This article was written as a result of some amazingly talented work done by Jack Phillips, Terri Breining, and Patti Phillips.  Much of the content is driven by their words which have been very influential on my thinking about meetings and events, and value measurement.  Thank you to all three of you for your thought leadership!

For many years, during a “healthy” economy,  the meetings business survived and thrived based upon value defined largely by attendee reaction or satisfaction.  Rarely did many organizations look beyond these feel-good factors to measure deeper outcomes such as learning, application and business impact.

The Great Recession, of the past couple of years, changed that.  With significantly increased financial strain, businesses began to earnestly evaluate every aspect of their operations, including meetings and conferences.  This put many event professionals into the “hot seat” as they were suddenly challenged by their executive leadership to demonstrate, more tangibly, the value of the company’s meetings.

While causing some discomfort, this new expectation makes perfect sense to me, and should have probably happened a long time ago.  Think of it this way, the meetings business is finally growing up.  If we want our industry to be taken seriously, as the significant economic force that it is, then meeting executives must become more strategic.

Why Bother with Measuring ROI?

For Event Professionals, setting goals and developing a strategy for the business outcome of their company’s events is certainly very important.  Equally vital is to successfully measure and report the meeting’s value (ROI) back to executive leadership.  The struggle, for many, is to determine how to most effectively and efficiently accomplish this process.

To anyone interested in this subject I recommend a book entitled, “Return On Investment In Meetings and Events.”  Written collaboratively by Jack J. Phillips, Terri Breining, and Patricia Phillips this book is a must-read for anyone interested in the relationship of ROI to meetings and events.  To forewarn you, this book is not a quick read as the concepts, while thoughtfully presented, are comprehensive.

From my perspective, one of the most important takeaways from this book is that meetings and events can, and should be measured at several different levels.  Measuring the value of meetings  is not as simple as just identifying financial return.  Other measures, not converted to money are equally important, if not critical to most meetings.  Its important to note that while goals and objectives differ from event to event, the same holds true for how and where to measure their value.

Terri Breining Speaking at e4 Conference

ROI Methodology — What is Being Measured?

The methodology presented in this book is centered on measuring events across five levels as indicated in the below diagram.  The indicated percentages estimate how often events attain a particular level of measurement.

Here is an explanation of what the measurements mean:

• Level 1:  Reaction and Planned Action –Measures reaction to and satisfaction of attendee experience.
• Level 2:  Learning and Confidence — Measures what participants learned.(takeaways)
• Level 3:  Application –Measures use of acquired knowledge, information, skills and contacts.
• Level 4:  Impact — Measures changes in business variables such as output, quality, time and meeting costs.
• Level 5:  ROI — Compares monetary benefits of the meeting to it’s costs.

“Implementation of an ROI measurement system gives us the ammunition to make a business case for meetings, and then gives us the information to make good, solid decisions about whether the meeting is working, and where its greatest value exists.”  — Terri Breining

Earn a Seat at the Table!

If an event professional is seeking to strengthen credibility with executive leadership they must learn to speak the language of business.  Senior executives are passionate about seeing ROI.  They appreciate the effort, by their events team, to relate meetings to business impact and demonstrate monetary value.  Through a disciplined methodology, such as the one presented in this excellent book, event managers may successfully convince executives that meetings represent an investment and not just an expense.

Question:  Have you implemented an ROI measurement plan for your organization’s event(s)?  If so, what has been your greatest challenging in rolling it out?  What has been your greatest reward?

Many of my events industry colleagues are headed to the 2010 ASAE (American Society of Association Executives) Annual Meeting and Exposition this weekend.  From what I understand there is a terrific program.  Unfortunately, I won’t be attending this conference, face2face, or otherwise.

