Okay, so I have registered to attend a conference this Friday. But I can’t just dash off to the event, I need to download the event’s app, which has the entire schedule and speaker profiles, and through which I can network with other delegates.
Are you still lugging around paper schedules and catalogues during conferences? When everything around us is shrinking to fit into your mobile phone, why not event brochures and schedules? Smart event managers have all moved to event networking apps and are saving on elaborate printing costs.
This time it’s MoozUp that the conference organizers are urging me to download. The last event I attended used Attendify, a social event app. There are scores of other event networking tools like Bizzabo, CrowdCompass and so on, each offering a unique feature, which are now making conferences ‘app-ening’ places!
For the introverts
For shy folks, who are a bit hesitant and nervous about going and shaking hands with speakers, these event apps are great to break the ice, as you can message other attendees in private and follow through in person. Many of these link up beautifully with social networks like Twitter or LinkedIn, and allow you to cross-post the event proceedings there. For organisers, it’s a boon to conduct polls and take quick stock of the votes.
Almost all the event apps today have basic features like agenda and sessions list, profiles of speakers, social networking features where you can message other attendees and sponsor pages, as well as ad spots and push notifications. For the sponsors, this is a far more effective way of catching the attendees’ eye than the likes of pamphlets in a bag that are thrust at you when you enter the conference which you throw away before leaving the venue.
But several of these event apps also do customizable solutions tailored to particular events. For instance if you want a picture album of the event, some apps have that too, leaving nice memories.
Wedding apps
There are downsides of course, the biggest being the speed of adoption. I remember how excitedly I downloaded the Attendify app at a marketing event anticipating a lot of networking through it and found that more than half the attendees hadn’t downloaded the app. Who wants one more application draining their phone’s precious battery?
But as smartphones get better and people lose their fear of these apps, it’s a matter of time before these become de rigueur at events – including weddings. In fact, the wedding event apps are far more fun, as you can see who else is attending, view photos from the wedding, have a look at the menu in advance, and so on. You can also leave behind messages for the happy couple! Some of these event apps have blog features too. Crowdsourced wedding memories through these digital tools are the way to go.