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Behind the Scenes By Michelle Russell
‘WeDefinitelyKnowBetter’ So why do most meetings fail to live up to their potential? A
re you among the several million viewers who have seen the video “A Magazine
Is an iPad That Does NotWork” on YouTube (http://bit.ly/baby-ipad)? In the first frame of this home video, an adorable one-year-old is happily interacting with an iPad. Then we see her try to replicate that experi-
ence with the printed pages ofa magazine.Try as she might—by scrunching her fingers togeth- er or pointing her index finger—she can’t get the paper to respond to her touch. What’smy point?That the iPadwill eventual-
ly replace print?No (although I don’t think any ofus can discount that possibility). At the moment, print still has its place. In fact,we are so confident about that being the case that— for the first time in thismagazine’s 25-year histo- ry—wewill be publishing a regular, content- rich issue of Convene in August to accompany our successful AnnualDirectory ofMeeting Sites, Cities, and Services. But print is just oneway to deliver—and
access—content. It’swhat’s called a “lean-back” medium, because, likewatching amovie,we’re inmore ofa passive, consumptionmodewhen we read amagazine.Whenwe’re reading on the Web or using digital devices,we “lean forward” —we scan,we click,we engage. For several years now,we’ve provided two online options for reading Convene: a stand-alone digital edi- tion that faithfully replicates each issue, and a text-onlyHTMLversion on our homepage.And stay tuned—we’ll soon offer an app forCon- vene on iPads, tablets, andmobile devices.We’re excited about the opportunities thatwill give us to offer our readers a different experience. Andby different experience, I mean a more interactive one. Because—getting back tomy
6 pcmaconvene December 2011
point about the baby and the iPad—interactivity is an everyday expectation. That goes for touch- screens as much as for face-to-face meetings. The three articles thatmake up our cover-sto-
ry package andCMPSeries feature thismonth —“The First Step IsAdmittingYou Have a Prob- lem” (p. 54)—take a look atwhat’swrongwith meetings today.We hope this package also underscores the tremendous potential thatmeet- ings have tomake a real difference in theworld. Boil each article down, and you’ll find that the one ingredientmost meetings continue to lack is engagement.We are not doing a good enough job ofmaking attendees full participants in their experience. As Jeffrey Cufaudewrites in his final LeadingLearning column thismonth (p. 40): “We definitely knowbetter, butwe often aren’t doing better.” Organizational expertDavidCooperrider,
whomformerASAEExecutiveVice President Susan Sarfati interviews for our cover story (p. 64), believes“we are just starting to sensewhat themeetings industry is capable of.” Realizing thatmore fully, Cooperrider says, involvesmov- ingaway “from a traditionalmodel of down- loading information” or even networking. “Whywouldwe bring thousands ofparticipants together,” he asks, “and not engage their strate- gic and creativeminds and imagination for some significant advancement of opportunities for their organization?Whywouldn’t you tap into all that talent?” Not surprisingly, themodel thatCooperrider
proposes to tap that collectivewisdomincludes traditional presentations.Because both lean-back and lean-forwardmodes have their place.
Michelle Russell Editor in Chief mrussell@pcma.org
DESTINATION MARKETING: Back in September, I found myself in Aspen, and soon realized how much of that destination’s identity is tied to the Aspen Institute and its events. The next week, I was in Long Beach. As I toured the city, I was struck by how many changes Long Beach CVB President and CEO Steve Goodling said the city was making to its venues based on the way that TED, which now meets there every year, uses its space. It occurred to me that there are some con- ferences whose identity is entirely shaped by their host destinations, and some cities that make significant changes as a result of the conferences they host. Read about a handful of them, including Aspen and Long Beach, on p. 91.
MICHELLE RUSSELL PHOTOGRAPHED BY DENNIS CHALKIN