In case you are wondering virtual content is available for individuals unable to attend the event face2face.  In fact ASAE is offering a virtual access pass which includes the following:

• Twenty four (24) preselected education sessions that will be streamed live via video, including three (3) general sessions, nine (9) interactive thought leader sessions, and twelve (12) learning lab sessions.
• Attendees may earn upwards of 12 CAE (Certified Association Executive) credits.
• Access to various events designed specifically for the Virtual Annual Meeting including online networking opportunities.
• up to seventy (70) on-demand learning lab sessions which are recorded on site and made available to the virtual attendee through November 2010 via audio synch-to-slide technology.

ASAE’s Virtual Conference Pass

Does this information call you to action?  Are you ready to register?  Well, here is the catch.  ASAE’s virtual package is going to cost you a whopping $595.00 if you are a member, and $795.00 if you are not.  Note:  The non-member deal is actually better than the member’s offer, because ASAE is including one year’s membership with that package.

Through my active involvement in PCMA (Professional Convention Management Association) I am clearly aware that many associations are still struggling with restricted travel and education budgets in 2010.  The continued financial pressure has made it difficult for many event professionals to attend events, particularly “big-ticket” conferences such as ASAE.  In fact, attendance by many association executives at regional/local versions of these events has also decreased over the last couple of years.

Given financial sensitivity, how does a hefty Virtual access pass fee accommodate the greater ASAE membership’s needs?  Or, is this package targeted at only organizations, or individuals, with a fat wallet?  How does this pricing strategy drive membership loyalty?

Where’s the Membership Value?

How are the needs of  less fortunate members being met … individuals who don’t have the fiscal resources to pay that large virtual registration fee?  I am sure they would also love to benefit from some education content.  Where are these folks getting membership value?  Is ASAE even concerned about that?  Just wondering …

It will be interesting to see how many association executives actually write the check for this virtual pass?  I am even more interested in how they will perceive the value of the experience, given the size of the investment.  Will ASAE share these statistics with the industry?  I doubt it.

Today I saw an interesting tweet on the #ASAE10 hashtag, announcing “30% of virtual attendees will become in-person attendees.” Awesome!  My question, while we are discussing relevant statistics is, how is ASAE performing in the category of membership retention?

I mostly write about social technology, and its use with events, at this blog.  Occasionally I dive into other subjects, in particular family, or life issues.  I basically write about what is on my mind.

Although I earn my keep as a business person, first and foremost I am an artist at heart.  So, oftentimes I express myself through some creative channel.  Since my artistic focus lies in the music realm it usually shows up in that arena.

Looking back on rock n roll history, I have noticed a similar thread to most of the stories shared, through this music.  That common denominator is a significant event, either positive, or negative, in the artist’s life, that drives their artistic moment.  Such was the life of Layne Staley, the famed Alice in Chains front-man, who died in 2002, from the longtime effects of drug addiction.  His partner, both saddened and inspired by his death wrote the song, “Your Decision” featured in the following video.

To view the lyrics to this powerful, yet simple song please click here.

So when you listened to this song what images appeared in your head?  What do you think the message was?  Many people believe this song is about drug addiction, or death, or both.  It probably is.  Only Jerry Cantrell, of Alice in Chains, knows what was really going on inside his head when he wrote the lyrics.  I think there is a deeper message than about drug addiction, or death.

“Everything is permissible”—but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible”—but not everything is constructive.  — 1st Corinthians 10:23 (International Version, New Testament)

To me the message of this song is simple… We, as human beings all have options in life … We have choices.  Sometimes the best decisions are the tough ones, because they are accompanied by fear, and uncertainty.  We can either cave into those fears, taking the easy path, or we can dispel our fears and turn them into something really positive.

At some point we have all had to make tough choices.  I know I have.  When you face your fears head-on there is a feeling of exhilaration that follows.  Success is sweet.

Nuff said!  Happy Friday everyone.

Have you been trying to figure out the best social approach for getting your meeting attendees engaged with your event?  What is your winning social strategy for piquing your customers interest in attending your organization’s conference?  Many Event professionals are wrestling with these questions… and more.

Determining how to weave a social strategy into the fabric of your event is not an easy task.  In fact many meeting executives are still trying to learn the basics of the technology itself.  So, is there a magic social formula for getting customers fired up about your meeting?

