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.