For Cheryl Kranz, owner of Creative Events by Kranz in Minneapolis, EventCamp Twin Cities tapped into her passion for creating more interactive meetings to make a lasting impression. She wanted to see new ideas in action, and EventCamp did not disappoint. She particularly enjoyed the exchanges between the on-site and remote audiences in Texas and Switzerland, in which all groups could see each other and talk throughout the day.
“Usually when people are tuning in virtually, the live audience is unaware they are there,” she adds. “At EventCamp it felt like they were in the audience with you. You really connected with them.” In fact, EventCamp employed a “hostess” who kept videoconference and online participants in the loop about which sessions were coming up, took questions from them to bring to the live audience, and engaged with them even while the live audience was taking breaks. She led three, 20-minute “behind the sessions” shows that Smith compares to a halftime show at a football game. The hostess also relayed back to the live audience what Tweeters from across the globe were saying or asking about the conference.
Smith and Kranz got a lot out of seeing hybrid meetings in action while also experiencing social media and technology as participants, not just planners. “There is a whole new world, and if we are going to continue to be good at what we do, we need to bring to our clients and their attendees what EventCamp brings to us,” she says. “It’s not just, ‘Oh wow, social media.’ Twenty years of research has proven that you need to engage people and let them interact in order for them to learn and remember the message you’re trying to send.”
One of the topics of discussion at the event was how to use technology to keep a meeting alive and in people’s minds even after it’s over. Smith has tried to do just that with the EventCamp conference by disseminating online highlights, recaps, and videos from the event on a weekly basis ever since it ended. His efforts seem to have paid off: Those post-event materials have received a total of 50,000 page views since September through five separate blog sites where they are posted.
For those who missed the local EventCamp, another gathering is being planned for February 11-13 in Chicago. Hanson, for one, plans to attend. “It’s thrilling to try new things,” he says. “There are people who are fearful of technology but we’re saying, ‘Let’s take some more risks and try something new.’ This group is driving what meetings and events will look like in the future.”
For more information about EventCamp, visit eventcamp.org or check it out on Twitter.
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