The Secret Sauce for Attendee Engagement?

There really isn’t a “silver bullet” or universal solution to a successful attendee engagement strategy.  Every meeting has its own set of dynamics.  The “secret sauce” if there is any, is that you, and your team must invest significant time and energy to get your own organization engaged.  A key component to that process is developing a well thought out strategy for integrating social technology into your event.

There is a common misconception in the business world that a sound approach is to sign up for a bunch of social networks and then wait for the magic to happen.  This “build it and they will come” philosophy is a dead-end that will not serve you, your customers, or your organization well, at all.  I published an article last week blog about this issue .. check it out!

Collaboration is Key

Next week, at the Experient e4 Conference, I will be leading an Exchange Cafe session entitled, “Social Media: What’s Working and What’s Next?” For context the e4 conference brings together Experient’s customers with Experient Account Managers and Executive Leadership, along with Events Industry Supplier partners. This year we are meeting at the brand new Hilton Bonnet Creek and Waldorf Astoria, in balmy Orlando, FL.

The point of this collaborative session will be for participants to share event-specific social technology success stories, best practices  and solutions with one another.  I am looking forward to hearing everyone’s thoughts on this subject!  I will be writing a follow up blog post to share the takeaways with you.  In the meantime, here are five event solutions I’ve seen work effectively, for you to consider in developing your event’s next social technology strategy:

Solution #1:  Crowd-sourcing Session Topic Ideas — Here’s a great way to get potential attendees interested in your event … give them a voice in helping to generate session topics.  Utilizing social networks and your event blog promote the opportunity for them to contribute their ideas.  Not only will you get your customers involved, but you will learn what is “top-of-mind” to them.

Virtual Emcee

Solution #2:  Virtual Emcee — Is your conference hybrid, meaning are you connecting remote and face2face attendees together in the same event, utilizing some form of social tech?  If all or portions of your program are being offered in a live video webcast a virtual emcee will add a lot of value to the remote attendee experience.  One individual that has mastered this concept is Emilie Barta.  It will be worth your time to check her website out.

One of the most important aspects of engaging a remote audience is to consistently communicate with them, especially during breaks, and between sessions.  The Virtual Emcee can accomplish this easily, on your behalf.  Whether its interviewing speakers or individual attendees, these snippets of interactivity capture remote participant’s attention and keep them engaged during lulls in activity.

Solution #3:  Audience Interaction — Utilizing either Twitter, with a hashtag reference, or a text-based application, such as Zuku, engage both face2face and remote attendees with audience polling, or Q&A.  In this new mobile apps era, its no longer necessary to use dedicated devices for this functionality as it is now possible to accomplish the same thing with the convenience of your own smart-phone.

For an introductory video to Zuku please click here.

Solution #4:  Virtual Scavenger Hunt — With location-based applications, such as FourSquare, or GoWalla add a scavenger style hunt event to your social function.  Imagine holding a reception in a museum, and then posting clues on Twitter for attendees.  Then using their smartphones participants solve the clue and report back by checking in on Foursquare.  For an added twist attendees could even take pictures of the solved clues or their teammates with their phone and post in their social networks.

There are many variations to this idea, even ways you could create trivia games that attendees engage in at registration, using location-based apps.  How bout challenging your event’s planning team to a unique site inspection game where they learn about the host facility by following clues?

Solution #5:  Event Blog Becomes a Community — There is a tool available now, called Wibiya, that installs onto any blog or website, in five minutes or less.  Amazingly, using this tool blog readers can translate a blog article into any language in a matter of seconds.  There is also a built-in chat client, so that users can connect with one another at the blog page.  Pretty cool stuff!

One innovative idea for the use of this tool would be to install it at your registration website.  Then, use it as a customer service tool, in addition to the native functionality.  Note:  I have not tested this idea, but if someone does please let me know how it works.

Question:  What new technology or ideas have surfaced in your world lately? If you are attending the Exchange Cafe I look forward to hearing about them.  If not then please share them with us in the comments of this blog.

