Event Camp Twin Cities

Chris Uschan: A Virtual Attendee Converted to Face-to-Face

Posted on September 2, 2010 by samueljsmith

As we prepare for Event Camp, next week, Chris Uschan and I (Sam Smith) have been exchanging plenty of voice mails, emails and having a ton of conversations. Recently, I sat down with Chris to capture some of those conversations and share them with you.

Sam: When we first announced that we were doing Event Camp in the Twin Cities. You immediately Tweeted me and said – we support this project and want to help in any way that we can. Why did you want to get involved in Event Camp? What does it mean to you?

Chris: I like adventures as well as meeting new people. EventCamp is just that – trying and learning in an unconventional setting. My experience with this event will allow me to share new ideas to our large association and meetings industry customer base. I also felt we should offer our Conference 2.0 event community as a way to support the meetings industry as we did for first EventCamp in NY. Finally, I have built a lot of good online relationships with many interesting and smart people through #eventprofs, attending ECTC10 allows me to expand my relationship face to face.

Sam: You didn’t attend the first Event Camp in person – but your colleague Tony did. You were watching online. What was the experience like? How did it make you feel to be included in the event?

Chris: Well, let’s say I was a little jealous. Tony and I talked while he was there. You could hear the excitement in his voice about the people he was meeting and the awesome education. Following online allowed me to connect and keep tabs on things. It’s never the same online, but it helped me stay connected. Then to watch webinars about that event and read about it months later really made me feel connected.

Sam: I think most of us will admit – if we are honest – that we don’t have much of a Post Event Strategy for redistribution of content. In fact that is why Eric St. Angel is doing her session on post event strategy ideas. Yet, you, Ray and I talked about a strategy for re-purposing the content of this event back in June. Now that we are a week before the event – I feel great knowing that we have a plan in place. Can you tell the readers what that plan was and what we are going to do?

Chris: You always hear of organization capturing their events and then sending out a DVD or link to huge library of recorded content 5 to 8 weeks later. Or worse yet, a link to a bunch of PDF slides. This is an ineffective and lazy approach, not to mention a huge missed opportunity to extend the event to non-attendees. With SonicFoundry recording the sessions and having The Conference Publishers, provide summary write-ups, we have content to share in multiple formats. No one can watch all the recordings and read about sessions at one time, so it only makes sense to distribute the sessions over a 4 to 5 week period after the event (like webinars). Promoting and sharing one topic at a time in bite-sized learning chunks. We can get the presenters involved to chat online about the topics and keep the EC buzz alive. We’ll use Engage365 and Event Camps as distribution outlets and leverage those networks to get the message out. And since, Engage365 is home to many resources, the EventCamp learning becomes a permanent part of Engage365 knowledge.

Sam: Awesome Chris. Thanks for taking the time to talk. I look forward to meeting you next week.

Chris: Thanks Sam, I’m also excited to finally meet in person.

Posted in social | Tagged event camp, event planning, #ectc10, omnipress, engage365, attendee | Leave a comment

Video Business Simulations: Learning By Playing

Posted on September 1, 2010 by samueljsmith

This speaker interview was conducted by a rockstar Event Camp Twin Cities Attendee Jenise Fryatt.

“Get behind the wheel and take over the reigns of an Italian racing team. Will you lead your team to victory lane or will you spin out?” This is how the Event Camp Twin Cities (ECTC) website begins to describe Flemming Fog’s upcoming presentation there Sept. 9, which will allow participants to experience the video business simulation, “Eagle Racing.”

Business simulation games have been around, in one form or another, for decades. But in recent years, business leaders have begun to realize the potential for teaching that video games offer. Companies, like Flemming Fog’s Wizer A/S, are adding a new dimension to business training by bringing such games to conferences. I recently asked Mr. Fog to answer a few questions about these games and about his ECTC presentation.

Jenise: Thanks so much for agreeing to answer a few questions. First can you tell us a little about video based business simulations, their history and how they are used today?

Flemming: Video based simulations are still relatively rare. I know of more data based- than video based simulations even today. But we have always found it very useful that the audience also can see the cast that they work with – getting a closer sense of personalities and the body language of individuals. It really helps the identification. So in essence, we use the video based simulations to create the highest possible identification.

