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be the voice
How to “Web 2.0-Enable” your Live Event
By David Spark, Founder of Spark Media Solutions, LLC11/18/07Producing and attending corporate events, likeconferences and trade shows, is not cheap.But people still ‘attend in’ and ‘pay by’ thethousands for the unforeseen value to be had ineducation and new business relations. Over theyears, these events develop their own uniquereputations:Extremely exclusive, big thinkers
–e.g.TEDConference
Enormous event, draws tons of eyeballs
–e.g.CES
Great networking
–e.g.AlwaysOnConference
Participant driven
–e.g.FooCamp/BarCamp
Great product announcements, draws lots of press
–e.g.DEMOConference*
Whatever reputation develops from your event,
everyone can benet from layering social tools
(some call it Web 2.0 technology) to enhancethe connectedness and interactivity among allinterested parties. Event-based social mediais in line with the goals of attendees andevent producers:
toimprovephysicallogistics,distributeinformation,connectpeople,andenhanceface-to-faceconversations.
If you’re producing an event, begin by askingyourself what services, often free, can I takeadvantage of to extend the event’s socialvalue for those people attending, those whocan’t attend, and everyone who wants to lookback after the fact. You should look towards•••••Web 2.0 tools, those that behave like socializeddesktop applications, to be the catalyst to spreadthe knowledge and enhanced interaction amongall interested parties, whether they’re physicallypresent or not. An event’s information andconversation can be distributed via a variety of means: bulletin boards, photos, video sharing,recorded discussions, news reports, live wikis, quickupdates, opinions of event goers, Q&A, group chat,reminders, recommendations, how-to advice, maps,and directions to the next event.Historically, social networks and like-minded Web2.0 tools empower users to keep in touch withthe thousands of people they’ve collected in theircontact database. Without applications like socialnetworks, blogs, micro-blogs, photo sharing,podcasts, video blogs, and of course email it wouldbe impossible for anyone to stay in touch with somany people.When you meet someone at an event, followthrough takes effort, a lot of effort. Thecommunication drop-off rate following a conferenceis huge. You start with good intentions, tradebusiness cards with the promise of following up. Butif you don’t make a note of your meeting and senda message immediately after the conference, themoment is long forgotten. Luckily, Web 2.0 toolsoffer platforms for attendees and producers to takeadvantage of communications before, during, andafter an event. The following is some advice forproducers on how to extend the functionality of alive event by socializing a content network with Web2.0 tools and enabling conversation around it.
© 2007, Spark Media Solutions, LLC.http://www.sparkmediasolutions.com/
 
How to “Web 2.0-Enable” your Live Event© 2007, Spark Media Solutions, LLC.http://www.sparkmediasolutions.com/
Page 2
First Steps
Free Wi-Fi
In the San Francisco Bay Area, having an openwireless connection at a conference is almost as
expected as ush toilets. All attendees, not just
the press, want to write about and record theevent live while they’re in the room. By providingfree wireless connectivity that can handle theload of multiple connections, you’re enabling theconversation to happen for everyone.If you’re at a hotel that’s going to charge you anarm and a leg for a wireless connection, look fora sponsor and in return provide a splash page foreveryone to see when they log on. If you can’tpull off free Wi-Fi, you simply can’t “Web 2.0-enable” your live event. This is a must.
Put one person in charge
If you’ve produced a live event before, you knowit takes a lot of work. Adding a digital social layerwill require some work as well. Hire one personto take the reigns to “Web 2.0-enable” your liveevent. That person needs to corral all the sites,set up user accounts, initiate discussions, andinform attendees beforehand, during, and afterthe conference of the services you’re makingavailable for all to share.
Rally around passion
Look at the most popular bloggers and you’ll seethere’s one characteristic that’s true to all—they’re passionate. Passion and eagerness can’tbe faked nor can these qualities be dictated.People are drawn to passionate people, they trustthem, and their enthusiasm rubs off on othersproviding a reason for them to participate aswell.The person you put in charge to initiate the Web2.0-enabling of your live event should have thatself-starting no-direction-needed attitude. Lookat all levels within and outside your organizationfor that person. Besides having a do-it-yourself capability, your social media director should beaffable, a good writer, a connector, and extremely
hard working as this job requires continuous non-
stop work.
