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Cyber Café Hints By Jeff Rasco, CMP ©2001 ·
Plan
ahead. Don’t assume your venue
can flick a switch and provide the appropriate connections. · Place your kiosks in high traffic areas. Use your Cyber Café to build traffic in other areas (exhibits, book store). · Videos, colorful screensavers, and screen animations attract attention, and encourage exploration. · Remember viewer privacy. Keep some distance between kiosks (we figure on two computers, back-to-back, in the center of a minimum 8x8 space). · Have knowledgeable assistants (proctors) in the area to help with problems and facilitate usage. · Include quick surveys and other online feedback for instant communication. Keep all information brief and simple to find. Reward users for completing online information. · Keep the interface fresh by providing new information as often as possible. · If necessary, place a time limit on usage. Consider something like “if people are waiting, please limit kiosk use to 7 minutes.” · Know your audience, and design the interface appropriately –financial planners want a stock ticker and quick quote look-up, doctors may want a sophisticated messaging system. · To encourage sponsorship, think reports. A well-designed Cyber Café can capture more data of interest to your sponsors (and your association leadership) than any booth, with increased message retention. · Use your imagination…web browsing is a tiny part of what is possible!
Jeffrey W. Rasco, CMP is senior vice president of meeting, event, and trade show strategists and managers JRDaggett & Associates and heads their Austin, Texas office. A 20-year veteran meeting professional and self-proclaimed geek wannabe, he is a frequent writer and speaker on meetings and events technology. Jeff can be reached at jeff@jrdaggett.com or call 512.842.1613. If you find this article helpful, please let me know by signing the Guest Book in the Contact Corbin Section. Any comments received will be passed on to Jeff. |
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