A couple of months ago an events industry colleague (I will call him “Jim”) excitedly shared with me, during a lunch appointment, that his organization was finally hitting the social technology trail.

“Mike, we now have a Twitter account, a Facebook fan page, a LinkedIn Group, and we are launching two blogs.” he proudly proclaimed.  “I really think we’ve finally gotten our company on board.”

“Build It, They Will Come?”

With a smile, and a lot of curiosity, I looked Jim squarely in the eye.   “Jim, that is terrific.  Just wondering, what is your company’s social media strategy?”

There was dead silence as Jim looked away for a moment and then he returned my gaze.  “Well, Mike, my manager told me to just sign up for all these accounts and we can figure out a strategy later.  He believes we can build it, and they will come”

Hold on here!  Does this conversation sound familiar to you?  Have you heard a friend or colleague say something like this?  Those dreaded five words “Build It, They Will Come” are a ticket, in my opinion, to a social media disaster.

“One of our biggest problems was that our senior VP friend thought that social media was some panacea that was going to drive hordes of waiting attendees into the arms of the registration site and we were going to break all attendance records simply because we woke up and got a screen name.”  – Keith Johnston, Publisher, Plannerwire

Keith Johnston, quoted above, recently published an excellent article discussing social media failure.  At the heart of that discussion was the common misconception that people see other people’s successes with social media and think that it happened on its own. They don’t plan to succeed.  Amen to that!

No Pain, No Gain

No Pain, No Gain?

The mistaken belief that social media will generate success on its own is akin to a bodybuilder taking a bunch of nutrition supplements and then waiting for his/her muscles to grow.  We all know the old saying “No Pain, No Gain.”  The bodybuilder must work their muscles hard in order to achieve their goals.  To just wait for something to happen, they will see no results.  I am sure you get the point here.

Quite simply it is a grueling process for a business person to successfully utilize social technology effectively.  While the technology itself is mostly free, the human capital investment required to make it successful is not.  Plain and simple, it is hard work.  And … it requires a lot of patience and commitment.

Formula For Success

Business 2.0 isn’t going away.  It’s here to stay, although it will certainly evolve, as with everything else.  Business Professionals need to embrace the technology, roll up their sleeves, and get in the trenches with their customers.  A simple three-part formula is to do the following:

1.  Do the research to learn where (which social networks) their prospects and existing customers prefer to interact.

2.  Develop a sound strategy for building a routine to consistently engage with them in those networks.

3.  Relentlessly execute that strategy.

The “build it and they will come” philosophy is an impotent approach that will inevitably lead to social media disappointment.  Social business, by its very nature demands social actions.  Therefore, savvy business people engaging authentically in dialogue, shared learning, thought leadership and collaboration with their customers, on their social turf, will be tomorrow’s winners.

Question:  Are you engaging yourself consistently with your customers in their realm?  What have been your learning lessons in developing and implementing a social formula for success?  What feedback are you getting from your customers?

Earlier this week I published an article about my anticipated experience as an Avatar at the MPI (Meeting Professionals International) WEC virtual conference center.  Admittedly, I was quite excited, and full of optimism, about this new twist to a hybrid event.  So now, the question is, did the experience live up to it’s expectations?  Is there real potential value to an event like this?  What were the learning lessons?

Tech Challenges Diminish Quality

First, the technical side of this experience was a significant challenge.  On Sunday, due to bandwidth issues, it was literally impossible to watch the majority of the webcast, as the stream continuously dropped.  For Tuesday’s version, the experience was better, although there were still some issues, particularly at the beginning of the session.  Technical Experience Grade:  C-

A Constructive View of the Attendee Experience

What value was generated for virtual attendees? I am struggling with this.  While there is the cool factor to a virtual world, I am not sure what value this experience delivered, if any, to attendees.  On both days I logged onto the conference center, conversed with a  few people, and then sat down on a virtual couch to watch the webcast.  During the actual sessions there did not seem to be a lot of interest, amongst the avatars present, to sustain a conversation.  Kind of pointless, if you ask me.