Give people a reason to participate
Hand a child a box of crayons and some blankpieces of paper, and even with all that proddingthey’ll still look up at you and ask, “What should Idraw a picture of?” The same goes for event participants and Web 2.0
features. Even when we’re outtted with all the
tools for content creation and conversation, manyof us still look to others for that kind of guidance.Unless a community member takes charge,you’ll rarely get much response in your online
environment if you just set up a discussion group
and then walk away. Remember, the event is the
discussion. Your job is to be the catalyst, to nd
those stories, issues, or nerves you can touch off to spark debate. Web 2.0-enabling your live eventisn’t about the mechanics of setting up discussionareas, but it’s also about your creativity of engaging
others in conversation and nding the topics that
attendees are eager to delve into deeper.
That annoying“What is Web 2.0?” debate
I’ve become weary of the hard-to-avoid debateof “What is Web 2.0?” You can’t mention theterm Web 2.0 in passing without someonesaying, “What is it?” And then someone else willusually chime in with “You know there’s Web 3.0now.” One way people try to show that they’re “in the know” is to force the “What is Web 2.0” debate at the moment the “2” is uttered or statetheir opinion by wearing a t-shirt that says “Web
2.0 is ________.” I’m just asking everyone to
please stop. I’ve become exhausted.
 
How to “Web 2.0-Enable” your Live Event© 2007, Spark Media Solutions, LLC.http://www.sparkmediasolutions.com/
Page 3
First Steps (cont’d)
Lead them, and then let thecommunity take control
In an ideal environment, your community willhave members that will rise to the top as leadingvoices providing those catalysts for others to rallyaround, argue with, or even hate (don’t dismissthe value of a threat as you build and strengthena community). If you don’t already have anaudience, expect “the rise of voices” to take some
time. You’ll need to lead them rst.
Back in 2000, I started a discussion group calledSFComedy on Yahoo! Groups (then namedeGroups), a bulletin board for comedians in theSan Francisco Bay Area to discuss performing,upcoming shows, and bookings. I used to be a
stand up comedian myself. When I rst started
the site, still a comedian, I verbally had to harassa handful of my comedian friends to get on the siteand start posting. I would make posts every nowand then to draw people into discussions, and after
the rst year I wrote up a silly SFComedy Awards
where I presented prizes to different members of the board. Today, seven and a half years later, I amno longer a comedian, but I’m still the moderatorof the SFComedy board. I barely pay attention towhat’s going on, but it’s taken on a life of its ownwith many SFComedy “voices” rising. Currently,there are 1100 members posting somewherebetween 500-1000 posts every month. While I cantake credit for starting the board, I can’t take creditfor the current activity. The community has takencontrol and I’m thrilled.
Production Framework
Make your blog or Web site theepicenter for all event updates
While you’ll most denitely have an event Web
site, I’d also recommend a blog as the de factohome base for links to all the online socialelements you’re enabling at the event, plusa place for your staff to post updates before,during, and after the event. The advantage of having a blog is it’s easy to maintain and you canset up multiple authors to act as contributors.If you do not already have a blog, set one upfor your company or the conference. I stronglyrecommend WordPress (www.wordpress.com).It’s very simple, free to use, and has the largestdeveloper network, so if there’s any additionalfunctionality you want, such as a slide show orpodcasting, someone has created a free plug-in
that you can just download and install.I don’t recommend creating a temporary blog just
for the event. Once the event is over, the blog willappear barren given the lack of posts, and thosedated postings will drop lower in search rankings
and you won’t get any spill over trafc from future
blog postings. If it’s a yearly program, then theblog/Web site can be used throughout the year asa source for information for news, small meet upevents, social networks, discussion groups, etc. Thegoal is to give the site legs beyond the actual datesof the event.
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