How would you do that?

Some companies are doing it already. You could do it with some type of online matching system, like a Match.com, for the attending companies. In other words, it's like, “I'm coming, here's what I'm trying to buy, here's my authority for buying it. Is there someone out there who is interested in talking to me?”

How could those social networking technologies be used for meetings?

Imagine that it's the opening session of a conference, and instead of that rush to go in, you get a card saying, “You're sitting at table 16.” You're sitting at 16 because you have been matched by characteristics. Those people could be in the same field, or they could work for companies you might some day want to join.

Right now, those connections happen randomly. A lot of people tell me, “The best conversation I had at the whole meeting was talking to Morris, a guy I met on the shuttle from the airport, and we connected. We sat together at the general session, we went out, and you know what? His company actually has a product that I want to buy.” That's a random connection. Those are great.

But why do they have to be random? Let's unrandomize the extent to which people find jewels at events.

When meetings end, the dialogue that's begun there typically doesn't continue when attendees go home. Isn't that a missed opportunity?

People make two false assumptions. They make the assumption that people will stay in touch, and the reality is that we all get busy. Communication doesn't happen without mediation and facilitation. You have to have somebody who literally is going to help people keep in touch without making it a burden for them.

Where do you weigh in with reference to virtual meetings? It seems like a natural outgrowth of some of the things that you have suggested.

I break virtual meetings into two parts. There are virtual meetings that are still traditional content delivered virtually, so most virtual meetings are online PowerPoint presentations. And I think they are as ineffective as their analog at a meeting.

But another form of virtual meeting isn't necessarily an event, but the building of a community. IBM recently held a virtual meeting, and the CEO had an animated character. Your character could bump into and start a conversation with the CEO's character and tease him. We're finding that in those virtual communities, people are behaving in ways they wouldn't behave in person. Some of us think this is really good, like me, and some people think it's horrendous. I think that part of the future of virtual meetings is going to be environments that I can come into, post something, leave, and come back to time after time.

Elliott Masie on collaborating at meetings:

“WHAT IF your next meeting became a publishing event? What if it became a content-gathering event? Let's say you've got Al Gore to speak on global warming. You know that in the audience there is a bell curve of people who will agree or disagree with him, but how does that relate to your industry if it's bus transportation? You could have post-Gore conversations that aggregate into a publication that's available either instantly or in 90 days called Can the Bus Industry Go Green?”

Elliott Masie on social networking:

“WHAT IF it's the opening session of a conference, and instead of that rush to go in, you get a card saying, “You're sitting at table 16.” You're sitting at 16 because you have been matched by characteristics. Those people could be in the same field, or they could all be people who work for companies you might some day want to join.”

Elliott Masie on panels:

“WHAT IF you did a panel where each person had to put a 10-minute video of their position online, and you saw it before you got to the event? You would begin the panel assuming that everybody in the room had seen the panel's presentations online, and now the whole 60 minutes is spent reacting to what each participant said and taking questions from the audience.”

Elliott Masie on using meetings to promote your company:

“WHAT IF we put up little kiosks around the meeting, each with a computer and a video camera on top? It's a swimming pool/spa salesperson meeting. Tell the camera your best story about the most unusual customer you ever had. That becomes an online video. If you're that meeting owner, what a momentous collection of content!”

CMI May Issue