I resolve to try at least one new piece of technology in 2008. There, it's out. Now I have to follow through. That's not so easy for a confirmed technophobe who, during my first try at social networking in 2007, was completely stumped. I was invited to join my colleagues in the Second Life Web site for a virtual meeting. The first challenge was to choose an avatar to represent me: my virtual self. When I showed up in the “lobby” of Second Life, I was shocked to see my twin: My boss, Editorial Director Betsy Bair, had selected the exact same alter ego (young, brunette, svelte). I've since learned that newbies like us reveal our novice status by not customizing our appearance.

Then, our Second Life facilitator asked us to follow him for a tour of the meeting areas. For some reason, my avatar kept sliding down through the floor, looking like a character from the TV show “Heroes.” Melting through the spaces as I tried to catch up with my group did not make me feel heroic, however.

So you can imagine how my nerves were on edge as I waited to pick up my nTAG interactive name badge during registration at Financial & Insurance Conference Planners Annual Conference in November. I wasn't the only nervous Nellie. This was a first-time tryout of the nTAG technology for most of FICP's roughly 700 attendees, and excitement was tinged with apprehension. But, unlike my experience with Second Life, this technology was easy to use. The nTAG folks conducted brief tutorials after we received our badges, and soon everyone was busy holding up their nTAG to each other for an electronic greeting and business-card exchange.

The nTAG badge is essentially an interactive computer, roughly the size and shape of a universal TV remote control. It has a small screen that displays a menu. Our FICP badge had five options on the menu: People, Agenda, Survey, Messages, and About Me. The device connected attendees with each other and fed information, such as survey data, to the FICP organizers.

As a sustainable meeting practice, the system was hugely successful. In lieu of printed programs, for example, we made a quick click on our screen to see the entire conference agenda — personalized for each attendee based on his or her online meeting registration. Rather than completing paper-based surveys after each session, we filled out surveys electronically on our nTAGs.

Perhaps the most popular application at FICP was the personal information exchange. It's fun to hold up your electronic badge to another and get a personalized greeting (“Hi, Regina”). Take the additional step of pressing down a button, and complete business-card information is exchanged. After the conference, nTAG sends an e-mail directing people to an “Attendee Home Page” on the Web, which allows you to access all your contact info in business card format or Excel format. It was a snap.

A few caveats: The nTAG is a bit bulky and feels heavy hanging on your neck. FICP used it in conjunction with a traditional badge, and wearing the two could be cumbersome. As well, there were times when some of the devices worked sluggishly or froze up and needed maintenance from nTAG staff — but these occasional problems were fixed quickly. Overall, the badges generated a lot of positive buzz, even with technophobes like me. I give it a thumbs-up for being one cool tool.

So, bring on the new technology for 2008 — I'm ready.