Meeting News - September 8, 2008 - (Page 32)

Technology One of the events industry’s most innovative technologies for attendee networking has finally arrived on American shores after years of enjoying widespread acclaim in Europe. The Swiss company Shockfish last month launched the North American marketing effort of its Spotme service, with headquarters in Chicago and a sales office in Montclair, NJ. Shockfish has adopted the Spotme name for its U.S. operation. Spotme, the product, is to convention-goers what the Swiss Army knife is to campers—a handy, pocket-size tool with a multitude of uses. With the wireless, handheld device, attendees can send messages to each other, ask questions to presenters via text message, participate in audience polling, and create personal event agendas. But Spotme’s major innovation is the feature for which the service is named. Armed with a Spotme device, attendees can identify other individuals in a room who also carry the devices. That is especially helpful for attendees who want to meet other attendees or exhibitors they’ve never met personally and cannot visually identify—a common situation at events. Through wireless technology called radio frequency identification, better known as RFID, the Spotme device displays the names of people within about a 30-foot radius. The user can then click on the name to see the person’s profile and picture. (When attendees check in or register on site, their personal information, including a digital image taken immediately, is entered into the system.) Users can also program Spotme to notify them when somebody they’ve designated as a key contact is within range. In addition, they can program the device to render their own identities invisible to other users. Event organizers can deploy Spotme to track session attendance, print badges, and conduct lead retrieval. The Spotme system is designed for groups of 200 to 5,000. Originally launched in 1999, with a major upgrade last year, Spotme has garnered high praise from meetings tech experts. Last year, Spotme won EIBTM’s Worldwide Technology Watch Award. This year, it was deployed at MPI’s Edited by Terri Hardin terri.hardin@nielsen.com European Networking Tool Makes Official Debut in the U.S. Spotme hits the floor at four major industry trade shows; supplier opens headquarters in Chicago as demand grows European convention, as well as MPI’s WEC event in Las Vegas and ASAE’s annual meeting in San Diego. This month, Spotme will be present at the Meetings Technology Expo and HSMAI’s Event Technology Expo, both in Washington, DC. Spotme has been available for North American events for several years. But without a company presence on the continent until recently, the product remained little known to North American meeting planners. Mainly, European organizations deployed Spotme for their meetings in North America, followed by a small contingent of U.S. organizations whose event planners experienced Spotme in Europe, according to Tara Henson, Spotme’s operations manager. Henson said that “demand got to the point where it legitimized opening an office here, rather than sending staff from Europe.” She explained that, typically, at least two staff members will work on site to set up and service the equipment. Social Software For Trade Shows Trade show management software provider a2z Inc. has incorporated what the company claims is an industry first for social networking in the latest release of its flagship product. The Columbia, MD-based company has integrated event blogging software into its a2zShow, as well as integrating its software with social networking websites such as del.icio.us and MySpace.com. Also new is a2zGadgets, with which attendees can access show information using any Internet-enabled device. Chief executive Rajiv Jain said the upgrades in a2zShow “integrate well with emerging trends and technologies.” New revenue-generating features are also built into the eighth version of a2zShow, including functionality through which show organizers can offer customized services such as banner ads, keyword searches, and preferential listing to exhibitors. The latest software additionally includes integration with more third-party software vendors, such as salesforce.com, thus allowing event organizers to better figure their return on investment. 32 MeetingNews Online Registration Tops Planners’ Tools, Says HSMAI Online registration is the top technology that meeting planners deploy at their events, according to a survey of registrants at the first Event Technology Expo, which is to be held Sept. 10-11 in Washington, DC, in conjunction with the Affordable Meetings National conference and trade show. More than 57 percent of planners deploy online registration, followed by videoconferencing (20%), social networks (18%), and blogs (14%). Other planners also mentioned electronic surveys, cybercafes, and podcasts. Just over 44 percent of planners said they will seek out vendors of event technology at the show, a nearly 10-percent increase over the pre-show survey response of those who attended Affordable Meetings Mid-America, held in April in Chicago. Ranking higher in planners’ vendor needs are hotel and resort locations (84%), event venues (57%), promotional items (55%), and transportation (43%). The Event Technology Expo and Affordable Meetings National are both organized by Hospitality Sales and Marketing Association International (HSMAI) and will take place at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. Of the more than 2,000 people expected to attend the combined events, 113 planners responded to the survey during the first two weeks of July, according to an HSMAI spokesperson. r —Section by Marshall Krantz www.meetingnews.com September 8, 2008 http://MySpace.com http://salesforce.com http://www.meetingnews.com

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Meeting News - September 8, 2008

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