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CMP SERIES CERTIFICATION MADE POSSIBLE
came across an interesting article and made a mental note to read it later — only to never think about it again. Pocket (Free; iPhone/iPad, Android, or Web) — formerly Read It Later — allows you to save those articles, pulling them from Twitter, an app like Flipboard, or a browser, even when the device isn’t connected to the Internet.
BE PRODUCTIVE
“We need to understand that ‘on’ is impossible without ‘off’, and that the distance between the two needs to be made closer: like the beats of a heart or the steps of a runner,” digital strategist Tom Gibson writes in a blog post on the community- writing platform Medium. Event pro- fessionals, like most professionals, are constantly striving to be their most pro- ductive, and while there must be periods of “off,” there are also tools that can help bring “on” and “off” closer together. “So many planners coordinate with their clients using Google Docs, so this is a great way to stay connected on the go,” Liz King, event-tech evangelist and founder of Liz King Events, said of Google Drive (Free; iPhone/iPad, Android, or Web). This cloud-based application stores documents, spread- sheets, and presentations — anything you might need to collaborate on within a team or with outside clients. Google Docs are often accessed from within a Gmail account, but users can share or make documents available to anyone, or keep them completely private. Dropbox (Free; iPhone/iPad, Android, or Web) “is probably the most commonly used non-meetings-industry app used by people in the meetings industry,” Spellos said. The cloud-based storage system is used to house and share documents, photos, and videos, which are easily accessible to multiple users. Users can access files from their computers, smartphones, or tablets, and receive up to two megabytes of storage free. Upgrading to pro or Dropbox for Business increases the amount of stor- age as well as provides advanced security and support options. TurboScan ($1.99; iPhone/iPad) allows the user to take
a photo of a document, receipt, note, and so on, turning it into a copier-quality image that can be emailed; saved as
60 PCMA CONVENE OCTOBER 2013
a PDF, JPG, or PNG; or uploaded to another app like Ever- note. “It’s great on the go when I need to send in a signed contract and I’m traveling,” said Lauren Riordan, manager of programs and events for the National Cable & Telecom- munications Association (NCTA). TurboScan boasts a processing time of less than four seconds per page and offers file naming and storage within the app itself, without requiring an Internet connection. Asana (Free; iPhone/iPad, Android, or Web) is a task-
management app — the latest version of which can be fully integrated with Dropbox. “I will tell you that I have gone through so many of these and have not liked anything,” said Jessica Levin, CMP, CAE, president and chief connector at Seven Degrees Communication. “[Asana] has been life-changing in terms of project man- agement.” Created by Facebook co- founder Dustin Moskovitz and former Facebook employee Justin Rosenstein, Asana prides itself on organizing proj- ects around tasks rather than emails
— grouping conversations and assign- ments together so that users can eas- ily follow the progress of a project. Hootsuite (Free; iPhone/iPad,
‘We need to understand that “on” is impossible without “off,” and that the distance between the two needs to be made closer...’
Android, or Web) is most likely the leading app for the easy management of multiple social-media accounts, offering a dashboard where users can input streams from Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, and more; schedule messages to go out via their profiles; and generally keep track of social- media messaging or campaigns. “I find that a lot of planners are struggling to manage social media — they think because they have these big teams — [so] that’s what we put all our clients on,” Levin said. Upgrading to a pro account (starting at $8.99 per month) allows access to analytics reports and enhanced technical support.
GET ORGANIZED If you were to create a top-10 (or top- three) list of skills successful planners
need, being organized would undoubtedly make the cut. But the best tools to keep track of everything you or your team has to do on site aren’t necessarily going to be the same sys- tems you use on a day-to-day basis.