Friending Eventbrite

Facebook and the online events company Eventbrite apparently are testing a feature that would allow users to create events and collect attendee fees, via Eventbrite, right from their Facebook pages. Eventbrite would send users a check after the event, minus a service charge.

The rapidly growing Eventbrite could be a game-changer, particularly for smaller meetings and events. The online events company doesn't charge a fee to list free events, and offers a wide range of high-octane marketing and communication tools. And, as Eventbrite co-founder and president Julia Hartz told Wired last December, their focus is very broad:

"We’re not afraid of [the larger venue market], but it’s just a slice of the pie ... There’s so much else in the pie — classes, conferences, trainings, and those smaller venues, fairs and festivals that are directly in our wheelhouse right now, and we’re also really excited about the enabling and the empowering of those who aren’t [currently] using anything [to ticket their events]. You asked about our competition — it’s actually ‘nothing,’ because it’s people who are still using Excel and e-mail, with invites and checks."

The move also would knit the San Francisco-based Eventbrite and Facebook more closely together: Eventbrite already offers attendees the ability to send messages to social networking sites including Facebook and Twitter, when they register for an event.

Event Management 101: The Oscars

Cheryl Cecchetto, who for the last 21 years has produced the Governors Ball that follows the Academy Awards, has an approach to managing guests that will be familiar to any meeting professional who has faced crowds of hungry, thirsty, seat-sprung attendees. From the Los Angeles Times:

Starting with the basics, Cecchetto knows to get a drink in guests' hands right away because "they need to be doing something -- it makes them more comfortable." There should be quiet music in the background because complete quiet makes people uncomfortable. And the food should be immediately available for the hungry hordes who've been sitting at the award show for at least three hours, and very likely four. The party planner has commissioned 30 banquettes for the evening at which the expected 1,500 guests can gather and get conversations flowing.

I should stress: I do not think that meeting planning is just another form of party planning. But crowd control is crowd control. And tell me this doesn't bring to mind images of your general session letting out, or the cocktail reception before your awards dinner getting underway.

King Content

Late last week, I attended an evening presentation event at an art space and performance venue in Brooklyn, New York. (The name of the event will be kept anonymous, in order to protect the innocent from the diatribe that follows.)

The format for this ongoing series of "talks," in disciplines including technology, business, and the arts, was very similar to something called "Pecha Kucha" (pronounced "pe-chak-cha"), a quick-draw presentation format created by a pair of architects in Tokyo in 2003.

The conceit for Pecha Kucha is this: You only get 20 slides, and each slide auto-advances after 20 seconds. That's a total of 400 seconds, or six and two-thirds minutes for each presentation. The Brooklyn event was roughly the same, although each slide was only given 15 seconds on the screen.

Twelve presentations, five minutes each, on a host of topics, from socially responsible iPhone apps to orchestral transcriptions of rock and pop songs. Sounds like a can't-miss, edutaining (that's educational + entertaining, for those who were wondering) event, does it not?

Unfortunately, it was not.

The problem wasn't the format, which was clever and hip and managed to draw a capacity crowd of attendees, each of whom shelled out $10 to be there and were clearly excited for the evening.

Rather, the problem was the content, which variously seemed schizophrenically slapdash, criminally undercooked, blatantly self-promotional, and, well — just boring.

Surprisingly, not many in the audience chose to bail on the proceedings — but perhaps this is more a result of the principle by which very few people ever walk out of movies. "Sure, it's bad," you think, "but I've already invested so much time in it!"

It was easy to discern, however, that the crowd's enthusiasm, which at the beginning of the evening had been high and festive, wavered and sputtered. They didn't leave, but I'd wager dollars to donuts that they'll think twice before coming back.

So what does all this tell us, in the age of social media, Web 3.0, advanced production design, and cutting-edge presentation formats?

It tells us that content — not format — is and will remain king. No matter how hip or cutting-edge an event's packaging might be, if the speakers you feature are duds, your audience won't be coming back.

Your attendees are adults, with (hopefully) an adult's ability to discern what is smoke and mirrors and what is the real educational deal — so be sure your format and your speakers are thoroughly vetted, well-versed in their chosen topic, and prepared and practiced.

In short, make sure that they are worthy of your attendees' valuable time.

Notes From a Retreat

Even (especially?) editors who write about other people's meetings need to hold meetings of their own, and so it was that Convene's editorial team gathered at Editor in Chief Michelle Russell's cozy home in northern New Jersey for a two-day retreat last week. A few observations:

• Retreating is a lot like house painting: It's all about the prep work. We four editors -- Michelle and I, along with Senior Editors Barbara Palmer and Hunter Slaton -- had participated in a joint sales and editorial retreat in Chicago a few weeks before, and we reviewed the action items and other notes from that in advance of our own meeting. That helped us shape some big important questions about our editorial mix. Each of us also went magazine shopping before the retreat, and brought to Michelle's house those publications that most spoke to us for a little glossy, four-color show-and-tell. All of this pre-brainstorming really helped focus our efforts at the retreat, because it felt like we'd already figured out what we didn't want to talk about.

