Events can be expensive. Can you afford not to allow your attendees to spend their time well? I’m a bit of a TED talk addict and recently watched an excellent talk about how better technology can protect us from distraction. The basic premise was that technology should be used to spend our time well, rather than distracting us from the job in hand.
This got me thinking about the event industry and how our event app technology fits into the brief of time well spent.
I’ve occasionally heard the argument that an event app will interrupt the real purpose of an event – which is to connect industry professionals. From the perspective of time well spent, I had a look at what event apps actually do. The fact is event apps actually help in this respect, and in a range of ways:
Attendee Profiles
Attendee profiles help you find and arrange to meet other attendees. Without an event app, attendees have to scour maybe hundreds of lanyards, a nightmare for the short-sighted attendees like myself! Having attendee profiles available means people can make targeted connections.
Not only does it make people easier to find, it also means it’s easier to find the right people. There’s no need to waste time tracking someone down only to find that they aren’t the right fit for your future network.
An Interactive Agenda
Allowing attendees to book their own schedule through the event app is the very definition of time well spent – both for the event organiser and the attendee. No thumbing through programmes that may already be out of date, no wandering around a venue searching for a meeting room.
For the event organiser, a detailed heads-up as to what is popular in advance of the event allows them to re-schedule or actively promote events that may need a bit of a push.
Live Polls and Feedback
Like most attendees, I value having my voice heard in real-time. After spending 4 years studying Politics at university, I have a strong aversion to not having my opinion aired for long periods of time! Polls mean I can spend my time engaged at meetings, and speakers don’t waste their time arguing points that their audiences are not interested in.
Event app live polling also alleviates the need for attendees to spend time completing paper based feedback forms – which means more time to engage with the event!
Rather that taking attendees out of an event, event apps actively connect them with the event content. An event app also ensures that attendees’ time is both productive and efficient.
Stuart Hadden – CrowdComms, Ireland
Stuart has worked with CrowdComms directors, Felix and Pete, to develop leading edge event technology that has shaped the market. Stuart now leads the CrowdComms’ Ireland team to deliver event app solutions to a broad range of clients. Whether it’s polling and Q&A, silent auctions or gamification, Stuart is always excited to find the right event tech fit for small and large events.