Put into perspective, I could have achieved comparable or greater value by accessing the webcast through MPI’s site directly, and then participate in the Twitter back channel conversation occurring via the hashtag “#WEC11″.

Voice Enabled, but Silent. Fusion Productions did offer a voice feature in the virtual area, which they asked everyone to mute during the webcast (understandably).  The funny (or not so funny) part is that hardly anyone used the voice component.  I personally tested it out  (quality was excellent) and had a couple of brief conversations with other avatars, including the Fusion Productions Manager, Julie Mckown.

Three Hours of Programming??? Seriously, this one really stumps me.  MPI, Fusion Productions, Assemblive and Clever Zebra went to all the time and expense of providing this Virtual venue, yet only offered two 90-minute “lecture-based” sessions with virtual access, over a four day period.   I realize this was an experiment, but I think a more strategic look at programming may have produced better results.

Where is the Attendee Interaction?

Attendee Engagement is the Name of the Game! I have been an active participant in other virtual worlds, namely Second Life, for several years.  In fact, as a musician, and DJ, I do virtual gigs at Second Life Night Clubs.  Second Life users love these experiences because they are engaging.

While a musician plays music live, people socialize in the back channel, much akin to a Twitter hashtag conversation.  Between songs, the musician chats with them.  That is a winning formula that sustains Second Life, as their live music scene is one of their greatest success stories.  Headline Entertainers such as U2 have performed very successfully in this virtual world.

Second Life Live Music Scene

The problem I see with the MPI virtual conference center scenario, is there was very little opportunity for attendee engagement. The environment was oddly cold, and sterile.  Some touches such as background music, or even an advance promotional commentary by someone, to get virtual attendees fired up, would have made a difference.

The two sessions featured were “talking head” style sessions.  So, there was very little opportunity for audience participation.  There was a “typed chat” interface, which could have generated conversation similar to a Twitter back channel, but for some reason it was used sparingly.

While access to the virtual world was offered 24/7 there was no compelling reason for attendees to return there.  There simply was not enough excitement to draw them back.

What Scenarios Are More Conducive to Virtual Environments?

I believe that a virtual conference center could be useful in certain contexts.  The solution begins with INTERACTION! Since realistically virtual attendees are not face2face, highly interactive sessions must be featured.  Here are some examples:

“Talk Show” Style Event — At the TS2 (Total Solutions Marketing) Show, which took place in Boston earlier in July, there was a wonderfully creative  hybrid event produced by The Expo Group, Digitell and Emilie Barta.  For more information on that event please read my article, or there is also another excellent recap by Emilie.

I could see some real potential to utilizing a virtual interface with this style of event as it was highly interactive.  It could even be structured such that the Interviewing Anchor (that was Emilie) could field questions on “voice” from the virtual audience, in addition to the face2face attendees.

Brainstorm Sessions — With the voice feature it is possible to have localized, or private chats.  So… the large group could be divided into small groups to focus on strategic issues, and have a lively “voice” conversation, to develop solutions.  Then the group could come back together to share those solutions with the entire group.  This could be bridged with a face2face audience utilizing a Twitter interface.

Open Space Sessions — In the three virtual conference areas there was a feature where attendees could upload a powerpoint or video presentation to the virtual screen.  So, theoretically time slots could be scheduled where virtual participants could design their own conference content, on the fly.  This could be quite engaging, and also could be connected to the face2face attendees via Twitter.

While MPI may not have succeeded in delivering a stellar hybrid  event, with their virtual conference center, they did provide an experience, for event professionals to learn from, and plan for the future.   To answer the question posed in this article’s title, the value of this event was in it’s learning lessons.  That’s a pretty good start!

Question:  In your mind’s eye, what do you see as being a potential way to leverage a virtual conference center experience to deliver unique value to your event(s)?  Please share your thoughts.