• The best ideas come from nowhere: Or, they don't come from where you expect them to. We ended up with a few great ideas for new feature articles and departments when we were talking about something else completely, because something somebody said made us double or triple back on a topic we thought we'd covered. It definitely made me realize, for about the 53rd time, that the true power of face-to-face meetings is serendipity. You simply don't now who you're going to meet and what you're going to talk about until you're there.

• Kenny Rogers was right: You got to know when to fold 'em. The first day of our retreat was more like a half-day -- we started after lunch and went until dinner, and it was tremendously productive. The next day, we started right after breakfast, broke for lunch, and went through late afternoon. And while that was also productive, in retrospect I think we stayed at it for an hour or two longer than we should have. We'd already accomplished a lot, and by the end we were tired and less focused. Next time I'd be inclined to plot out our schedule for the day, then preemptively lop off the last segment.

I'm sure these are all things that experienced meeting planners know. But until I get my CMP, I'll have to keep figuring them out for myself. Or, better still, I'll keep doing what editors do -- interviewing people who know more than I do, and passing off their knowledge as my own.

Slideshow Experience

My sister just finished a two-day spiritual retreat for women. I was invited to attend the closing ceremony last night. Throughout the retreat, a photographer had taken photos of the goings-on (skits, exercises, talks, group discussion) and they were displayed on a big screen in a continuous loop in the school gym where the after-ceremony social was held. It was clear that the photographer was sensitive to the private nature of the experience (it was, after all, a retreat) and had only captured its lighter moments.

It was a great way for us to get a glimpse into how our mother, daughter, wife, friend — or in my case, sister — had spent the past two days and to see firsthand how bonds grew during that shared emotional journey.

The slideshow reinforced for me how it's expected that every get-together will be captured with digital images. Facebook has ushered in an era of rampant photo-sharing. We have a professional photographer at PCMA's Annual Meeting for the print dailies and encourage our attendees to take photos and post them to a flickr page.

When it comes to events, I say the more photos, the better.

Finding Your Deadheads

A few issues ago, our Point/Counterpoint department considered the question of how accessible you should make your meeting content to people who don't physically attend. One of our contributors, Wired magazine Editor in Chief Chris Anderson, used the TED conference as an example of a successful model for letting everyone and anyone see your content for free. He wrote:

Streaming content online isn't the same as being there. Watching the presentations is only part of the experience; an equal part is mingling with other attendees, who are often of the same caliber as those on stage. Come for the talks, stay for the hallway conversations.

But TED isn't the first group to figure this out. According to an article in the current issue of The Atlantic, the Grateful Dead -- yes, that Grateful Dead -- had a surprisingly sophisticated sense of how to create demand and how to grow a loyal fanbase:

In the late 1980s, Rebecca G. Adams, a sociologist at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, who studies friendships formed across distances, noticed deep bonds between Deadheads. The bonds seemed to belie the idea, then popular among leading social thinkers, that communities based on common interest, whose members do not live near each other, lack emotional and moral depth -- that Deadheads might belong to what sociologists call a "lifestyle enclave," but couldn't possibly form meaningful relationships. ...

... Without intending to -- while intending, in fact, to do just the opposite -- the band pioneered ideas and practices that were subsequently embraced by corporate America. One was to focus intensely on its most loyal fans. It established a telephone hotline to alert them to its touring schedule ahead of any public announcement, reserved for them some of the best seats in the house, and capped the price of tickets, which the band distributed through its own mail-order house. ... They famously permitted fans to tape their shows, ceding a major revenue source in potential record sales. According to [Nova Southeastern University business professor Barry] Barnes, the decision was not entirely selfless: it reflected a shrewd assessment that tape sharing would widen their audience, a ban would be unenforceable, and anyone inclined to tape a show would probably spend money elsewhere, such as on merchandise or tickets.

Does your organization have its own Deadheads -- devoted members and other industry professionals who will show up at your events no matter what or where? If so, what are you doing to share the love with them? And how are you luring new Deadheads to the long strange trip of your meetings experience?

Temple Grandin: 'Light the Spark'

In the July 2009 issue, Executive Editor Chris Durso profiled 62-year-old Temple Grandin, who was diagnosed with autism as a child and credits her thinking style with her success in designing more humane cattle handling systems. Reread that interview first, and then go listen to Dr. Grandin's recently posted talk from the 2010 TED Conference in Long Beach. Among other things, Grandin talked about thinking styles, motivation and learning, mentors, and manners.

"The world is going to need all of the different kinds of minds to work together," Grandin said at TED. One of the things that drive her crazy, as she travels around the country speaking at autism meetings, is that no one seems to know how to engage students with different kinds of thinking styles, she said. "You've got to show kids interesting stuff to get them turned on. Light the spark."

The Year of the Corporate Planner?

