Stephen Nold

Technology Education
July 23, 2007

Several months ago, Stephen Graham with the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) described to me the problems of becoming educated on tradeshow technology. Keeping up with the latest innovations is challenging enough, and meeting professionals struggle to find lists of suppliers and unbiased reviews of products and services. I regularly talk with frustrated association executives as they deal with this challenge, yet there is no reason why the process of adopting new technology should be this hard.

There are five ways to obtain relevant technology education:

·       event sessions addressing specific tech products or application categories

·       articles and white papers published in trade publications or websites

·       peer to peer conversations

·       supplier demonstrations

·       consultants

IAEE is launching the E2 eMERGE conference in Las Vegas on December 10, 2007. Tethered to the annual IAEE Expo Expo 2007 show, this event promises to become a showcase for technology innovation in the industry. This year the conference presents six organizational case studies that address the business processes required to successfully and easily implement and execute new technology. These real-world examples demonstrate how technology tools can completely revitalize the way organizations conduct business.

The technology advisor team for eMERGE conference includes me amongst industry leaders:

Chris Brown

Executive Vice President of Conventions & Business Operations

National Association of Broadcasters

Tony Calanca

Executive Vice President, Exhibitions

Advanstar Communications

Shawn Pierce

Director of Infrastructure

Hanley Wood Exhibitions

Jeffrey Quade

Executive Vice President of Sales & Marketing

GES Exposition Services

Dave Lutz, CMP

Managing Director

Velvet Chainsaw Consulting

For people already attending IAEE Expo Expo, admission to this event is free as it is already included in the registration fees. For those interested in attending just the eMERGE conference, the nominal admission price makes it affordable to bring an entire management team. The eMERGE conference provides volumes of information specific to the relevant needs of associations and meeting planners. With concrete examples of how these tools from the case studies changed the way organizations conducted business, I highly recommend it as a great learning opportunity.

Posted by Stephen Nold on July 23, 2007 | Comments (0)