If you are experiencing the negative impact of the economic crisis or you find very difficult to keep up with new technologies this post will help you in keeping up.

I am not sure if you are aware but there is a community of event professionals which is facing new economic and technology challenges brilliantly. I talk to them over twitter, I see them interacting in the Linkedin Discussions, I meet them at free networking events or at BarCamps. They save money using free software, the cut budgets promoting on social networks the maximise satisfaction by integrating new technologies.

There are few easy steps to keep yourself ahead of the game and be up to date with what is going on with Event Planning 2.0. I’ll be happy to assist you in this and you will notice most of the first steps involve me. Nonetehelss, as soon as you’ll join, you will find like minded people willing to help, possibly in your area and with great expertise.

1. Join the Linkedin Events Group and add me as a direct contact there.

Get in touch with me, send me messages and participate to discussions.

You cannot afford to be shy or to just read. Get active.

I’ll be soon hosting a free webinar on how to get a better job using Linkedin, followed by an online speed networking session. You should not miss that! All the info in the Linkedin Events group discussions.

2. Join the group networking events in your area.

Upcoming Events include:

Subscribe to Spicy Networking for more information

3. Join twitter and add me as a contact.

Most of the people I follow on twitter know how things should be made. Feel free to bulk add them. If I am not following you on twitter send a message saying ” @tojulius I am following you! ”

4. Attend a BarCamp

You will find a complete list at the official website.

If you are in London I am organizing ecoCampLondon and will be attending MediaCampLondon. It’s usually free so come and say hi.

You will learn a lot on new trends in events and how you can empower attendees.

5. Join Xing and add me to your network

Xing is very similar to Linkedin. I am planning to develop few projects there as well so as for Linkedin, start being active.

Enjoy it!

The horrible economic trends as well as the impressive movement of user generated events is challenging the traditional scheme of paid events.

If you charge for your events you may soon be in real trouble. If you charge a lot for your events you are probably already facing tough challenges.

The Economy

Pretty straight forward. There are not enough money to be spent on events as before. Companies buying tickets for your conferences are now hesitating on such expenditure. There is simply not the disposable income there used to be. As simple as that.

The Technology

Online meetings are now preferred to conferences. Linkedin/Xing is now preferred to your 3000£/$/€ networking event.

User Generated Events

Meetups, BarCamps, unconferences and the like are now offering free alternatives to your paid events. Getting together a location and asking people to pay for their drinks is now accepted. Nobody wants to mix any more with sponsors, stalls, banners and so forth. Meetups are run by users and most of them are not sponsored. The conventional infrastructure around events is shaking.

Scarcity

You cannot rely any more on scarcity.

I don’t have to wait for big exhibitions to come along in order to network with top professionals. It’s all coming to my city and for free, possibly on a monthly basis.

Now, how do you deal with that? How do you compete with free, zero, nada, niet, niente?

Innovate

You will soon realize that if you manage events conventionally, the demand will drop sensibly.

Few tips.

If you use social media and social networks, if you know what twitter is, if you integrate sponsors gently and wisely, you will definitely find new ways to engage and make a profit.

If you think this is not going to happen and you feel safe where you are, start reading another blog!

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Image courtesy of ON24

This is a guest post by Cece Salomon-Lee. She is the author of PR Meets Marketing blog and senior marketing communications manager with ON24. While her company recently launched a virtual show product, the thoughts expressed in this posting are not representative of ON24 and are personal views of the author.

I recently read Julius’ post about the 5 signs that you event is Web 1.0. Since virtual trade shows are starting to emerge as another technology offering for event planners, I offered to write a post about this. Consider a virtual show as a lighter version of Second Life.

They’re not exactly an immersive 3D environment. Rather it’s like take a webcast to the next level with a mix of social networking, online presentations, and booth staff.
Virtual trade shows seem a natural way to reduce costs while meeting the exceedingly difficult task of generating results with your marketing programs. But ONLY if you go in knowing what to expect.

There are some distinct differences to be aware of if you plan to participate in or plan a virtual show:

Interactions are Different
Whether it’s catching the person’s eye or approaching a person who’s just entered your booth, you can visually determine when and how to approach someone who comes to your booth at a face-to-face (F2F) event. When you’re online, these physical cues are not available. Unlike F2F, you don’t want to start personal chats with everyone who comes to your virtual booth. Rather, most tend to initiate a chat with you first or engage in a group chat at the booth.

“Staff” the Booth
While interactions in the booth are different it’s very important to “staff” the booth. You would never leave a booth empty in between sessions, right? The came applies for “staffing” a virtual booth. The difference is that you’re doing it from a computer. It’s important that designated individuals are monitoring the show during peak work hours, especially when live presentations are being held.