Jenise: How are they usually used at face to face events?

Flemming: It’s always about making choices. The videos will introduce some kind of dilemma that calls for two (or more) alternative decisions – but the audience can choose only one. We often let the individuals make a quick intuitive decision – and then allowing groups to analyze and reflect on the decisions. This can trigger interesting learnings – like a better understanding on the intuitive nature of individual decision making.

Jenise: At Event Camp Twin Cities, you will be offering participants the chance to try the business simulation “Eagle Racing”. Would you please describe a little of what that experience will be like?

Flemming: Eagle Racing is a company that faces some major challenges. Our job will be to help the CEO, Gianluca, to make the right call in 3 rounds of tough dilemmas. Depending on the choices we make – Eagle Racing will either survive – or not. The Eagle Racing simulation has 8 different endings that are all recorded – half of them are from good to ok – the rest are disastrous.

Jenise: What kinds of business skills are these simulations most effective at teaching?

Flemming: Eagle racing focuses on collaboration – especially on decision making. The key learnings are all about the nature of how decisions are really made.

Jenise: What advantages do they hold over traditional training & workshops?

Flemming: A good simulation makes discussions much more concrete compared to general discussions. The simulations actually take you through an experience which creates much deeper reflections then an academic discussion. Therefore the learning can also become much deeper. . . . I have many times experienced how the participants remember details about a video simulation even 5 years after it was used.

Jenise: I read that the value of video business simulation games is increased when carried out in groups. Do you find this to be the case? Why?

Flemming: I agree. Most of our simulations can be played individually, but we always prefer to do them in groups. The added value comes from the discussions around the dilemmas. Participants learn from comparing their own decisions – and the background for them – with other people.

Very often people get quite surprised about how other people can reach a completely different decision based on exactly the same information. This experience adds significantly to the value of the learning.

Jenise: If an event planner were thinking of employing a video business simulation at his/her meeting or event, what would be the process, price range?

Flemming: First of all, talk to a specialist about the available options. The range of generic simulations available are unfortunately still relatively limited, so the first challenge is to be sure that the meeting/learning objectives can be met. And to really get value from a video simulation you need to buy rights for the simulation, to hire a specialized facilitator and to use an audience response system. So the full package generally starts from 20.000 USD and up.

I work mostly with custom made simulations that we develop and deploy for large corporations. These are big projects that are rolled out to many people as part of an educational program. We often launch these programs at a top management conference, and then roll out to many leaders worldwide in the second phase. This is, of course, not inexpensive – but it’s very effective for rolling out new ways of thinking and behaving.

For more information on video business simulations, check out this CNN article.

Jenise Fryatt’s blog Sound n’ Sight covers events industry thoughts and features with an audio visual and social media bent. Jenise is also co-owner/marketing director of Icon Presentations Audio Visual for Events located in Southern California. She describes herself as an “events industry cheerleader” who is also a yoga and improv devotee trying to stay in the present.

Posted in innovation | Tagged event camp, event planning, Jenise Fryatt, #ectc10, Business Games, Simulations, Flemming Fog, Wizer | Leave a comment

Looking for ways to make conferences more interactive? Try improv

Posted on August 31, 2010 by samueljsmith

This speaker interview was conducted by a rockstar Event Camp Twin Cities Attendee Jenise Fryatt.

(Photo by House of Sims)

Improv changed my life. I don’t say this lightly. The skills I’ve learned from more than 5 years of study have made me:

* more creative

* better at expressing myself

* more confident

* more supportive of myself and others

* better able to contribute when working with a group

* more comfortable with risk

* able to appreciate the value of failure

and the list goes on. So when I found out that Butch Roy would be bringing improv to Event Camp Twin Cities, which I will be attending Sept. 8 & 9, I was excited. When he tweeted an invitation to me to participate in his group’s improv show there, well, I just had to connect with him via Skype to talk more.

I was pleased to find a kindred spirit who shares all of my enthusiasm for the life-enhancing skills that improv can teach. Butch has developed and produced improv shows and festivals in Minneapolis for years and is currently Executive Director of Huge Theater, which is fundraising to create a permanent stage dedicated to longform improv and unscripted theater of all types.

