Now I just want to recall the past and share my experience at conferences and fairs. The last months and years I visited many business events. My young blog already contains reports about my visits at the Republica, German Economic Forum and the Next. Three events in the last two month, I think that’s above the average. But I realize that **all of them **have an organization problem.
The time schedule is in a printed catalog or a Pdf document at the website. The paper version in the first case must be printed about three weeks ago, otherwise the conference organizer won’t get it just in time for the event. But when something like the room number, the speaker, the title or the time of a presentation must be modified, visitors can’t get an updated timetable of the conference. And trust me, many facts and data change in the last weeks and the last days. In the second case of course the online version of the time schedule can be updated every time it’s required. But usually the visitor doesn’t notice this updates. Once the Pdf document is printed nobody visit the website for this issue again. And after the start of the event it’s nearly impossible to reach all the attendees on this channel.
In my mind it’s an unpleasant situation, when conference members hurry up with reaching their favorite session because they are a few minutes late. And then at the first step into the room they notice that the last workshop didn’t ended yet. Just because the information of the new start time reaches the visitor not earlier, he must wait. And this dead time can be used at a conference surely more efficient…