gritzmacher, is responsible for organizing our events from start to finish. While he books venues, plans meals, and works onsite, he is also responsible for filling the room for each event.

At any given moment, Justin is working on the various stages of multiple events. We generally run three-four events every week, with 50 registrations each. On an average day Justin is working with registrants, sending out invitations for an event, sending out reminders for another, collecting post-event survey data from attendees, and compiling a report on the success of our events as a whole. Justin is doing all of this for events that run back to back, continuously throughout the year. There is a ton of information to keep straight and lots of little tasks that must get done.

And through 78 events, Justin hasn’t asked for help once. He is still doing it all on his own. This may not be that impressive to some, but many organizers are responsible for their events from start to finish. Many are inundated with a workload similar to Justin’s, not seeing how it is possible for one person to run all of these events on his own.

I am sure you are thinking that he must spend countless hours printing out name badges and preparing emails. But the truth is he doesn’t. Justin uses RegOnline to efficiently and intelligently manage events. Instead of using one system to send out emails and another to track attendees and compile survey data, Justin uses RegOnline to do it all. This allows him to cut out much of the busy work, and frees him for more important tasks like working with vendors or identifying ways to improve the attendee experience.

If you think about it, most of the busy work organizers deal with on a daily basis is actually created when separate systems are used to manage an event. The logistics coordinating multiple systems creates more busy work than actual value, and organizers and pulls them away from what they do best; designing a great event and providing a terrific experience for attendees.

Through RegOnline, Justin is able to get a lot more done in much less time through email and survey tools, attendee databases and reporting features. When he wants to send a reminder email for an upcoming event, he doesn’t have to upload email addresses. The system knows which registrants to email based, and almost every email he sends is automated. This  frees him up from having to worry about them before and after each event.

Putting together reports is easy because all data is housed in place. No more importing or exporting when it’s time to build a report. And because RegOnline is web based, Justin can access it from wherever he is using mobile devices. This allows him to get up to the second accurate information from his reports on the fly.

Using RegOnline has allowed Justin to cut out most of the busy work that organizers typically deal with, and made it possible for him to organize all 78 events by himself.

Now, if you are an event organizer that hasn’t had the opportunity to work with a centralized event management system, I strongly suggest that you give it a shot. To learn more or to sign in for a free test account, visit RegOnline today.

Written By: Michelle Nikolayevsky

A Perfect Pair: Theme Designer and Mobile Registration

Last week, RegOnline released Mobile Registration. It is easy, convenient, and allows anyone to register for events anywhere, anytime.

Make your mobile registration speak for itself, with the help of Theme Designer. The example illustrates how one pretty picture could be incorporated into the header of your registration form, and how good it looks when optimized for mobile view.

To get started with Theme Designer:

1. Within your event website, choose the Theme Designer tab, and upload the picture you wish to use.

2.  Apply the photo to your event website. We used a square image as an example. From a style perspective, a square photo is not ideal to use, as it takes up only about half of the header space. Consider the shape and size of screen real estate.  Make sure to select a photo that reaches all the way across for your event website – long, rectangular shapes work better as website header images.

3.  When the mobile header option is chosen from the menu bar below, make sure to select the Mobile View textbox. Instantly, Theme Designer will generate your image in an iPhone wrapper, so you will be able to actually see how it looks. Note, the square image that we initially used fits well within the iPhone screen.

Enable "Mobile View" from the menu below to see what the event will look like from a mobile device.

Note that while this particular image is displayed in an iphone, our mobile registration also works with Android and Blackberry.

Have you tried Mobile Registration yet? Let us know how it has worked for you, as well as your wishlist for future mobile functionality.

Written By: Michelle Nikolayevsky

Mobile Registration is Here!

It’s a big day here at RegOnline. We are excited to release Mobile Registration, something we’ve been working on the past couple of months.

Go Mobile: The convenience of event registration through RegOnline is now easier than ever. Use an iPhone, Android or Blackberry mobile device and get started today!

RegOnline Mobile Registration makes it easy for anyone, anywhere to register for an event directly from the convenience of a mobile device!

It’s the same RegOnline you are used to, but optimized, so registration is fully accessible through your smart phone (iPhone, Android and Blackberry). It is the closest thing to actually having the event in your pocket.

Use RegOnline Mobile Registration for:

• Greater accessibility:  Registration for anyone, anytime, anywhere.
• Full RegOnline functionality optimized for the mobile experience. Easy to use yet still maintains the familiar look and feel.
• Quick and easy surveys: have attendees take a survey while still at your event

And the best part? RegOnline Mobile Registration requires no extra set up! Once you set up your event normally, it just works!