Butch agreed to answer a few questions about the value of improv for conferences and his group’s upcoming performance at ECTC.

Jenise: Butch, I’m very excited to talk to you about improv and the events industry. It seems that people are beginning to notice the many ways in which the skills taught in improv can be applied to business. What’s been your experience with this?

Butch: I think that’s certainly the case – I think people have been looking for ways to teach the skills that businesses are looking for everywhere in the creative world and many people have started to notice that improv teaches many of them, as well as a more open approach to working in general, that really accomplishes what a lot of businesses are looking for in their people.

Jenise: What is Huge Theater and what is the corporate training/event component of it?

Butch: HUGE Theater is an improv theater company in the Twin Cities that focuses on long-form, cinematic unscripted theater.

The training/event component is incredibly flexible and customizable for each scenario but for Event Camp we’re very excited to present our “Overheard” component – It is a form that takes suggestions in the form of snippets of text or dialogue overheard at the event or taken from the Twitter stream and uses them to create a series of entertaining scenes and characters.

Overheard can also feature an interactive session component, since the content is already based on the input we get from the attendees it makes a terrific opportunity to have a loose, energetic conversation about the topics of the day and even the event itself.

Jenise: Improv is well known for helping to improve the skills of performing artists, but has it helped you personally in other areas of your life?

Butch: Absolutely – improv is one of those wonderful discoveries that affects how you see and approach everything for the better.

It’s too narrow to think of it as “learning a performing skill” since improv depends on relearning a pretty fundamental set of habits around how your brain relates to both new ideas and fear. Once you start practicing meeting inspiration and challenges fearlessly in one area of your life it’s almost impossible to keep it contained.

Jenise: What improv skills do you think are most useful to business executives?

Butch: That’s a tougher question – having worked in corporate communications I know executives specifically are often limited in what they can say or do in ways that really prevent them from taking full advantage of things improv can teach us about authenticity, being open and honest, etc – it’s just not realistic to think that executive teams will be communicating in the same way.

But on the flip side I think some of the most valuable skills that improv teaches are not what comes out but what gets in and that is where we can really make a difference with leadership – listening and being on the receiving side of the communication equation.

Jenise: What kinds of workshops/performances do you offer for events?

Butch: As mentioned, Overheard is a signature show that can be either strictly entertainment or a combination of entertainment and facilitated discussion that we’re incredibly proud of – we also offer the more familiar improv games for entertainment and workshops in communication and Jill Bernard’s training session on “Better work through play.”

We also offer a unique training product that evolved from my background in Audience Response Systems technology – years of working in ARS made it clear that a truly interactive session needs a facilitator with a comfort level on stage and a background in improv communication to really facilitate a flowing conversation that still gets key messages and training points across. It wasn’t enough to just put a couple polling slides in a powerpoint presentation and expect a new level of results.

So we utilize ARS to engage the audience, keep the energy high and the session moving but unlike traditional, one-way sessions we can provide data afterward to show the effectiveness of our product in the testing numbers of the attendees. We can get your messages across in a clear, fast-paced and fun way and follow up with post event data.

Jenise: How did you get involved with Event Camp?

I actually worked with (ECTC organizer) Ray Hansen in Audience Response and he and I have been working together to bring improv and what it can do to the events/training arena for a long time – he recognized the potential early on and we’ve enjoyed a number of very open discussions and when he got involved with Event Camp it was a natural progression to that working relationship.

I was thrilled that HUGE was invited to participate. I think it’s such a natural fit for the Event Camp experience and I look forward to growing the relationship from here.

Jenise: What can attendees expect from your group at Event Camp?

Butch: Energy. Ideas. Inspiration. Hopefully we can demonstrate how the tools that we use on stage aren’t limited to just entertainment and having a few laughs, I would love to really start exploring the potential of what can happen once you start connecting these things with your existing approach or training/event ideas.

Jenise: Thanks for inviting me to play with you all at Event Camp. I’m looking forward to it. Do you have any advice for someone just joining your group?

