For many delegates at events there is one issue above all that is now (and has been growing steadily for a while) of prime consideration and that is simply for a delegate to be connected to their device(s). It is expected, a ‘norm’ for many (regardless of how young or old they may be).
Look around an average conference room and you will doubtless see delegates bring at least a device if not more with them. For example, they could easily have a lap top and a smart phone. They arrive at the venue and will seek connection to the internet to take care of their emails and other business.
The office has become very portable and there are no signs of it stopping and the power that the portable devices need is on the increase so if anything you (the event planner) will require more bandwidth for delegate connectivity than before.
Discovering the wi fi is free at a venue can be a good thing but it’s not the whole answer. Some free wi fi is so slow that I have attended a two day conference and still my device hasn’t connected. Or maybe that was how it felt! I think that the cry for free wif-fi misses the point at various levels.
Having free wi fi only goes so far. It doesn’t guarantee any of the things that I seek with my connection (and I don’t believe I am alone in my requirements). Namely; I want a reasonable speed to connect to the internet, I want the connection to be secure and I also want to know that the connection is stable. If the connection keeps falling in and out on a regular basis that becomes tiresome and there is only so much that I have in terms of patience before giving up on it completely.
I believe that lack of connectivity is a big issue and encourage you (the event planner) to make sure you include this key item in your event planning checklist.
Also, do not forget to factor in the need for additional charging points in the venue. You might have your delegates connected to the internet but if their device(s) runs out of power that could be a problem.
As the event planner, it’s important that you have sufficient bandwidth for your ‘delegate connectivity’ and that is your first consideration. In the next post we will have a look at making priority choices when it comes to your network design to establish how to make the most of your connectivity.
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As a speaker I agree entirely with you Paul, that adequate connectivity is fast becoming a key factor in whether your attendees can look back at an event positively or remember it for all the wrong reasons.
ReplyDeleteWe now expect not only that people will need to manage an ongoing high-velocity workload that does not stop while we seek to engage them with our content, but we positively encourage them to engage in sharing with their social networks, both to embed learning and insight and also to promote the event and its value. Without connectivity, all of these higher goals are lost.
I'm becoming more and more aware of the way that conferences and events now extend digitally to those who are not able to attend physically at the same time, and either follow remotely an online SM stream (e.g. through the event's Twitter hashtag) in realtime, or catch up with it after the event.
If there is no connectivity there is no social interaction, meaning no social 'memory' of the event. As speakers we seek to maximize the impact of our communication so it's incredibly valuable to us to leave this giant fingerprint of the event online for others to find, and as a learning resource for the participants to come back to. Businesses like "Eventifier" are making this so easy to do that it will become the 'de facto' standard for every significant event to leave a legacy which also serves to market it for the next season.
Therefore venues which don't positively enable this kind of event must be avoided due to the 'opportunity cost' of missing all of this digital collateral being generated. Events will literally never be the same, and the Genie is out of the bottle. There is NO going back!
How do venue organizers determine the 'real' capability of a venue's connectivity Paul? Is there a handy database of this stuff, or have we uncovered a niche in the events market?