On Sunday (July 25) MPI (Meeting Professionals International) WEC Attendees were treated to an amazing presentation by John Furlong, CEO of the Vancouver Organizing Committee, 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.  I  watched the archived recorded version of this Opening General Session, as there were technical challenges with the live-streamed version.

Mr Furlong’s speech was delivered with as much conviction as any I have ever witnessed, and more than most.  After viewing screenshots of the audience I am convinced this extraordinary individual captured the undivided attention of MPI’s entire audience.  His vivid portrayal of the challenging planning events leading to this historically, successful Winter Olympics, was both heartwarming and inspirational.

It’s clear, from Furlong’s presentation, that VANOC (Vancouver Organizing Committee) experienced many pain points along the way, in their quest to deliver what may be historically referred to as the “best Winter Olympic Games ever.”  Among the most significant of the challenges:

• The accidental death of a luge athlete on Day 1 of the games — a setback of enormous proportions, requiring the entire Olympics staff to regroup and re-focus on the event.
• “100-year weather conditions” – necessitating that Olympics staff drive trucks for 100KM to load snow onto trucks, and then carry it back to the games site.  Men and Women slept on the mountain, day after day, to make this happen.

Through extraordinary adversity the people of Canada unified themselves, with courage and determination, to bring this event successfully across the finish line.  In my estimation there is no question they accomplished that.  What do you think?

“Our goal was not to have people turn on their television sets and view extraordinary images and watch athletes win gold, silver and bronze medals, but to touch the very soul of our country… To take the Olympic spirit and walk it through the front door of every home … To have it spoken about at the kitchen table … To touch every life so that at the end every Canadian could say these Olympic games were the one thing we did as a country that we all have in common with each other.” – John Furlong, CEO, Vancouver Organizing Committee, 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games

Canada Has a Compelling Vision

So what are the learning lessons from this experience?  The answer is not complicated, in fact it’s pretty simple.  The Canadians had a compelling vision… they believed profoundly in what they were doing.  They were determined to go flat out, with a spirit of relentlessness, every single day, because they saw a higher purpose to their mission.

Olympics Volunteer

Anchoring that vision was a very important set of unifying values, developed by the Olympics Leadership team, early in the planning process.  Every blue jacket (volunteer) working on the Olympics project embraced this code, with pride.  It became the moral compass by which they navigated through challenges.

5 Unifying Values

Teamwork – Put a champion in every role … talented people that like to work with others, in teams.  These people refuse to quit and will do what they must do to get the job done.  The success of the games depends on  it.

Culture of Trust – Must make people  feel they are trusted.  They must also be trustworthy.  The goal is to instill a spirit of believing in one another across the organization.

Excellence – Strive to raise the bar, settle for nothing less than perfection in every aspect of the project.

Creative – Looking back what will have been the magic, the innovations, the new things that leave a gasping legacy.  The goal is to generate a sense of awe in everyone experiencing the games.

Sustainability – Do the right thing every time, no matter what, whether standing in front of a camera or behind it.  The calling, whether it’s the environment, new jobs, youth, or sport is to leave a very positive human legacy behind.

“To the men and women in the blue jackets, you are the undisputed heroes of these Games. The class of 2010.” — John Furlong, Olympic Closing Ceremony Speech (February 28, 2010)

Do you see how the strategy used for executing this amazing event could be applied to your organization’s events? What would be your compelling vision? What values would make up your moral compass? Interesting questions indeed … would love to see your thoughts!

This morning I am getting fired up to attend the MPI WEC 2010 Conference, in Vancouver, BC.  I’m already dressed, had my coffee and breakfast, and I’m hanging … um … in the MPI Networking Lounge.  So, if you are an MPI attendee, you may be wondering where that is?  Funny, it’s not listed in the program guide??  <Grins> … That’s cuz I am standing in MPI’s cleverly-created Virtual world.

Hanging out at the MPI Networking Lounge

You see, I am attending as an Avatar.  MPI has created a Virtual Conference Center by which remote attendees can network with one another, and participate in WEC General Sessions.  This is just one of many experiments by the MPI team to extend the technology reach and functionality of their conferences.  I am pretty excited about it.