Butch: Have fun – that all-important safety net of improv is fairly universal – we all have your back and know that you’ve got ours and that it’s the best way to get the best results. But even if everything goes off the rails the worst and best thing that will happen is they will laugh.

Posted in innovation | Tagged event camp, event planning, Jenise Fryatt, #ectc10, Huge Theater, Butch Roy, improv, meetings | 1 Comment

Bringing A Taste of Unconference to Event Camp

Posted on August 30, 2010 by samueljsmith

This speaker interview was conducted by a rockstar Event Camp Twin Cities Attendee Jenise Fryatt.

Adrian Segar certainly has the geek credentials for being an unconference faciliator. He started out as an elementary particle physicist and moved on to facilitating peer to peer style conferences 20 years ago. In fact, he wrote a book on the subject called Conferences That Work. This year he will lend his unconference expertise to Event Camp Twin Cities, (ECTC10), Sept. 8 & 9 and Event Camp East Coast Nov. 12 & 13.

I was fortunate enough to meet Adrian at the first Event Camp, a conference for events industry professionals held last February in New York City. Like me, Adrian attended that inaugural event as a participant and also like me, Adrian was blown away by the passion for innovative techniques and meeting technologies that the Event Campers shared. I recently asked Adrian a few questions about his involvment this year.

Jenise: How did you become involved with ECTC?

Adrian: Exploring Twitter at the end of 2009, just after the publication of my book on conference design, I stumbled upon the #eventprofs community. There I heard about something called EventCamp, to be held in New York City in February. On a hunch I decided to attend, and it was there that I met Sam Smith (and a host of other great eventprofs) for the first time face to face. What is now called the original EventCamp was a blast, and when I heard that Sam and Ray Hansen were putting together a regional EventCamp in Minneapolis, I immediately asked Sam if I could help with the event in some way. I gave him some suggestions and ended up being responsible for a couple of sessions.

Jenise: Please tell a little about the sessions that you will be facilitating there?

Adrian: One of the sessions I’m running is called Pecha Kucha, Japanese for chitchat, where we’ll have many short presentations by attendees. I became interested in Pecha Kucha through a reference in Garr Reynolds’ Presentation Zen. It’s like a haiku for presentations-every presenter chooses twenty slides, each shown for exactly twenty seconds while he or she presents. The format encourages focus, conciseness, and passion, and I thought it would be a great way for EventCamp Twin Cities attendees to learn about a variety of event topics-such as event design, social media in events, and tradeshow innovation-in a short amount of time. A number of #eventprofs, including Lara McCulloch-Carter who started the group, have already signed up to present.

I’m also facilitating the closing session, which will be similar to the personal introspective I use at Conferences That Work. It’s a two-part process. First, there’s a structured exercise for participants to privately explore what’s happened for them at the conference, how their experience might impact their life in the future, and what changes they may want to make as a result. And second, we’ll give everyone an opportunity to share any or all of their answers to others. So the session is designed to combine private reflection and group sharing to take stock of participants’ conference experiences, develop strategies for the future, and further build community by discovering and sharing the commonalities of our time together.

Jenise: How will ECTC be like/different from the kinds of events you usually facilitate and write about in your book Conferences that Work?

Adrian: One of things I like about the proposed program at ECTC is that the organizers are taking risks, scheduling sessions that are not the traditional talk + questions we’ve all experienced at so many events. In that sense, ECTC is very much in the spirit of Conferences That Work.

Where we part company is that, unlike the pre-determined sessions of ECTC, the Conferences That Work design crowdsources most of the sessions at the event, so people arrive not knowing what is going to happen. That probably sounds scary to many of your readers, but the wonderful thing about this design, which has been tested and refined over the last twenty years, is that the event simply turns into what participants want it to be.

Jenise: What do you think is the most valuable thing event professionals will take away from ECTC?

Adrian: It’s going to be different for every attendee, so I’m wary of making a single prediction! Here are what I think will be the most important outcomes from ECTC.

First, those attendees who are unfamiliar with eventprofs will be amazed by the energy emanating from our community, and will become active members!

Second, there’s going to be plenty of good old-fashioned learning about a wealth of new technologies and approaches, many of which have been spurred by the intersection of social media and our industry.

