Personalize your Convention Experience with Boston’s iPhone app

Today, the Boston Convention & Exhibit Center announced the launch of a proprietary application for iPhone and iTouch users that combines center navigation with a robust set of add-ons including built-in social networking capability. Named “myBCEC,” the application is a personal concierge for your phone with information about wayfaring around New England's largest building, local restaurants, hotels, and retailers, transit and travel information, and a custom Twitter client designed specifically for events.

The iTunes application description notes that “the myBCEC app is a mobile concierge for visitors to the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, one of the Top 10 convention centers in the nation. The myBCEC application combines networking and navigation in one united platform." Features include:

• Wayfinding around New England’s largest building
• Nearby restaurants, hotels, retailers,
• A Twitter client customized for events
• Real-time transportation information for departing flights from Logan Airport, MBTA (subway) alerts and traffic alerts; and
• Visitor information about the venue.

With this app, Boston is leading the way in becoming more accessible to visitors through their mobile devices. Other centers are sure to follow. The app is compatible with iPhone and iTouch, and available to download for free at:

itms://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mybcec-for-boston-convention-exhibition/id347104218?mt=8

Twittering Onsite: A Real-Life Case Study

In an earlier post, I wrote about the utility of Twitter for communication with attendees onsite at conferences. Well, last week I used Twitter’s GroupTweet mechanism for the first time to communicate with conference delegates. Here’s what I learned during the test.

1) Twitter is only useful if you have critical mass. Even at a conference for a computer-related association, just 101 of our 2400+ attendees signed up to follow the conference feed. If you are planning to use Twitter for critical announcements, ensure that you have other mechanisms in place for those who don’t participate.

2) Mobile access is a must. I admit, I am an early adopter of the iPhone and rarely go anywhere without it. I was able to use the Twitterfon application to send updates while on-the-go, which made it easier for me to stay in touch with the group. Folks with another mobile device such as a Blackberry or PDA can find similar freeware. Text message updates are also possible though do deplete your monthly text allotment. I would never have been able to manage the feed if I had to run back to my office to post the updates.

3) Updates can be time-consuming. Even with my handy iPhone app, I had to make a conscious decision to keep Twitter at the forefront of my mind to remember to post the updates.

4) Network access speeds the pace. I was lucky that our convention location had good, reliable wireless access throughout the space. This allowed me to make updates in real time, instead of texting my updates to the Twitter server and waiting for them to be posted.

I’m not convinced that Twitter will replace morning announcements or the message board right away, but overall I would say that our use of this communications mechanism was a success. Considering using Twitter for your next meeting? Click here to visit our conference feed and see how we used this free tool to improve communications to and between delegates.