Breaking the UI Mold - Guest Post by Dennis Shiao

Introduction

Previously on this blog, Jim authored a post titled “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” In the post, Jim raised the question of whether it was still appropriate for virtual platforms to mimic the experience of attending an event in person. Jim asked, “I really think we need to at least offer a option to get us away from a 'literal' view of an exhibition hall, conference centre, networking lounge and so on.”

Let’s Focus on the User Experience

Jim, my good friend, I couldn’t agree with you more.  I happen to love physical conferences and trade shows. They have a certain “user experience” and it works great.  On the web, we don’t need to mimic that same experience.

On the web, I like to say that “E(X)perience is the X Factor in UX.” In other words, to create a great virtual event, you need to focus on the experience.  And for many virtual events, the two most critical elements are content and brands.

My INXPO colleague Sean Keen wrote an excellent post titled “How Virtual Event Platforms Can Allow Content and Brands to Take Center Stage.”  I encourage you to read this post, as he lays out the case far better than I can.

Make Navigation and Content Discovery Easy

At INXPO, we’ve moved precisely in the direction that Jim inquires about in his post. With our INXPO VX Platform, we’ve eliminated many of the “3D-like” images of lobbies, auditoriums and exhibit halls. We’re left with “spaces” that bring content and brands to the forefront.

Some ways you can make navigation and content discovery easy:

1.       “You had me at hello.” To quote the memorable line from the movie Jerry Maguire, focus on the “entry area,” commonly referred to as the “lobby.” I’d argue that if visitors are not “sold” within the first 2 minutes, they won’t have a meaningful visit – or, you’ll lose them entirely.

2.       List featured content right away.  Visitors shouldn’t need to navigate “one level down” to find featured content.  Give it to them on initial entry, in the same way a supermarket hands you the day’s sales circular the moment you step foot in the store.

3.       Minimize clicks.  Related to the point of giving visitors content right away, don’t let navigation get in the way.  Put more content into fewer spaces.  I once read a comment from an online event attendee who said, “Get me to the content I want. Fast.” Well said.

4.       Provide automated recommendations.  Amazon taught us that automated recommendations work (for us and for them).  Match interest categories (in an attendee’s profile) with topical categories in your event’s content.  Let me tell you, it can be a match made in heaven!

3D-Like Experiences

The world isn’t “black and white,” and I’d never argue that the simplified, 2D experience is the right solution for all occasions.  In fact, I believe there are some experiences where 3D and 3D-like experiences are appropriate.  And that’s a case where the core value proposition is defined by the experience itself.

Let me explain by way of example.  If I were designing a “Virtual Disney World,” which afforded visitors a digital experience that simulated the in-person experience, I’d look to use images directly from the physical theme park.  I’d want the entrance, the rides, the characters, etc. to provide you with the same emotional connection you get when you visit the park in person.

And I can accomplish that (in theory) by incorporating the look and feel (of the park) into the digital experience. However, if I was designing a conference for Disney World partners and suppliers, I’d focus more on the 2D look, so that the content and brands take center stage. I’d incorporate imagery from the theme park, so long as it didn’t take away from the core content of the event.

Conclusion

My mother has an account on Facebook and never required training or instruction on how to use the site. Can my mom navigate most virtual event platforms today?  I’m not so sure.  For digital events, we need to make the user experience so intuitive that my mom could find her way around. In fact, she’s already told me that digital theme parks suit her just fine.

About the Author

Dennis is Director of Product Marketing at INXPO and author of the book “Generate Sales Leads With Virtual Events.”  At INXPO, Dennis is responsible for go-to-market strategy and execution, and for shaping product and platform evolution via the “voice of the customer.” Dennis has managed virtual event campaigns for Cisco, HP, Oracle and Microsoft, among others.  Dennis blogs about virtual events at INXPO, and on his personal blog, “It’s All Virtual.” Dennis can be found on Twitter at @dshiao.

