In this O'Reilly Radar article, Jenn Webb with USA Today interviews LiquidText founder and CEO Craig Tashman about the ability to annotate pdf content with "multitouch gestures." Much beyond the point and click and editing tools in Adobe, or even the multitouch abilities on tablet and "smart" devices, this allows one to use the ten fingers to coordinate, "work in patterns" and quickly edit/highlight/move and otherwise annotate documents. Great for students and anyone needing to take notes or manipulate documents.  

I can see the potential of this with our new One+ tablet app (highlight/clip your favorite section of an article) and can see the many benefits of using a tablet to manipulate a document or handout during a presentation (as a presenter or an attendee).  

Check it out - what do you think? 

At 2 p.m. Central today, the MPI HQ staff will be celebrating two huge events: 1) One+ won 20 major awards this year for design and editorial excellence and 2) the launch (at WEC 2011) of the industry's first fully-interactive, universal tablet app for One+. 

These are both industry firsts—no meetings and events industry magazine has even won 20 awards in one year, and this year's bounty brings the total in the magazine's three-year history to an amazing 34 awards.

The One+ tablet app is also groundbreaking for the meetings industry offering the award-winning One+ content each month on any tablet on the market. Currently the app is available on iPad and all Android-based tablets and will be available on the BlackBerry PlayBook later this fall. Readers can enjoy each issue of One+ in amazingly clear quality and once an issue is downloaded off the bookshelf there is no need for an Internet connection—allowing members to read their copy of One+ anywhere at anytime—including while on an airplane! 

You can download the completely interactive tablet app by visiting www.mpiweb.org/apps.

Happy reading!

Marketing agency, TBA Global, has released a new “iPad for Event Marketers” whitepaper that shows how the iPad can create new engagement opportunities for marketers.

“The iPad has become the event marketer’s tool of the year,” said Andre Mika, senior vice president of digital creative at TBA Global. “The very nature and availability of the iPad makes it perfect for event marketing purposes because of its ability to create and manipulate content quickly to amplify and measure engagement and sales.”

TBA Global’s whitepaper covers:

• Why the iPad is the go-to device for event marketers
• How iPad apps can extend engagement over time
• Tips and best practices for leveraging iPads to better engage consumers, B2B audiences and employees
• A review of the top five tablets
• What event professionals need to do to get started

Speaking of iPads and tablets, One+ is launching its tablet app on July 24 at the World Education Congress in Orlando, Florida. Find us in the HIVE that day or anytime walking around the conference, and we'll be happy to give you a hands-on demonstration.

The latest evidence that event planners love their gadgets: "Sweet" John Muehlbauer, an event planner for Austin, Texas-based Revolving Events, was the first person to buy the new iPad 2 at Apple's temporary SXSW shop (and he only waited 10 1/2 hours)! (via TechCrunch)

We just launched our annual Tech Trends issue in March and Apple just announced plans for its newest marvel—the iPad2. It's almost as if we planned it that way. Maybe we did. Anyway, the big question for me after watching the unveiling of the new tablet is how will the second generation of the tablet that revolutionized the content business change the face of meetings and events in the coming year?

Last night I read a post by industry blogger Eric Wasnick that talked about that exact topic, called "iPad2 Ideal for Event Planners and Meeting Professionals?"

The features on this new thing are awesome—from front and rear facing cameras allowing a user to video conference from anywhere (with a larger screen than the iPhone4) to an HD cable that will connect what you have on your iPad to any HD screen. That feature alone could change the way we present information at meetings and events. Wasnick refers to the possibility of this becoming "the podium of the future."

What an awesome concept!