Convention Insider (Conventions.net)

I have been here in Boston and while sitting here at the airport enjoying the WIFI connection that the airport offers, I was reminded of the debacle of the conference I attended yesterday.  They too provided free Internet access for the attendees of the conference. As a part of that, I based part of my presentation on the fact that I could have Internet access to show some examples of things on the web, this site included in those examples.  Then of course I I reached for my computer, the projector wouldn’t work properly, and worse yet, the Internet access was down.  Talk about frustrating.  Not only was I frustrated but I could tell it was very frustrating in the eyes of the attendees. 

If you are planning an event, conference, convention or trade show it is imperative that the technology you are using is working properly.  It brings to mind the old saw of proper planning prevents poor performance.  It is important to the attendees, and even us speakers at times.  I had to end my session a little earlier than expected, but of course, they had set up the cocktail reception a little early so it evened out in the end.  I’m sure the people that attended my session appreciated being first in line for their cocktails, and forgot all about the technology problems.  I suppose the real moral of the story is make sure your technology works and if not make sure you have free alcohol!

The day after Thanksgiving bring us to a time in the holiday season that is at its peak.  It’s a time when we can start to think of Christmas and the upcoming New Year.  It’s also a time to reflect back on the year to count our blessings and be thankful for the things that have occurred in our lives.  No matter the holidays you celebrate, we here at the Convention Insider want to wish you and yours the very best this holiday season and we hope that all that life brings to you, you can be healthy and happy and above all else, be thankful.

I was asked the other day if I could help promote an event that a friend is putting on in the Northwest.  She wanted me to speak at the event and told I would be glad to do so and wondered what efforts she had gone through to promote the event.  She laid out some of her ideas and I had a few other ideas for her as well.  I thought I might share those with you in three words. 

Use social media. 

Many people have no idea what social media is, so using it to promote an event is completely lost on them.  What is social media?  Well Wikipedia tells us that it means:

Anything that uses the Internet to facilitate conversations.

Being that they are in serious need of an expert to work over that entry, I’ll add a few thoughts to that definition.  Not only does social media facilitate conversations, it also creates participation, builds relationships and can help gather a crowd, which is the idea of promoting an event, convention or conference.

Using social media is a great way to create a buzz for your event.  Set up a blog for the event, do a podcast to talk about your conference, while planning your convention, let people see a livecast of planning meetings or other functions.  All of these are great ways to help promote your event.  They also prove to be very valuable to attendees sponsors, exhibitors and others involved.  If it is valuable to them, your event will be strong year after year.

I’ll be traveling to Boston this weekend to attend a conference where I am a speaker.  Technically the conference is not during the holiday, but I have to get there during the holiday weekend.  As I have mentioned before I am a procrastinator of the worst order, so therefore, my travel plans were late in the making.  The result this time is I will be taking a flight in the middle of the night.  Literally, my flight leaves at 11:59 p.m., one minute before midnight.  I guess it is not too bad because I can sleep a little bit on the flight.  The three hour layover in DC may not be too fun, but at least I can get into my room in the morning and have the day to decompress before the conference begins in Boston. 

The holiday travelers wreak havoc on the business traveler during these times.  They also contribute to massive problems whenever there is bad weather.  I have been watching weather patterns just to make sure.  Of course, I cannot control the weather, but I could travel around them I suppose.  I may have to post to this blog from an airport next week, I hope it is not because I am stuck somewhere and can’t get home.  I get these thoughts running through my head that I will be living out a nightmare like the movie Planes, Trains and Automobiles or like the mom from Home Alone.  I’ll make sure we keep you up to date on the travel situation.

As I sit here with a fever and the chills I wonder how it’s possible to get sick while being sick.  I think what could have been my downfall was pressing the flesh, glad handing, networking and whatever else they call it when at a convention you come in contact with a bunch of people.  I’m certain that someone I met there had a cold or the flu and passed along those germs to me.  I think that a good idea for convention goers and trade show attendees is to constantly wash their hands.  This is probably a good idea anyway, but especially when exchanging handshakes with a bunch of people.

My other theory has to do with flu shots.  Last week the world was given flu shots.  Everybody and their brother was in line to get their shot of the flu.  Yes, I believe they inject you with the flu, which is why I don’t personally get the shot. I don’t really think it is a good investment to have someone I pay to make me sick.  I’m sure all those flu shot recipients were in force ready to breathe the flu virus into my body.

Then again it could just be that I have four kids 8 years old and under and I live in a perpetual petri dish of germs and viruses.  Now that I think of it, if you see me at a convention or trade show and you shake MY hand, you should probably get yourself to the disinfectant right away!  Great, now I have just created a bunch of Howard Hughes, OCD people at a trade show.

