TRAVDEX Travel Technology Tradeshow goes Social
I love it when traditional models shake things a bit and do new things. At the PhoCusWright Conference 2008 in Hollywood, there was a quiet announcement about a new travel technology tradeshow that was in the works by PhoCusWright called TRAVDEX™. At the time it really did just look like another tradeshow, you know the kind, with the booths, and the networking events, and the sales people all giving away goodies in bags to the hordes of attendees. What I soon found out, however, is that TRAVDEX™ wants to do something very different with the show. Using the Tips from the T-List, the PhoCusWright Blogger Summits, and other travel social media initiatives that have picked up a lot of attention over the years, TRAVDEX™ wanted to build community around their tradeshow by integrating some key social components into their website. Here is a run down on what the site (and the tradeshow) is looking to do:
1. Build community by using Google Friend Connect: TRAVDEX™ decided to use Google instead of Facebook for the first interation because the implementation of Friend Connect is much easier and it provides an out of the box social component to the site. TRAVDEX™ is also a business tradeshow so it is less likely that this would be something that would of interest to general Facebook users. It may make sense to find ways to integrate B2B social networking like LinkedIn and Plaxo into the mix in the future. Luckily, Plaxo is already supported through Google Friend Connect.
2. Integrate content from contributing bloggers: Using the very successful Tips from the T-List model, TRAVDEX™ wanted to syndicate blog posts into the TRAVDEX™ site so visitors can get access to the latest travel technology and marketing posts from recognized bloggers. Some of the bloggers are also PhoCusWright analysts like Norm Rose and Joe Buhler. Having these posts adds relevant content and allows for conversations and comments around relevant travel technology subjects.
3. Use of video: We all know that video is an important part of the social experience now. You don’t have to look much further than the DEMO conference or TechCrunch50 conference to see successful conferences that have integrated video. The tradeshow is, however, a very different beast. Again, the idea is to find content that is relevant to the sector and to syndicate it into the TRAVDEX™ site so that the site becomes a one-stop shop for all things travel technology related. At ITB Berlin, Phil and I will be helping the TRAVDEX™ team to put together some interviews for the site. Look for us running around the conference and tradeshow in Berlin.
4. Flickr Content: The site also pulls in Flickr content from a couple of different feeds which allows the organizers to add photos into a single account and syndicate them through with not a lot of extra effort. I like this concept, because again, the idea is to provide a mixed media experience for the visitor. In a single search, you are presented with video, blog, and photo content.
5. Tweets for the Tweet: TRAVDEX™ is going to be using their twitter account http://www.twitter.com/travdex for a couple of different things. Firstly, the feed will be used to push updates to the community, but it will also be used to engage with the travel technology industry on twitter. How they accomplish this is yet to be fully realized, but I have no doubt that they will do a good job. If there is one thing you can expect from PhoCusWright, it is the commitment to quality.
6. The Wall: Yep, there’s a wall. Using Google Friend Connect’s comment wall widget, the TRAVDEX™ has integrated a wall into their TRAVDEX™ Connect section of the website. The idea being that visitors can leave their comments and start or continue conversations. The hope is that as more interest grows with the Google Friend Connect developer community we will see more widgets and applications coming down the line that can be integrated into the site.
If you have not already visited the site, please do so at http://www.travdex.com. Join the site, leave a comment or two, and let the TRAVDEX™ team know what you think. This is a new concept and a new way of executing social networking. I would love to read your comments and feedback.
What doYOU think about the concept of a social tradeshow?
Yes. This answers the big questions I ask any event planner to consider:
How can those who can’t attend be engaged?
What elements of your event can be given away without compromising the value proposition for attendees?
http://www.tourismkeys.ca/blog/2009/02/where-is-the-value-of-your-conference-or-event/
Well move, they use many Web2.0 channel to promote and engage the conversation.
Lot of work, 6 Followers on Twitter at this time, I am sure many more during their event and after
Wish them all the best
Claude
Hi..
Nice blog..
Congratulation..
☆ Martinha ☆
=)
http://travelandtrips.wordpress.com/
Awesome outline! In terms of the video we (TripTelevision) are excited about a couple of the new opportunities that have recently become available (like hyper tagging and syndication) – It could change video for travel AND for travel tradeshows : http://video.tia.travelscream.com/a164588512.htm
@Thom Yes, I think the ability to tag within videos is an important step to adding searchable context to video. Vimeo has had this for some time so it’s nice to see the other platforms adopting it.
That’s a great article Todd. I think we will start to see more and more conferences and tradeshows pick up on the value of social media and engage more with their participants and audiences.
I wouldn't say TRAVDEX is the first to try to use these social media initiatives to build hype around a product or service. But it does seem they've done a tremendous job of leveraging it to meet their goals.
I wouldn't say TRAVDEX is the first to try to use these social media initiatives to build hype around a product or service. But it does seem they've done a tremendous job of leveraging it to meet their goals.
that is the trend anyways…
You can never change this trend anyway.
very economical advertisement ethics i found on your article
There are many travel sites which looks for good technology for thier sites and Travdex is good as per their expectations.