The technology revolution we are living started only 30 years ago. To compare, the industrial revolution needed 150years to succeed! Things are changing in a very deep way: the attendees to events and the people in general take control of everything: what to do, with whom, what to buy, at which price, on which channel… Corbin Ball, independent 3rd-party analyst focusing on meetings and tradeshow technology, shares his knowledge on his website (www.corbinball.com).
Through an article based on the I-pad, we want to ask ourselves the question “How to use technology and adapt it to our professional and private lives?” It is a challenge for all of us, not only the Y Generation. We have decided to confront our ideas about this usage in general and in the events industry in particular.
Is the speedy evolution an opportunity or a threat? What advantages and constraints do you see in the usage of all these new technologies?
This development of new technology is going too fast. We are aware that we can’t stop it, it is there, but scary. With all these technologies, we forget the most important: face-to-face communication and interaction. Technology is everywhere in our today lives, we are hidden behind our laptops, tablets, smartphones... When we are travelling and we want to discover something, we do not ask our way to real people any more, we ask internet or our applications. Moreover, “meeting people” almost disappears with this technology explosion.
Additionally, there are no longer any barriers between private and professional life: our boss can contact us anytime, anywhere regardless of traditional work hours.
The absence of brochures, although it is very good for the environment, makes the product less tangible and authentic for people who like to see and touch. Furthermore, the virtualization of meetings and negotiations make networking and deals less real and concrete.
On the other hand, I.T offers great opportunities for businesses. We have to be greener and new technologies encourage people to forget paper. Moreover, in the tourism and event industry, we are selling intangible goods and experiences. Experiences are not lived through brochures, but through people and actual discovery. In addition, thanks to these technologies, people can share personal information very quickly: time is money, no time to lose it! It is now easier to share content; distributing notes after a conference for instance.
Thanks to tablets (and social networking media), it is now possible to involve people from all over the world in professional worldwide events. I-Pad will become “a natural tool for audience members to post questions to speakers (either via a tweet stream, SMS, or other channel)”, having answers live, without even being in the same room or the same continent! The world is becoming smaller thanks to technologies and it leads to new businesses opportunities. The access to technology is easier for everyone, even those who can’t afford to travel regularly all over the world to meet relevant people and businesses. It is still a green approach: people now need to fly less in order to meet partners in “real life” to finalize deals!
With tablets, travelling is easier: no heavy documentations to carry and less content restrictions than a traditional brochure . You can have all types of information with you all the time. For instance, when a hotelier meets a prospect, he can show him in a very precise way all the facilities of his hotel and the fees agreement possible. Moreover, in very large exhibitions like ITB for instance, thanks to GPS applications adapted to the booths maps, it is no longer necessary to carry maps: your technology tells you where you are and how to reach your point of interest in the most convenient way!
Images from:
http://www.hotel-seminaire-alsace.com/videoconference-web-ou-reunion-face-a-face/videoconference
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