Smart Uses of Technology = Success
In It Together
By David R. Basler
WIRED MAGAZINE PREDICTED THAT IN 2010 THE MEETING AND EVENT INDUSTRY WOULD SEE A 500 PERCENT INCREASE IN VIRTUAL MEETINGS. When you look back just two years to a time when virtual meetings weren’t even a glimmer in any of our eyes, that’s an absolutely staggering statistic.
The development of virtual meetings that work, the introduction of hybrid events, the transition of e-mail to products such as Google Wave, the implementation of mobile apps for the purposes of connecting people quicker and easier—these are all new and growing technologies that are all around us.
But I can’t tell you how many times I hear the same question from our multi-generational community: “How do I use these technologies effectively?” It doesn’t matter young or old, experienced or new to the industry, these new technologies are just that—new. The key is learning the little quirks that make each technology important and useful to our sector of business.
Most everyone in business can plug in a computer camera and run a well-planned teleconference, but the same cannot be said about a successful virtual meeting. The technology is still working its way into popularity and the concept still has somewhat of a stigma of uncertainty attached to it.
In the pages of this issue you’ll learn more about virtual/hybrid meetings and the reality of them for our industry in the coming year. Our hope is to continue the dialogue that began at our MeetDifferent conference in Cancun in late February—a successful example of a hybrid meeting (see the conference wrap up story in the April issue of One+).
In this issue, we’ll also introduce you to Google Wave and how it could easily transform how you communicate every day, and we’ll show you some mobile app technologies you absolutely must have on your smartphone.
Most important, we hope to get you thinking “outside the box.” Success is all about connecting—either in person or virtually. Either way, technology is going to play a role. That’s the one thing everyone can agree on. One+
DAVID R. BASLER is editor in chief of One+. He can be reached at dbasler@mpiweb.org. Follow him at www.twitter.com/onepluseditor.