Three meeting technology veterans have a launched a new Web site, The Meeting Pool, which allows users to view technology vendors by category, post reviews, and see details of different products with a slick compare-and-contrast feature tool when shopping for technology solutions.
The decision engine is the core of The Meeting Pool, which allows the user to research event tech solutions in an easy-to-navigate directory of basic and premium listings.
When a decision-maker is interested in further information from a technology supplier that has a premium listing, he or she can use The Meeting Pool as a communication tool to send an e-mail message, click to call, or set an appointment time with vendors directly, says Dahlia El Gazzar, CEO and founder of The Meeting Pool, Chicago. Those premium listings also serve as an online showcase for product information, press releases, video content, and more.
“We designed The Meeting Pool to be that central point where research occurs and then, importantly, a dialogue begins. That dialogue is facilitated on the site among both the event professionals reviewing, rating, and discussing solutions, as well as directly between the tech companies and decision-makers who are looking to purchase,” adds El Gazzar.
The company’s co-founders are Keith Johnston, founder and president of PlannerWire, and Tara Thomas, most recently vice president of global marketing at Certain Inc.
Currently the site has five categories of meeting technology: association membership management platforms, audience response systems, event management platforms, event mobile apps, and event registration companies.
There are 117 companies listed in the mobile app category, for example, with all but a handful as basic listings. The Meeting Pool launched at the Americas Incentive Business Travel & Meetings Expo in Chicago in June.
The Meeting Pool will also feature a growing repository of content, says El Gazzar, to include “cutting-edge editorials, product reviews, and trend-based articles from expert editors and contributors.”
Currently users can read blogs categorized by subjects such as “tech” and “social media.” One useful blog suggests the seven best alternatives to Google Reader, which no longer exists.
El Gazzar’s vision for the site is to include practical how-to guides and tutorials, informative white papers and e-books, presentations from speakers and conferences around the world, and evolving best practices with specific advice on how to better plan and execute technology-fueled events.
For more information on The Meeting Pool, visit www.meetingpool.net.