And finally, I expect that many event professionals will have their eyes opened to the value of novel event session designs, and will begin to incorporate them into their future events.

Jenise Fryatt’s blog Sound n’ Sight covers events industry thoughts and features with an audio visual and social media bent. Jenise is also co-owner/marketing director of Icon Presentations Audio Visual for Events located in Southern California. She describes herself as an “events industry cheerleader” who is also a yoga and improv devotee trying to stay in the present.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged event camp, pecha kucha, event planning, Jenise Fryatt, #ectc10, adrian segar, Conferences that Work, unconference | Leave a comment

Under Construction at Event Camp

Posted on August 27, 2010 by samueljsmith

When Event Camp starts in two weeks, we are going to be using two new spaces at the McNamara Alumni Center: The President’s Club lounge and the New Maroon and Gold Room. These spaces are so new that they are still under construction. (See picture above)

This morning, we walked through the McNamara Alumni Center to see how things are progressing. Also, we wanted to make sure that Ray and the technical team had a good feel for the what/where/why of the venue.

We talked about placement of video cameras for the webcast, the location of the interview studio, wifi boosters and the placement of screens and video cameras for the Dallas and Basel Pods. Then we talked about seating – the classroom style seating, the exercise balls and the lounge furniture. We decided that we will have enough power strips and power outlets to keep all of your digital toys charged up and online.

In the video below, Sam talks about the placement of the Sonic Foundry Media Site Cameras and the location of Emilie Barta’s interview studio in the main general session room.

Anyway, Ray and I are excited! Event Camp is just two weeks away! We look forward to seeing all of you there (either face-to-face or virtually).

Posted in experimentation | Tagged event camp, #ectc10, Sonic Foundry, emilie barta, mcnamara alumni center, rayhansen, samueljsmith | Leave a comment

Five Ways To Get To Event Camp

Posted on August 26, 2010 by samueljsmith

How are you getting to Event Camp? The conversation begins two weeks from today.

No matter where you are in the world and what you are doing – we have a way for you to join, participate and become part of Event Camp. (See Program and Speakers)

Thanks to passionate people like you, we now have five ways for you to participate in Event Camp.

1. Face-to-Face in Minneapolis

Join us at the McNamara Alumni Center on the Campus of the University of Minnesota for this event. It’s a steal at $85. The number of smart people doing cool things that are attending this event is growing everyday. Join Us – register: (http://eventcamptwincities2010.eventbrite.com)

2. Face-to-Face in Dallas

Are you a Texan? Go to the Dallas POD sponsored by Freeman. Andy Lawson and Kevin Richardson have created space for attendees to gather and participate remotely in Event Camp from Texas. Join the crew in Texas – Registration is free: (http://ectc10dallas.eventbrite.com/).

3. Face-to-Face in Basel

Are you in Europe? Get on an EasyJet flight or a train and head to Basel. Ruud Janssen has attendees gathering at Cafe Tacuba to participate in Event Camp there. Switzerland is 7 hours ahead of us in Minneapolis – so the event starts at 3pm for them. During our lunch, they are going to have a three course dinner. You can register here: (http://ectcbaselpod.eventbrite.com/).

Oh and these crazy guys even created a website and video. Watch below.

4. Watch the Live Webcast

Thanks to the good people at Sonic Foundry – we will be broadcasting this event live to your desktop. In addition, Emilie Barta will serve as the Virtual Event Emcee to guide you through the event and make sure that you are connected to the face-to-face audience. Emilie will ensure that you are familiar with the virtual event platform and how to get involved in the day’s activities. In between sessions, she will interview speakers, sponsors and attendees to add additional context to your event experience. And she will take advantage of anything that happens in-the-moment to ensure that you have an experience all your own.

5. Participate From the Virtual Third World

Let’s pretend that you will be on a romantic island cruise with your husband and can’t come to any of the Event Camp sites or watch the webcast. Well, you can still participate via Twitter. We will be dishing out tweets on the hashtag #ectc10. You will be able to Read, Respond or Retweet any ideas, links or comments that you like (Or dislike) on your smart phone. Keep one eye on the romantic waterfall and another on your smartphone.

