The amount of paper we waste and the amount of energy we waste as we print is very large when it comes to planning events. A new tool for making events greener is the MeetingPod. This tool is very useful for board meetings or small breakout sessions. Each MeetingPod contains an amount of information that is to be given out during a meeting. Also, at the end of the meeting, everything you have discussed and received can be emailed straight to you from the MeetingPod.
I think this is a great way for people to focus during meetings also. There is better concentration as the right information is set in front of you on a screen. As much as it does save paper, the actual layout of the MeetingPod seems very awkward to me. It will just be a bulky device in front of each person during a meeting. It look as tho you would be taking a stardarized test during a meeting. Although it will save from creating waste and harm to our environment, everyone will be busy looking down at their screens instead of the speaker. It would be the same as keeping a laptop in front of you while in a meeting.
I feel that there will be an ongoing issue on what exactly is the right way to present information to meeting attendees. Paper waste is horrible but it cannot be avoided at conferences and meetings. There are still large generational gaps. Some people want physical papers, and some people just don't mind going electronically. The MeetingPod does seem to look like a solution, however, there are still different ways in which people conduct meetings.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Sunday, October 19, 2008
"Stealth Innovation"
Soon after Google Chrome, Yahoo is also trying hard to revamp their website. According to a New York Times article, this new website will be able to be customized like Google's homepage. However, this is a very scary move. Recently, Yahoo had announced that they may have to let 3,500 people off in order to cut costs within the company. Because of this, Yahoo must be very careful in the way they decide to edit their website.
With one single unsatisfactory application, the company can loose millions of dollars. That is why you don't see much change when you visit Yahoo on a daily basis. The article calls Yahoo's strategy as "stealth innovation." They are slowly changing aspects to their website while have active feedback from the audience in order to keep themselves from loosing millions. They use a fraction of their users to test the new yahoo pages.
"Users will be able to customize the new home page, which eventually will include more content from other popular Web sites; applications allowing people to track their activities on places like eBay, Netflix or Facebook; and social networking features." In order to do all this, Yahoo must make sure that it is possible and comfortable for the users. Their method of slowly testing the website to a control group is such a good idea in saving them from loosing millions.
With one single unsatisfactory application, the company can loose millions of dollars. That is why you don't see much change when you visit Yahoo on a daily basis. The article calls Yahoo's strategy as "stealth innovation." They are slowly changing aspects to their website while have active feedback from the audience in order to keep themselves from loosing millions. They use a fraction of their users to test the new yahoo pages.
"Users will be able to customize the new home page, which eventually will include more content from other popular Web sites; applications allowing people to track their activities on places like eBay, Netflix or Facebook; and social networking features." In order to do all this, Yahoo must make sure that it is possible and comfortable for the users. Their method of slowly testing the website to a control group is such a good idea in saving them from loosing millions.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Traceability
Going through BizBash's website, I stumbled across ImageID.
When creating a photo album, is it not hard to remember every face that was at a party? Even on Facebook, it's so hard to remember all those faces when it comes to "tagging" them. Especially when you want to label pictures from high profile events, you want to make sure each and every person IS the right person. There are so many times where party planners cannot provide the correct pictures because they do not know all the people in a certain picture.
ImageID works to prevent all of this through their technology, Visidot. When people come to events and register or sign in, they can be given a sticker to add to their badge or ID. Then with the sticker on, a picture is taken and the image is filed away into Visidot's memory. The sticker given to each attendee has a specific bar code. Whenever a picture is taken of the the attendee, Visidot is able to retrieve the person's name through the redundant structure of the person and the sticker that may show in the picture. Visidot is so good at picking up the barcodes that it would be okay it the barcode was only half visible or distorted.
Visidot would be so useful for conferences. Especially when it comes to filing pictures, you will never have the problem of labeling the wrong person and loosing professional credability. Clients expect planners to know exactly when and where your guests are at a party or conference. Visidot makes it very easy for planners to easily spot their guests.
When creating a photo album, is it not hard to remember every face that was at a party? Even on Facebook, it's so hard to remember all those faces when it comes to "tagging" them. Especially when you want to label pictures from high profile events, you want to make sure each and every person IS the right person. There are so many times where party planners cannot provide the correct pictures because they do not know all the people in a certain picture.
ImageID works to prevent all of this through their technology, Visidot. When people come to events and register or sign in, they can be given a sticker to add to their badge or ID. Then with the sticker on, a picture is taken and the image is filed away into Visidot's memory. The sticker given to each attendee has a specific bar code. Whenever a picture is taken of the the attendee, Visidot is able to retrieve the person's name through the redundant structure of the person and the sticker that may show in the picture. Visidot is so good at picking up the barcodes that it would be okay it the barcode was only half visible or distorted.
Visidot would be so useful for conferences. Especially when it comes to filing pictures, you will never have the problem of labeling the wrong person and loosing professional credability. Clients expect planners to know exactly when and where your guests are at a party or conference. Visidot makes it very easy for planners to easily spot their guests.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
SpotMe
Last week, I wrote about a type of electronic business card. We discussed how sometimes, it would hard without a physical business card to remember a the person's face that went along with each business card because we do not have a way to write anything down.
As I was searching for more technology in conferences, I came across SpotMe. Although it was created in 2001, currently it is in their third generation which means that it is newer and more technologically advanced. It is a device that has almost everything a attendee needs. No one will ever need to carry a briefcase.
As an attendee enters a conference, they pick up their SpotMe and take a picture of themselves to go into its database. At the start of the conference, an attendee with a SpotMe has more that 1500 names within its database. They can then choose a top 15 that they may want to meet during the conference. The spot me is able to show you where these top 15 might be in the conference. It can also tell you if they are near you.
When exchanging information with the people you meet, SpotMe allows you to trade information just like the MingleStick. However, something extra the SpotMe has is the ability attach the person's picture along with the information. This allows one to see and remember the faces along with their information.
SpotMe also acts like a notebook. You can keep notes in the device along with interacting during conferences. It has a great audience feedback feature that gets rid of the used of feedback cards during sessions. It also contains the conference agenda and floor map.
As I was searching for more technology in conferences, I came across SpotMe. Although it was created in 2001, currently it is in their third generation which means that it is newer and more technologically advanced. It is a device that has almost everything a attendee needs. No one will ever need to carry a briefcase.
As an attendee enters a conference, they pick up their SpotMe and take a picture of themselves to go into its database. At the start of the conference, an attendee with a SpotMe has more that 1500 names within its database. They can then choose a top 15 that they may want to meet during the conference. The spot me is able to show you where these top 15 might be in the conference. It can also tell you if they are near you.
When exchanging information with the people you meet, SpotMe allows you to trade information just like the MingleStick. However, something extra the SpotMe has is the ability attach the person's picture along with the information. This allows one to see and remember the faces along with their information.
SpotMe also acts like a notebook. You can keep notes in the device along with interacting during conferences. It has a great audience feedback feature that gets rid of the used of feedback cards during sessions. It also contains the conference agenda and floor map.
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