Give it a try today. Navigate to any RegOnline event using your phone’s web browser to see it in action. Stay tuned to the blog, for more tips on mobile features and future developments!

Have feedback or a question? Let us know.

Written By: Michelle Nikolayevsky

Get your bike on!

This post is the second in a series of RegOnline experiences from onsite events.

Last fall, some members of the RegOnline team went onsite to observe a unique event. It was a showcase of all things bicycle, from buying to selling to trading of bikes and parts. The event attracted hundreds of exhibitors and thousands of attendees.

Although registration had been set up online beforehand for both attendees and exhibitors, only a small percentage signed up in advance. The day of the event, volunteers were tasked with selling tickets and manning the will call station for those that signed up previously.  There was only one paper copy used to check in will calls. On the convention floor, volunteers helped exhibitors to their booths, and took care of many outstanding tasks manually.

While the event was unique, there was a lot to be taken from this experience. Needs vary, and it was clear that there were a few simple things that we could have done in order to help the process. RegOnline has since expanded service offerings, and many of our new additions  would be helpful to a similar situation.

We now have mobile check in functionality, which allows for easy check in through Apple and Android based devices. That way all last minute updates are available, eliminating out of date lists and frustration. We now have an entire system dedicated to Lead Retrieval, which is easy to use and implement in order to generate and grow your customer base directly from events. Additionally, we are in development of many other technologies to help events run smoothly and more efficiently.

Stay tuned for the end of the week, as we continue the conversation of what we learned from being onsite.  And as always, leave us a note about your experiences onsite…we are anxious to hear!

Written By: Michelle Nikolayevsky

Five Trends in Managing Events Onsite

Guest Post By:
Marina Antestenis | Marketing Manager
Active Network, Events

Connecting with others is easier than ever with today’s technologies, and knowing how to leverage them,  can help improve the efficiency of your next event.

Here are five trends we’re seeing in managing events:

1. Check-ins: Visions of long lines and a mess of paperwork popping up in your head?

Onsite kiosks for self check-in eliminate those problems and are being used more frequently at events, regardless of size. Kiosks, paired with online event registration, will undoubtedly decrease the number of walk-ups the day of your event. Onsite kiosks make check in speedy, secure, and simple. Many provide additional functionality including badge printing, photos, or can be used as an information center to access personal schedules and session content through badges. Attendees can also add to or change their schedules, request one on one meetings, submit online surveys, and  interact with others attendees.

2. Go Mobile: We recently blogged about how to leverage mobile at events. Enabling mobile functionality for attendees to access information from a smartphone, is a must have service to provide at your event. Incorporating mobile access to event programs, agendas, updates, exhibitor listings, interactive venue mapping, and more gives attendees real-time, valuable information that they can carry around in their pocket.

3. Real-time Feedback: Current technology makes getting real-time attendee feedback and easy.  Using mobile devices, kiosks, or email enables attendees to fill out and send surveys before, during, and after events. Attendees can also use SMS messaging for surveys and polls, and session leaders can instantly receive and display answers to their audiences. These automated online feedback tools save and analyze the data you receive, so you can respond quickly and make adjustments to your event efficiently—even on the fly.

4. Social Media: We recently posted several ways to leverage social media at events. It is worth reiterating how important this communication channel is in helping to manage events onsite. The ways we network at events is rapidly evolving, and the most popular method of networking is through social media. Leverage it at your next event by creating an event community that you can invite attendees to join once they register. This helps encourage interaction before, during and after your event. Make sure to read our last social media post for more ideas.

5. Incorporate Personal Touches: As a way to build attendee loyalty, many event planners are incorporating personal touches into their conferences. For example, offer a list of local attractions, information on public transportation and suggestions for nearby restaurants perfect for business dinners. Give attendees even more opportunities to network by hosting a charity event, which  allows them to mingle more while supporting a good cause, and demonstrating your company’s social conscience.  Additionally, arrange for welcome letters, gift bags, local newspapers and other small touches can be delivered directly to hotel rooms.  All of these things will demonstrate your value to attendees.

Written By: Michelle Nikolayevsky

Do you QR?

Have you caught on to the QR code trend?

What looks like a black dotted square against a white background is actually a sophisticated tool for engaging audiences. What could easily be a piece of abstract art is actually a QR Code (short for Quick Response), and is far superior to its primitive cousin, the bar code.