The difference? You’re not stuck staying at the booth for 10-12 hours. Rather, the shifts can be 1 or 2 hours long - as long as SOMEONE is available to answer any questions or chat with attendees. And since it’s online, you can have more than one chat at a time.

The Show Lives On
Most virtual shows have 1-3 days of “live” content. Meaning that webinars or online presentations are happening on a specific day or time. While most people tend to visit the virtual show during this time, remember, all the presentations, booths and documents live on after this initial rush.
No - you don’t have to be in booth staff purgatory forever. It just means you have to be aware that people may drop by the show occasionally. Be sure to update information and/or presentations to reflect what is accurate for your company.

Conclusion
Virtual trade shows won’t be for everyone. However, it is something to consider if you’re faced with limited budget and reduced travel requirements, while bringing together a group of people around a specific topic. Granted, you may not be networking around the golf course, but you can raise a virtual glass in the communications lounge instead!

Harvest Twestival was held on the 25th of September for the joy of 220 Twitter people. Here is a short review of the event.

Planning

You could definitely tell that the event was mostly planned via Twitter. I remember logging in on the official website 10 days before the event and there was only two sponsors there. As the event came closer and the community started to be interested, at least 6 more sponsors jumped on board. Impressive.

People

My question before the event was how do you actually make sure that there is a good mix of people attending the event? Will there be 14yrs old kids mixed with Social Media experts in their 50s?

This was the single aspect that impressed me the most. The mix was perfect, I could run into good business contacts, as well as in friends or funny people. The twitter community did definitely defined itself at the event as very energetic, full of great ideas and very sociable. Remarkable.

Location & Logistics

Location was the Doon, a trendy Trafalgar square club. @amandita managed everything smoothly. Free drinks were poured efficiently (maybe too efficiently in my case) and the premises served the purpose. Although some peeps were complaining about the music being to loud, there were areas in the back dedicated to talking with no noise whatsoever.

I think that the logistics really reflected the twitter environment. The “everyone section” where noise is obviously there, but also the “you and your friends” area where things are calmer and deeper talks take place. I suggest this formula for those willing to organize one. Successful.

Treats

Another plus was definitely the raffle (with money donated to charity) and really relevant prizes. Moo was on board and that is very cool if you like to be social. Yummy.

What I did not like

Nothing much, but obviously integrating twitter on a screen with live twits was a must and possibly we’ll see that at next editions. Details count.

Vote:8

P.S. If you don’t use twitter and do not have a clue of what I am talking about, start using it right now, improve your business and internet relationships and feel free to follow me.

Other reviews of the event (thanks Pudding relation for the list):

Pudding Relations
TechCrunch UK
Current TV
Diffusion PR
Huddle
Londonist
Sizemore
Benjamin Ellis
Social PRobiotic
One Size Fits One
Jazamatazz
Richard
This Is Now
Fake Plastic Noodles
The A to E
Toodlepip
Girl About Web

On Tuesday, I hosted the first Linked in London meetup.

Great individuals, in a relaxed atmosphere talking about their business and networking.

This juicy practice has been stripped away from us planners, possibly we deprived ourselves of it.

Charging enormous amount of money for events like this and relegating networking to the coffee break made us feel like we were doing something illegal.

That is why probably most of us went on the Internet to get in touch with others.

The Linkedin Event Planning & Management Group has decided to bring back networking to the planners.

Next events include:

- 17 September San Francisco

- 30 September Austin

- 30 September Geneva

- 14 October Denver

Coming Up

Atlanta
Brussels
Boston
Chicago
Montecarlo
Dublin
Orange County - L.A.
NYC
Philadelphia
Seattle

All the events will come under the Spicy Networking Logo. (Thanks to Fabio Cannillo for the fast, reliable and professional design and Carmen and Domenico for the precious insights)

This logo confirms you are actually attending a free and user generated event.

Spicy Networking will collect all scheduled events, pics and so forth.

I can feel and read your excitement in the emails I am getting as I write.

The time has come, let’s claim back our right to meet!

Photo by: Thomas Hawk

If you are reading you probably belong to the Linkedin Event Planning & Management Group. You know that we exchange opinions in our community. You are probably also aware that I recently started a monthly networking event here in London.

What you probably don’t know is that a networking event may be soon coming to a city near you.

Rose is the next in line. She will host you in San Francisco. Free drinks sponsored by amiando, which is your favorite corporate event planning software, and heaps of interesting folks to talk to. All the info and chance to RSVP on the event website.

Events coming up:

Atlanta
Brussels
Boston
Chicago
Cote d’Azur
Denver
Dublin
Orange County
Seattle
Texas

This is a great chance for all those that constantly ask me how do you get involved in the business. If you want to help out organizing in one of the above cities or everywhere else, just contact me.

I will keep you informed as soon as date and venues are agreed!