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  • Posted by Jeff Loy at
    12:00AM 11/28/2012 • 0 Comments

    Filling LinkedIn's Event Application Void

    After announcing on November 2 plans to phase out their “Events” application, LinkedIn finally pulled the plug this week. The feature on the professional networking website allowed events to be posted to a central spot and be searched by geographic location or industry. LinkedIn users were able to “follow” an event to receive updates or click an “attend” button, which added the event to a public calendar on their profile page.

    Reaction to the app’s demise was varied, ranging from suggestions that this was yet another sign of the possible Dec. 21 Mayan apocalypse to blank stares of LinkedIn users who admitted they had no idea the function existed. Many within the events industry, though, were disappointed with the move, citing that the app allowed them to promote events in a professional environment. On his blog, Julius Solaris stated his reluctance in utilizing other social media resources:

    “In fact publishing a high profile conference on Facebook or Google+ may make it look like a sweet sixteen party. The cited platforms do not offer a business events solution and are quite focussed on pictures rather than offering proper event marketing tools.”

    Alternatives, such as Eventbrite, Meetup, and yes, even the adolescent Facebook are already being suggested, but the most viable replacement appears to be UK-based event website Lanyard.com.

    Technology news website TechCrunch is reporting that Lanyard, which has up until now has primarily focused on integration with Twitter, is moving quickly to try and fill the need created by LinkedIn’s decision:

    “The idea, of course, is to allow LinkedIn users to discover conferences and events based on their LinkedIn connections and profile information. LinkedIn users will also now be able to use Lanyrd to build their own speaker profiles, get event information on a mobile and network at events. In turn, event organisers will now be able to use Lanyrd to promote events, publish event schedules and gather together slides, notes and videos once the event has ended. This makes a heck of a lot more sense than Twitter perhaps, given the business audience.”

    LinkedIn’s action has created not only a need for the meeting and events industry, but it has also presented a huge opportunity for technology companies and app developers to design “The Next Big Thing.” In the end, can a possible misstep by LinkedIn wind up better serving the industry?


  • Posted by David Basler at
    12:00AM 08/15/2011 • 4 Comments

    Please Leave Me A Comment, Pt 2

    Not one comment. Zero. Zilch. Nada. 

    The blog post you see below in italics, titled, "Please Leave Me A Comment," actually (and sadly) received zero comments back in December.

    Now it was the holiday season for many of us, so maybe it just fell through the cracks, but I was really surprised by the fact that no one commented. When it comes to content, whether it be a blog post like this one, or a video, feature article, session at conference, email blast, anything, your comments are extremely valuable. Your feedback lets us know that what we are creating is valuable to you—and that, is our No. 1 goal.

    If it isn't valuable, let us know. If we can make it better, let us know. Tell us why you didn't think it was valuable or how we could have improved. If you agree with a viewpoint of a columnist, let it be known. If you disagree, comment and start a discussion. If you enjoyed something, tell us why and what value you received. If it was valuable to you, it will probably be valuable to other members of the MPI community, so Tweet it out, post it on your Facebook page, mention it in a LinkedIn group discussion. Get the conversation going!

    Posted on December 28, 2010:

    "The only thing worse than a bad review is no review at all."

    I couldn't agree more. 

    This headline grabbed my attention as I was reading through a litany of industry blogs and news sources that I hit on every day.

    This particular one was penned by a friend and meetings and events industry blogger, Lara McCulloch-Carter, of READY2SPARK fame.

    The headline derived from a blog she posted on Ready2Spark on Dec. 21. She then posted the same question on her LinkedIn page linking back to her blog and offered it up for comments by her peers. 

    The article got tweeted out from her blog and her LinkedIn page had 12 comments as of this blog post—not too shabby for a holiday week.It was the theme of the headline that got me though. 

    The straight to the point, no nonsense statement that anyone who has ever blogged before has thought. Why am I doing this if no one is commenting? We can't forget that just because we lack in comments it does not mean we lack in readers. Often times those who read don't think their comments are valid, or maybe they are shy, or maybe they think their comments will go unheard.

    As one commenter to Lara's LinkedIn page post said though, at least with a bad review, the company can contact the commenter and get feedback that will help improve the situation.

    The online world of content is only as successful as the people who involve themselves in the process and the only way to truly crowd source content is if you get involved in what you are reading. 

    So next time you read something online (especially on www.MPIweb.org orwww.mpioneplus.org) take a few minutes to rate the content, leave a comment and continue the conversation. We learn from each other and the only way to be successful in this adventure is to get involved.

    Your comments are important!


  • Posted by Michael Pinchera at
    12:00AM 12/29/2010 • 0 Comments

    E-vites Now Just Invites?

    Despite the up-and-down nature of the social media network world, Facebook seems to be holding strong as the most versatile platform around. Now Facebook usage is elbowing in on the once-monopolized e-mail as a communication route. Turns out, Facebook invitations are expected to surpass printed/snail mail (sigh, is using "snail" now antiquated?), according to the findings of a new BizBash survey.

