It goes without saying that Visit Orlando does a fantastic job of showcasing their city for media. The tour created for WEC writers, in my opinion, went beyond the expected: the writers saw a side of the city I’m quite sure that not many, not even Orlando natives, have an opportunity to experience.

Friday night, the host hotel for the media, Peabody Orlando, started everything with a welcome reception in the Rocks bar, where the journalists had a fantastic view of the refined dining space and the outdoor pool and water park area. The Peabody recently finished a half billion dollar renovation, and the results are dazzling. From there, it was on to the One Ocean Show in Shamu Stadium at SeaWorld Orlando. The Show, with trained killer whales as the entertainment, not only entertained but educated; between sets, the audience learned about the conservation efforts of the park. Afterward, the group even got to meet some of the animals helped by SeaWorld: a toucan, sloth and other curious animals that delighted everyone and caused a flurry of pictures. We capped the evening with an informational dinner in the private event space and a Q&A on how groups can enjoy the kind of experience we just enjoyed.

Our group got an early start the next morning at the Citrus Club for a tourism roundtable with Visit Orlando CEO Gary Sain. While enjoying a private breakfast, the media learned about the city’s role as a leading meeting destination and the more than $4 billion in new developments. Gary had a great comment how Orlando works with planners to not only create incredible return on investment but also a return on ideas. After this, the topic turned to sustainability at a Clean the World hands-on recycling event at the organization’s headquarters. Clean the World works throughout the hospitality industry and the sanitizing session demonstrated the dedication that the organization and its volunteers have to providing soap for impoverished areas of the world.

Next we were off to the Florida Interactive Entertainment Academy (FIEA), part of the University of Central Florida’s Center for Emerging Media. Truly a highlight, the reps at FIEA explained the growth of the interactive and digital media industry, its tie to the local economy and how groups and associations are making use of the technology in learning and presentations.

A behind-the-scenes view of the Amway Center, home to the Orlando Magic, revealed several spaces available for events, each with a distinct environment. The added bonus was a catered lunch provided by Amway in the Fairwinds Tower Room, with a clear view of downtown, and the opportunity to speak with Scott Joseph, Orlando restaurant critic and writer, who discussed the evolution of Orlando’s fine dining scene.  The day ended with a tour of Medical City at Lake Nona, an attraction for medical groups who use the research laboratories and education facilities, and one of the venues that makes Orlando a popular destination for medical meetings. After an extensive Q&A, the group was ready to make it back to the Peabody and prepare for the opening night reception at Disney’s Epcot Alive!

A huge thank you goes to Jennifer Dienst and the Visit Orlando team, all host venues, the media themselves for being such a receptive audience to the locations and everyone involved. 

As Theresa said in her post “With the Attendee in Mind,” one of the focuses of the re-designed WEC experience is including our community in the process of developing the content that is presented at conference. Daily Download, a new addition to WEC, will take the insights and opinions of attendees that are shared online throughout the day and filter into one session onsite. The event design team is using Wiffiti, a service of Locamoda, to crowd-source the social media stream from Foursquare, twitter and Flickr, as well as mobile and web messages, and present it to Daily Download attendees. To make it easier for professionals to contribute to the discussion, the following hashtags have been specially created. We encourage attendees to tag their photos and tweets from pre-conference events, education sessions on Sunday through Tuesday and the Flash Point presentations with these hashtags:

#WEC11pre (Friday/Saturday Sessions)
#WEC11Sun (Sunday Sessions)
#WEC11Mon (Monday Sessions)
#WEC11Tues (Tuesday Sessions)
#WEC11FP (Flash Point)

You can also quickly send in details by texting "@WEC" and your message to 87884 or sending an email with the message in the subject line to wec@wiffiti.com. See you in Orlando!

Once upon a time in a small coastal Spanish city of Malaga, three meeting and event professionals began to chat at an opening reception. Each pro had a penchant for technology and social media and the conversation over tappas soon led to how at the next major event they could take away some of the mystery from technology and social media.  And an idea was born.

The opening reception was at EMEC 2010 and the three pros were Theresa Davis (@MPITheresa), Samuel Smith (@samueljsmith) and Miguel Neves (@miguelseven).  The exciting thing is, that the initial idea of offering tutorials on how to use an even mobile app at a "genius bar" has now evolved.

