Posts By: K.C. Hopson

kchopson

5+ Meeting Pros on Twitter You Need to Follow

Posted by & filed under Event Rebels Blog, Social Media, What's New.

Twitter

Twitter has positioned itself as the social media place to go for meetings and events. The industry’s thought leaders have latched on to Twitter as a great place to deliver their message. The Twitter accounts we describe here represent some of these leaders. You should follow these folks to stay on top of the breaking trends. @corbinball No one tops Corbin Ball when it comes to meetings technology. Look for his feed to find every which way technology can impact meetings. @jeffhurt Jeff Hurt is the leading blogger for Velvet Chainsaw’s popular site. Jeff writes about all things meetings, non-profits,... Read more »

kchopson

How to get started with Conference Management Software: Part Three – Setup Online Credit Card Processing

Posted by & filed under Credit Cards, Event Rebels Blog, Meetings Technology, Online Registration - Keys to Success, Trade Show, What's New.

Online Credit Card

As was seen in the first issues of this series, navigating through the myriad of event technology choices can be one of the toughest assignments a meeting professional can face. Just breaking down the possibilities into categories can be a daunting assignment itself. A helpful way to approach this problem is to see how software can be utilized at the various stages of the event lifecycle. Many activities for next year’s show begin right after the current one ends. To keep things simple, we will look at the lifecycle from the point of view of an association’s annual conference. This... Read more »

kchopson

How to get started with Conference Management Software: Part Two – Open Trade Show Sales

Posted by & filed under Event Rebels Blog, Meetings Technology, Resources Trade Show, Trade Show, What's New.

Trade Show Exhibition

As was seen in the first issue of this series, navigating through the myriad of event technology choices can be one of the toughest assignments a meeting professional can face. Just breaking down the possibilities into categories can be a daunting assignment itself. A helpful way to approach this problem is to see how software can be utilized at the various stages of the event lifecycle. Many activities for next year’s show begin right after the current one ends. To keep things simple, we will look at the lifecycle from the point of view of an association’s annual conference. This... Read more »

kchopson

How to get started with Conference Management Software: Part One – Choosing Your Speakers

Posted by & filed under Event Rebels Blog, Meetings Technology, Speakers, What's New.

Conference Campfire Session

Navigating through the myriad of event technology choices can be one of the toughest assignments a meeting professional can face. Just breaking down the possibilities into categories can be a daunting assignment itself. A helpful way to approach this problem is to see how software can be utilized at the various stages of the event lifecycle. Many activities for next year’s show begin right after the current one ends. To keep things simple, we will look at the lifecycle from the point of view of an association’s annual conference. This week we will look at choosing your speakers. Opening Up... Read more »

kchopson

Using Destination International’s empowerMINT Tool to search Meeting Destinations

Posted by & filed under Event Rebels Blog, Meetings, Meetings Technology, Product Reviews, What's New.

empowerMINT

Looking for a good destination for your meeting but need some basic facts like convention center capacity, nearby hotels and airport, and so forth? Fortunately, there is a great and free tool available called empowerMINT that helps you quickly get answers to your questions. Note that the empowerMINT website is for destinations and not venues. Destinations International (DI) represents the various destinations across the United States and is the organization behind empowerMINT. The Destination Marketing terminology evolved from the old concept of a CVB (aka “Convention and Visitors Bureau”.) DI used to be the International Association of Convention Bureaus (IACB),... Read more »

kchopson

2017’s Hot Food & Beverage Trends for Events

Posted by & filed under Event Rebels Blog, Meetings, What's New.

Bloody Mary

2017 is coming up fast and you are considering everything that can make your show as awesome as possible. Do not forget that the best way to add spice to your events is to have an unforgettable food and beverage menu. Fortunately, it is an exciting time in the F&B world, so there are many opportunities available to add that extra pizazz. Here are some of the top F&B trends in 2017 that can make your event “a can’t miss.” Keep it Local and Sustainable Supporting local markets just continues to grow in importance. The best part of local is... Read more »

kchopson

Great Resources for Event Professionals

Posted by & filed under Event Rebels Blog, Meetings, Meetings Technology, What's New.

One of the toughest tasks of an event professional is keeping up with the multitude of changes and trends that impact your job. Fortunately, there are a number of great resources that can keep you posted on the latest news and trends in the world of events, conferences and trade shows. The sites mentioned cover news ranging from new hotels to hot event technology. Most of these feature easy to access postings that you can read on your phone in the few moments when you have a break or are waiting for a plane. Event Manager Blog. This blog is... Read more »

kchopson

Will your meeting get hacked?

Posted by & filed under Event Rebels Blog, Internet Security, What's New.

hacker

The widespread release of sensitive information such as credit card and social security numbers has grabbed headlines, disrupting business for several major corporations. Over the past five years, well-respected companies including Sony, Target and Staples have been hacked. As cyber criminals become more sophisticated, the impact of these breaches has spread beyond the general public. Recently, in one of the biggest, most spectacular U.S. cyber attacks, the personal data of 18 million current, prospective or former federal employees was successfully compromised. While it may be comforting to think hackers only go after big-name companies and organizations, it would be a... Read more »

kchopson

Ten Signs That You Are Using Sub-Standard Online Registration Software

Posted by & filed under Credit Cards, Event Rebels Blog, Online Registration - Keys to Success, What's New.

Have you heard of someone who bought an online registration software package that promised to deliver an attractive form and save time, only to find these expectations were not met? Did they get a lot of complaints from registrants? Was the software so limited that the planner had to spend long, late hours creating spreadsheets to manage tasks the software could not handle? Fortunately, there are some tell-tale signs that an online registration package is sub-standard. If you look for these during the evaluation process, you can be spared the pain of the unfortunate planner.Online registration form looks like a... Read more »

kchopson

Ten Ways to Use Facebook Live & Periscope Streaming Apps for Your Conference

Posted by & filed under Event Marketing, Event Rebels Blog, Meetings Technology, Social Media, What's New.

Live Streaming Phone Apps

Live streaming apps have quickly been recognized as a terrific way to extend your meeting’s brand beyond in-person attendees. Twitter’s Periscope was the first to show the possibilities of live streaming events. However, the arrival of Facebook Live offers a chance to expand your show’s reach to Facebook’s giant ecosystem of over a billion users. The good news is you do not need to pick just one of these apps – you can use both! Since these free apps are a particularly good way to reduce expensive A/V costs, they will be particularly attractive to smaller meetings. Here are some... Read more »