The Connected Conference Destination
I had occasion to visit Tallinn recently, and discovered something I hadn’t expected. I was connected all the time, my laptop I mean, to high speed internet access. At the airport, in the hotel, on the street, in shops, everywhere. I didn’t even have to accept terms and conditions, I was just connected. The Estonians seemed to take it for granted and told me that the ferry to Helsinki was connected, even the bus to St Petersburg, at least on their side of the border.
Several people told me with pride that Skype is being developed in Estonia, and they are a leading nation in developing applications for the internet.
When I asked the taxi driver if he would take a credit card, it was as if he didn’t understand what the alternative might be, except perhaps the mobile phone, which you and I know can be used as a means of paying money, the Estonians do it, all the time. By the way, I came from Frankfurt, where I had to make the taxidriver stop at a cash machine on the way to the airport.
That was when it struck me; this is a connected society, they could become the first ‘connected conference’ destination, a brand which to my knowledge is up for grabs.
The connected conference starts before and finishes after the physical meeting with blogs, wikis, tweets, networking communities, virtual meetings, online planning, webcasts and podcasts and more. The physical meeting is connected to participants, speakers, organisers and sponsors as well as the sources of information and experience that we are used to having at our fingertips.
The connected destination, its DMCs, venues, agencies and others, know all there is to know about being connected, they master all the latest technologies and don’t miss any new ideas. The connected destination is a leader not a follower, creating the market for its services.
I am not proposing to the Estonians or anyone else to take the leap just on faith, but I shall be surprised if some serious research and scenario planning doesn’t reveal an opportunity. And if being connected is part of the future of meetings, you might as well start now to build the brand, selling a better city wall than the city next door is a waste of breath anyway.
This blogpost was first published on www.cimunity.com
Several people told me with pride that Skype is being developed in Estonia, and they are a leading nation in developing applications for the internet.
When I asked the taxi driver if he would take a credit card, it was as if he didn’t understand what the alternative might be, except perhaps the mobile phone, which you and I know can be used as a means of paying money, the Estonians do it, all the time. By the way, I came from Frankfurt, where I had to make the taxidriver stop at a cash machine on the way to the airport.
That was when it struck me; this is a connected society, they could become the first ‘connected conference’ destination, a brand which to my knowledge is up for grabs.
The connected conference starts before and finishes after the physical meeting with blogs, wikis, tweets, networking communities, virtual meetings, online planning, webcasts and podcasts and more. The physical meeting is connected to participants, speakers, organisers and sponsors as well as the sources of information and experience that we are used to having at our fingertips.
The connected destination, its DMCs, venues, agencies and others, know all there is to know about being connected, they master all the latest technologies and don’t miss any new ideas. The connected destination is a leader not a follower, creating the market for its services.
I am not proposing to the Estonians or anyone else to take the leap just on faith, but I shall be surprised if some serious research and scenario planning doesn’t reveal an opportunity. And if being connected is part of the future of meetings, you might as well start now to build the brand, selling a better city wall than the city next door is a waste of breath anyway.
This blogpost was first published on www.cimunity.com
posted by Elling Hamso at
Sunday, April 05, 2009
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