meetsmart is pleased to announce the official approval of its trademark and patent by the US Patent and Trademark Office.
meetsmart mobile is the mind-blowingly easy conference navigation app & mobile show guide, developed by meeting planners. It works on all smartphones & mobile devices. It is built to monetize your meeting and engage your attendees.
http://meetsmartmobile.com/meetsmart/video.html
With so much new meeting technology being developed it can be hard to know what’s worth investing your time in, and what will simply be a flash in the pan. Our clients rely on us to keep them abreast of trends and technology, so our team works hard to keep our finger on the pulse of the meetings and convention industry.
Earlier this summer, Conference & Logistics Consultants conducted a survey of over 300 meeting planners to gauge our industry’s comfort level with new technologies. A key finding of the 2011 Meeting Technology Trends Survey was that 64 percent of meetings are already using a mobile app, or intend to add one this year. Another 16 percent intend to add one within three years.
If you’re not thinking about a mobile app for your meeting, you’re being left behind. Attendees are clamoring for instant access to information, and ways to personalize their conference experience. Mobile technology is an easy way to provide both. Mobile conference guides run the gamut from inexpensive web-based platforms ($9 – 15K) to high-end custom native apps ($25 – 100+K).
The survey also revealed a lot of other interesting information, which we will put out in a white paper later this fall. Stay tuned to the blog or subscribe to our RSS feed for future updates.
One of the biggest issues challenging convention planners and exhibitors is how to drive more traffic to the exhibit show floor. Though the technology is far from perfect, using a geolocation platform like FourSquare inside the exhibit hall is intriguing.
Let's start with the basics before we go too far. Wikipedia defines geolocation as "the identification of the real-world geographic location of an object, such as a cell phone or an Internet-connected computer terminal." In other words, geolocation is the process of using the cell phone network to tell you where you are physically located. This is exactly the process that the GPS in your car uses before it provides you with directions.
Most cell phones -- even those that are not smartphones -- have GPS location chips to identify the user's location in case of an emergency. Geolocation capability is used in smartphones for Google Maps and other find-it types of applications.
Beyond the basic "Where Am I?" questions, geolocation can also be used to play games. FourSquare is a geolocation application that uses your phone's GPS to identify your physical location relative to points of interest nearby, such as restaurants, stores, and other people.
FourSquare is a competitive game: you get points each time you check in at a location, and compete against your friends to see who can rack up the most points each week. You can even become the Mayor of a location (complete with a digital crown!) if you check in there more than anyone else. Users get notifications if their friends check in within the same city, which is handy when you're all in town at the same convention.
FourSquare users can also earn Badges -- just like Girl Scout merit badges from your childhood! -- for completing certain tasks, such as checking in at landmarks or checking in with lots of other people. Badges range from mundane to wacky, and the collection is growing.
Dozens of brands, such as Starbucks, Zagat, and TLC, use badges to generate interest in their products and drive users to visit certain locations. Businesses can advertise specials on FourSquare, which are secret offers just for FourSqure users. Starbucks, for example, offers Mayors $1 off any drink. It's a super secret club, and all you have to do to join is log in and start playing.
Coming next week – how to use FourSquare at your convention to generate interest, advertise promotions and giveaways, and bring more attendees to your location.
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