When I arrived back at MPI HQ from EMEC 2010 we were diving right into our preparations for WEC10 in Vancouver.  As any conference planner knows, it takes a while to develop a comprehensive idea that actually fits into meeting design. I as an enthusiastic PR chick wanted to jump right in last year with this idea.  But, no, I was schooled in the ways of patience, concept development and event design.

So in collaboration with not only my team in communications and social media, but also creative services, publications, event management, content and (oh yeah don't forget) our leadership - MPI will launch "The Hive" at WEC 2011 in Orlando, FL.  The Hive became our working name as a tounge-in-cheek idea answer to the question, "Where will the 'buzz' at WEC be?" Then, as things tend to do when you let them organically develop, we realized that The Hive really works.  And if it works, don't try and fix it.

Now I will say, that we did come up with some outlandish ideas in brainstorming.  The two-story lounge with diving board and trained bees didn't make it into the final design, but in all honesty we had a hard time justifying the ROI on the diving board and PETA probably would have had issues with trained bees serving cocktails (even if they were tiny, tiny cocktails).  What has made the final cut is a unique blend of areas where the tech-savvy and the tech-curious can meet, learn and share.

We've evolved far beyond a standard bank of desktop PCs at the cyber-cafe and wrapped that feature around an area encompassing a tech concierge station, a demonstration/education stage, a rear projection screen that can run the #WEC11 twitter fountain or other presentations, and then there's One+ unplugged.  In the One+ unplugged area WEC participants will get to see bloggers, writers, and designers in action during interviews or production on the WEC Dailies.  The Hive will also house lounge areas with charging stations and provide areas to meet with speakers and facilitators.

So we're at a cool place now from concept through development and now seeing The Hive begin to come to life. I hear from Meg and her team in Marketplace that savvy sponsors are looking at how they can interact with WEC guests in The Hive and that just makes me want to do a happy dance too.

So while we're not at a wrap, and won't be for many months - I wanted to thank both Sam & Miguel for a stimulating conversation a year ago that has led to one of the coolest projects I've ever had a chance to be a part of, and to Team MPI for sticking with this wacky idea. When we meet, we change the world.

Yesterday was TGIF, especially in Vancouver. The weather is fantastic, the views are great and the set up is moving right along. As Theresa said, it feels a bit like MPI Family Reunion. The exhibitors are talking up their booths on Twitter and Pathable and all attendees are excited about sessions.

For those who aren’t able to attend, MPI is offering online access to WEC 2010 Highlighted Sessions, which include both General Sessions (Sunday and Tuesday). The Sessions, which feature John Furlong, Jeremy Gutsche and Emmanuel Gobillot, are available to members and non-members. You can also keep up-to-date via the #WEC10 Twitter feed and Flickr photo stream. 

Since I went to Malaga, Spain for EMEC 2010 back in March, I've had an idea floating around in my head about virtual access to behind-the-scenes action of MPI events. That idea revolved around giving pros in the industry some kind of birds eye view of the really neat things that the industry press get to see and experience that not all attendees will always have access to.  When we were in Malaga, we got to see some really exclusive venues (that you can't exactly traipse 2,000 people through) that I wish I had taken more video and photos and posted to our social media channels.

Then the lightbulb went off. We should for WEC!  So we will.  Well, not those of us here at Engage, we'll be busy giving you some of the operational behind the scenes insight.  But the really cool thing is, just a few meters away from my office are some really talented reporters from One+ that will be official press on site. Go figure.

So the cool thing from my perspective is, whether you're onsite in Vancouver or around the world in Vienna, you can track the activity of the One+ reporters at their award-winning blog or via twitter and foursquare. If you really want the scoop, you should also follow @OnePlusEditor and @MPIOnePlus on twitter to track observations, insights and the latest updates.

The One+ team also has the scoop on interviewing many of the Flash Point Idea Assembly speakers.  If you're following @MPIOnePlus on twitter, you can send them recommendations on what you'd ask say... Ed Begley, Jr. about sustainability, or Peter Bergen on global terror threats.

So you can get the scoop on Grouse Mountain, the Vancouver Aquarium, the ins and outs of the Vancouver Convention Center, the site inspection of four and five star hotels and all the witty insight of the writers and editors at One+ you've come to - dare I say - love. 

Oh, and I highly recommend RSS feeding the PlusPoint blog.  Don't know how to RSS? That's okay, because Microsoft can tell you how. 

Since Kristen Kouk and I will also be accompanying the press on their FAM, you can also follow @MPITheresa and @kristenkouk for our observances of the press observing Vancouver.