If you are familiar with Second Life, the most well known and successful virtual world out there, the look and feel of this virtual facility is very similar, yet more simplified.  Many people who have tried out Second Life become intimidated by it’s complexity.  Conversely, this virtual world is very user friendly.

MPI workshop area

The creators are Fusion Productions, the folks that are bringing MPI attendees the General Session stage-set and audio visual support.

So here is a recap of what is being offered:

• (3) Three Virtual areas including Networking Lounge, Conference Room and Workshop area.
• Choice of (10) Avitar styles/looks
• (8) Eight Gestures and (8) mood choices
• Voice enabled (requires headset and microphone)
• Separate window within virtual platform for webcast viewing with Twitter Feed
• Typed Chat interface
• Media window showing slides and other media used during sessions.

As you may be aware MPI is offering a live video webcast of their (2) two General Sessions, first on Sunday from 10am to 11:30am and then again on Tuesday, from 8:30am to 10:00am, both PDT.  For more information on the sessions please visit the MPI WEC website.  The Virtual Conference center is open throughout the conference.  There is no charge for it’s use and it is really very easy to set yourself up with an avitar.  Click here to get started.

MPI Conference Room

I hope to see you at the MPI Virtual conference center over the next few days!  Check it out, it will be worth your time. And… don’t forget to share your opinions via the comments section of this blog.

Most business people passionate about Social Media are trying to figure out how to help lead their organizations into this realm.   I am one of those people.  How bout you?  I have discovered, over the past several months,  this process is easier said than done.

For me, and perhaps you, the picture is crystal clear.  Our world has changed… markedly.  The great recession did that.  The emergence of Web 2.0 technology certainly was a major factor.  Most importantly we, as consumers and business people, have changed the way we think about interacting with one another.

Customers are clear about their expectations.  They want social business partners that are tech-savvy, collaborative, strategic, and open communicators.  And… the conversation takes place on the Social Web.

A social business is an organization designed consciously around sociality and social tools, as a response to a changed world and the emergence of the social web.  –Wikipedia

In order for a company to effectively transition to a social culture, there must be C-Level executive buy-in.   In many cases that is not happening.  Without top leadership support, it is nearly impossible to deploy an effective social business strategy across an entire enterprise.  Instead it shows up in pockets led by “maverick” or “rogue” social enthusiasts.  Confusion regarding management expectations may eventually lead to abandonment, or  non-interest, in the strategy altogether.

Board Room Vs. The Trenches

It’s fair to say that what happens in a board room is distinctly different than what the rest of us experience in the trenches.  Think about it… upper executives are charged with the responsibility of catering to Boards, Holding companies, and Stockholders.  Their priorities are different than ours.  Even, with the “New Normal” of doing business that hasn’t changed.

Middle Managers, on the other hand, already at least embrace the basics of a business 2.0 culture.  They understand the importance of it, as they stand alongside their team members, interacting with customers every single day.

So what’s the solution?  How do we get everyone on to the same page?  How do we align the demands of owners, stockholders and holding companies with customer expectations.  I have some thoughts on this.

A Social Seat at the Table

What better way to resolve the “disconnect” than to create a C-Level position that will focus on leading a company into the social realm.   Recently I met a guy, Scott Koslosky,  who by all accounts would qualify for a position of this nature.  Interestingly Scott, a former CEO of three start-up companies is no stranger to the boardroom. He is also a social technology guru and frequently speaks at events on the subject.

“Interesting that some of the larger brands are starting to interview for the position of Chief Social Officer. I would love that job!” –Scott Koslosky, Twitter, July 23, 2010

That’s pretty interesting!  In fact, I think it would be pivotal, in most businesses, to establish a position of this nature.  Having a C-Level Executive in place who not only speaks the language of the boardroom, but is savvy and passionate about social business, might just be the medicine needed to propel an effective social business strategy forward, for most organizations.