Bottom Line

As you can see there are many ways for you to get to Event Camp. So, join us from wherever you may be – through whatever means possible. We are looking forward to meeting you – virtually or face-to-face. See you soon.

Posted in experimentation | Tagged event camp, #ectc10, #eventprofs, Sonic Foundry, Freeman, emilie barta, ruud janssen | 1 Comment

What can events learn from TV shows, YouTube and TED?

Posted on August 25, 2010 by samueljsmith

Professional mastor of ceremonies Glenn Thayer thinks event planners can learn a lot from TV, YouTube and TED.

As someone who specializes in content delivery, hybrid meetings and conference moderation, he has an important perspective on the subject which he plans to share at Event Camp Twin Cities (ECTC).
Glenn recently agreed to answer a few questions for Jenise Fryatt (@lyksumlikrish) on the topic and on his upcoming session at ECTC entitled The TV Show Session: 60 minutes to a more engaged audience.

Jenise: Thanks so much for agreeing to answer these questions.

Glenn: It’s my pleasure!

Jenise: I heard so much about you after you hosted the general sessions at MPI’s Meet Different this year. Your name was all over Twitter and event planners who attended the event, both in person and virtually (via webcasting), were singing your praises. It seems appropriate that you would be leading a discussion on content delivery for Event Camp Twin Cities.

What got you involved with Event Camp and how did you come up with the title “The TV Show Session”?

Glenn: I followed the last Event Camp virtually and was extremely impressed by the level of passion the organizers and presenters showed towards making the much needed changes in our industry.

When I was asked to speak at Event Camp Twin Cities, I jumped at the chance to be part of such a remarkable team. The most wonderful thing about Event Camp is the wealth of experience and knowledge that each of the participants bring with them. I’m really excited to hear and experience what people are doing to push the envelope in the meetings and events industry.

The TV Show Session: 60 minutes to a more engaged audience is designed to get participants thinking about how to package and deliver their content using various television “show” models within a specific time frame. As a culture, we are used to watching television programming in 60 minute segments (including commercials). Shouldn’t we be looking at how the television industry keeps us engaged, then apply that model to the meetings industry?

Jenise: How do you think the internet has changed content delivery?

Glenn: The internet has done wonders for easy access to information. However, we are living in a world of information overload. The amount of digital information available online today will double in the next 18 months (and the next 18 months after that).

We’re now accustomed to being online multi-tasking experts; juggling our email, Twitter feeds, Facebook accounts and news readers, all while trying to get our “real” work done. This is now the new normal. In the face of this overload, we really need to jump start ways to keep the attention of our participants focused (online and face-to-face), and ensure the relevance of our content.

Jenise: What effect has TED had on the way information is delivered?

Glenn: TED is fantastic! It proved to the meetings industry that keynote speakers can provide relevant and entertaining content in under 20 minutes. Gone are the days of the 90 minute keynote.

Jenise: Is the meetings and events industry adjusting to these changes rapidly and effectively enough?

Glenn: There is a huge push towards changing the way content is delivered (for meetings and events), but it’s not happening fast enough. I’ve seen many planners adding new technology and concepts to their meetings (like social media integration and live streaming), but very few have changed the delivery platform to keep up with how attendees learn in today’s environment.

Many meeting planners aren’t excited to attend the very meetings they plan. If the planners aren’t excited about their meeting, think about how the attendees must feel. I do understand that there are many instances where there are legal and professional guidelines to what and how the content is delivered.

It reminds me of traffic school. Would you rather sit for eight hours listening to someone ramble on about traffic law, or would you want to be entertained by an improv troupe that keeps you engaged and laughing? It’s the same content, but a completely different experience. If there is a lot of very unsexy content that needs to be communicated to attendees, and the content is dry, why not make the delivery fun? Or at the very least, engaging?

Jenise: Increased audience interaction at events, seems to be one of the more commonly advocated changes in content delivery. In fact, your session is described as interactive. What interactive format will you use?

We’ll be using the very popular “sing along” format. If that should fail miserably, we’ll turn toward Q & A, discussions, interactions with the virtual attendees, and group brainstorming.

Jenise: What useful information do you hope that participants will take away from your session?

