Event Industry Thoughts

Monday is Moving Day For Industry Thoughts

I love a new logo and the story that goes behind it........

Last week, I decided to move PlannerWire to tumblr because I wanted to make it more fun and because I thought that it was a good idea...turns out it was probably the dumbest idea that I have ever had, but sometimes a bad idea can morph into the best thing ever.

About three hours after I made the decision to switch to Tumblr, I had an epiphany.... You know, the light bulb that goes on over your head when you have a great idea..

I realized that PlannerWire was no longer fun because it lacked something, something that has been here all along... it lacked this blog, Industry Thoughts. 

• My Twitter Handle - PlannerWire
• Facebook Page with 200 fans - PlannerWire
• My Email - @PlannerWire
• My Business Card - PlannerWire
• The site with the most name recognition - PlannerWire
• The site that has other contributors - PlannerWire
• LinkedIn Group with a few hundred members - PlannerWire
• My LinkedIn Profile - Lists PlannerWire

I got to thinking.. what the heck am I doing with all of my content here at IndustryThoughts.net? Everything about me is PlannerWire.

The solution seemed obvious, move all of this content to PlannerWire and then have my posts and other contributor's posts all in one place.

PlannerWire.net is my new home.

The solution was amazingly simple, the move however was not and was actually challenging and a lot of fun at the same time. There was the infrastructure to upgrade (now on WordPress), there were the Plugins to add and test, the theme to choose and tweak, the new logo and of course, moving all of the posts that are here... to there.... over the hill where the grass is greener.

If you have been to PlannerWire.net this week, you have seen the Construction Zone splash page with a date..

That date is fast approaching and it is Monday 2/21/11.

This Monday, this blog will no longer be updated (I will of course leave it up because it has a lot of inbound links).

• If you subscribed to this blog, there is no need to change anything, the feed will transfer.
• If you are a fan of this page on Facebook, I would love it if you would join me (us) at the PlannerWire Facebook Page.
• If you have ever left a comment on this blog... no worries, they were all moved over.

So, that is about it, those who have seen the new site seem to like it, I know I do and I hope to see you there!

Signing off from this site for the most part (there may be the occasion to come back from time to time).....

For those that want a sneak peak, I am taking the splash page down for a bit....

Keith

 

Your Event Needs Refreshing

When you first started your event, conference, tradeshow or meeting, everything was new and exciting and bold and the sky was the limit.

Everyone in the neighborhood wanted to come over and see what was going on what was happening and you were top dog. For years you smashed attendance records, there was a waitlist and you could do no wrong.

To Read More of this post, Visit PlannerWire.net

Hybrid Events - Yes You Should

Most events, conferences, trade shows and meetings could successfully make the transition to becoming a full blown hybrid event if they wanted, the reasons that most don't is a combination of factors that include fear, laziness, lack of understanding and other assorted irrational road blocks.

Your event can have a hybrid component, it should have a hybrid component and if you do not have a hybrid component, you are going to fail at some point. Not tomorrow and not next week, but at some point it is going to bring you down.

Yin and Yang, that is a Hybrid Event. The merging of the offline and online worlds to make the attendee experience better, to bring together like minds and to expand the reach of your event.

I am currently working with a client on their second Hybrid Event, their first did not go so well for many reasons, but they understand the importance of trying again.

Read More at PlannerWire.net

Meeting Planner Sunday Night Music Club - Somewhere Down the Crazy River

Great song, corny video, from Robbie Robertson and yes, the background vocalist is that dude from the Bo Deans.

 

Your CSR Program is a Sham and a Joke

This is actually a true statement according to me.

This is something that I have always known in the back of my mind, but have never really moved it to the front burner to look at the "whys" before. Then Joan Eisenstodt had to send a little tweet that got me thinking about CSR:

Aren't labor practices part of #CSR considerations? www.meetingsfocusforum.com and read comments & links. #mpi #pcma #pcma11 #assnchat

She has been following this up with many more like it lately and it has been burning a whole in the back of my brain until I finally thought "That's enough, I can't take it anymore".....and I sat down to write this post about me, you, your company and your CSR program. 

This has taken me down a yellow brick road all the way to see the wizard where I promptly had to push him off his stool and sit down because my head was pounding....and the wizard is a fraud anyway.

Read More at PlannerWire.net

Kick-Ass Quote of the Day

 Anyone who knows me knows that I am a huge fan of the Grateful Dead, have been since my teens. 

I came across this quote from Jerry Garcia this morning and it kinda sums up the way that we all should approach life....

Read More at PlannerWire

 

5 Reasons Not To Have an Event or Conference Blog

 There are so many reasons why you should have a conference or event blog.. I have covered those before. But what about the reasons not to have a conference or event blog. When does it make sense to skip it all together and just say screw it?

After giving it some reasoned thought, here are the top 5 reasons not to have a conference or event blog:

5 - Your conference or event already has plenty of attendees.

We have plenty! Why would we want to attract more? Our attendees and members are so loyal to us that we certainly don't need any more touchpoints. We are not worried about that other association and their show.. did you know that they are wasting their time having a Facebook thingy and twittering, I wonder what they are telling people on that thing, what they had for breakfast. Those fools.

Read More at PlannerWire.net

 

Who cares about your FaceBook Page

The truth is nobody, not a one, not a soul... they could not care less... does this mean that you should skip having a Facebook page for your event? Nope.. not at all. 

What it means is that the average Facebook user visits your conference, event, association or corporate Facebook page one time and one time only and that is to hit the like button. After that, they interact with you on their wall, through their newsfeed. They rarely come back to your actual page.

Read More at PlannerWire.net

What Meeting and Event Planners can learn from Groupon

I am sure by now that you have either watched or heard about the Superbowl ad from Groupon, if you have not then have a look:

 

Meeting and Event Planners and Professionals can learn a lot from the angry feedback that Groupon is receiving.... Here is the lesson -

DON'T BE AN IDIOT...

If you think that you are going to offend, denigrate, hurt, discriminate against, alienate or any other nasty thing against any group for any reason... think twice because this crap is going to bite you in the butt.

Continue Reading at PlannerWire.net

 

Meeting Planner Sunday Night Music Club - Special Monday Edition

Gary Moore, guitarist for the legendary Irish band Thin Lizzy was found dead today.

Huffington Post Reports:

LONDON — Bandmates say rock guitarist Gary Moore, a former member of influential Irish band Thin Lizzy, has died. He was 58.

Manager Adam Parsons told the BBC that Moore was found dead Sunday at a hotel on Spain's Costa del Sol, where he was on holiday. The cause of death was not immediately known.

Thin Lizzy drummer Brian Downey said Moore's death was a "total shock," and guitarist Scott Gorham said he was "a great player and a great guy."

So, in rememberance, take a few minutes out of your day to enjoy "The boys are back in town", one of the best rock songs ever.... period.

To see the Video, head over to PlannerWire.net