Could 2010 turn out to be the year of the corporate planner at PCMA? In a recent interview with Convene's editor in chief, PCMA's new chairperson Kati Quigley — the association's first chair from the corporate world, in her role as event marketing director for Microsoft — described some of the ways in which corporate and association planning are in many ways kith and kin:

The events and the meetings are very similar. Our shows [at Microsoft] contain the same components: We’ve got keynotes, breakouts, content tracks, exhibitors, F&B functions, registration. Really, an event is an event; it’s the same discipline.

Case in point, see this interview with Arthur Paton, senior learning officer for Motorola University. Paton will be a presenter at the Chief Learning Officer Summit 2010, held this coming April 11–13 at the Château Élan Winery & Resort in Braselton, Georgia. What part of Paton's observation about trends in corporate learning cannot said to be applicable to association planners?

The demographics in most companies are changing rapidly — the workforce is becoming more diverse and younger, and these individuals have different modes of learning. Many come from cultures that are more communal in learning. Therefore, we believe that social networking tools will continue to be a primary delivery methodology. The challenge for CLOs is that learning will need to be repurposed or packaged into smaller nuggets for this new environment. Think of a Google search when you need an answer to a question — this new demographic is going to expect learning to operate like that.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but this sounds just like what's happening as more and more members of Generation Y start to join associations and show up at annual meetings.

Your thoughts? Weigh in via the comments function. (Note that thoughtful responses could well show up in a future print issue of Convene.)

Turismo Chile: Earthquake Update 2

Turismo Chile has issued another update on the state of its tourism infrastructure after Saturday's massive earthquake. (Read yesterday's update here.)

SANTIAGO INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT REPORTS DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL FLIGHT OPERATIONS GRADUALLY RESUMING

March 2, 2010 – Following the magnitude 8.8 quake that hit central Chile in the early morning hours of Saturday February 27, 2010, Santiago International Airport suffered structural damage to the passenger terminal. No damage was reported to the runways and taxiways. All incoming and departing flight operations were suspended until authorities evaluated the situation in order to guarantee maximum safety for passengers. Turismo Chile would like to communicate the latest update regarding operations at Santiago International Airport provided by the airport authority, SCL Aeropuerto de Santiago, on March 2, 2010, following a meeting with Chile’s National Civil Aviation Authority and airlines operating at the airport.

Flight operations will resume in two phases: Phase 1 – March 2 to 5, 2010 - Domestic flights will gradually resume operations with a limited schedule between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. and international flights also with a limited schedule will be operating between 8.pm and 8 a.m. A temporary makeshift terminal has been set up in tents in order to process departing passengers. All arriving international flights during this period will stopover in another Chilean city prior to landing in Santiago in order for passengers to clear Chilean customs and immigration formalities. Phase 2 – March 5th onward - Domestic and international flights will be operating 24 hours. All domestic flight arrivals and departures will be operating out of a makeshift terminal set up in tents located to the east of the airport’s old terminal. International flight departures will move to the domestic flights sector of the current terminal. International arriving passengers will clear Chilean customs and immigration formalities in a makeshift facility set up in tents to the west of the current terminal. All passengers should contact their airline for updated information on flight schedules and changes.

US and Canadian tour operators and media requiring additional information or assistance can contact Turismo Chile at ofitur@embassyofchile.org.

They Had Me At the Blue-Fur Hats ...

On March 5, four of five volunteer organizers of last month’s groundbreaking Event Camp NYC will give a behind-the-scenes look at how they pulled it off, in the free PCMA webinar, “Engaging Attendees Today: How to Combine Virtual and Face-To-Face Meetings,” at noon CST. (PCMA was an event sponsor.) If you missed the event, or the online conversation about it, it was a smashing success, from start to finish. (The “unconference” was born on Twitter; co-organizer Mike McCurry tells the story here.) The 70+ participants were engaged right off the bat, in a kind of communal state of flow which lasted all day. And its extensive virtual audience was no clumsy add-on, but incorporated as a seamless part of the conversation.

I was lucky enough to be there in person and two things stood out for me. One was the attention that organizers gave to providing relevant content to attendees. The schedule was created with online input from registrants, and was adjusted throughout the day, according to attendee interest. That kind of active listening also permeated the way that speakers and moderators related to the audience. You could just see that they cared.

And, two, in their efforts to create a truly innovative event, they didn’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. They kept track of the basics, like breaking the ice and paying attention to pacing. By an online vote, attendees decreed that the conference should begin with the founders wearing blue-fur, horned hats, copies of the one that Fred Flintstone wore on lodge night (Loyal Order of Water Buffaloes Lodge 26). It made everyone laugh and relax, and organizers hauled them out again to close out the day. By wearing the hats, organizers made themselves a little goofy and very likeable — and instantly created a shared group experience.

The registration fee was very low – only $75 — and I wasn’t expecting entertainment at lunch, much less the excellence of The Three Waiters, a trio of comic opera singers. We happily would have blazed through lunch talking about events and social media, but the music gave our brains a chance to cruise along a different track. The whole day was like that – filled with surprises as well as structure.

If I had a blue-fur, horned hat, it would be off to the organizers. Don’t miss the webinar, on Friday, March 5.