Glenn: I want the participants to leave the session with at least one idea that they can implement immediately that will increase engagement at their meetings.

(Photo by hill.josh)

Posted in innovation | Tagged Content Delivery, Glenn Thayer, Jenise Fryatt, Meet Different, MPI, TED, TV, YouTube | Leave a comment

What’s Brewing In The Innovation Lab?

Posted on August 14, 2010 by samueljsmith

It was hard to stay cool this week. The innovation talk around Event Camp was sizzling. Lots of people were calling us with great ideas. Here is an update on some of our latest innovations and creations.

#eventprofs Blog Awards

Thanks to Lara McCulloch-Carter (@ready2spark) who called up and said – “I will be in Minneapolis during Event Camp and can come. Would it make sense to do the Blog awards at this time?” We said – of course – let’s do them LIVE. Then, Andy Lawson over at Freeman offered to sponsor the blog awards reception for the live announcement. Thanks Andy! You rock!

If you are a blogger or know some darn good bloggers, please nominate their blogs. We will announce the nominees in about 10 days. Then, you will get to vote on the best blogs. Winners will be announced live online during the Event Camp Final Reception on September 9th.

Building A Wiki Together

Most people agree that the post event strategy for continuing conversations and re-purposing content is one of the greatest opportunities for events and social media. Erica St. Angel (@mediasite) has volunteered to help all of us tap into our collective wisdom and insights to create a crowdsourced document that will represent some best practices, great ideas, tips and biggest outstanding questions for creating an awesome post event strategy. We all get to take this back to the office with us.

Livestream with Emilie Barta

Emilie Barta (@emiliebarta) is hosting our livestream and providing consulting support to make sure that it rocks. We are happy to have Emilie on board and look forward to her assistance in making the livestream a better experience for all remote attendees.

Remote PODS in Dallas and Basel

On Friday, we confirmed that there will be two remote audience PODS for Event Camp Twin Cities. One POD will be in Dallas, Texas and is sponsored by Freeman (Contact @andy_lawson). The second POD will be in Basel Switzerland (contact @ruudwjanssen). – More details will come next week.

Some of you are wondering what is a POD? A POD is a remote viewing location for Event Camp where several people are participating together. We are creating live video links between the PODS and the audience in the room. During certain sessions or activities, we will ask the PODS to work together as a group. Then, feed their input or conclusions into the face-to-face audience to add to the discussion.

We will create a post that gives you more information about the remote audience participation projects and the PODS soon enough. In the meantime, if you know POD Kung fu – give us a call.

Bloggers Blogging about Event Camp

Thanks to Minnesota Meetings and Jenise Fryatt (@lyksumlikrish) for interviewing Sam and blogging about Event Camp this week. We loved both of your posts!

> Minnesota Meetings Blog Post: Change your Thinking: Event Camp

> Jenise Fryatt’s Sight & Sound Blog: What is Event Camp Twin Cities?

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Video Business Simulations: Learning By Playing

Looking for ways to make conferences more interactive? Try improv

(Photo by House of Sims)

Bringing A Taste of Unconference to Event Camp

Under Construction at Event Camp

Five Ways To Get To Event Camp

1. Face-to-Face in Minneapolis

2. Face-to-Face in Dallas

3. Face-to-Face in Basel

4. Watch the Live Webcast

5. Participate From the Virtual Third World

Bottom Line

What can events learn from TV shows, YouTube and TED?

What’s Brewing In The Innovation Lab?

#eventprofs Blog Awards

Building A Wiki Together

Livestream with Emilie Barta

Bloggers Blogging about Event Camp

Subscribe to Event Camp Twin Cities News

Sponsors

(Photo by House of Sims)

1. Face-to-Face in Minneapolis

2. Face-to-Face in Dallas

3. Face-to-Face in Basel

4. Watch the Live Webcast

5. Participate From the Virtual Third World

Bottom Line

#eventprofs Blog Awards

Building A Wiki Together

Livestream with Emilie Barta

Bloggers Blogging about Event Camp

Try Pecha Kucha At Event Camp

Bye, Bye Chairs. Hello Exercise Balls!

What if I want to sit someplace else?

Subscribe to Event Camp Twin Cities News

Sponsors