I guess it goes without saying that Las Vegas cannot compete with the history and the spirit of Boston, Massachusetts, and of course Boston doesn’t have nearly the excitement of Las Vegas and the bright lights and party atmosphere.  Last week I was in Las Vegas at a convention where I was slated as a speaker, and the week after Thanksgiving I will be at a conference where I am also slated as a speaker in Boston.  Last week, the travel and hotel bill was negligible, whereas the bill in two weeks will definitely leave a mark on the bank account.  I’m wondering the difference.

There is the idea that Boston is a 1700 mile flight which is twice that of Vegas from my home, but as far as the accommodations, are sheets in Boston much more to launder than those in Vegas?  I’m not really sure they are, but the room I am staying at in Boston is twice the rate I received in Vegas.  I may be comparing apples to oranges, but it seems to me that a room is a room is a room.  I’m looking forward to seeing if they actually wash their sheets in bottled water and leave 2 pounds of chocolate on the pillow in Boston or if I would just perhaps hand the Concierge five $100 bills like they do at the blackjack tables in Vegas, my room rate might just drop.  The math of conferences and conventions baffles me.

I’m sorry to report that my experience in last week’s blogging convention lands me in the corner wearing a dunce cap.  I receive a grade of “F” in most categories.  My excuses are many, but none of them really carry much weight as I look back on what was a really poor effort on my part to be an exhibitor on the show floor in Las Vegas.  Why am I being so hard on myself?  There probably are more reasons than I can possibly list here, so I’ll let the picture in this case speak for my words.

As you can tell, no color, no flash, and no draw to the people that are visiting my booth.  It’s not to say that we didn’t get to talk to a lot of people, but I know that had we done a better job of branding and promoting what my company does and why we were there, it would have been a much better attendee experience.  I guess we live and we learn.  I am signing up for next year’s convention, and they are projecting that they will double in size and nearly triple their attendance.  It’s a good thing that I got the learning experience out of the way early.  It’s now about 9 months away from getting a better grade than an “F”.

If you have been following along with my previous posts, you know that I was in Las Vegas last week at the Las Vegas Convention Center at a trade show called Blog World and New Media  Expo.  Looking back on that experience, there are a couple of things that are essential to having a good experience in Vegas and participating in a trade show at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

The first product that is a must have, is some form of hydration, be it a water bottle you can carry around with you, a quick and easy trip to the water fountain, or an endless supply of water provided by the event.  Las Vegas is in a desert.  This is not in a tropical rainforest.  It is very dry.  Add to this the idea that if working as an exhibitor, you are always talking and conversing with people which in itself makes you need water to replenish.  This does not take into account the idea that everyone has a party in Vegas, and chances are you are going to have a drink or two while enjoying the fast life we all know occurs in Vegas. Alcohol will make you even more dehydrated.  This only adds to the dehydration factor ten fold, and I know first hand.  Always drink water whenever you think about it.  It will be a life saver.

Another product that I recommend people in their list of must have’s for the convention scene is plenty of lip balm.  As stated above, it is dry!  If you plan to be talking all the time, and a decent exhibitor will never stop talking, make sure you have the ability to wet those lips with more than just your tongue.  Lip balm is essential to making sure your lips don’t crack and split after a few days of dealing with the public.

A very important product you need to have while working as a convention exhibitor is a decent pair of shoes.  I had some serious barking dogs after a few days of standing and dealing with the public.  It is very important that your feet are comfortable.  I saw some ladies there with high heels and  I think after a few days of standing in heels, any human would be crippled.  Shoes are essential to being able to walk into that party with grace and not looking like you just had two knee replacements.

This list is only a small sample of the things that are essential to good health and a good outcome for an exhibitor in Las Vegas.  How about any of you?  Do you have any tips tricks or essential products that you feel that no exhibitor should go to Vegas without?  I for one also had plenty of pain reliever!  From hangovers to heel pain, I was covered!  I just wish I had known about the water and the lip balm before I wrote this post.

[photo via Vegas4Locals.com]

To all of those that have served our nation’s armed forces, we salute you and thank you for your service.  Happy Veteran’s Day to you and yours from Conventions.net and Convention Insider.

Take time out today to thank a veteran and also take a moment to remember those that have fallen for our freedom and their loved ones that have made sacrifices for our country.

This has been a wild ride the last couple of day here at the Las Vegas Convention Center at the Blog World Expo.  The event has been a year in the planning and it has finally come to fruition and I can’t believe how many people have shown up and participated.  We have a booth on a corner and it has jam packed with people wanting to speak to us which has been fun, but at the same time very time consuming.  I wanted to take a moment and post here for a couple of reasons, I need to get my post up today and I also wanted to show the crowd gathered around what a blog is and what we do with it for Conventions.net.  Say hello to the crowd!

The convention center has been a great place to have the event and it has also been a great place for attendees.  They have plenty of places to sit and talk, great places to meet and greet, and wonderful facilities.  I have had a great time so far, and look forward to a lot more fun in the future.  If you are here come and say hello, and if you are not hear sorry to see you missed a cool event!