What do you think?  How is your organization’s social business strategy evolving?  Or is it?  Look forward to hearing from you.

Many events industry folks, this weekend, are headed to Vancouver, BC for the MPI (Meeting Professionals International) 2010 World Education Congress (WEC).  As with last year’s event, I will unfortunately not be there.

However, I am attending WEC 2010 digitally , at MPI’s invitation, via an experimental virtual world interface, created by Fusion productions.  I will write more about this experience post-event.  I am intrigued by the concept of linking a virtual world to an industry event, and look forward to participating in this alternative Hybrid adventure.

MPI is clearly determined to integrate a variety of social media programs, into their events.  As with anything new, there is always a learning curve, and mistakes are made along the way.  What I respect is MPI’s willingness to experiment, acknowledging the attendant risk.

Social Media Guru (SMG) Program

Speaking of new things MPI implemented a “Social Media Guru program” for this years WEC.  The core idea was to select a group of (5) “elite” social technology users to provide real-time new media coverage for the event.  In my opinion this is a great concept!

“Kristen Kouk and I developed this program as a first step towards validating the impact that key social media players have in driving coverage and conversation about live events. By establishing this benchmark we will have future proof to treat legitimate social media bloggers and writers equally to the traditional press. But in business, if you don’t have the case study or statistics to back up your claim, you don’t have a strong position at the table.” –Theresa Davis, Director of Strategic Communications, MPI

People interested in participating in this program were required to complete an application.  (click here to preview the actual application)  In considering potential candidates for the Guru program, MPI looked for Social Media users with the following traits:

• Regular blog postings with strong following
• High follower ratio on Twitter
• Advanced knowledge of industry
• History of fair and balanced coverage including trends and topics

SMG Benefits

In exchange for their efforts the selected Social Media Gurus are  receiving the following, for WEC:

• Discounted registration fee
• Preferential seating for general sessions and knowledge sessions
• Onsite press office access and complimentary wireless internet access during event
• Select press invitations (not sure what this means exactly)

“Fair &  Balanced” Coverage — What is that?

MPI was very clear, within their communications, that they expect the Gurus to be “Fair and balanced” in their media coverage.  What does that mean exactly? How does a journalist, who is typically full of strong opinions and thoughts not express them?  Opinions, by their very nature are biased, not balanced.  Confusing…

Jeff Hurt published a blog article yesterday that voiced this same concern.  While his message was somewhat on the “edgy” side, his points of concern were valid.  Jeff and I both agree there is a trust issue at play here.  Many organizations, not just MPI, are a little apprehensive about turning people loose to “tell it like it is” for fear that some irreparable, damaging statement will be made.

Reality is these types of concerns are ill-founded, as Social Networks are self-policing.  Users that post inflammatory, or destructive remarks are usually not taken seriously by other users, and oftentimes ignored.  In fact, a reporter using this type of messaging will usually lose followers, lots of them.

Some of the SMG’s selected for this program have also expressed some concerns about their role.  Vanessa LaClair is one of them.  Vanessa wrote an article series for Engage 365 enttitled “Being an MPI Social Media Guru Isn’t Without Its Challenges.” You should check it out!

“Where do we draw the line between following MPI’s lead and voicing our own opinions of the days’ activities? As paying participants of this congress, we cannot compromise our independence. And although we are all HUGE supporters of MPI, will it be okay to report on all aspects of the conference, even if the feedback is negative?”– Vanessa LaClair, MPI 2010 WEC Social Media Guru

So, my recommendation, for the future, to MPI, or any organization choosing to implement an SMG program, is to select people, based upon their reputation and credibility, as writers, and then trust them to express themselves openly and with integrity, as journalists should.

Congratulations to both Theresa Davis, and Kristin Kouk, of MPI, for doing what they can to be Social Media leaders for MPI.  It is by no means an easy street, as the social media world is really a vast learning lab.

Question:  What are your thoughts regarding the SMG program?  Do you think it was a good idea?  Do you see something like it fitting into your organization’s events?  What would you do differently?  Do Tell.