A QR code is a great resource for information. By scanning one through an appropriate mobile device, a user can see text, connect to someone’s contact information, open a URL, etc. Users can also generate their own QR codes through sites like http://qrcode.kaywa.com/.

QR codes have been popping up everywhere, in both traditional and non-traditional marketing channels. You see them in print media, on the sides of buses, and in airports. Many retailers have adopted the use of these codes for promotional purposes, offering additional product details and even discounts.

So, how does it work?

There are several applications that can be downloaded which enable your mobile device to scan (http://www.redlaser.com/ for iPhone and http://www.androidtapp.com/barcode-scanner/ for Android) a QR code. Once your phone is enabled, simply scan it or take a picture of the code and you’ll be linked to a URL or URI (Uniform Resource Identifier) that deciphers the code.

Many businesses have gravitated towards the QR code because of the enhanced functionality it provides. While bar codes could only store distinct and specific data (usually just a string of numbers), QR codes are an excellent tool to create a full experience for customers. Collect personal data, create customized notes, generate leads, track traffic…the options are endless.

There are several ways in which QR codes can be helpful to your event. From a standard one that your attendees can scan for information, to custom agendas, you have the ability to connect with your audience through a very unique platform.

At RegOnline, we are busy developing a robust suite of services that will help make your events more efficient by adding QR codes to your promotional materials and even help you on-site. We will update you soon with more details, but in the meantime, take a look around and see how many QR codes are around. You may be surprised at how many are out there!

Written By: Michelle Nikolayevsky

What to consider when developing your mobile applications

Guest Post By:
Marina Antestenis, Marketing Manager
Active Network | Events

Earlier this week we talked about incorporating mobile technology to maximize your events – both before, during and after. Here are a few additional tips to consider when developing your mobile application:

• Use web and embedded options to remain platform agnostic.
• Allow for application download during every registration process.
• Think beyond an event by distributing content before and after.
• Look at mobile as a new tool, not a replacement for old ones.
• If you don’t know what your audience would like, ask them.

We’d also like to hear from you on what other things people should consider when developing their mobile apps. What’s worked for you and what hasn’t?

Written By: Michelle Nikolayevsky

How Mobile Technology is Reshaping Events

By: Eric Olson, General Manager
Active Network | Business Solutions

Mobile technology is becoming an event professionals’ secret weapon to success. Not only are mobile applications enhancing the meeting experience for both the event manager and the attendees but they’re helping generate additional revenues for the events through enhanced sponsorship opportunities. We’ll go into that into more detail on this in another post. Today we wanted to touch on a few ways we’re finding that mobile technology is changing events for both the event mangers and attendees.

Improved onsite efficiency and accuracy
Onsite mobile tools now provide real-time access to attendee check in, reports, lead retrieval data and customer feedback. By linking directly to event management platforms, these applications are eliminating out-of-date data, immediate access to attendee records, management of payment issues, monitor exhibitor or session traffic and quickly compile and evaluate attendee feedback.

Flexible, environmentally friendly content delivery
Mobile is making content delivery less expensive, more flexible and “greener” than traditional channels. For instance, organizers can easily update content and send alerts while attendees can update schedules dynamically and access area information, hotel details and venue maps to reduce frustration at events.

Improved interactivity and informed content
In addition to improving content delivery mechanisms mobile applications are improving content itself by expanding interactivity and increasing content relevance. Digital guides come to life with interactive polls and discussions. Attendees can provide feedback through their mobile devices with everything from their likes and dislikes to real-time contributions to live debates. This allows organizers and presenters to respond and react, building informed content around the needs of the audience.

Expanded networking for attendees
Mobile improves the networking process for attendees by providing intelligent matching tools that pair up attendees based on shared attributes. Once matched, attendees can use these applications to schedule one-on-one meetings, share contact information and connect through existing social networks.

Persistent audience engagement platform
Mobile technology’s biggest contribution may be its capacity to extend the reach of events by creating a persistent community platform. Social media groups on Facebook and LinkedIn are pulled together to create discussion. Twitter conversations are marshaled to aggregate relevant tweet subjects. Invitations to new events are delivered through push notifications and registration becomes a one-click process, ensuring that organizers maximize repeat attendance. Additionally, continuing education credits can be tracked and organizers are able to create progressive profiles based on attendee behavior, delivering meaningful data about their audience to their organization.

We recently published a white paper on this topic – How Mobile Technology is Reshaping Events – which goes into more detail.

Written By: Eric Olson