event technology doesn’t work! (and it’s the organiser’s fault!)

Event Technology Doesn’t Work! (And it’s the organiser’s fault!)

by Gianfranco Chicco (@gchicco)

TechFest London 2013

The following slides from my talky at TechFest 2013 have been edited in format and with added

commentaries to be shared as a PDF on SlideShare.net

A personal story: My father, born in the 20’s,

worked as an Engineer. They had fixed phones and people called them

early in the morning or late in the afternoon, when they would be at their desk. By

adopting this behaviour, they optimized the environment to make the most out of the

existing technology. It’s not just about how good technology is but how it’s

embedded in people’s experience.

The Physical-Digital Present

We’re more digitally connected than ever (here Facebook’s connections in

2010)...

We’re more digitally connected than ever... (a visualization of my LinkedIn connections)

... and at the same time there more physical events than ever taking place...

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

... this is because as humans we crave for human connection and a sense of belonging...

Photo by Jeremy Keith in flickr

... and even though the amount of digital clutter (devices, interruptions, etc) has piled

up, the truth is that...

... our “human interface” hasn’t changed much except for a few new behaviours that we’ve picked up in the last few years, like

constantly looking at a glass screen, which will probably not last much longer as devices and

interfaces evolve again. (pictured: a portrait by Leonardo da Vinci)

Balance?

So how can we find the right equilibrium between the physical and digital worlds? Is all this technology making our lives better? More meaningful? Follow some good examples of

products trying to bring back some balance to the system...

A project by a brazilian ad agency Fischer&Friends: the beer glass that only stands supported by the mobile

phone “rescues people from the online world and brings them back to the bar chat”.

(video on next slide)

Video: https://vimeo.com/64643705

A collaboration between Evernote

and Moleskine brings together the best of manual note

taking and digital archiving.

evernote.com/moleskine/

But are all of them really useful or just fancy? This is

the 3M virtual presenter was presented at SXSW 2013 in Austin, TX. Maybe useful at

airports, but at conferences?

(video on next slide)

Video: http://mms.businesswire.com/bwapps/mediaserver/ViewMedia?

mgid=361172&vid=19

Sometimes no tech is the best tech

The best networking app!

A research I did a few years ago among some

of the best event organizers around the world showed that the “best networking app”,

especially with heterogeneous

audiences, is coffee/tea/drinks offered in an

area that allows serendipity to happen

by being not too big so that people can bump

into each other, but not too small either, so that it’s non uncomfortable.

The best introductions are made by

humans.

Having a series of “networking concierges” that know your audience members

well could result in better connections (think how

seating is decided at weddings by the bride and

the groom)

mastermundo.org

An intuitive and straightforward way to

measure the mood of your audience (from Mastermundo).

Paradigm Change

Experience Content Networking Care

(This is the secret ingredient)

Technology is not explicitly mentioned.

It’s a driver, not a goal.

And with very rare exceptions, applying

technology out of the box hardly ever produces

relevant results.

It’s the event organiser’s responsibility to design the use of technology into the flow of the event, design the environment and the behaviors they want their attendees to perform with the aid of that technology.

On Behaviour Design

"Help people do what they already want

to do"

BJ Fogg

BJ Fogg created a framework for designing behaviors called the

Fogg Behavior Model. Checkout www.behaviormodel.org and

www.bjfogg.com for more details.

B = m a t

m, a and t need to take place at the same moment

BJ Fogg explains that for a behavior to happen, there has to be a certain level of motivation,

ability (how hard or easy it is to do something) and a trigger, a call to action, that happen at the same

time

How it works...

In this video BJ Fogg explains the basics about the Behavior Model (I explained it live to the attendees in under 2 minutes but as these are just slides, check out BJ’s explanation from minute 00:10:10).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQjLOyguXSQ

www.behaviormodel.org

www.behaviorgrid.org

You have to consider that not all behaviors are equal. Some you want to happen just

once (dot), others for a certain period of time (span) and yet others are from now

on with no end (path).

Simple, Social, Fun

Learn from the “formulas” that work for other people/companies/

events, especially from different industries. One example is the

formula “Simple, Social, Fun” for interactive experiences.

A good example of Simple, Social, Fun is the interactive installation “Obliteration Room” by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama. Participants are given a bunch of stickers and the only rule that they can apply them wherever they want in this

totally white room.

After a few hours...

After a few days...

RFID interactive installations by Mediamatic at the PICNIC

Festival in Amsterdam. www.picnicfestival.org

TEDx in a box project, a collaboration between TED and IDEO, made it possible to host a TEDx event almost everywhere,

even without access to the internet or a reliable power

source. You just need a surface to project on.

At the Social Media Week 2013 in Milan we replaced the traditional media room with a series of Fiat 500L with live streaming for all

interviews. The cars were an active space of the event.

At Internet es Tuyo in Madrid the participants could ask for ice-cream on Twitter from a

sponsor by using the standard text on this roll-up banner.

www.internetestuyo.com

www.picnicfestival.org

At PICNIC Festival we created the “Twitter Towers” to share the online conversation with

those not using Twitter.

Summary

It’s your job to design the tech into the event flow.

Help participants do what they (already) want to do.

B = m a t (at the same time!)

Motivation is important but ability is even more relevant.

The context, accessibility and

communications are often

more important that the

technology per se.

And remember...

“you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk

around in them”

Sometimes you include a lot of technology into the

experience but the need of power or wifi access becomes a

limitation so...

Photo by Andreas Kwiatkowski@ MLOVE ConFestival EU 2013

... remember to make it easy for the attendees to recharge. At MLOVE one of the sponsors

loaned portable mobile batteries to attendees.

www.mloveconfestival.com

@gchiccogian@taikenlab.com

Thanks!