Happy Labor Day!  This is apparently a day that I am not supposed to work.  The problem is we had to get up earlier than a day I normally work to get the brisket on the BBQ to begin smoking for a picnic party.  I must have forgotten the memo on that one.  Actually, I looked it up just to make sure it wasn’t against the rules of labor or something, and found tat you actually are required to work harder on Labor Day having fun than you do performing work.  Well to those of you that are relaxing ad taking it easy on this day, please enjoy and those that are out laboring at fun, please be careful safe and ave a great day.

Tags: Labor Day, Holidays, Conventions, Trade Shows

As I sit here with my leg immobilized in a Bledsoe Boot after an injury yesterday (yeah believe it or not this was an injury I received playing peek-a-boo, don’t ask) it made me think about what would have happened had I been scheduled to work a trade show or convention.  I would not have been able to go to a convention center and sit through a long day of meetings a sales pitches and all that would have been involved with that job.  What would have happened?  Realistically, I would would have had an empty exhibit booth and all of the attendees wondering what happened.  Not very professional to say the least.

Do you have a Plan B in place, or a disaster preparedness plan for when such things happen?  Generally speaking you would have a few people working your exhibit booth but what if you are a small business and you are the receptionist, CEO chief bottle washer and lone exhibit booth handler?  My suggestion is to have a plan in place.  Be prepared as the boy scouts say.  Are you prepared?

Photo via Bledsoe Products

Tags: Exhibit Booth, Disaster, Disaster Preparedness

I was recently in Seattle which I consider the a coffee drinker’s heaven since you have a coffee house on every street corner.  When you work 20 hours a day like I have been lately getting ready for my own trade show coming up in October you tend to fall back on coffee to get you headed to point B from point A.

An event I was hoping to make some day is Coffee Fest.   Coffee Fest is currently scheduled to take place in Seattle coming up on September 25 – 27, 2009 at the Washington State Convention & Trade Center.  One of the events that I am really interested in is the Latte Art Competition.

For those that are not up to speed with what this is, the competition is described as:

Attendees and exhibitors are invited to watch as top baristas from around the world, the cream of the crop — come to Coffee Fest to strut their artistic and espresso-pulling skills. In this case, beauty counts but only in the cup. Each barista is provided 5 minutes to warm up and another 5 minutes to craft up to three deftly designed drinks. The prettiest crema, decked out with the finest detail and most distinct design wins. Only the cup counts, as all three judges are "blind" – curtained off from the competitors and sheltered by headphones for the course of the competition.

My only question is how I might be the guy that gets to taste the art after it is judged–any ideas?

Tags: Seattle, CoffeeFest, Washington, Washington State Convention & Trade Center

I was reading a short report put together by Trade Show Week about the state of the visitors to Las Vegas in the month of May:

According to the Las Vegas Convention & Visitors Authority Executive Summary, convention attendance continued to decline in May in Las Vegas, with 341,846 attendees, compared with 509,482 attendees in the same time period last year, a 32.9-percent decrease. The number of conventions and meetings held in May also fell again to 1,643 from 2,208 last May, a 25.6-percent decrease.

I know that Las Vegas will weather the storm but I was just thinking about all of us having 25% less.  I can say that I would be feeling the decrease pretty hard.  The slide is continuing, but I am also hearing about people that are using some of the conventions and trade shows as networking events to find more jobs, to find more customers. They are going back to the basics and what has worked for them in the past.  They are planning on attending events that are upcoming to see if they can change their luck.  Something I am sure Las Vegas has heard before.

Tags: Trade Show Week, Las Vegas, Nevada, Conventions, Trade Shows, Meeting, Industry Events

I know that by now all of you have heard of Facebook, and some of the more prominent social networks out there.  I for one use LinkedIn regularly as well and Ning.com and lots of other social networks. Yes, I am a professional, or at least play one on TV.  I wanted alert everyone that might be lurking here or at least those of you that happen by that there is also a social network for you.  Yes, I am speaking about event people on in this case eventpeeps.com. From Canadian Peeps to Trade Show Peeps to even those interested in Twitter Peeps.  Social Networks are the new black and many of you are already a part of it.  I wanted to make sure to give a shout out to the conventions and event industry peeps as well!

Tags: Social Networks, Event Peeps, Facebook, Ning, Twitter, Events, Conventions, Trade Shows

I have been meaning to write this post up for a while now and I have finally had someone push me over the edge to get it up.  The site Comics Worth Reading popped up in my RSS reader and I want to weigh in my own ideas and perhaps get some of your thoughts.  They ask the question that I am sure many planners or conference and convention organizers wrestle with and that is, "Should Press Get in Free to Conventions?" 

I want to take that a step further than that and make it not just "Press" in the more traditional sense, but how about the all encompassing "new media" as well?  This includes Bloggers, Podcasters, Video people, Photographers and every other "citizen journalist" out there.  I won’t get into the entire debate of whether bloggers and their kin are considered journalists as that is for another place and time, but I will say that I believe this is a new problem that is just being considered.  We saw this same issue being raised in the last Presidential election and the democratic national convention and the republican national convention.  Who is considered press?

Simple.  I believe now that everyone should be considered press.  It is up to each of the organizers to decide on the criteria.  If the person is a blogger in your industry and wants a press pass to your event you have to weigh their "social capital" or their "influence".  That can be more difficult to gauge than some but that is what it comes down to in brass tacks.  How much reach or eyeballs and publicity do they bring to the table.  That can be determined and decided upon.