Venues: Dinosaurs or Potential Kings of the Virtual Event Industry?

During my time working for an event organiser we owned and ran a large number of exhibitions, conferences and awards events.

The venue always talked to us about the same things:

1. Space.

2. Catering.

3. Security.

4. Cleaning, and occasionally....

5. Shell-scheme providers, carpets, AV equipment and electrics (although in UK venues the organiser usually sorted out these contracts separately).

Now, I believe that little has changed with this offering for decades (except with the provision of internet connections in the 90's maybe).

Venues do not have a reputation as a hotbed of innovation.
Tvenuesaurus-rex, take a bow (or a nap)!

On the other hand, we in the virtual events community like to think of ourselves as at the digital cutting edge, technological developers and in tune with social media and the evolution of the internet.

How could venues possibly be better placed to talk to event organisers about virtual or hybrid events?

Well, let us consider the following:

1. Venues already have a relationship with the organiser.

2. In most cases venues have already successfully delivered a service (let's face it, they are bricks and mortar - they are always in the right place at the right time!).

3. There is trust in the 'brand' (most, if not all, of the larger venues have been around for years and won't run off/go bust with your money like a small software company might).

4. If a venue invests in developing it's own platform (or re-selling one) it is an easy add on to the conversation the physical event organiser must have. Why not replicate your physical event online Mr. Customer? Too complex? Too much hassle? We can handle the whole thing - we are the one stop shop for all your physical/hybrid/virtaul needs.

5. I would imagine the CAPEX required to produce a studio, in venue, shouldn't be prohibitive and staff could be hired on a project basis, minimising/eliminating operational overhead. As such, the studio should be able to offer the best of video production standards: multi-camera, 3D/HD/SD, vision-mixing, captioning, sub-titling, well dressed environment, webcasting, etc. to cope with the most demanding of organisers. Event organisers, even the large ones, won't be able to get near the quality and cost base the venue can offer.

So, a word of warning to platform vendors: Venues aren't 'competitors' or 'irrelevant'. They are potentially the most valuable ally or partner you will ever have.
They could just be the 'kings of the brave new virtual world'.

Don't turn your back on a dinosaur....................he might just eat you!

Let's get brutal!

Having watched videos, read blogs and reviews, and taken part in virtual events group discussions on LinkedIn and face to face, it strikes me what a thoroughly nice, decent and polite bunch of people we are here in the virtual event community!

Now, the ability to 'play nicely' is normally a very good thing (and often a phrase I yell at my kids as the friendly games in the back garden start to become more physical and competitive), but I am starting to question if we need to be a little more critical, or even darn right impolite (sorry to resort to that type of language but that's right, I'm serious here!), to move the debate and the development of platforms and services along at a more rapid rate.

I'm as guilty, if not more guilty, than the next person for worrying that I may be stepping out of line, or offending someone, but maybe we would get better, more insightful debate if we didn't feel that we should pull our punches so we don't upset anyone. If a vendor receives honest, heartfelt opinion, should it not motivate them to examine their product or service offering critically and either defend their position or consider modifications to improve the proposition?

Following a recent discussion thread on the Virtual Events 100 group on LinkedIn, I am hoping to start work on a comparison matrix of virtual event platforms, with hopefully some help and input from others. Now, I am very well aware that this will be time consuming and as soon as it is published it will be out of date as vendors bring out new versions, but at least it will be a start to help marketing people and event organisers find the right companies to approach for further details. In compiling this matrix I'm not too worried about the functionality (is a download required? system requirements? what social media is integrated? communication methods available? etc.), but I also want to add value with a critique of the look and feel, the user friendliness, the level of customer support and other rather subjective attributes. For a valuable critique you need to be able to pull from a resource of open and honest opinion from experts and lay people alike.

So come on, what do you say we all make a concious effort to be a little less considerate and say it like it is, or at least, as it appears to us..............?

I guess my next blog post will prove if I'm willing to take my own advice.