For several months now, I have been excited about the potential use of netbooks/tablets within our company and for the events we service.
In anticipation of this transition, I purchased a first generation iPad this week as we are all on Mac’s and use an Apple server. So far, here are a few discoveries:

1. First off, this is not meant to be a substitute for a laptop. It’s more like the notepad that I use when listening to messages, taking part in conference calls or meetings and scribbling down random notes, but now I can insert video clips, photos or record audio notes. My next step is to use some kind of stylus for handwritten notes (but without any of the annoying hieroglyphics of the Palm Graffiti…remember that?); plus I’m a habitual doodler!

2. While presenting a live webcast, I couldn’t access my browser window on my laptop without closing the presentation. So, I opened up the browser on the iPad and was able to monitor the twitter stream for any questions or comments from the audience.

3. I’ve had many questions about which version I bought and why. We selected the non-3G version, 16GB model. A few factors impacted this decision.

• First, having wifi seemed to be enough for our use – in most cases we’ll be using them as production binders and will have Internet connections for the automatic document updates. And it is fast as blazes, so that has been a plus.
• Next, if we need to check email or calendars, we always have an iPhone in the pocket or holster. The additional $130 and $30/month charge seemed silly. In a pinch, webmail is always available on the browser.
• We didn’t think the additional memory would be necessary. My iPhone has 16GB of memory and I have not even come close to the limits.

4. In most cases, it will function as a “safe place” for note taking during meetings, writing, reading business materials, conducting research and other creative composing. I say “safe place” as it will not carry many of the distractions associated with working on my laptop (largely because of the communication features I do not intend to use – haven’t even set up my email account!). Oh, and, the e-reader functionality is fabulous.

All in all, I’m very pleased so far. Btw, he has a name. Meet iPadraig. Stay tuned as we find more uses for him and begin experimenting with future versions on showsite.

Within the events world, we all know we’re facing the greatest challenges of our industry to date. There is no need to reiterate the “shrinking budgets, environmental concerns, blah blah blah” reasons for a decline in the volume of face to face meetings. So, for Marriott to roll out a new “GoThere” (warning: link takes forever to load, grumble grumble) virtual meeting solution in collaboration with AT&T, it’s ingenious, right? Well, yes and no.

First, What Will Work

1. Reduced costs. At $500/hour for the room usage, even a three hour meeting could save thousands in hard costs for high-level executives who don’t need car service, business-class airfare or hotel (a three hour cross-country meeting could potentially require an overnight stay). I wouldn’t say there was a significant amount of savings in lost productivity as most executives are working via mobile tools during travel.
2. Access to cool technology. Costing hundreds of thousands of dollars per room, Cisco Telepresence is not something most people can utilize. This could be an opportunity for small businesses and independents to experience the system.
3. Beautiful quality. Make no mistake, the technology is gorgeous. Close to flawless. Easy to use. Nuff said.
4. Environmental impact. Obviously the reduced travel equates to reduction in an environmental footprint. Calculations can be made to estimate the reduced impact.
5. International organizations could reap massive benefits. Planned locations include Shanghai, London, Frankfurt, Sao Paulo, Hong Kong and eight US cities.

The Challenges

Marriott has their work cut out for them. Why?

1. You have to book multiple rooms on multiple ends to hold the meetings. That’s double the cost…and unless you have quite a few people participating in each meeting, it could be difficult to recoup the expenditure. Plus, realistically, what are the chances that your desired party happens to be in one of the planned 13 cities? That, too, could be tricky.
2. You have to travel to get to the meeting room. This still means time away from the office. Coupled with #1, if you have to travel a fair distance to get to one of the rooms, this could equate to an even higher expense!
3. Maybe the name “GO There” wasn’t the wisest choice? Just a reminder that it still requires leaving the office, unlike many in-office web conferencing suites offering decent quality and the same interactivity. I have personally experienced several video conferencing technologies using large-screen monitors and didn’t feel I was lacking much in communication abilities.
4. Decreasing market share. With the acquisition of LifeSize Communications by Logitech (yes, the mouse company), we will potentially see far more affordable options popping up in offices around the world…with little to no sacrifice in quality. (FYI, this is a company to watch, wow!) Polycom and Juniper’s new collaboration is another potential threat.
5. They will need to do extensive consumer education in order to show the best use of their technology in place of using widely available, semi-affordable collaborative tools. Assembling a long list of case studies and demonstrations will be mandatory to sell the value. I can think of many reasons to use the rooms, but I don’t see anything listed in any of the verbiage on their site.
6. Environmental calculations could be difficult. Trying to gain an estimate of the actual reduction in footprint will require manual calculations by…the client? Without automated calculators, this could be a lost metric for organizations needing the data.

Within the list of challenges, I believe there are opportunities to find new markets and new ways to use the technology. It’s going to be a tough road, but obviously Marriott didn’t make this move without serious forethought. And with giants AT&T and Cisco backing them, it’s probably not as massive of a drop of cash anyways. All things being equal, it’s exciting to see Marriott working to innovate and adapt in making videoconferencing a tool available to the public.

As meeting professionals (supplier or planner), where are the opportunities for you? Can you adapt your job duties and expertise to become an expert on this new type of meeting?

At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) this week in Las Vegas, possibly the hottest topic is the new tablet technology revealed by brands such as Dell, Lenovo and HP, with Apple set to release their tablet later this month (Update: Check out the $499 tablet here!!). Essentially the product is somewhere between a cell phone and a laptop; the current products being revealed range from anything like a sophisticated cell phone to a very small laptop. Affordable price point, touch-screen functionality, extended battery life and the ability to stream in HD are some of the characteristics of this new technology. Toting around a laptop could very well be much like how the general public currently treats their mobile or smart phone.

Sooo…where would this technology fit in at a meeting or event?

1. Think about the potential for supplying these tablets to attendees (either at low or no-cost). From there you could do the following:
2. Tablets could be pre-loaded with vendor and sponsor information, educational materials, tradeshow maps, the list goes on.
3. As hard as it is to obtain sponsorship dollars, consider further that if an attendee taps on certain information (such as a sponsor’s link to information), their preferences could be tracked and valuable tracking data supplied to sponsors for improved ROI.
4. The environmental implications could be massive for reducing the need for paper at all, and without complicated distribution systems.
5. Unlike existing technology (ie Kindle) video and multimedia can also be incorporated into these devices.

Attendee goodwill could reach an all-time high!

From a logistical perspective, though, if you thought social media usage was prevalent now, well whoa! Imagine how this might transform the connectivity needs of your audience. Events that don’t offer wifi would most likely be scoffed at…as attendees tap-tap-tap their scorn with angry thumbs (resorting to using their phones due to no Internet connectivity).

What else could a person do with such fun technology??