This is not the end of this debate.  With the emergence of new media, we are about to see more issues raised.  I just read yesterday on a friend’s blog about Conferences Needing To Update Their Policies. Even in our own industry of social media we cannot agree on what is right and wrong.  I like Rick Calvert’s (my friend and boss and CEO at Blog World and New Media Expo) comment on that post.  I don’t have the right answer.  I think we are just beginning to see how this is shaping up.  I do think that if you don’t have a policy you need to make one and stick to it.  In my mind, everyone is now a journalist.  Which ones get a free ride to the show is entirely up to you.

Image via Commons.Wikimedia.org

Tags: Press, Press Pass, Conventions, Trade Shows, New Media, Conferences

I mentioned that I would be helping someone plan an event coming up this fall, and I realized that I am not well versed in a most of the behind the scenes workings of planning a convention or trade show, or even a small event or corporate retreat.  I was then wondering if there was a long list of "convention coaches" out there that can be called upon to give the little advice here and there or people that are veterans in the industry that might be able to help get more information for me on planning the event.  I quickly turned to Google as is the norm for me in any need I have from Chinese food to directions to grandmother’s house, and I found a list of some and a specific Coach that can help me I think.  So how about you?  Are you a coach or advisor? How Can I find you if I had that small question?  If I need just to figure out how to get 400 chairs delivered to a place on Saturday, who do I ask how to get that done?  I can see the "You want it when" comedic cartoons flashing in my head now.  Well, perhaps I need a Convention Superhero.

Actually, if you go to Conventions.net I am sure there is a listing or two of the superhero you are looking for in an event planner or other "coach".

Tags: Convention Assistance, Coaching, Google

Photo via eteamz.com

I have been doing a large amount of traveling to events this year that I have not been doing in the past and one of the things that seems to be high on my list of priorities is the ease of which I can get from the airport in a host city to the hotel and to the vent itself.  I think that one of the best things a hotel can provide is a free shuttle service to events and to major metropolitan cities.

I was in Austin Texas this year for SXSW and one of the best experiences I can remember about that trip was the fact that I did not have to worry about getting to the convention or trade show by Taxi. One of the things that I abhor is trying to carry enough cash to get me from event to event.  I would rent a car actually if I knew I had plenty of parking which is a huge problem for many locations.  If you were at the event in New York City like I was the other day, finding a parking sport for that event was more difficult I am sure than winning the New York State Lottery or the Powerball.

When planning an event, I know this never really enters into the plans of an event or show, but maybe this could be a way to differentiate your self from the crowd.  Make attendees get from point A to B with ease.  I say this and type this as my wife chauffeurs me to Omaha, Nebraska from Denver and I work on my laptop.  Now this is living.

Tags: Taxi, New York, Austin, Denver, Omaha, Conventions, Event Planning, SXSW

I have been on a speaking run here in the first 5 months of 2009 and it looks like that trend may continue.  I sometimes submit myself as a speaker and other times I am asked by event planners to come and speak to their attendees.  As an event organizer myself I know how it is to get a large number of submissions of speaking ideas and proposals and to have to pour through them to make a decision on what speaker might best fit.

I recently received an announcement by for a call for speakers:

Event Technology Expo (ETE), the National Expo and Conference addressing all aspects of Technology for Tradeshows, Meetings/Conventions, and Special Events, has issued its call for speakers for the upcoming national event. The show will be returning to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, September 9-10, 2009, as a co-located event with HSMAI’s Affordable Meetings® National.

In order to get the instructions on submission you can go to their site.  The submissions are open until May 25, 2009.  If you are a person that is comfortable speaking in front of an audience, it might be a good idea to submit your own speaking proposal to an event that is in your genre or niche.  It is a good way to help build your own personal brand and get you in front of the people that could help you and your business.

Tags: ETE, Washington DC, Events, Trade Shows, Conventions

No, this is not a test of the emergency broadcast system and no, it is now a pop quiz.  The purpose of this post is to let you know if you have a meeting facility or if you have a place where people are giving presentations or putting on seminars or have other AV needs, you need to test EVERYTHING.  I come from a time when it was cool to be the certified AV kid who was trained to run the film projector.  Yes, I am that old, we had real film projectors instead of VCR tapes. Now of course we have the state of the art in our schools, but I digress.

I wanted to let companies out there know, and if you are a meeting planner, event planner or otherwise, you need to pay attention as well, you need to test your equipment.  I was recently at an event as a featured speaker and due to my experience in that area I was able to lend a hand when it came to the equipment that was being used by the facility and the speakers.  I should not have had to take the time to do this as any well respected meeting location should have all of your audio visual needs well in hand.  As speakers, it is your responsibility as well to be familiar with your own equipment and be prepared for any glitches that may occur.  if you are using Mac vs. PC you should be prepared with the proper adapters.  If you put your slide deck on a thumb drive make sure it is the most updated etc.  Be prepared as a speaker and if you own a facility, make sure your familiar with the equipment.  It makes a better experience for the people that are attending, the speakers that need to use your facility and will result in repeat business.  My best advice for you and your equipment?  Test.

Tags: technology, conventions, trade shows, meetings, meeting planners, event planners, conference planners, seminars