    This offers up one more glimpse into the minds of planners and is another piece of the bigger puzzle that is technology, a blessing and a curse, a force that continues to empower and bog down meeting and event professionals. Tech usage is just one significant trend which will be elucidated in the forthcoming FutureWatch survey (next month!).

    But at what point does language just dump the "e" bits that were once required for distinguishing between the digital and the "real" realms? Now I'm sounding like a sort of Andy Rooney who's seeking to embrace the future by changing the past, rather than condemning evolution because it's just so darned fluid.



  • Posted by Veleisa Patton at
    12:00AM 11/12/2010 • 0 Comments

    The Layers of Knowledge

    Have you ever worked with a VP of Knowledge or a Knowledge Manager? Well I do, and these are some of the most curious and thoughtful people I’ve worked with. No matter the industry, they are the ones constantly uncovering the next level of information, to get the juicy nugget at the center. It reminds me of a concept I learned in school, “Peeling back the layers of onion,” which is related to relationships. The more you peel back, the more “intense” it gets, so to speak.

    For the Knowledge team at MPI, they are nearly obsessed with how planners and suppliers learn, via the delivery methods provided to them. This includes the website. Since the redesign, the department has reviewed and categorized thousands of pieces of content, including video, podcasts, multimedia presentations and webinars.

    As part of the “onion” of the relationship with members, and because they’re never satisfied with status quo, the next question from the team is “Do you like websites?”

    More specifically, the MPI site. And even more specifically:

    • What types of tools and topics of content are making a difference in your career?
    • Is the delivery of this content accomplishing what you need in the most convenient manner?

    Now, recognizing that this is research-loving group, there is a survey to find out the answers to those questions and others. You can rest easy, the survey was kept to a brief 21 questions. Your responses ensure that the efforts of Knowledge, in their quest to find more industry content for you, meet your career and information needs, which ends up improving your overall member experience.

    For those who are social media samurai, please share the link via LinkedIn, twitter and Facebook. The more, the merrier, the more layers peeled when it comes to surveys. 

    Please let us know what you think about the website redesign.




  • Posted by Michael Pinchera at
    12:00AM 11/05/2010 • 0 Comments

    Viral Criticism

    The Harvard Business Review has posted a podcast on the importance of defeating criticism before it can "go viral."

    If you liked the examples of such professional reputation management (from our Nov/Dec issue) as it relates to social media actions...specifically connected to the meeting and event industry, you'll dig this.



  • Posted by Michael Pinchera at
    12:00AM 10/05/2010 • 0 Comments

    Killing Social Media with ROI

    In the October 2010 issue of One+ ("Untangling the Value of Social Media"), I wrote about the current realities of measuring social media ROI--a hotly debated, often misunderstood subject that should be of great importance to anyone stepping into the interactive Net.

    Just a couple days ago, stumbled upon the Convince&Convert blog post, "Is Our Addiction to ROI Killing Social Media?" As if that outstanding headline wasn't enough, author Matt Ridings highlights some exceptional points, not the least of which is "Social media ROI is always doable. It's not always practical." The benefits of proving social media ROI can actually damage your ROI, depending on your usage and needs. That's yet another significant component to bring to the table when creating your social media strategy. How important is measurement of such an effort in relation to the effort itself?

    "Any project needs to be able to 'prove its worth.' If it can do that with a high enough degree of certainty for an executive to make decisions, then isn’t that okay? Maybe instead of me ranting about social media ROI for all this time I should have just been saying that all along. Because sometimes, that’s enough."

    It's worth noting that digging into the growing particulars of social media can splinter your thoughts and opinions on the matter at a moment's notice.



  • Posted by David Basler at
    12:00AM 08/25/2010 • 2 Comments

    Facebook Grows in EU

    According to eMarketer.com, Facebook is still growing strong throughout Europe, but is showing signs of losing steam in the UK. In it's most recent research communication, eMarketer.com said, "The social network gained more than 2.2 million active UK users in May 2010—an 8.9 percent rise that took total UK user numbers to 27.1 million on June 1. Growth was higher in the UK than anywhere else in Western Europe. By midsummer a different pattern was emerging. In France, user numbers continued to climb, reaching 19.4 million on August 1, according to data from Inside Facebook. In the UK, by contrast, the tally of active users fell in June, and rose only 1.8% in July. As a result, UK user numbers on August 1 were actually lower than in June 2010. Seasonality may be responsible for some of this shrinkage, but this should not be a greater factor in the UK than in other European countries."

    So what does this mean for you? What does it mean for the meeting and event industry as a whole globally? 

    Well, in this editor's opinion, it means that there are so many social media networks out there currently that the process of cannibalization has begun. Only the strong will ultimately survive, but even the strongest take hits along the way.

    Facebook began in the US and as you can see from the chart above, the stats are still strongest in the social network's birth nation, but the speed at which Facebook is seeing growth worldwide could easily put it in the driver's seat for social network of choice amongst meeting and event professionals globally, so we will continue to keep an eye on the patterns and report back.