10 Reasons Why Your Event and Social Media Don’t Mix

 This post is by Julius Solaris, your Editor in Chief. He is @tojulius on twitter . Meet the rest of the team!

The difference between style and fashion is quality.
Giorgio Armani

Photo by BitPicture via Flickr

I am sure you’ve heard about Social Media in the past six months. Well, that’s a bit too late as it’s been around for at least 15 years, maybe more. In 1995 I used to post on forums, chat over IRC and yeah it looked lots like Facebook. But hey since the latest fashion is here, now you think your event needs a Facebook Group. Here are few reasons to prevent you from committing Social Media suicide.

10. You haven’t got a clue

You just don’t know what this all Social Media thingy is about. Well, it’s like learning a new language. If you expect to get it in a week, you’re out of sight. Get someone to do it for you or give it some time.

9. They don’t have a clue

And by ‘they’ I mean attendees. If they don’t care, why should you? If they think Linkedin is the latest Alfa Romeo model, just don’t waste your time. Think about making a better event

8. You haven’t listened

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twitter Enters Presentations

Keynotetweet is a major step toward online/offline integration, with a touch of twitter coolness.

Photo by smannium via Flickr

The much discussed role of twitter during presentations, led us to believe that some piece of software was soon to be released.

And there we go, keynotetweet has appeared. It is an open source Applescript that syncs with Keynote and sends a tweet of the notes associated with a slide when that particular slide comes up on the screen.
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10 Useful and Free Mac Applications to Run Events

No secret we love Macs and Apple when it comes to getting things done. If you are a member of the Apple tribe, here are few applications that will help in running your event.

We had a blast with iPhone earlier this year. Now the time to show you how your Mac could become an extreme productivity tool and get your events done.

10. Mindnote

Successful events are carefully planned. Mind Mapping initiates the process of planning. It helps in skimming ideas and identifying KPIs. Mindnote is a great tool to draw nice looking and effective mind maps. It comes with a free version which covers all the essentials. Go for it!

9. iGTD

If you are an event planner and never heard of Getting Things Done, now the time to catch up. The famous book started a series of dedicated applications. Most of them are extremely pricey and not worth the money. iGTD is a great Project Management tool and it comes for free, so give it a go.
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The Difference Between Flavors and the Real Deal

This post investigates the reasons why you should be careful in playing with event concepts.

Photo by Funadium via Flickr

Picture a cheap, insipid detergent brand. Imagine the marketing team struggling to find a new flavor for their boring product.

Our studies say that Marseille Soap is perceived as natural and refreshing. We should flavor our detergent with that.

Some customers will be definitely attracted by it, they will give it a go and buy it.

Later on, with the same easiness of mind they will switch to some more appealing flavor.

Now picture using the real deal. Savon de Marseille. As inexpensive, organic and effective as it is. Picture the fact it has been there for 600 years, not because it was ‘a flavor of something’.

If you attach new forms of events such as Pecha Kucha or Unconference to your boring event, you may win some interest in the short term but it is gonna be a hell of a nightmare to retain that interest.

Build a Marseille Soap factory, sell the real deal!

What Augmented Reality Means for Events

As pioneers of the online and offline integration, Augmented Reality definitely sets us on fire. But what does it mean for you as an event professional and attendee? Definitely being more social!

The Layar application for Android phones was yesterday released and gathered the attention of the most popular tech blogs.

Layar is the first application to add tangibility to a powerful concept: integrating Online and Offline.

What is Augmented Reality?

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